Forum-Blog Cross Post Test!
March 12, 2011 in Uncategorized
Got to see if the plugin handles this correctly!
Make your own tube hammock for your rats!
April 13, 2010 in Guides
Our member Christiane has written a short and informative guide on how to get the most out of your old fleece blankets by turning them into washable tube hammocks for your nibblers. Our rats love them and so they come warmly recommended!
Fredrik lounging in the tube
Fredrik, my banded husky
March 30, 2010 in Rats
This is Fredrik, my banded husky
He’s one of four boy rats that I share my apartment with. They get along great, and I love them dearly. Here’s Fredrik, the biggest one of the bunch, about 550 grams and the most dominant rat in the pack. He’s patient though, and let the other rats get away with quite a lot of mischief before he has to show them who’s boss. He isn’t too found of cuddling with humans, but when he’s in the mood, he’ll come waddling over and drape himself around my neck and shoulders and lick my earlobe.
On this picture here he’s lounging on the mouspad next to my pc. Let’s just say I didn’t get much studying done that night.
Fredrik lounging on my mouse pad
Ratmate gallery up and running
March 29, 2010 in Site Updates
We have started a gallery part of our site where members will be able to upload and share pictures. Hopefully, in the future, it will contain pictures of all rat varieties out there 
Benjamin washes himself
Check it out!
Pictures of rat varieties needed!
March 26, 2010 in Help us
Dear reader, rat lover or breeder.
We’ve just started building on this site and community and there is some way to go before this place is as packed with resources as we want it to be. One immediate thing we’re gonna need are simply pictures of rats. Or rather – we need pictures that examplify the different variants of rats that are out there. We need pictures of blues, siameses, fuzzies, rex and double rexes, odd-eyes, minks – almost anything you can think of, really, even regular brown old wildtype agoutis.
If you’re a kind soul who like to think of your nibblers as the prime standards of their respective types or even if you’re selfish and just wanna put your rats out there, we would very much like your help. If you think you might like to contribute, please check out our discussion thread by clicking the link below!
Calling all rat lovers and breeders!
March 25, 2010 in Site Updates
Welcome to our new site!
Ratmate.com is just starting out, but we’re hoping that one day soon, this site will contain the ultimate tools and information to help rat owners and breeders find mates for their pets and learn more about their animals and how to make good decisions for them. We care deeply about our planet’s little nibblers and feel that in a world where these animals are so easy to buy and breed, even by accident, it is important that owners can find information about how pet stores, industry, breeding, certain mutations and so on may affect rats – for better or worse!
We also feel that the internet is missing someplace where people can get together across borders and search for potential mates for their own nibblers. We want to make a community with a breeder’s database where users can search for rats with specific traits from specific countries or regions that are eligible for mating .. or even just to browse for fun! The database part of the site is still under development, but for now users can use the forums to similar effect.
We also hope to make this the ultimate knowledge repository for guides and general knowledge about pet rats. As such, we are looking for people to help us build a community and not least help us fill the site with good data on any topic relating to rats, such as pictures or information about varieties, mutations, breeding ethics, common diseases or ailments, behaviour, food, cages – anything you can think of really. We would also like some input on what rat lovers and breeders want from such a site like this so we can tailor it to suit their needs.
Finally, it’s a site by rat lovers for rats, so show us your nibblers! Members will be able to make threads in our forums or post about their ratties or related subjects here on this frontpage blog part of the site. Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed!
Right now, we need resourceful people to make an interesting community and fill it with stuff like pictures and guides. We will also eventually need people to moderate our forums. If you’re interested in helping us get this site and community going, please visit our forums or check out our agenda!
The Rat Breeders Guide to Mendelian Genetics
March 25, 2010 in Guides
Mendelian genetics is essential knowledge to all who breed rats and can also offer valuable insights to the more regular rat lover. While often taught as an introduction into the world of general genetics, a lot of people are still confused as to how they can use it to help them in their breeding. To help out, I’ve written up a simple guide that teaches you how genes in rats interact and how to predict the outcome of your breedings using punnett squares. It will be stickied in our Breeding, Health & Genetics forum, but for those who can’t be buggered finding it on their own, here’s a link!
The Rat Breeders’ Guide to Mendelian Genetics
If you have any questions, corrections or suggestions for improvement, don’t hesitate to leave a post in the thread!
Bean Bag Benjamin
March 24, 2010 in Rats
Benjamin is our little siamese. We got him from a friend who didn’t have much time for him and, although I don’t want to hurt the previous owners feelings, I think he’s happier with us. Our friend also can’t remember when he bought Benjamin, so his exact age remains a mystery. We suspect he’s quite old, but he’s doing alright still. He’s a strange little guy, very submissive and with a pudgy body that reminds us of a softer kind of bean bag. He also wriggles his tail sometimes when we cuddle him!
Although he doesn’t like it when his fellow rats try to steal his food from him, he doesn’t mind so much when mom and dad tries it.