Rats

Breeding Schedule:

• TLDR Rodentry generally breeds 2-3 litters every 2 months, or so.

• We do not breed to meet market demand, but rather based on our breeding goals, projects, and our capacity to provide proper care.

Sex Availability:

• Female rats are more popular than males, resulting in higher demand

• We maintain a larger number of female rats compared to males, which also leads to fewer females being available

Typical wait times (for waitlist folks):

• • Males: Approximately 4-8 weeks.

  • Females: Approximately 6-12 weeks.

  • Dwarf rats: Approximately 12-16 weeks, very limited availability 

• Generally, after reservations are fulfilled, we are more likely to have males available than females.

• If you choose not to join our waitlist, it is hard to predict availability. We generally do not have pups available after our waitlist is fulfilled, but that is dependent on how many pups we get in each litter and how many litters we have. 

Variety, Color, etc Availability:

• Although we do have certain varieties that we work with, our first priority is temperament and health, and looks come last.

• We generally have more dumbo rats than top-eared rats, but we do have top ear.

• We will do our best to fulfill specific requests, but cannot guarantee them, as the temperament and health of our rats will always be our primary consideration.

Mice

Note: We are taking a break from breeding mice until June/July for a number of reasons, time constraints due to school + work being one. We are maintaining a mouse waitlist FREE OF CHARGE since it is our choice to take this break, and we are happy to let folks know when we start breeding mice again. 

A Note on Adoption Fees:

• Top Left Dream Rodentry is a hobby breeder; this is not a business, and we do not generate profit.

• We strive to keep adoption fees reasonable while maintaining ethical breeding practices. Any raise in fees is due to increased expense in caring for the animals. 

• Adoption fees cover essential care items, including high-quality food, bedding, enrichment, medical care, pathogen testing, and supplies (water bottles, dishes, cages).

• Fees are also meant to account for indirect expenses (water, electricity, website maintenance, cleaning supplies, gas to meet adopters and pickup supplies), but certainly do not cover the significant time investment in animal care and adopter interaction. 

Rats:

*Currently, all rats are sold on a NO BREEDING contract* 

• • Pups (non-dwarf): $40 each (minimum 2)

  • Pups (dwarf): $60 each (minimum 2)

  • Young adults (holdbacks): $30 (standard), $45 (dwarf) (minimum 2)

  • Adults and rescues: $25 (standard), $40 (dwarf) (minimum 2)

Mice:

*Pet homes sign a NO BREEDING contract.* 

• • Pups: $20 each (minimum 2)

  • Adults and rescues: $10 each (minimum 2)

Application (Step 1):

• An approved adoption application is required for all adopters

• Within 3-7 days of submission, you will receive an email from TLDR regarding approval

• For mice, if you are interested in breeding, please reach out to me for the breeder application.

Reservations (Step 2) - Waitlist:

• Reservations are held when rats are 5-7 weeks old

• Approved applicants who are on our waitlist, will be contacted with a link to photos of available animals

• Within 24 hours of notification, adopters must:

  • Fill out and submit our Adoption Contract & Reservation form

  • Submit your cage photo via the above form, or email it to tldrodentry@gmail.com

  • Pay the reservation deposit (50% of the adoption fee)

Reservations (Step 2) - Non-Waitlist:

• Approved applicants who are not on our waitlist, can reserve pups by filling out our Adoption Contract & Reservation form when individual, available pups are posted on our website (after reservations have been fulfilled)

• Rats are first come, first serve once posted on our website

• We do not send out individual emails to folks who aren't on our waitlist, but we will update social media when we have new pups posted on our website

• Please have backup pups selected, if available, in case your first choices have already been reserved

Pickup (Step 3):

• Once your reservation has been confirmed, we will send you a calendar link with available pickup dates

• The remainder of your balance (Adoption fee + Supplies Purchased - Deposit) is due upon pickup

• Please review out Pickup, Transport & Cancellation Policies below for more information

Waitlist

• For a $10 non-refundable fee (payable via Venmo or CashApp), you can join our waitlist. This fee is separate from the adoption fee.

  • Currently, we do not charge a fee for our mouse waitlist as it is generally smaller and more manageable

• To join the waitlist, you must submit an Adoption Application and follow the instructions for joining the waitlist

• Waitlisted applicants are notified via email when reservations are available and have priority in reserving available pups before we post availability on our website and social media

• The waitlist fee covers the time and effort involved in maintaining the waitlist

• Joining the waitlist does not guarantee adoption approval. You must still meet our adoption criteria (appropriate housing, vet care, food, etc.).

