

Ad Text:

Hello, We have some very nice selective rat weanlings for adoption. We have the most incredible Black Rat called the Black Phantom. If you are looking for a Black Rat look no further. We have Tan and White Berkshires, Tan and White Rex, Brown and White Berkshires and Rex. We have Black and White Berkshires and Rex to if interested. We have these rats for fun and when we get too many we just have to put some up for adoption. Our surplus is your gain. These are not pet store rats. The parents have been put together from all over the country from selectively sought after rats. We take our rats very seriously. The price is firm. We have not put any of our rats for adoption recently so they will be adopted fast. Here are some pics of our current pups for adoption. They are about 3 weeks old and will be weaned soon for pickup. Also if you are looking for any certain colors we have it now or will have it soon. We have blues browns tans and albinos if interested. Also we have some multi colored too. The last but most important thing is that all of these rats have been hand raised from day one. They are very calm and do not nip. They are really amazing. Come check one out when you get the chance. We currently have Dumbo Rats for adoption and they are really nice. We also have some gorgeous Blue and Brown Hooded babies. We have varigated and multi-colored also. We will have weaned rats available for adoption on August 19th. Please call or write and tell me what you are looking for. Rehoming Fees START at 10.00 each. Please inquire for what you are interested in. We have many unique rats for adoption. We also have a few older rats around 1 year of age. They are available for adoption if you are looking for a wonderful mature pet that requires just a ton of love. Please inquire if you are interested in adopting an older rat. Thanks for looking,

Bill

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There’s so much stupid in this ad I can’t even know where to begin criticizing it, so first let me link some responsible rat breeders (yes, they exist) who would never, ever, ever dream of finding adopters through Craigslist.

Responsible Rat Breeder 1

Responsible Rat Breeder 2

Notice something those sites have in common? It’s called a “waiting list,” and it’s what responsible breeders keep so that they don’t have to look for homes for babies on the most notoriously awful pet sales/adoption website in the country.

But then again, this guy isn’t responsible. Now, none of these errors would be anything to hoot and holler about if they came from a pet owner seeking a good home for rats he or she could no longer keep. But this Bill character is setting himself up as a breeder who is a source for premium, fantastical, highly in demand (but not enough so for a BLOODY GOLDARN WAITING LIST) rats. So, let’s pick apart his ad for reasons this dumbass shouldn’t be breeding at all, shall we?

1. “We have the most incredible Black Rat called the Black Phantom.” There is no such thing as a Black Phantom Rat. These are the known and repeatable rat colors that exist. “New” colors must go through an approval process with a show organization. See, the phenotype of a rat (what you see when you look at it) results from its genotype (the genes creating that appearance), and new color genes just don’t spring up all over the place.

This here is the supposed black phantom, which in reality is just a solid black rat. Nothing special about it whatsoever:

(this is a long one, so you’re going to have to click through to read the whole thing!)

Continue reading ‘Hey guys, if I make a bunch of stuff up that makes me a good breeder! AKA, stupidest rat breeder ever.’