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Real people, Real rat lovers.

Created on 2005-12-30 08:05:14 (#9135881), last updated 2009-07-19

16,550 comments received

Basic Account [Gift]

2,504 Journal Entries, 42 Tags, 229 Memories, 0 Virtual Gifts, 2 Userpics

Basic Info

Name:	Real people, real rat lovers!
Website:	The Rat Info Packet
Membership:	Moderated
Posting Access:	All Members

Contact:

ratsnosposmods@gmail.com

About

Welcome to RatsNoSPOs! We are a community that serves as a gathering place for knowledgeable rat owners, as well as an educational tool for new and potential rat owners. Our goal here is to provide a place for rat-lovers to talk about their animals and share information freely, and we always welcome new members who feel the same way we do!

In an effort to weed out SPOs (Stupid Pet Owners), membership to this community is by application only. But don't worry, we don't bite... much. We just like to know a bit about the people that join. :)

We also accept people who are just wanting to learn a bit more about keeping rats as pets, or people who are looking to learn with an eye towards owning rats of their own in the future.

Below are the different applications for people interested in applying to choose from. For more information on the different types of applications, the application process, and a general "What to expect" guide please click here to go to our 'Application Process' post.

Experienced owner application:

<lj-cut text="Experienced owner application.">
Name:
Age:
Location:
Housing Situation:
Are pets allowed in your home?
Rattie Roll Call (names, ages, sexes, alterations, markings):
Do you have any other pets?
If so, do they visit one another?
How long have you had rats?
Your favorite thing about rats (yours or in particular):
Your Cage(s) (description and pictures [stock image or your own]):
Your rats favorite toys:
Do your rats have a wheel? If so, what kind?
Your rats silly quirks:
Diet ("staple" diet as well as treats [be specific and include brand names!]):
Type of bedding you use:
Who is your vet?
Are they a small animal/exotics specialist?
If not, we recommend providing them with a copy of Debbie Duccommun's Rat Care Health Book. Would you be willing to?
How long do you typically wait before contacting your vet when you're concerned?
Do you follow your vet's advice?
Do you have an emergency vet who sees small animals/exotics?
Do you plan on breeding your rats? (Note: If you're currently breeding, please fill out the breeders' application.)
If so, do you know about rat genetics?
Do your rats get free range time?
Where do they free range and how often?
Do you still actively learn about rats? 
Pictures! Post any pictures you have of your furries here.<
</lj-cut>

Breeder application:

<lj-cut text="Breeder application.">
Name:
Age:
Location:
Housing Situation:
Are pets allowed in your home?
Rattie Roll Call (names, ages, sexes, markings, which rats you breed):
Do you have any other pets?
If so, do they visit one another?
How long have you had rats?
Your favorite thing about rats (yours or in particular):
Your Cage(s) (description and pictures [stock image or your own]):
Your rats favorite toys:
Do your rats have a wheel? What kind?
Your rats silly quirks:
Diet ("staple" diet as well as treats, including special diets for kittens and mothers treats [be specific and include brand names!]):
Type of bedding you use (both regularly, and for litters):
Who is your vet?
Are they a small animal/exotics specialist?
If not, we recommend providing them with a copy of Debbie Duccommun's Rat Care Health Book. Would you be willing to?
How long do you wait before contacting your vet when you're concerned?
Do you follow your vet's advice?
Do your vets know you breed your rats?
Do you know about the costs involved with treating illnesses, and the illnesses passed on to offspring?
Do you know about rat genetics?
Do you inform your adopters about possible problems for offspring when they occur in parents?
Do you remove rats that later show genetic problems from your breeding pool?
How do you go about removing a rat from your breeding program?
What is your primary goal in breeding?
Do you breed for (list all that apply, including those not listed): disposition, temperament, markings, colors, health, other (please explain)?
Do you have a contract for adopters? Can you copy & paste it here, or link us?
Do you have a rattery website? Can you link us to it?
Where do your rats free range and how often?
Do you still actively learn about rats?
Pictures! Post any pictures you have of your furries here.
</lj-cut>

New owner application:

