Hi! I'm Alana
I'm 21 years old and have owned rats since I was 15! I started out just owning these lovable creatures, but I quickly became curious about the genetics and raising aspect of Fancy rats. I started Elk County Mischief's Rattery in 2020, but only recently became available to the public in 2022. We have also changed from Elk County Mischief's to Sleepy Whiskers Rodentry with the addition of mice being added to the program. I wanted to be knowledgeable about the husbandry and genetics of Fancy rats and get quality breeding stock before adopting them out to the public.
I currently work with lines that include rats from Spoiled Rodents and Reptiles, Totes For Realz Rattery, MKT Reptiles and Rodents, Daybreak Rattery and Binky Blue Rattery (closed)
Elk County Mischief's Story
I started this Elk County Mischief's Rattery because well, I love rats! I've owned rats since 2017 and I've been hooked on these lovable pocket puppies since.
It all started with two PEW rats, Mooney and Padfoot. They were just run-of-the-mill feeder rats, but they blossomed my love for these misunderstood animals. Sadly, I lost both of them to cancer right around the age of two and have since lost many other rats due to the same or similar health problems. This is why my goal is to breed not only a variety of rats but foremost healthy and well-tempered rats.
I live in a small community and wanted to spread my knowledge and love of fancy rats and to offer healthy and well-tempered rats to other rat lovers in my community. The only types of rats offered here are from pet stores and I personally didn't want to support the unethical breeding of fancy rats (whether it be mill-type breeding or back-yard breeding). There aren't many ethical breeders near me (usually 3+ hours away) so that's why I became one! I follow many standards to make sure I'm ethically producing rats.
Mooney, Padfoot and Dobby huddled together. This was 3/4 of my first group of boys, Prongs is missing from the photo
My First Group of Rats
The Boys
My boy Prongs, He fathered my very first litter. I was just an inexperienced kid, but this blossomed my love for breeding and raising fancy rats.
My first heart rat, Mooney AKA Moonpie. He stole my heart completely and I truly believe he is the reason I love these critters with all my heart.
Maisy and Sammi, my first group of girls. I originally bought sammi as a boy, but quickly figured out that she wasn't! I went to the store the next week and got her two sisters, Maisy and Daisy.
My First Group of
Does
These are the babies from Sammi and Prongs! The males stayed with me their entire lives and the two females lived with an old friend of mine. They lived long and happy lives and sadly passed just under a year ago (they were around 3!)
My Sammi girl, she was my first lady and she was supposed to be a boy! She was such a sweet girl but was definitely the one in charge. She was the first doe I ever bred and she was such a great mom. Her sons, Alyx and Laurence lived with me until they were almost 3. She passed away at 2 due to a freak accident.