I first became interested in fancy rats in 2004 after hearing stories about my friend's pair of does - I did a bit of googling and ended up discovering Fancy Rats; after a lot of reading and staring at pictures I was infatuated with these beautiful, intelligent animals and started making plans to give a home to a pair of bucks.
My first boys, Kasper and Cushty, came to me in 2005 as a pair of tiny siamese kittens, and they taught me about all the fundamentals of owning rats (such as how to properly rat-proof a room - after 2 attempts!) A few months later for health reasons I decided to study for my GCSEs from home - this afforded me a lot more time to spend with my rats and I decided this time to take on some rescues. Since then my mum and I have owned many wonderful rescues and breeder rats. You will eventually be able to read more about all of these rats on the Rats pages.
I am an NFRS member and can often be found at the more local shows with some of my rats. Those who attend shows with us love meeting new people - as do we - and rat shows are a wonderful place to get to know other rat lovers and their furry friends!
Comis roughly translated from Latin means: kind; courteous; friendly.
I hope and intend for these qualities to be present in the rats I breed, thus the name was chosen. Comis is an official stud name.
Our original plans were for cinnamon dumbos and we will now be incorporating russian blue to try to produce dove agoutis. Our primary goals are always to produce pet rats with good health and temperament though we think showing is a fun bonus and a valuable way of learning more about our rats and how to keep them in the best condition. Sometimes we have the luxury of being able to select for good type and/or colour, but these are secondary factors compared to sound health and temperament.
All potential owners will be asked to fill out an application form; this isn't a test but is there for me to make sure my babies go to the best homes possible, and is a good way of getting to know a bit about those wanting kittens.
To ensure that my lines can be improved I will send out update requests to owners periodically - this, to me, is a fundamental part of breeding responsibly and I would ask all those who would like rats from me to co-operate with this. If you have no intention of staying in contact throughout the lives of the rats please do not ask me for kittens.
All Comis kittens will leave here with a pedigree, contract and sample of food. I would prefer that new owners came to collect their babies from here if they haven't visited before, but in some cases arrangements may be made to pick up from shows.
Updates aside from those which I request are most welcome! If for some reason the rats can no longer be kept or looked after they must be returned to me; if new owners experience any problems I'm only a phonecall away.
My rats are housed in a variety of small animal cages and aviaries, all of which give them adequate floor and climbing space. All cages (with the exception of nursery cages or tanks) are furnished with hammocks, shelves, igloos, ropes, tubes and other things to keep the rats active and entertained.
In my opinion tanks are unsuitable for rats as they lack ventilation (causing ammonia build-up which can irritate the respiratory tract) and adequate climbing oppurtunities.
My favourite cages so far are the Ferplast aviaries and Chinchilla range, all of which come with slide-out trays for ease of cleaning and large doors which provide excellent access. We also love the Freddy and Tom cages for smaller groups.
I favour ecopetbed cardboard squares as substrate in my cages, usually with added shredded paper/kitchen towel, safebed bedding in igloos and Bob Martins paper cat litter in litter trays. I am satisfied that all of these materials are safe for my ratties; other safe alternatives are hemp, megazorb (although this can be dusty), newspaper (which may need changing more frequently) and aspen. I have never used woodshavings or sawdust for my rats as the phenols released can potentially cause internal damage. I also prefer bedding to be as dust-free as possible since rats' respiratory systems are so sensitive.
Heavily pregnant and nursing does are housed in Ruffy cages - these have only one level, meaning no injuries can be caused to either mum or babies when climbing.
When the male kittens are split from the females at around 4-5 weeks they are often moved into a slightly bigger cage with more toys and furnishings so they can learn how to be "real" rats.
My rats are not confined to their cages 24/7, no matter how big; kittens are handled from birth and all of my rats get regular freerange and cuddle time.
Pictures of cage setups coming soon!
My rats' main mix is based on the Shunamite Diet devised by Alison Campbell - this includes a base of Alpha Herbal Deluxe rabbit food with either Burns or James Wellbeloved dog kibble, pasta, various cereals and seeds as well as a sprinkling of garlic powder to aid immunity and seaweed powder. It's fairly cheap and easy to make up with most ingredients available in supermarkets and the rats certainly seem to love the variety!
Fresh water is always available and as well as their staple mix every cage receives a portion of fresh fruit or veg daily, often curly kale which is full of nutrients and apparently great fun to throw around the cage. On occasion they are also treated to boiled or scrambled egg, cooked pasta, chicken bones and various other goodies.
Adult bucks are given a "skinny" version of the same diet as they can be prone to getting rather fat - they get the regular mix and plain Alpha Herbal on alternating days.
Nursing mothers are fed their normal mix along with high protein supplements such as chicken, EMP, fish, egg, soft puppy/kitten food, couscous and anything else they want! They also receive plenty of curly kale and Lactol (puppy/kitten replacement milk) in a separate bottle to their water - this diet is in unlimited supply.
Once they have been weaned kittens will remain on the high-protein diet until around 12 weeks, obviously with their regular fresh food and mix alongside, after which the amount of extra protein is reduced.