<lj-cut text="New rat owner application.">
Name:
Age:
Location:
Housing Situation:
Are pets allowed in your home?
Rattie Roll Call (names, ages, sexes, markings):
Do you know about the advantages of spaying and neutering?
Do you have any other pets?
If so, do they visit one another?
How long have you had rats?
Why did you decide to get rats?
Your favorite thing about rats (yours or in particular):
Cage(s) currently being used (description and pictures [stock image or your own]):
Your rats favorite toys:
Do your rats have a wheel? If so, what kind?
Do you know about the dangers of wire wheels?
Your rats silly quirks:
Diet ("staple" diet as well as treats [be specific and include brand names!]):
Type of bedding you use:
Do you know about the woes of pine & cedar?
Who is your vet?
Are they a small animal/exotics specialist?
If not, we recommend providing them with a copy of Debbie Duccommun's Rat Care Health Book. Would you be willing to?
How long do you typically wait before contacting your vet when you're concerned?
Do you follow your vet's advice?
Do you have an emergency vet who sees small animals/exotics?
Do you plan on breeding your rats?
Do your rats get free range time?
Where do they free range and how often?
Pictures! Post any pictures you have of your furries here.
</lj-cut>

Pre-ownership application:

<lj-cut text="Pre-ownership application.">
Name:
Age:
Location:
Housing Situation:
Are you allowed to have pets in your home?
Do you have any other pets?
Have you ever had rats before?
Why did you decide to get rats?
Is there a particular rat variety you favor?
Your favorite thing about rats, or the reason you want rats:
Cage(s) you plan on using (description and pictures [stock image or your own]) including travel cages/carriers:
Diet you plan on providing ("staple" diet as well as treats [be specific and include brand names!]):
Type of bedding you'll use:
Do you know about the woes of pine & cedar?
Have you begun researching your local vets? If so, have you found one?
Are they a small animal/exotics specialist?
If not, we recommend providing them with a copy of Debbie Duccommun's Rat Care Health Book. Would you be willing to?
Have you begun researching common rat illnesses and treatment, and are you aware of the costs of those treatments?
Do you plan to follow your vet's advice?
Do you plan on breeding your rats?
Do you know anything about rat genetics, or genetic defects and illness?
Where do you plan to let your rats free range (have out of cage time) and how frequently?
Do you want to learn how to give your rats the best possible lives?
Pictures! Post any pictures of your preferred variety, or just cute rat pictures you've found. (Please, NO hotlinking/direct linking. If we find out it's hotlinked, we'll delete it from the application.)
</lj-cut>

Congrats to

starsforophelia, who's photo will be displayed until April 1st.

Would you like to see a picture of your rat kids featured on our header?
Of course you would!
Every two weeks we accept photo submissions, which are then voted on by our members. Best one stays on our header for two weeks. Check here for current details.

This is outdated. Allow some time for an update. Check back soon.

Suggestion?
Or maybe just a question or concern?

Drop us a line at:
ratsnosposmods@gmail.com

Your friendly Mods are:

binitza,

icelore,

darksong17, &

nimrodjess

A list of all of our current stamped members can be found here.

Most of these rules should be unspoken, but just in case anyone was wondering, here they are in print, along with a brief clarification of each.

1. In order to become a member of this community, you must complete and submit an application within a week of joining the community. If no application is posted, you may be contacted via your personal journal by one of the mods, or be removed from the community.

2. Members who have not been accepted may not post any entries (other then their application) or make comments to others' posts.

3. We do not tolerate flaming or excessive rudeness in this community. Obviously, sharing advice is the whole point of a community, but singling a person out, or making direct derogatory comments about them is not acceptable. If something is posted that you find offensive, detrimental to an animal's welfare, or abusive in another way, contact a Mod, and we will take care of it. On average though, we ask that all members respect other peoples' opinions, and the Mods will make sure that yours are respected as well. :)

4. LiveJournal, and more specifically

ratsnospos, is not a vet's office. You should know your pet well enough to know if vet care, immediate or otherwise, is needed. Asking about care, or other member's experiences is one thing, but no one can diagnose a problem over the internet, and we would hope that it wouldn't even be expected.

5. If you are going to post pictures (PLEASE DO! And do it often too!), one 'teaser' image no wider then 400 pixels wide is fine, but please put the rest behind a LJ cut tag. It keeps everyone's friend's pages nice that way.

6. It is preferred that you keep posts rat related, but posts about your life, your other pets, or other things that may effect your ratties is fine too. Besides, we want this to be a fun community, so getting to know you through your posts is a good thing! And of course, if you want to post pics of your dog, cat, hammies, mice, frogs, pigs, ferrets, birds, herps, or anything else, go ahead! You *know* we all want to see them. :D

7. Every member of this community contributes to it as a whole, and we are very proud of it! As such, we try to keep our standards high, and ask that you please not advertise for other rat related communities here. Thank you!

Of course, rules may be modified by the Mod's discretion or as circumstances warrant.

As for the penalty should a member be found breaking any of our rules? Corporal punishment of course! No, really, the rules are very simple, just don't break them, ok?