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Rainrat
Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:20 am
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 Argh, the suspense is killing me! Pregnant rattie |
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Some of you might recall me mentioning that we imported 18 rats from the USA - all the varieties that we dont get here in SA. Well, just about all! 
My first lady, Orla is on day 23 today, and we are still waiting for babies. She's been nesting since Friday. On saturday I was quite worried about her during playtime as she exhibited signs of being in heat - complete with the ear flapping and everything.  But no babies. So hopefully it was just hormones.
This morning her belly felt a whole lot bigger but firmer than yesterday - so hopefully today is the day! 
Here is a tiny pic of her 
the bigger version click here http://moonstonesrattery.bravehost.com/images/Orla1.jpg
She is bred to Teddy, the beige tailless rex downunder
You can go visit my web page for pics of most of my ratties http://moonstonesrattery.bravehost.com/
Because some of them are the only ones of their kind in SA (like the rex and the black eyed siamese for instance) we decided to breed ALL the females as soon as possible.
For some of you this may sound ridiculous, but if we had to lose, say, the rex male before he had offspring, that would be it. No more rex in SA. So at least with offspring we can secure the lines.
Yes, we are going to have an ENORMOUS population explosion! 
Yes, we are prepared for it. I have a rat room where they will go - currently all the imports are in my room where I can keep a very close eye on them - paranoid!
I am not selling to petshops. I started the web page, and my article has just been appproved for the April version of Animaltalk - our biggest animal magazine with countrywide delivery. We have a ratclub with 20 members currently. Whatever I dont sell (in same-sex pairs!) stays with me until they die of old age.
This initial explosion will be the only one - just to get a little bit of 'safety in numbers' - so to speak. After that, it will be selective breeding only.
I hope you guys understand why we are doing this, and dont berate me for it 
So Orla is expecting today or so.
Then I have 2 due on the weekend. Next week, all hell breaks loose as I have 4 due to deliver. With 3 the week after that. 
I will be sure to update y'all with lots of pics though, so that is the up-side! 
Prepare yourselves for a baby fix overload!  
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~Obedient women are never remembered in history~ |
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PhoenixGate
Wed Feb 01, 2006 1:05 pm
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wow, South Africa, I had to look that one up. Congrats on your new babies! I enjoyed looking around your site. I would love to see more info on some of your rats and pics of your new litters. Where did you get your new breeders from? They all have Moonstone in front of their names- did you breed them all? Good luck with your litters and in your endevors!
Amy
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Phoenix Gate Rats
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Rainrat
Wed Feb 01, 2006 2:01 pm
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LOL PhoenixGate! I got them from Connie Perez. Some came from Debbie Needham, some from Bonnie Walters. Some are from the stock they got from the UK. I put Moonstones in front of everyones names because Connie still hasnt sent me the pedigrees Apparently the rats they got in the UK didnt come with pedigrees 
I figured since they are now in South Africa it doesnt really matter much what I call them. I had to name all of them too! none of them came with names.
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~Obedient women are never remembered in history~ |
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Celynny
RP Supporter
Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:26 pm
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LOL PhoenixGate! I got them from Connie Perez. Some came from Debbie Needham, some from Bonnie Walters. Some are from the stock they got from the UK. I put Moonstones in front of everyones names because Connie still hasnt sent me the pedigrees Apparently the rats they got in the UK didnt come with pedigrees
I figured since they are now in South Africa it doesnt really matter much what I call them. I had to name all of them too! none of them came with names. |
"They were all bred by well known and respected breeders from the USA and UK, and they are pedigreed, each and every one"
You should change that then if the UK ones don't have pedigrees. Are you still breeding the ones with no pedigrees?
I browsed the pictures, those husky/roan ones are GORGEOUS and that female black blaze is the cutiest ever! ^_^
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PhoenixGate
Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:21 am
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okay, I knew you had said that you hd them brought in from other breeders so the Moonstone did not make sense. Generally you still want to use the breeder's prefix (or name) if they are the ones who bred them. It just makes things alot easier for you and those who see your site . I know Oddfellows initals are OFR, Connie runs Rat Genesis and I think its RG, Bonnie just is BW.
Humm, I wonder where the UK rats were from though I would imagine they may have been some of the ones recently shipped to the US from the UK last year. You would be able to track those down if need be. Perhaps you could leave their initals blank until you know. What a good assortment of stock you got! I am glad to see that such a shippment was made to you to get some things going down there. I bet you are really enjoying them right now.
Amy
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Phoenix Gate Rats
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Rainrat
Thu Feb 02, 2006 5:32 pm
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Phoenix - I believe the UK rats were from Alpha Centauri - I am STILL waiting for the pedigrees and details from Connie.
And STILL waiting for my girl to pop those babies out! Today is day 24
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~Obedient women are never remembered in history~ |
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MerlinsMagic
RP Supporter
Fri Feb 03, 2006 1:49 am
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My god at first when I saw Raven's pic I thought you stole a pic of Majik!! I wonder if they are related through lines somehow. Shaz
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