Eva's Old Rat Page

Here is a photo of my former pet rat boys Ixy and Ikaros. Ikaros had a very big influence on my life with rats. He was a great pet rat, and he was also the foundation sire for a highly successful line of rats. And because of him and that line of rats I learned so much about rats that I never could have learned any other way.

I have had rats for many many years, and I got my first rats, Råttis & Thumpi sometime in 1988. I have made a few mistakes during the years, but I've also learned a lot from them.

I have lots of rattie photos all the way back to 1989, so I believe I have photos of almost all my old rats, I just have to find them and scan them.

Even if I have had many rat litters I have never culled any babies, I just don't believe in culling. I have put one baby to sleep since he injured himself badly, but I found homes for all other babies I didn't keep. I also rehomed many rats that came to me in need of new homes. I had to put one rat to sleep in the early years, a young male I kept for myself, that turned aggressive overnight at the age of some months. I can't find him among my rattie papers, but I know that happened, since it was the first and only rat I put to sleep of my own rats for many many years.

I also helped finding homes for many of the rats from Runatun Rattery over the years, since he didn't have any connections in the rat world. Before he got four babies from Ikaros' litter in 1996 he had many chocolate and chocolate agoutis, colours that was almost extinct in the Swedish rat comminity. All chocolate based colours had been replaced by mink based colours. So these were popular. After 1996 he had a line of superior temperament, and many persons realized that and bought rats from him, through me, just because of their wonderful temper. Many of those rats were also chocolate and chocolate agouties, though. Jalle is very fond of chocolate agouti. Today he is not breeding rats anymore.

My old pet rats: before Ikaros (1988 to 1991)

To the right is a photo of the cage where all my males between 1988 and 1991 lived. That cage is 1 meter high.

• Råttis & Thumpi were my first rats ever. Råttis was an agouti european berkshire male, and Thumpi was an agoti hooded female. They were litter mates.

• Sandra was one of Råttis & Thumpi's babies, the only one I kept. She was an agouti european berkshire and a really crazy loving rat. She was also extremely tame, just like her mother and father. Sandra was one of my super best pet rats ever!

• Aphrodite's Count Dracula, called Fnutten was my first silver fawn rex rat. He was one of my best rats ever, very gentle and mild, but he had bad health. Fnutten was one of my super best pet rats ever!

• Snuttan was a pale silver fawn hooded female I got from Jalle. Snuttan was half sister to Råttis & Thumpi.

• Firestone was a nice looking silver fawn female that I found after looking everywhere for silver fawns. Buying her was my second mistake. She never caused any problems, but at least one of her babies had temper problems, and her father was very aggressive and dominant. A bad combination.

• Silver was my first Wistar rat, a very tame and loving female.

• Byzance was a pearl variegated female rat. Byzance was a runner, and a really good friend to Silver. She was also a great pet, and was real fun to have around.

• Tingeling was a silver fawn rex female, daughter to my rats Fnutten & Snuttan.

• Snow-White was my second Wistar rat, a male. I didn't take the time to tame him and I made a big mistake in putting him to sleep, mistaking his behaviour and thinking he might become aggressive soon. I still regret doing that.

• Appolonia was one of the babies from my A-litter.

• Berlioz was one of the babies from my B-litter.

• Trinovantum Queen Anne of Scots, called Annie, was the best coloured silver fawn and the most beautiful rat I've even seen. She was imported from England and I bought her at the age of about one year. She had never had a litter when I bought her, but I mated her once and she had a litter of only five pups, all silver fawn.

• Cherie was one of the babies from my C-litter. Cherie was the daughter of Annie and Snow-White, a pretty silver fawn female. Even though her father was an albino she had much prettier colour than Firestone ever had. (No photos yet.)

• Darius was one of the babies from my D-litter, and the son of Sandra and Berlioz. Darius was an agouti european berkshire male.

• Aristoteles Eir, Aristoteles Eamon & Aristoteles Enzio was three of the babies from my E-litter, and the daughter of Sandra and Berlioz. Eir was a silver fawn female, Eeamon was a silver fawn rex male and Enzio was a silver fawn hooded rex male.

• Phoenix Rubin was a very pretty silver fawn rex that was in need of a new home since he did not get along with one of the rats in his old home. (No photos yet.)

• Aristoteles Fayance & Aristoteles Farentino was two of the babies from my F-litter, and the parents were Rubin and Cherie. Fayance was a silver fawn rex female, and Farentino was a silver fawn male. (No photos yet.)

• Attics Casanova was a rat baby that I bought from the breeder I got Rubin from. Casanova had Rubin as one of his grand parents. Of course Casanova was a silver fawn rex male. (No photos yet.)

