Little Blossoms Rattery

04/05/2022

FOUND

UPDATE: He's home, with just a scratched nose. Thank you to all of your kind words, help and suggestions. And thank you to everyone who looked for him and spread the word. We honestly can't stop crying and watching him, he's so glad to be home with his family❤️

Black and White Boy with a Red Collar and a Red Tag that says Charlie and has 2 numbers on it. He might be injured as he jumped out a second floor window, we didn't realise he could fit through the small gap. No hate, we are in pieces.

He isn't microchipped yet, lost around Ryde near Union Street at the bottom. He is an indoor cat, and is also a kitten. Please message me on 07852959081 if you find him. Please can anyone in Ryde look around under cars and sheds for him, he is very very well loved and we are devastated. We have been looking all night, he went missing around 10:30pm.

23/11/2021

Just a little update to all my rat lovers waiting so patiently for babies💫

I am still here! I'm afraid due to personal circumstances and my university degree course I have had to delay the pairing of my beautiful babies🥺

Pairings will now happen around March 2022, with babies from expected from around June 2022. I understand this extension is highly inconvenient and I'm so gutted to not be able to breed sooner. But I am putting my ratties first and the quality of my breeding plan. I would much rather delay my breeding plans for now until I have finished university for the year and until things have settled in my new role at work and I know I have the time to put my all into my breeding and my rats. I don't want to produce litters that have had half the amount of love and attention, I want them to be the best of the best for all of you and that's something that can be achieved from next year.

Thank you all so much for being as incredible, understanding and patient as you have all been. My inbox is always open for questions if you ever need and I'm here for any support you may need with your current rats also. Im happy to discuss concerns or questions with regards to my delayed breeding plans privately if anyone would like to.

It'll be worth the wait, I promise ❤

19/09/2021

These girls have such excellent temperaments, all that free roam space and they'd still rather be with people and have a cuddle. So people orientated🥰

This demonstrates how essential breeding for a good temperament is 💕

14/09/2021

This isn't my usual kind of post, but I just wanted to recommend Pets At Rest - IOW to anyone who's lost their little sidekicks. I have never felt so much compassion from a company before, they have an immense love for what they do and it shows with the effort they put into their keepsakes.

I'm lucky enough to have the most beautiful memorial keepsakes for my boys Dave and Bernie thanks to them. I am forever grateful that in their last moments, Pets At Rest were able to capture how special they are. They went above and beyond to create me a beautiful keepsake for Bernie to match Daves after my previous crematorium didn't allow me the opportunity to collect Bernies paw print or some fur. They took the time to have a meeting with me to discuss and come up with ideas using just Bernies ashes as I was very upset there wasn't the same amount of effort for Bernie as there had been for Dave. And honestly, I am in love with the results (*the frame is to be stained to match the dark wood once the paint arrives). Not only do I have a beautiful frame, but they also added stickers with Bernies name and date to match Daves and even added his ashes into a special box too. The results are beautiful.

People like this restore my faith in the world, they're truly a special business and I'm forever grateful❤

To top off my little remembrance area, I've added a gingerbread candle because Bernie always smelt like gingerbread. I would do the same for Dave, but bless him he always smelt like wee (must've been all that stashing of treats in the litter box)😂

12/09/2021

🎀Arabella and Athena Rivendell🎀

I’m so happy with how these 12 came out. We just won’t mention the 632 bloopers…. These girls are nutters🤦🏽‍♀️

12/09/2021

🐭Some beautiful photos from my Chester and Barney Rivendell Photoshoot, with a few of my lovely Terry and Derek who couldn’t resist the chocolate spread🐭

💫The Girls Photos Will Be Posted Soon💫

What’s your go to bribe food to get the best rat pictures?🥜

07/09/2021

💫Keep Your Eyes Peeled-
Our waiting list will be published soon for you all to keep track of💫

🐭A quick little Rivendell Rattie Update for you all too-

💙Chester and Barney are adoring their new big brothers. Barney has taken to digging and creating burrows deep in the bioactive base, his favourite pastime is seeing how far he can get the dirt out of the bars across the floor. Chester, on the other hand, is spending most of his time running on his Tic Tac wheel. He has also become a little too fond of his big brother Terry and is always two steps behind him, or trying desperately to lay under him to be groomed.

