After eight years, this colony exists. The line is what it is: domesticated, stable, productive, healthy. Behaviors that defined wild Rattus rattus have been selected out of these animals across many generations. The genetic foundation is laid. But it can only continue if other people start running their own colonies. Otherwise the line ends when I stop.
I am not retiring tomorrow… I have no fixed timeline. But I am not interested in spending the rest of my life as the sole keeper of a species, animals or otherwise. I would rather have a few of these rats as pets, the way someone with a beloved dog has a dog, than carry the entire genetic line on my own shoulders.
That second arrangement requires other people to be doing this work. Plural. Not one successor: a small network of colony keepers in different places, each maintaining a working group of animals, exchanging information and breeding stock among themselves, surviving each other’s setbacks.
I would rather have a few of these rats as pets, the way someone with a beloved dog has a dog, than carry the entire genetic line on my own shoulders.
What I am offering
I am not selling rats and I am not running an adoption agency. To people who pass the questionnaire and the conversations that follow, what I am offering is:
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A founding group of breeding animals from this line, free of charge (transport logistics are yours to arrange)
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Direct mentorship through the first year: questions answered as they come up, troubleshooting specific to your animals, advice on selection decisions
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Continued access to the broader gene pool for outcrosses as your colony develops
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A connection to whoever else is doing this work, as that network forms
What I am asking in return
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That you keep the colony alive and healthy
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That you breed thoughtfully: keeping records, making selection decisions deliberately, not breeding indiscriminately
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That you communicate honestly with me and other keepers about what is working and what is not
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That if you eventually step back, you arrange for the colony to pass to someone competent rather than ending the line at your point in the chain
I am not asking for money. I am not asking you to follow my methodology exactly. I am asking you to take the work seriously, and to treat it as a continuation rather than a private hobby.
What “the right successor” actually means
Not everyone interested in this work will be a good fit for it. Through years of conversations with prospective breeders, the patterns of who succeeds and who does not have become clear:
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Geographic feasibility. Either reachable for transport of initial animals, or able to arrange logistics independently. Most failed prospective candidates over the years have been people I simply could not get animals to.
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Infrastructure capacity. Either an existing dedicated indoor space that can be made escape-proof for an athletic, climbing animal, or a real commitment to building one. Standard fancy-rat setups do not work for this species. That is experience, not a guess.
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Real animal husbandry background. Ideally with rodents, but at minimum with animals that demand more than a generalist’s attention: livestock, exotic species, working dogs, lab animals. People whose only animal experience is a single companion pet will struggle with the differences.
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Coachability. This is the hardest to measure in advance, and it matters more than any other. The candidates who have failed most badly have been the ones who decided their judgment was better than mine. On questions where I had years of evidence, and they had a few months of enthusiasm. I am not interested in micromanaging anyone. I am interested in working with people who recognize that there are things I know from doing this work for a long time. Things they would benefit from listening to during their first year or two.
If you read those four and feel you genuinely meet them (or are positioned to meet them with some preparation), then this conversation is potentially worth having.
Before you decide, read what it actually takes: the dedicated, climate-controlled space, the skills, the real time and financial cost, and the honest emotional side of keeping this species. That page is the detail behind the four points above.
Next steps
If you have read this and the rest of the site, and you find yourself thinking I could do this and I would want to, the next step is the breeder application further down this page. It is the questionnaire: it goes into your specific situation, your experience, and your thinking about the harder parts of the work. After that, if both of us decide there is a real fit, a phone or video call. Then, if everything looks good, the practicalities of getting you started.
I am in no hurry… I have time to find the right people, and I would rather have one good successor than ten halfhearted ones. So take however long you need with the questionnaire when it comes. Honest answers are worth more than fast ones.
A last, honest word about the kind of person this suits. As I sometimes put it: 99% of the world will think you are crazy for doing this. The other 1% will agree with them, and they will love you for it. If that reads as an invitation rather than a warning, we should talk.
If that reads as an invitation… start the questionnaire below. It asks about your situation, your experience, and why this work pulls at you. Honest answers are worth more than fast ones, and sending one commits you to nothing. If you would rather just say hello first, you can still get in touch.
And before you apply, skim the Successor’s Playbook: the short list of operating rules the work actually runs on.
Ready to see exactly how it works? I wrote the whole thing down, step by step: Start Your Own Roof Rat Colony (With Our Rats).
What keeping one of our rats looks like: every rat we place gets a pedigree and a printable Certificate of Pedigree, and breeders and owners get a private account to manage their own rats. Have a look at the Breeder & Owner Registry.