Welcome to the website of Shunamite rats. I am Alison Campbell and I have a small rattery in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the North East of England. We currently (March 2008) have a population of 29, which is as low as it has been here for some time. My aim is to gradually reduce this total further as I would like to give each individual rat more one on one time.

I chose the prefix Shunamite back in 2001 to identify rats that have been bred here. Many people have asked "Why Shunamite?" The Shunamites were an ancient people group who are mentioned in a Hebrew tale about breathing new life into old dreams. I delight in the concept, and I find the word itself graceful and pleasing. In August 2004 we qualified to register as an NFRS stud due to the show success of Shunamite Tabi on Top.

News update - rescue litters on Tyneside looking for homes

Spring 2008 update
Over recent months I have taken a break from breeding and re-evaluated my short and long term goals. I have never been particularly motivated by winning prizes at shows and have been considering in detail the many other aspects of our rats here. The issue of longevity is of particular interest to me, as I would be delighted to find that it was possible to extend the average lifespan of rats to be closer to 3 years than to 2. I have no idea as to whether this is possible, but if it is, I would like to try. I will of course continue to consider temperament, health and type in breeding decisions.

My tabi line is pleasing in many respects and the rats consistently show a wonderful temperament and intelligence. A recent comment from one owner was "they are such companions and are totally obsessed with human attention and affection. The perfect rats in my opinion. I have never come come across rats with a more desirable temperament." Despite advances in robustness, health and longevity (and of course some lovely, typey ratties along the way) we do still have a problem with mammary tumours in the line, probably related to the other issue of their overall size and propensity to put on weight even on quite restricted diet. In view of this we have determined to do some careful outcrossing to well chosen, unrelated lines, with the hope of improving the line further.

Most of the rats I breed are agouti or black (some rex and some dumbo). Occasionally we have topaz, buffs and cinnamons available too.

My daughter, Joanne, has been trying to establish her own line of rats which she has identified with the prefix Paragon. She has been particularly interested in breeding pink eyed whites. However, as she leaves home for university in the autumn I have now taken over her 'line' and will be breeding it over the next 2-3 years to improve current areas of weakness. After this time it is likely that I will hand it on to someone else.

All of our rats are extremely precious to us. If you are interested in further details of our philosophies and practice please visit our breeding ethics page.

To contact me at Shunamite rats email Alison.