💜 The girls are becoming just as confident as the boys now and are now very talented in leaping out the cage during breakfast onto my chest. Arabella has been nicknamed Princess Arabella because if she is not improving her figure on her wheel then she is cleaning her fur. Athena, on the other hand, has become a little daredevil. She’s an expert escape artist and can leap from great heights. She has also developed a love for shredding and chewing everything that enters the cage, or stashing the hidden treats only for her sister to sneak up behind her and steal them all.

⭐️Our Favourite Products of the Month⭐️
(Not Sponsored- We Just Want To Share Our Discoveries With You)

⭐️ Squeak Box “September Monthly Box” which came with some incredible treats, a beautiful forage box and a double hammock with a matching toy.
⭐️A Rat’s Tail Pink and Natural Toy Surprise Box.
⭐️We are also soon to receive a big hammock order from Little Rattie Mischief Hammocks and Beds which is also very exciting!

✨Also I am loving this influx of messages I am getting asking me questions, keep these coming guys! Is there any rat care topics you’d like researched posts on? If so, be sure to let me know and I will research these to the best of my abilities✨

02/09/2021

Today I was asked why I recommend wheels for rats, despite how much space they have or time they have outside of their cage.

I really love that I was asked this question so I thought I would share my brief referenced answer with you all.

Exercise wheels have been known to benefit rodents by increasing the exercise that they do. In return, this protects against the risk of cancer amongst other medical problems (Kelly, 2013). Moreover, this regular exercise has been shown to prevent cardiovascular problems (Sugihara et al, 2013) and even prevent depression as the brain releases endorphins as they run (Greenwood and Fleshner, 2008). It is essential to have a wheel in the cage despite the space of the cage or how much time your rat spends outside of the cage too. A study undertaken in 1988 found that rodents with an accessible exercise wheel spent more time active and awake in their cage in comparison to the rodents that did not have an accessible exercise wheel (Welsh, Richardson and Dement, 1988). Therefore, this will encourage your rat to lead an active and healthy lifestyle, and this will reduce their risks of health implications throughout their lifetime.

A study undertaken in 2014 observed wildlife in their natural habitat and how they react when exposed to exercise wheels (Meijer and Robbers, 2014). The study found that rats and mice as well as shrews were seen to intentionally run on the wheels, and would leave moments later to then return back to the running. This demonstrates that even wild rodents find running on an exercise wheel enjoyable and satisfying. The two brands of wheel I recommend are Tic Tac Wheels and Speedy Hog Wheels. Does are always to have a minimum of 14 inches and Bucks are always to have a minimum of 16 inch wheels. I have included the references studies I researched below in case you’re interested in reading further into exercise wheels and their benefits. I will also leave a link to both wheel brands for you to take a look if you haven’t purchased one already.

Tic Tac Wheels-

https://www.tictacwheels.co.uk

SpeedyHog Wheels-

https://www.speedyhog.co.uk

Reference List-

De Visser, L., Van Den Bos, R. and Spruijt, B., 2005. Automated home cage observations as a tool to measure the effects of wheel running on cage floor locomotion. Behavioural Brain Research, 160(2).

Greenwood, B. and Fleshner, M., 2008. Exercise, Learned Helplessness, and the Stress-Resistant Brain. Neuromol Med, 10(81- 98).

Kelly, S., 2013. Genetic determinants of voluntary exercise. Trends in Genetics, 29(6).

Meijer, J. and Robbers, Y., 2014. Wheel running in the wild. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2(10).

Welsh, D., Richardson, G. and Dement, W., 1988. Effect of running wheel availability on circadian patterns of sleep and wakefulness in mice. Physiology & Behaviour, 43(6).

31/08/2021

Such a gorgeous blaze on my girl❤️🐭

27/08/2021

For those of you who are interested in the Little Blossoms Rattery breeding programme, I found an excellent read whilst on a hunt to find the most ethical way to mate a doe. It is of the upmost importance to me that all my rats are happy, healthy and that they are able to demonstrate their natural behaviours. I am forever trying to improve my rat keeping to allow them to have choices, such as what type of bedding material they would prefer all the way to food choices and multiple sleeping areas and textures for them to chew. I also have a Bioactive Base which encourages natural digging, foraging and burrow building and my rats are only fed through puzzles and scatter feeding, never through using a bowl.

