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Anonymous
I'm thinking of purchasing a pair of rats. I had some as a kid and really enjoyed them. My old rat's were from the pet store (my first rat was bought because the pet store was out of mice to feed my brother's pet corn snake, but the snake wouldn't go near it because it was to big so we wound up keeping it). I know rats from pet stores are usually used as food not pets, and because of the poor conditions they are kept in are often sick. What's the best way to find a reputable breeder in my area? I currently live in Orlando, FL, although I make trips to South Florida on a semi-regular basis. Also, what's the best place to get a good sized cage suitable for rats? I used to keep my rats in a large wire cage, although I have heard on here that the wire floors are bad for their feet (although both my rats lived long healthy lives on a wire floor before).
>> Anonymous
your pic is a possum
>> Anonymous
>>312032
A quoll is not a possum.
>> Anonymous
op here, forgot my pic unrelated.
>> Anonymous
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nope. they look like em though. but it turns out they are closer related to the tasmanian devil
>> Anonymous
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>> Anonymous
Its a Spotted-tail Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) also known as Native Cat & Tiger Cat :>

Rats are fun pets, I had one lasting 6 years.
I also kept mine in a wire cage (easier to clean). I remember the day she died and how she made her next up.

Its always good to put things in their cage(s) that they can climb around on and gnaw into. Straw and/or shredded paper is good for them too as an insulator.
>> Anonymous
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Here's a rattery just 7 miles from Orlando: http://rattery.homestead.com/index.html
They're recommended by, and have done business with, my local rattery in Austin, Texas.

For cages check out http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/rat/ . I use the R-685 for my two rats and it's nice. Bigger is better, and even with a nice cage your rats will need free roam time to exercise and explore.

P.S. Kick your brother in the nuts for trying to feed live animals. Corn snakes are easily converted to pre-killed according to reptile expert Melissa Kaplan.
http://www.anapsid.org/prekill.html
>> Anonymous
>>312029

Congratulations on your future purchase! Rats are great.

The only thing I ask is place do not use wire floors. It's extremely uncomfortable for them to walk or sleep on, and they can get a disease of the food called bumblefoot.

A normal solid floor should be fine, and it's no more expensive!
>> Anonymous
>>312109
In his defense, he was like 14 and the snake was one that had fallen in a container at my father's warehouse and gotten stuck. The decision to keep it was kind of a whim, and we knew nothing about raising snakes. This was a long time ago, before the internet and accessing tons of information about animal raising was easy.