So i have been breeding dwarf rats as pets for a few year’s now. Was wondering if anyone else breeds them. Here is a photo of a naked dwarf male i just produced 10/1/22 as well as 2 dwarf girls who gave birth 10/11/22.
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These are interesting. Are they a different species than the standard Norway rats?
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It’s funny as a ball python owner who breeds rats, I’ve noticed some much smaller adults at first, but I try to breed the biggest and nicest temperament wise for my snakes! My step daughter has also taken some as pets. I can see the market for dwarf rats as pets! Some people are freaked out about the size of a adult rat, but no issues with hamsters, gerbils ect. So if you had a smaller sized rat(which are usually nicer then hamsters and gerbils) I’d say you got something pretty cool! How much smaller do the oldest/largest ones get, compared to regular feeder rats? @hhpythons
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I love rats 
i use to have so many rats that i eventually sold them to pet shops 2 quickly turned into a lot in no time. The ones i kept were all loved pets.
I still can remember how bad i felt when i fed my monitor a live mouse, it was a bit traumatic for me honestly so frozen thaw is all ill ever use, plus my animals don’t get hurt.
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Here is some info on them for you
Dwarfs are NOT just small rats. You do not just get Dwarfs by breeding together two small rats & continuing to choose the smallest to breed.
Dwarf is caused by the dwarf gene which is recessive. (*a recessive gene is when a gene needs 2 copies, one from each parent to be expressed. It can be carried and not show). This causes reduced growth hormone. This means they are about 1/3 the size of standard rats. This is quite a substantial difference!
Standard females weigh around 250-450g; standard males weigh around 450-650g on average.
Both male and female dwarfs are around 80-125g fully grown. Around 100g is normal. Average litter size is 5-7
Besides weight, there are some physical differences in Dwarfs vs Standards. They have larger eyes, thinner tails, a shorter rump & smaller feet.
Dwarfs can come in any color/marking/coat/ear type variety.
It can be quite common for people to go “oh look this rat is small it must be a dwarf”, that does not make it a dwarf. It is also important to note that some breeders or people try to sell small rats as dwarf and often these smaller rats are runts and/or have health issues. They can have stunted growth, developmental issues with their organs, heart, lungs not being fully developed. And also prone to more health issues, a weaker immune system and shorter lifespan. These are NOT issues in actual dwarfs. It is very important to buy from a responsible breeder. Ask them about their lines, how long they have been breeding dwarfs, where they got their lines from, how much they know about dwarfs, who the dwarfs parents were- the dwarf gene has to come from both parents so either the parents both had to be dwarf or carry dwarf.
I offer mine as followes Males are $35 each or $50 a pair femals are $60 each or $100 a pair. I do offer discounts on breeding stock for established, establishing breeders. am In Michigan. I do offer transport at buyer’s expense. Have 2 transporters I use.
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There not a different species that i know of. As i can breed a standerd female to a dwarf male and get dwarf carriers. Its a recessive gene.
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Thanks for all the info! That’s great to know it’s a actual recessive mutation, with other differences other then just size!
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