Cuddles & Chaos Rattery

I have been really struggling the past few weeks with what to do with my rattery since we got bordetella. It is a common pathogen but not one many people know how to handle. I know one breeder who was successful in getting rid of it. She spent around 4k working it out. I can't ask my followers and friends to keep donating to rats who keep passing away and our financial situation is not great at the moment.

I think it would probably be best for us to take a major step back from breeding. I was always just a rat mom first. I only started breeding because I couldn't find good rats in my area so I started making my own.

We will be letting all of our standard rats live their lives and pass away as they need to. I will be keeping 2 dwarf lines alive for myself due to their og breeders closing their doors. I have no current plans on reopening to the public. It is irresponsible to adopt out rats with this bacteria being carried in our colony.

I do hope once all of our standard babies go and numbers are reduced, I can take on the project to get rid of it from the dwarfs.

Anyways, that's where I'm at right now. We will have a couple dwarf litters since they were about to age out but they will all have to stay and even with those I do not know, they might also be our last. I am completely worn out. Their deaths are always traumatizing.

Well, scratch my last post because I went in last night and found another favorite had passed away. At this point I actually don't know if I can go on doing this. I'll keep everyone updated but I am just really sad and tired.

Hey friends. I just wanted to give an update. We are back in Northern California and the rats who survived the bordetella outbreak are doing well. We lost a lot of our lines to the illness. Right now I'm trying to decide how to move forward. I was pretty traumatized by what happened as the rats alway have been and always will be my babies over anything else. Losing them all was awful.

The dwarf line I had started working on and continued at my sister rattery's home is doing really well and we have so many little ones right now. Obviously, none can be made available to the public yet.

I'll keep everyone updated about what's going on. We do have to start doing some pairings to make sure remaining lines aren't lost but I am a little afraid to do it. We also have to do more health tests as well.

Here's some photos of my beautiful tiny survivors. 🥰

We lost one of our absolute favorite girls today. Complications from bordetella. 😭

Iris 9/30/24 - 2/8/2026

Gone too soon. She was from one of my first litters when I started breeding and my favorite girl that was ever born here. She was literally the best. Everything I had hoped to produce when I started breeding. I loved her so much. I guess she was just ready to join her parents, siblings and daughter in rat heaven.

I'm in shock because she got sick last week, respiratory issues. I stayed up with her for 3 days and she was getting better. I did everything I could for her and she was getting better. She looked so good yesterday, I figured I would be deep cleaning her cage today and moving her out of the hospital cage and back to her normal group. I guess the universe had other ideas. I woke up and found her in agonal breathing and she passed away shortly after in my arms.

A wonderful, educational post about dwarf rats. We love our dwarfies!

The rattery is currently closed due to Bordetella. We do not know if or even when we will be able to re-open. For more information:

Bordetella in Rats: Respiratory Infection, Transmission & Management Guide A detailed breeder and caretaker guide to Bordetella bronchiseptica in rats — how it spreads, why it can be silent, signs to watch for, and ethical colony management practices.

Just an update. Going on 4 weeks of the bordetella rat pandemic. Iris is the only adult I've had so far get it and respond to treatment. She is back to normal now and identifies as a "problem" (she's unhappy to be babysitting).

We're still fighting it. I have 16 adults left, a handful of teenagers and my dwarf colony. Every last rat is on antibiotics. It's been an awful time. We've basically lost almost all of our favorites.

Thank you to everyone who was able to donate and/or share. It's been extremely helpful and has taken some of the burden off.

We could still use some help with our wishlist if anyone is able to:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/QI0OCRP2SJ8W?ref_=wl_share

~Ruhn~

The bestest boy ever. Father to our lines and deeply deeply missed. Gone way too soon to a devastating illness.

Since I was questioned today how we know what's killing them...

Thank you to Maven's Mischief for the help putting this together.

Our besties over at Maven's Mischief on TikTok did an excellent video on first aid kits for rats! Please go check out their page!

TikTok · Maven’s Mischief 255 likes, 33 comments. “Here is an overview of the First Aid items we keep on hand for our girls! Please keep in mind that I have NO formal medical training, and the knowledge I share here comes from my own (limited) personal experiences and what my specific vets have shared with me. Please also ...

Due to unforseen life circumstances, the rattery will be moving to our sister rattery in Palmdale. We may have some availability of older holdbacks but no new babies will be arriving until our situation is settled. We are leaving the 3rd week of July.

If I haven't gotten back to you yet, I apologize. Life is crazy at the moment.

I want to thank all of our local adopters and everyone who has been a part of the Cuddles and Chaos journey. We are so sad to be leaving this area without a reputable rattery. 🥺