• My Aristoteles G-litter Consisted of six silver fawn babies, and the parents were Rubin and Eir. I kept the whole litter, but they all died young, because of the dreaded Mycoplasma. (No photos yet.)

• Sebastian was a young rat baby that I got from a friend. Sebastian was a chocolate agouti male. (No photos yet.)

I lost all my rats to a transmitted disease that spread from breeder to breeder through rat shows in Sweden at this time. The last of them died during 1991. Symptoms were from the lungs, wheezing, difficulties to breathe and so on. It took me a while to start over.

My old pet rats: after Ikaros (1995 to 2004)

• Rivendell Feasting On Mice On The Island Of Guernsey, called Iuri. A silver fawn female from Ann Storey in England. I got her as an adult, she had by then been proven sterile so no breeder wanted her.

• Ixy, my third Wistar rat, I got him as a grown up rat directly from a laboratory. A very good pet rat. I took him as a cage mate to Iuri, so Iuri would not be alone. There's a photo of Ixy at the top of this page.

• Ikaros. A silver fawn rex male that I got from Åkello, a company that breeds small pets and sells to pet shops all over Sweden. One of my best rats ever!!!!! Ikaros became the foundation sire for my new line of rats. There's a photo of Ikaros at the top of this page.

• Ixus. Ixus was my third albino male laboratory rat, and he was a wonder. When I got him I had recemtly lost my old rats Iuri, Ixy & Ikaros. I had Ixus alone for a couple of weeks until I found him a rattie friend, Ippe. Ixus was one of my super best pet rats ever!

• Runatun I-Påsen, called Ippe was a beige male. Ippe turned aggressive but was castrated, and after that he turned into a wonderful pet rat. Ippe was one of my super best pet rats ever!

• Runatun Irre & Runatun Ismo was two silver fawn littermates. These two boys had very good temper, even compared to my best rats.

• Runatun Imax was a nicely coloured silver fawn who took over the position as top dog in the cage after Ixus. He was a perfect pet with a great personality, but he was also a bit dominant but not too much. Imax had two sisters from the same litter that had the same colour and I owned, Runatun Edda & Runatun Amma. Imax was one of my super best pet rats ever!

• Runatun Liv was a nice silver fawn rex female.

• Runatun Inka & Runatun Iami were two silver fawn rex males. These two were big favourites of mine. Inka & Iami were two of my super best pet rats ever!

• Runatun Izze was a silver fawn double rex male, Edda's son from her first litter. He was a big favourite of mine.

• Runatun Iamak was a silver fawn rex female, Amma's daughter from her first litter.

• Runatun Penny was a silver fawn rex female, Edda's daughter from her second litter. (No photos yet.)

• Runatun Itzumi was a silver fawn rex male, Amma's son from her second litter.

• Lafayettes Naranja was a silver fawn rex female, that I bought from another breeder since she had some Runatun rats in her pedigre. I was very disappointed since she extremely small when I got her and she was heavily lactating, and she was still just a baby. I wonder what happened to the babies... (No photos yet.)

• My Ia-litter was my first litter in two years and my second litter in eight years..

• My Finnish imports was my first imported rats that I bought from the breeder, and they were just beautiful! The were from the Finnish Rattery Toylandin.

• Runatun-Aristoteles Vale. This litter was a joint venture with Runatun Rattery. I got Valle back at the age of 1 year and put him into my male cage. He was a very sweet rat. (No photos yet.)

• My Ib-litter was my next litter of silver fawns. My favourite rat Iboss was one of the babies in this litter. Iboss was one of my super best pet rats ever!

• Skuggan's Hassel & Orakel was two little silver fawn brothers that I bough from a Swedish breeder. One of them quickly turned aggressive, and the other was acting very unstable.

• My Ic-litter. (No photos yet.)

• My Id-litter. (No photos yet.)

• My Ie-litter. This was my last attempt to breed out temper problems from the Finnish silver fawns, it did not work, and I was adviced from other breeders not to pursue this, it was a lost cause. I actually gave away all the Finnish rats and their offspring to a man who badly wanted them - not to breed from. I did not keep any rat with any of the Finnish rats anywhere in the pedigree.(No photos yet.)

• Runatun Unta was a nice tempered silver fawn female from Runatun Rattery. (No photos yet.)

• Runatun Riandro was a nice tempered fawn male from Runatun Rattery. (No photos yet.)

• Runatun Ulla was a nice tempered lilac male from Runatun Rattery.

• Runatun Varia was a nice tempered silver fawn rex female from Runatun Rattery.

• Kifuno was a nice tempered black rex male from a breeder who used mainly Runatun rats his lines..

