#pros: hagrid is the best male rat i've produced ever

[theroguerowan]

nothing like a crisis at 2 am about whether i should breed Hagrid again before he’s too old or go ahead with my plans to breed to a younger, but not as good, male. 🙃

#the rogue speaks #rat breeding rambles #pros: hagrid is the best male rat i've produced ever #i strongly believe he carries blue #i know he can produce beautiful markings #he's AGOUTI my favorite color #cons: he'll be over a year and a half by the time i breed #and i've heard that older males produce less healthy offspring #i KNOW he carries hairless so that sucks #he's mink which means every baby from the litters will probably be mink and i may never get non-mink again #i know he carries siamese and not albino so no albinos in this round of litters #his health was iffy for a while and he may not be healthy enough to breed safely #he's recovered well but i don't know what caused it and it was RIGHT AFTER i bred him last time #was it related or just happened to be then? no clue #but his father Cricket ALSO suffered a health issue right after breeding so i'm sus #i know the best option is to breed to the younger male but also i LOVE hagrid so fucking much y'all #and having more babies from him would be amazing #and there are a lot of practical benefits too #but i'm afraid the cons outweigh the pros because of the health risk to him and his potential offspring #it's anecdotal but i know a breeder who breeds her males really old and she has small unhealthy litters #i prefer to breed my males right around a year because i think that's their prime #old enough that any temperament issues will be apparent and young enough that they're healthy