Reservations

Rats:

• Reservations last for one week after the scheduled go-home date

• If pickup is delayed beyond one week, a non-refundable board fee of $10 per rat per week applies for up to 2 weeks. After this time, the reserved rats will be available for other adopters. 

• Photos of available rats will be sent to the reservation list, in the order the reservation was made

• We will announce photo releases on social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) to give adopters time to prepare

• Specific requests for variety, eye color, etc., must be made on the Adoption Application, prior to photos being sent out

• Each photo will have the pup's Name_coat-type_color_markings_ear-type as the title for easy identification

• The reservation deposit is put towards the adoption fee, but it is non-refundable, except if the animal becomes unavailable due to illness, unforeseen circumstances, or TLDR's error.

• We reserve the right to deny adoption if the cage setup is unsuitable, but we are happy to work with willing parties to fix issues with caging all the way up until the adoption date

Mice:

• Reservations are only accepted for animals listed as "AVAILABLE" on our website, as availability is less certain before 6-12 weeks old.

• Reservations last for two weeks after the scheduled go-home date.

• If pickup is delayed beyond two weeks, a non-refundable board fee of $5 per mouse per week applies.

If you are interested in a specific mouse or rat variety that we breed, but do not currently have, please submit an Adoption Application and request to be placed on the waitlist.

Location:
We’re located in Portland, OR about 15 minutes from the airport.

Pickup

We meet all adopters in front of the Petco at 6655 NE Glisan St. Portland, OR 97213.
We ask that adopters meet us at our car as trying to carry animals + supplies all over the parking lot to different folks takes a substantial amount of time. Generally, we'll be right in front of the Petco unless there is no parking available, in which case we try to park in the parking spaces to the right of the Petco facing Glisan, we will communicate where we are regardless of location. Look for a White 2021 Subaru Crosstrek with a  dog + hiker sticker on the back

Shipping:
We don’t offer shipping of live animals. We are happy to ship any of our products from our Food and Supplies page, but shipping must be covered by the purchaser.

Transport Services:
We do not currently work with transport services as we do not have the time to coordinate pickups, or the flexibility to meet at whatever time the transporter arrives.

Rescheduling:

You can reschedule pickup with at least 24 hours notice once per adoption without penalty. Any subsequent reschedules require a $10 reschedule fee up to two additional times. Either way, a new pickup appointment must be made within a week. If no new appointment is scheduled, the reservation will be canceled, and the animals will be made available for others with no refund of deposit. 

Late Pickup Policy 

Please be on time for your scheduled pickup! If you anticipate being late, let us know as soon as possible. Without at least 24 hours’ notice, a $10 reschedule fee will apply (as mentioned above). We schedule pickups in 15-minute windows, so being more than 10 minutes late will likely require rescheduling. If we can still accommodate your pickup, a $10 fee will apply for any adopters more than 10 minutes late. Our late policy is strict because our time is valuable. Being late affects other adopters and disrupts our schedule, and as we balance managing our rodentry with full-time jobs, we can’t afford to wait around for late arrivals. 

Cancellation Policy:

Waitlist fees and deposits are non-refundable. However, if you provide sufficient notice of cancellation, we will allow your deposit to be applied to the next available group of animals—this can be done once. We do not hold deposits indefinitely for "future" adoptions. If you're on the waitlist, you’re allowed one cancellation without penalty, but you’ll be moved to the bottom of the list. If there are multiple cancellations or no further interest, we may remove you from the waitlist to make space for serious adopters. 

What Do I Need for Pickup?

• FOR WINTER PICKUPS - A blanket, or towel to cover up the carrier for going between cars and into your house. Mice and rats can easily get sick from cold weather. If you do not cover their carrier we cannot uphold our health guarantee. 

