For more information about rats and mice in general, how to care for them properly, and showing fancy rats and mice, click on the blue rat to visit the AFRMA website.
Tarot Rats & Mice was founded in 1990 when I was asked to watch a friends pet rat for a few months. The rats name was Tarot, and through her I discovered what wonderful pets rats make.
Soon after returning Tarot to her owner I came across two Siamese rats in a pet shop. Not being able to resist I brought them home, thus Suki and Spaz became the foundation of my Siamese line. These two rats introduced me to the rat and mouse Fancy, and through reading up on them I became acquainted with the American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association. When I moved to Southern California in 1993 I was able to become more involved in activly breeding and showing both rats and mice. Since that time it has been my great pleasure to have owned and bred six generations of Best In Show Grand Champion Siamese rats as well as numerous Best In Show mice and many best pet winners.
I firmly believe that when breeding animals it is very important to concentrate on doing one thing, and doing it very well. For this reason I have consintrated on breeding Siamese rats and Brindle mice. Over the years I have added several different colors and coat types of each to my line as an added challenge. Thus my litters often produce both Blue Point and Seal Point Siamese rats in Standard and Satin coats as well as Black/Fawn, Chocolate/Red, Beige/White, and Blue/Cream Brindle mice in Standard and Satin Coats. In an attempt to bring in some characteristics my Siamese line lacked I recently outcrossed into Black Self. As a result, my litters currently contain numerous self colored babies including Blue, Russian Blue, Black, Chocolate, Silver Blue, and Dove. Though I do not concentrate on breeding Selfs, these non-Siamese offspring have surprised me by doing very well in the show ring.
When I breed my goal is always to improve on the varieties I choose to work with in each litter while maintaining excellent temperaments and producing healthy, well adjusted animals. Because I choose not to sell rats to pet stores or comercial breeders I only breed as many litters as I can place in good homes. This allows me to enjoy each litter, handle the youngsters from birth, and assure that each is well socialized and will make an excellent pet.
