Welcome to The Rattery
We’ve been avid keepers and enthusiasts of fancy rats since 2011, having kept them on and off over the years before deciding to take our passion further.
In October 2019, we welcomed our first breeding rats from close friends and fellow breeders, Silver’s Rattery and Pipistrelle Stud. As our lines developed, we chose to import rats from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Hungary in 2020 and again in 2022, introducing some rarer varieties to the UK and later outcrossing them into our own lines.
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Although Tea Time Rattery was founded with the intention of exhibiting, we experienced a few personal setbacks that delayed our show debut. We became active on the sh ow scene from mid-2023 and are proud members of both the LSCMRC and NFRS. While we’re not a registered rattery yet, we hold a family membership and attend shows whenever we can.
Our rats have achieved success in both variety and pet classes in the UK, as well as variety classes in the Netherlands — something we’re very proud of!
Fancy rats come in a beautiful array of colours and coat types, many of which can be explored through The Rat Variety Guide — a public resource created and maintained by our good friend over at Igloo Rats, powered by contributions from the worldwide rat community.
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Here at Tea Time, we work with a small selection of both common and less common varieties (by UK standards). Over time, our rats have even been exported to new homes across Europe — including Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Hungary.
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We only ever breed rats that we truly love — our projects are guided by our own goals and the pursuit of excellence in exhibition, not by public demand.
As show breeders, we aim to follow the NFRS standards as closely as possible. Standards and recognised varieties can be found here
Some of the varieties we work with, such as Velveteen and Harley, are not currently standardised and therefore cannot be shown, but we continue to develop them carefully for the future.
Our Varieties.
We aim to see consistency in our litters where possible. This means we generally expect to see the same variety in all of our kits and in every litter.
However, this isn't always the case. Sometimes there are varieties that require one copy of a gene, sometimes giving multiple varieties in one litter.
Recessive genes don't like to appear when you need them, and love to appear when you don't need them.
We are generally not fans of "rainbow" litters and like to keep track of the genetics behind our lines in an attempt to predict litter outcomes.
Below is a list of the standardised varieties we work with. These are recognised by the NFRS and are able to be shown in variety classes.
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Black
Genotype: (aa)
"To be a deep solid black, devoid of dinginess and white hairs or patches. Base fur to be black. Foot colour to match top. Eyes black."
Originally started by the husband half of the rattery and continues to be his main project. Simply aiming to breed the blackest black self without silvering or rusting.
This line is exclusively top eared and they are directly related to our Black Hooded.
Agouti
Genotype: (A*)
"To be a rich ruddy brown, evenly ticked with black guard hairs. Base fur dark grey to black. Belly fur to be silver grey. Ears and tail to be covered with black hairs. Foot colour brownish grey. Eyes black."
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Predominantly aiming for top eared but our line does carry dumbo.
Cinnamon
Genotype: (A*-mm)
"To be a warm russet brown, evenly ticked with light chocolate guard hairs. Base fur mid-grey. Belly fur as Agouti but of a lighter shade. Ears and tail covered with light chocolate hairs. Foot colour light brownish grey. Eyes black."
Both Dumbo and top eared, occasionally we see Agouti and Mink in the from this line.
Marten
Genotype: (a/a-cm/*)
"Body Colour to be similar in shade to an HB lead pencil, some fading to be expected in an adult. Some light heathering to be expected. Fur on the face to be lighter on the whisker bed, over the eyes and behind the ears. Belly colour a slightly paler shade of grey than the top. Foot colour to match top. Eyes pink or black.
Faults: rusty patches, white toes or patches, darker points on the nose, tail root or feet."​
Foundations of this line are from Sarah Cudbill of Pipistrelle Stud.
We also work with some varieties who currently do not have a standard and cannot be shown in the variety section.
We do, however, believe it's important to get the rats who belong to these projects out to shows to raise awareness about these lovely varieties.
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Some of these varieties can be prone to certain health issues when bred irresponsibly. They have been kept and bred for some time, yet only a few healthy lines exist. This is simply due to maximising profits without care for the animal's welfare.
We have taken the time to import rats from lines that are proven not to suffer from the health issues associated to them.
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Velveteen
Genotype: (Cucu)
We started working with Velveteen in 2020 with some different foundations, originating from Karni Mata in Germany. We discontinued this line in 2022 in favour of working with foundations from a different rattery.
Velveteen works in the same way as Rex. It requires one copy of the gene to express, it can be doubled (two copies) but instead of a threadbare, hairless-looking rat, it become more plush and dense.
It cannot be carried (is not a recessive) instead is a semi-dominant. Meaning you only need one parent to be Velveteen in order for their kits to also be velveteen.
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We are currently writing an article about this variety, check back soon!
There are no known health issues associated with Velveteen.
Foundations of this line are from Rattery Strikon Gonafluf Kru in Belgium.
Marble
Genotype: (Mama)
Marble is currently being worked with by a handful of breeders in the UK.
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Tooth issues are the most commonly seen issue in Marble rats, this can be from malocclusion to weakened enamel resulting in broken teeth, tooth abscesses, and decay.
Thankfully, due to some responsible breeders working with this variety, we are now seeing lines with no dental issues.
We imported our first Marble in April 2022 and have had no issues to report. We heavily monitor our Marbles in their pet homes for any late onset dental issues.
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We are currently writing an article about this variety, check back soon!
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Foundations of this line are from Rattery Strikon Gonafluf Kru.
Harley
Genotype: (ll)
Harley is somewhat of a controversial variety in the UK.
It is a simple recessive, but one that when bred unscrupulously, can result in complete catastrophe.
A Harley rat should exhibit longer than usual hair and a complete lack of undercoat.
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Health issues commonly seen in Harley rats is an inability to process animal derived protein which then leads to an autoimmune response causing lesions to the skin. This can lead to infection and an overall painful existence for the rat.
It can be combated, in some cases, by feeding a diet strictly void of animal products.
Another issue seen is an inability to lactate, which is somewhat reminiscent of the Angora gene in ferrets (also a longhair gene).
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We have carefully selected a line that has proven to be void of such complications and have been working with Harley and Harley carriers since April 2022.
With this particular project, we select for the overall physical health of the rats above all else and we generally hold back every visual Harley to monitor for any long term problems.
​Foundations of this line are from Rattery Strikon Gonafluf Kru in Belgium.
