The feeder rat I rescued is going to be a mother any day now. It was not planned. Somehow I got tricked into thinking that both of them were males, and then both of them were females. Guess what? I have one of each and they are in the same cage, and they did what rats do.
This poses a dilemma. I have to go entirely by wit and intuition on this from here on out.
Let me explain...
Over ninety percent of all rats in the pet industry are industrially raised as reptile food. They are feeder rats.
Snakes need to eat. And rats are born with such prolific reproduction strategy, that without snakes, the world would be overpopulated by rats.
But is it ethical the way our rat supply is raised?
Rats are intelligent and make good pets. This I have learned by naming the feeder rat when the snake would not eat. (Snakes go for months without eating, and for some reason I didn't want to take this one back to the store. The store keeps the money that you paid for them. That's why I let them board for a while until the snake can eat.)
Almost any female rat you purchase from a supplier is going to be pregnant. There are several reasons for this:
1) It is difficult to tell a male rat from a female when they are young. The testicles may not descend until later. I looked everywhere, in books, online, and couldn't figure it out. Now I know-if the anus and urethral areas are far apart, it is male. And if they are closer together, it is female.
2) A female is in heat approximately every five days. Ten days in a cage together with a male guarantees pregnancy.
3) A female can get pregnant immediately after giving birth.
4) Litter size is twelve pups.
5) A persistent male can make her go into heat at any time.
6) Gestation is twenty-one days.
The project for today is to purchase another cage to separate the two. It is interesting because yesterday at the pet shop, I saw the aquariums, and one sort of stood out from the rest, like a Spirit message. Now I know which one to buy and where to get it.
Then here is my concern. Rats get lonely. They are happier with a companion. Most are born with a lung disease in captivity. Their life span is often shorter than their two year lifespan. The best one for pets are from a laboratory, if they have extra. Then after that would be a reputable dealer, who has bred them for looks and disposition, and personally made sure each baby rat went to a good home.
The committed owner will spay all their female rats. The rats are prone to mammary tumors that shorten the life. And also pituitary problems that lead to death. Any rat bred after eight months age will need a cesarean, because the hips in the birth canal will have fused in a narrow position.
Male rats make more desirable pets. They are cuddly. The females are squirmy, even when spayed. They are just not as friendly.
What have I learned? I have learned in all this that rats have a consciousness, and intelligence that is true. They also are very much like us, with the use of their front paws the way we use our hands. Their bodies are shaped different. I have a hard time getting used to that tail. Rats bond to an owner and to each other. And in the grand scheme of things, they are designed to reproduce at an incredible rate, making them the ideal source of food for many creatures. Unless external forces such as separation of the sexes for life or surgical sterilization are done, many baby rats are going to overwhelm the owner. The owner will become a breeder!
Responsible rat owners need to decide what to do with the pups. I have two places in mind, the daughter of a friend, and a local pet store that does not sell feeder ones. Then there is always the feeder stores. And I know of a rat rescue organization through a friend of a friend.
Who am I to decide their fate? How can I choose? Did I make a mistake? Was I tricked?
These are the kind of questions being asked in the Lightworker community at this time. What is my role in deciding the fate of the rat-like beings that have infested Gaia and don't give a shit about Her? How can I discern the answer that is true from all the internet alternative news? Did I make a mistake in hoping for a particular green light date and time? Was I tricked by channeled information?
The answer is not easy. Love is the Solution For Everything. That does not imply that warm fuzzy feelings are going to get rid of an infestation of rats. Going after them with poison and traps may be effective for others, who are trained in such use, but for those of us who aren't, it may seem distasteful.
Either way, we in the Lightworker community (and incidental rat breeder community) are faced with a creature who is designed to reproduce and be exactly what they are: rats! It will take knowledge, intuition/centering on the heart logic (not the mind, which has been controlled by what others have been telling us for a long time. I was. I went from 'food' to 'good pet' to 'reality of the nature of the rat' in two years of snake ownership! ; ) ), and responsibility to do what is right. To act.**
Fear is counterproductive at this point. So is denial and disassociation.
At least my rats are in my house, in a cage, and I am bigger than they are! They haven't built their own tunnels and cage castles and set up a system to take over the house. The rat-like beings have. So, for the time being, be smart, learn to think like a rat, and remember in the highest plan, they are rats and we are creative spirits of the Light. As you move forward on your personal choices on how to deal with them, allow yourself to make mistakes, and learn in the process, always moving forward toward the prize: freedom from the rat race and rat burden on your world.
Namaste,
Reiki Doc
** = a good link for those Lightworkers who are interested in this subject:
http://www.blossomgoodchild.com/index.html?page=BG148july14.html
