
Shipping
season due to comfortable weather conditions is April - October. I need 4
months notice in advance to plan a shipment.
My Preferences on whom I
ship to: I love shipping and it's
something I enjoy doing for the benefit of the rat, however, I prefer only to
ship to established breeders, no exceptions. Breeders at times need my help because they
need new blood and or do not have certain types of rats in their state, so they
come to me. This allows me to truly help the animal become better. Shipments
take months to plan and execute and I would prefer the rats go to a home where
they can be used to better the breed. This also allows pet owners to obtain
good quality rats from breeders in their states, once they have them. If you
are a pet owner wanting rats you are very welcome to come to my rattery for
your ratty needs, I would be happy to help you in that way since I do not ship
to non breeders. My facility is not large enough to accommodate shipping to
everyone who asks. For the most part I only do 2 to 3 litters a month and I try
to have wait lists filled in advance, I can only ship to a select few and I
choose to limit that to breeders only. All breeders I ship to will get
references checked by me and then I will let you know if you qualify for a
shipment from my rattery. All breeders must be verifiable by other respectable,
known breeders. All breeders I ship to are required to have a website so I can
track my lines.
Reserving a rat: If you see future babies from one of my planned
litters please let me know, I do require 4 months advance notice on all
shipments, no exceptions. I cannot hurry up and pack up my next available
litter and ship it to you, these things take time and patience and I appreciate
your thoughtfulness with that. If you are interested in one or more of the
future planned litters please e-mail me and tell me what you are looking for. I
will NEVER ship just one or two rats, the time and effort in putting together a
shipment is NOT worth it.
Shipping: This is only done legally through airlines. It can be
very expensive to do! If you would like rats or shipped you will need to
contact me about it. All the shipping costs (transportation, shipping
crate and airport fees) will have to be paid by you as well as the cost of
health checks (Continental does not require health checks but if you want
that done you can pay for it). I do not charge breeders for the animals
themselves. Shipping animals is a very lengthy and time consuming process. This
is because of the amount of time it takes to get shipping arrangements
made. I will require a $50 deposit for shipping plans; this will cover the
shipping crate and my gas. This deposit will not be returned if you change your
mind on getting the animals. This is because the cost and planning is a very
long and intensive costly process. If I am unable to ship the animals at
my own fault the deposit will be returned. Shipping will be done from
the Denver International Air Port (DIA), and I will only ship
during safe weather conditions. Continental does ship via cargo and the
environment for the rats is climate controlled, but only on the plane and in
the cargo building. Not on the tarmac. So we have to ship during comfortable
outside temperatures.
Payment: I accept checks, and money orders. I only accept
checks and money orders if they are cleared before the animal (s) is
placed with you and or shipped to you. Please ask for our mailing address
if you are planning on paying by check. If you have questions or need our
mailing address let me know.
Contract: All of my rats will go with either my pet only
contract or my breeder's contract (depending on what you and I have agreed on).
If you are getting your rats shipped I will not charge for a breeder's
contract fee, I just ask that you print and sign my
contract and send it to me before I ship the rats to
you. This will insure that my animals are handled the proper way.
Rat age and
requirements: I will only ship a rat at
6-7 weeks of age for the babies and I will ship adults too. Rats younger than
that do not stand a chance of surviving the trip. However, due to
situations outside my control, I cannot guarantee the animal's health condition
when they arrive at their final destination. I request that the buyer contacts
me via phone or email about the condition of the animals as soon as they get
home. This is for my peace of mind, as each animal is special and has been
raised with love in my home. I do worry about all the rats that leave my
house. It's the mother in me.
Pedigrees: I will give you a pedigree for all of the
rats you requested. I can get you a rough copy before you agree to
anything and I will send you the final copies with in 2 weeks after the
shipping date. I will never send rats to you without pedigrees. All of my rats
have pedigrees and it is only right that you get them from me. I do have them
posted to my site. Also all of my rats are registered through NARR so you can
get even longer pedigrees for your records on the NARR site.
Costs: I ship Via Continental Air Lines. The cost of the
flight (as per Continental) in 2009 is $149 + tax and airline fees equaling
$161.00. However Continental allows only 9 lbs of weight for that price.
Rats are shipped around 6-7 weeks-old, up to 8-9 youngsters fit in one box
under 9 lbs. I will NOT hold rats for you until you can be ready to ship. The age of the rats must be as mentioned previously, that is your only option for standard sized rats. However dwarf rats will ship well at an older age. E-mail me for an estimate on larger shipments of 9 lbs or more.
Also I may have to adjust pricing if the airlines adjust theirs at any time.
But I will let you know ahead of time should that be an issue. I do require
that you send the entire shipping amount and total for the animals before
I ship as I need it to put them on the plane. And I will e-mail you with
confirmation that I got your money and again when the check clears. At that
time I will work with you on a shipping date and I will get the flight
arranged.
After I ship: I do require that you call me as soon as you get them
home! And I want to be updated on their health while in quarantine. I would
also like to be updated through out the life of the animal (s). I like to keep
in contact with my adopter's, whether in state or out of state.
Please Remember:
1) I would be happy to help!
2) I would like to make sure your
lines are
healthy enough to be bred to mine so that you can help mine as well.
3) Thank you for your patience as
shipments
take lots of time!
4) Thanks for your interest in my rattery!