• Blueberry was a nice tempered lilac male, closely related to Kifuno. I also got two of his german blue sisters.

• Manitou was a nice tempered silver fawn male, closely related to Kifuno.

• My If-litter. My nice rats Aristoteles Ifina, Aristoteles Ifarro, and more.

• My Ig-litter. (No photos yet.)

• Runatun Xi was a nice tempered fawn male from Runatun Rattery. This was my best rat ever when it came to temperament. Xi was my absolute super best pet rat ever!

• My Ih-litter.

• My Ii-litter.

• My Ij-litter.

• My Ik-litter.

• My Il-litter.

• My Im-litter.

• My In-litter. (No photos yet.)

• My Io-litter.

• My Ip-litter. (No photos yet.)

• My Iq-litter.

• My Ir-litter.

• My Is-litter.

• Runatun Nicke was a badly tempered english blue male from Runatun Rattery. This rat I had to put to sleep since he attacked and bit one of my rats badly.

• Arinella's Teddy was a nice tempered fawn rex. He was a very good pet rat, and reminded me of Xi a lot. Teddy was one of my super best pet rats ever!

• Bax the Dream, Blane Morane & Eleanor Rigby was a black european berkshire female that I eventually had to put to sleep because she turned aggressive. I also got her brother Blane Morane that turned aggressive at an early age. Eleanor Rigby was a close relative to them, showing the same bad behaviour as Bax.

• Busan. My sweet Wistar female laboratory rat. Busan was one of my super best pet rats ever!

• Kalle, a silver fawn hooded male from a pet shop that turned aggressive.

• Arinella's Mjukost, a self mink male that turned aggressive. (No photos yet.)

• My It-litter.

• My Iu-litter. A very good litter, many of the rats I later bought as pets had one of these in their pedigree.

• My Iv-litter. My last litter, I stopped breeding here since I was too sick care for a whole rattery. If I ever get better I might start over, with silver fawns, of course.

• Arinella's Bitsocker, a silver fawn male that turned aggressive.

• Iste, a Wistar male.

• Sessan, a silver fawn female from a pet shop that was a very nice, but shy rat.

• Arinella's Älva, called Angel, a fawn female that was a very very great pet! Angel was one of my super best pet rats ever!

• Albina. My sweet Wistar female laboratory rat.

• Arinella's Basenji & Bassett. My happy silver fawn female rats.

• Arinella's Humlan, Snuttan & Soppan. My lilac and silver fawn female rats. Humlan was a very big favourite and is very much missed. Soppan is still happy and runnning around. Humlan was one of my super best pet rats ever!

• Arinella's Hottan. My happy silver fawn rex female (23 june 2004 - 20 february 2007).

• Arinella's Theo. My champagne rex female (15th of februari 2005 - 18 april 2007).

Mistakes I learned from

I have made mistakes, and I'll write them down here, so no-one else have to make the same mistakes.

• Don't give the same names to pet rats that live together - they will not like it.
• Do not put a Wistar rat to sleep, they don't turn aggressive like common pet rats. If they behave strange - re-tame them!
• Never mate with rats that have aggressive relatives - you will get babies that turn aggressive.
• Always mate the rats with the lowest rank in the cage, don't ever use the top dog.
• Don't believe that pretty imported rats will do you any good unless they have extremely good temper.
• Males that ride on eachother when young will probably turn very aggressive as adults.

Conclusion

• An agouti male that I mislayed the pedigree for, I know he had Firestone in his pedigree, because that was started my interest in aggression in rats.
• All the offspring from my Finnish imports, three litters!

Aggresive rats I've owned:

• Råttis, one of my first two rats ever. He was a darling rat, but not toward other males.
• Runatun I-Påsen, called Ippe. Ippe turned aggressive but was castrated, and after that he turned into a wonderful pet rat.
• All my Finnish imports, Toylandin Honka, Toylandin Farao Anubis & Toylandin Siphra.
• Skuggan's Hassel & Orakel.
• Aristoteles Iqona, well she wasn't aggressive, but she refused to be tamed.
• Runatun Nicke, aggressive male.
• Bax the Dream, Blane Morane & Eleanor Rigby turned aggressive at different ages.
• Kalle a male from a pet shop that turned aggressive.
• Arinella's Mjukost a male that turned aggressive.
• The two fawn females in my Iv-litter wasn't aggressive, but they were not good pet rats either.
• Arinella's Bitsocker a male that turned aggressive.

Comparing this to what other rat breeders tell me I have been blessed with extremely few aggressive rats through my years of rat breeding. And if I had listened to what Marianne Mays and other smart people told me and never bred from my Finnish imports, I'd have bred only one aggressive rat - through all these years, and all these litters!

Last update: 3rd of December 2007.