• A SECURE carrier, no cardboard boxes, no cloth carriers, no carriers with holes larger than 1/2 inch as they will chew, or squeeze through these 

  • If you do not provide an appropriate carrier we will provide one for you ($20 for rats, $10 for mice)

  • For mice, wire, or mesh must have 1/4 inch, or less spacing

  • For rats, wire, or mesh must have 1/2 inch, or less spacing

  • It's best if the carrier is snug, but large enough for the animals to turn around 

  • To reduce stress, provide a hide in the enclosure (especially for mice), clutter up the enclosure with packing paper, cardboard, toilet paper rolls, toilet paper, etc

  • Either use bedding, or paper towels, something soft in the bottom of the carrier 

  • Depending on how far of a drive you have, a water bottle may be a good idea

• Method of payment accepted - Cash, Venmo, CashApp

Carrier Prices

Small carrier - 2-5 mouse does, or 1 mouse buck - $10

Large carrier - 5+ mouse does, 3 rats - $20

XL carrier - 4+ rats - $30

4 oz Travel Water Bottle - $5

Seattle Delivery:

We make infrequent trips to Seattle, often only once per year and not necessarily scheduled far ahead of time. It may be 6+ months in-between trips, so unless there is no other option, this generally isn't the best option for most adopters. If that is your only option, we've outline how the trip works below. 

• You must have an approved adoption application and be on our waitlist to qualify for our Seattle Delivery

• Before each trip, we send an email to interested adopters with our current availability

• Adopters must follow the normal reservation process to reserve their animals

• Payment in full for the animal + carrier(s) + any other supplies+ delivery fee must be made within 48 hours of the trip

• Meetups are held at the QFC at 2707 Rainier Ave S, and there is a $20 delivery fee per adopter at this location (if we get enough adopters, we will decrease the fee). 

• If you are along our route to Seattle, we may be able to arrange a drop off at a public location for an additional $1.50 per mile off route. 

• Adopters must purchase the appropriate size and number of carriers for the animals that you wish to have transported to Seattle

Carrier Prices

Small carrier - 2-5 mouse does, or 1 mouse buck - $10

Large carrier - 5+ mouse does, 3 rats - $20

XL carrier - 4+ rats - $30

4 oz Travel Water Bottle - $5

Do you do pathogen testing?
We conduct annual pathogen testing on our mice and rats for a variety of pathogens, including Rat Bite Fever, Hantavirus, and Sendai virus, among others, through a certified laboratory. However, we want to emphasize that it is not possible to guarantee that our animals are completely free of pathogens, particularly in the case of Rat Bite Fever (generally Streptobacillus moniliformis in North America), negative tests only confirm that the rats are not shedding the bacteria. Even with negative test results, there is always a potential for undetected zoonotic or other diseases. Adopters should take appropriate precautions and practice proper hygiene when handling and interacting with animals and are encouraged to do their own testing if they have any concerns.

What if I don't join the waitlist?
If you choose not to join the waitlist, you may have to wait an extended period of time to adopt rats from TLDR. This is highly dependent on how long our reservation list is and how many pups we have available along with available adults, which do come up from time to time. Folks who have an approved adoption application, but are not on the waitlist, can reserve rats when individual rats are posted as available on our Available Rats page. For many litters, we will not have any availability after our reservation list is fulfilled. We do not send out an email to folks who are not on our waitlist, so you'll need to keep an eye on the page, or on our social media accounts for availability. If you are not on the waitlist, please do not reach out asking about availability as we will post rats as the become available and due to time constraints, cannot respond to emails regarding availability. 

What if I've already adopted from TLDR?
If you’ve previously adopted and wish to adopt again, you’ll need to submit a new application. If you adopted from us in the last year, you are welcome to write "no change" in any sections that haven't changed since your previous adoption. The new application determines your current priority. 

What if I'm not ready to adopt yet?
You can still join the waitlist and hold your place until you’re ready. Just let us know when you’re ready to adopt.

How far in advance can I apply?
Please don’t submit applications more than 6 months in advance unless you are interested in a Seattle trip. 

What forms of payment do you accept? 

For the waitlist fee and deposit we accept CashApp and Venmo. Upon pickup, we accept CashApp, Venmo, or cash. We do not currently accept PayPal as their policies do not allow the sales of live animals and they will terminate any account that violates their policies.

Do you ever come to Seattle?
On rare occasion we make trips to Seattle, often only once per year and not necessarily scheduled ahead of time. It may be 6+ months in-between trips, so unless there is no other option, this generally isn't the best option for most adopters. If that is your only option, we've outline how the trip works in our Seattle Trip section below.  

Can I adopt a single rat or mouse?

• Rats: Rats must be adopted in pairs or more, regardless of sex, even if you already have other rats. This ensures the best outcomes for everyone. On rare occasions, we may have a single adult or pup available, but we prioritize adopting out in pairs.