Therefore, for my breeding methods, I will be using a larger cage for my mating as opposed to a smaller cage. Typically, a smaller cage is used to ensure the buck can mount the doe faster as the doe will often dart and bounce around. For my mating cage, I will have a separation with a hole only big enough for the doe to pass through. This in effect will allow the female to initiate the mating process, using natural behaviours that can be seen in the wild. This will help the doe to feel pleasure and contempt during the mating process, as opposed to seeing it as a negative experience she can't escape. From this, the outcome is predicted that the process will take slightly longer but as a result the pregnancy will be much more successful and the doe will be more settled as well as more inclined to potentially mate in the future❤

Be sure to check it out here:

Note: Thank you to Emma (Alpine Rats) for inspiring this research and joining me on this journey! Recently I went on one of my sporadic ‘deep-dives’ of the scientific literature after a question ab…

27/08/2021

Little Blossoms Rattery is a Rattery based on the Isle of Wight (UK), we aim to breed happy, healthy fancy rats with an excellent temperament. We are members of the National Fancy Rat Society (NFRS) and we hope to be registered with them sometime next year.

Our foundations are from Rivendell Stud, we are exceptionally excited and honoured to begin our breeding journey with lines from one of the best breeders around. We have been blessed with the gorgeous does: Athena Rivendell and Arabella Rivendell and the handsome bucks: Chester Rivendell and Barney Rivendell. We will be breeding for Blue Chinchillas, however there will be other varieties within the litter as well as Blue Agoutis. Will will primarily be breeding for top ear rats. Although you can’t directly pick and choose the rats you home, we will take suggestions as to what you would prefer as well as your particular favourite varieties. So things such as “I don’t like ruby eyed rats” or “I already have an Agouti boy, please can I have something a little different”.

Our foundations are also our personal pets, this means we will only be breeding a few litters with them to ensure they are able to have the best life possible. This also means that our litters will be sparce; but this is very beneficial to you as despite the long wait, our rats will be very well handled and cared for. Please feel free to message us to find out more about our breeding programme, methods and intentions.

We will run on a waiting list system in which you can get yourself on by completing a home check application form- you can get this by messaging us directly. This form is to help us home our rats to the best places possible, it is by no means a judgement pool. We are more than happy to help support you and guide you as well as offer advice if needed, we have beginner guides full of useful information for you too. These application forms are non-binding, this means that even after you apply you are not obligated to home rats from us. The same as we are not obligated to home rats to you should we feel it is no longer suitable. We require all homes to have at least a 14 inch minimum wheel for does and a 16inch minimum wheel for bucks. With careful consideration we will not be homing our rats to homes that have fleece lined cages, unless there is an allergy. Please message us if you would like more information as to why this is a requirement.

Our waiting lists will be interactive and uploaded as soon as we begin pairing our foundations around November-December 2021. These waiting lists will allow you to see where you are on the numbered list as well as watch your name move closer to the top. We will require you to come visit your babies two weeks prior to their homing date to ensure you’re a suitable match, it will be after this that a non-refundable deposit will be taken. If you are not island based, a phone or video call will be required two weeks before your homing date. Another up to date image of your set up will also be required. On your homing dates, please bring along your carrier with some food and water. We will also issue out contracts for both you and us. If you are not island based, we can travel to Southsea, Portsmouth and Southampton for a small additional fee- this can be discussed closer to the date.

We will only home rats in pairs or groups, and we will aim to home them around 8 weeks of age. If you are keen to get rats from us, the smartest thing to do after the forms are complete, is to be active on both our page and on our Instagram () where you can get an insight into our rat care and our other rats in the mischief. This will show us you’re keen!

Please note, none of our rats can be used for breeding purposes. This will be stated in the contract. If you would like to consider breeding, we can point you in the right direction however our rats are not to be used. In addition, we will always home back our rats if they have a change of circumstances and even once homed, we will always be here to respond to your questions.

Please feel free to message us if you would like to learn more about us, our mischief or our breeding plans. We look forward to hearing from you😊