Over the years since the concept of Shunamite was conceived, I am proud that Shunamite has gradually become synonymous with excellence of temperament. First and foremost we breed wonderful pets. It is my firm belief that everyone who wants to own rats, and is willing to provide an excellent home for them, has the right to be offered rats that are going to be a total pleasure to own. That is our aim. And because of this we will never compromise on temperament. We don't choose rats with a 'nice' temperament to breed from, but prefer to use those who are exceptional in their gentleness, eagerness and willingness to relate to humans. They need to be pleasant to other rats too.
On the assumption that temperament is established we are always working to improve the health of our lines. Health and longevity are not so easy to determine and require patience and perseverance to improve. We are careful to follow up our kittens throughout their lives, and ascertain health problems that may occur, and the cause of death when that time eventually comes. As our own lines become established we can use this information to work towards improving the health and longevity of the rats that we breed.
We are working to improve the physical qualities of the rats that we breed, but each one is precious to us and we would never reduce litter size (cull) to achieve this. Kittens (like all our rats) receive excellent veterinary care should they require it and would be humanely euthanized by a vet if this was ever necessary (happily it hasn't happened yet). All our adults live out their full lifespan, and are helped to extend this with medical/surgical care wherever possible.
All of our rats live with us in our home, in large, spacious cages. They are kept on Ecopetbed, and fed the Shunamite diet. All of them are handled by myself and my children, and get exercise time outside of their cage. Our kittens are handled daily from birth, and fully socialised with both adults and children.
For further details of how we make our breeding choices see our articles and info section.