• Mice: Female mice must be adopted in pairs or more. Male mice, however, must be housed alone and can be adopted individually.

Can I visit Top Left Dream Rodentry?

Due to the biosecurity risk and for our own safety, we operate a closed rodentry and don’t allow in-person visits. We’re happy to provide photos of our facility, or information about how we keep our animals, within reason. Our Facilities page is under construction, but you can visit out About Us page for more information about how we keep our animals along with our Rat Care page for photos of some of our cage setups. 

Can I pick out animals at pickup, or do a "Meet and Greet"? 

We only transport animals that are being adopted that day. We don’t bring extra animals for meet and greets due to the significant biosecurity risk. Any animal that leaves our rodentry must be quarantined for 4 weeks and can't be adopted out during that period of time.

Why are dwarf rats more expensive?

Dwarf rats are priced higher due to the unique challenges in breeding them. Dwarfism is a recessive trait, requiring specific pairings to produce the healthiest dwarf pups i.e. we generally don't do dwarf to dwarf pairings, so we never have 100% dwarf litters. We also typically have fewer dwarf litters annually than standard-sized ones. Additionally, dwarf rats need a bit more specialized care and knowledge, especially when housed with standard-sized rats. While they tend to live longer and are less prone to tumors, they can be predisposed to other health issues such as adrenal tumors and obesity, which have to be selected against over time. These factors, combined with the careful breeding of our healthy and well-tempered dwarf line, contribute to their higher cost.  

Do you adopt rats out to Barn Hunt homes?

On a case-by-case basis. Please inquire about our "Dog Sport" application. Please keep in mind that all of our animals must be adopted as pets first and foremost. 

Can I get more photos of your available rats, or rats I've reserved? 

Given the large number of adopters that we engage with on a regular basis, we cannot provide additional photos to each adopter or interested party. We do our best to post candid videos and photos of current litters on social media along with providing at least 4, well-lit, photos of each pup, photos of parents and group photos. Reserved pups can be viewed on our Past Litters page, available pups can be viewed on our Available Rats or Available Mice pages. Example of our rats and mice can be found on Our Lines page along with throughout our website (all photos on this site are of past, or current animals that we've bred). Please note that, particularly with rexoid types and hairless pups, coat textures, length and color can change dramatically from week to week and even day to day as they molt. 

What do you feed your rats?
Our Rat Care Page goes over food, bedding, etc, but our rats eat a base diet of Mazuri 6F along with our nutritionally balanced, homemade grain and seed diet. They are provided with unlimited Mazuri 6F via a food hopper and are given the homemade diet throughout the week scattered throughout their enclosures. 

What do you feed your mice?

Our mice primarily eat Mazuri 6F, which they have access to at all times. They also receive a different version of our homemade diet, nutritionally balanced for mice, a few times per week scattered throughout their enclosures. 

Do you have any rats available for adoption?

Please review our Adoption Process and Waitlist & Reservation sections for details. Most rat pups are reserved before they are listed on our website. To stay informed about availability, we recommend submitting an Adoption Application and joining our waitlist.

Once reservations are fulfilled, any remaining rats will be listed on our Available Rats page. Due to the time-intensive nature of managing reservations, we may not respond to individual inquiries about availability.

Why are all of your rats on a "No Breeding" contract? 

1. Line Stability: My current lines are less than 3 years old and are still under development. I do not yet consider them stable enough to confidently adopt out to other breeders.

2. Mentorship: Breeding rats requires significant knowledge and support. I am unable to mentor new breeders at this time, and I believe it would be unethical to adopt out to unestablished breeders without ensuring they have proper guidance.

3. Responsibility: Breeding is complex, costly, and time-intensive—it’s far more than “just putting two rats together.” I will never adopt out rats solely for the purpose of producing litters.

4. Dedication: I have poured immense effort, care, and passion into developing my lines and hold their future to the highest standards. In the past, I have only adopted out to breeders with whom I already have a trusted relationship. This ensures that my animals are not placed in unethical breeding situations and that their breeding practices align with my own values.

Are your rats litter box trained? 

Generally, rats are never litter trained the way that other animals, such as cats, can be. We offer our rats a litter box but make no guarantees about how litter trained they may, or may not be. You can find more on litter training on our Rat Care page.