The Story Behind Everything Rats!

Mission: Everything Rats is a web store created out of love and caring for all rats, in an effort to provide the right products for rat owners to properly care for their rats, while also educating about proper care of rats.

When I began my rattery in 2009, I was often asked by many adopters what I recommended for their rats. This inspired me to create a page on my site, called "Ratty Rat's Favorite Things".  I listed all the things we used and loved for our rats on that page, that adopters could rely on to know how to properly care for their rats.

Since rats aren't really mainstream pets, it's tough to find rat appropriate products, especially in one place. We were using products made for rodents, rabbits, birds, cats, ferrets, and even horses.  My idea then was to create a web store with all the items I was already recommending on our site, so they could be purchased in one convenient place. 

Soon Ratty Rat's Favorite Things transformed into a web store. We carried only the things we used and loved. It was a good feeling to know that when someone adopted rats from us, we were able to offer all the things they would need to properly care for their rats.

As I continued to search for more great rat products (I LOVE that part of running the store), I test drove them on our ratties, and worked to carry the items on our site. Soon I realized, that our small web store needed to get bigger. Because I truly wanted to carry EVERYTHING a ratty could possibly want or need, thus Everything Rats was born.

This store will always continue to grow, as I am always searching for more great stuff for my rats. Our profit margins are very low, and most of the profit goes right back into purchasing more items for the store.  Many items are from small, independent business owners, and some are handmade.

I strive to make this store more than just a place to buy stuff for rats, but an educational experience as well. Any rat newbie could peruse through our pages, and find out what they need for their new rats.

You will get my professional opinion, as both an animal care professional, and rat owner on our products in the "why we Love it" section. I only have good things to say about everything we carry, otherwise, I wouldn't carry it! There have been quite a few products that I have tried that did not make the grade, and you will not see those products in this store (though you may be very used to seeing them in your local pet store). I only carry what I recommend....period.

Every item you see on this site is here because I researched it, used it, and recommend it. As I am always looking for new products, I love to hear suggestions from visitors to our store, so please, contact us if there is something you would like to see on our site!

I sincerely hope that you find our store helpful and educational!
Happy Shopping!
~Kim
Creator and Owner

About the Owners

Everything Rats! is run by myself, Kimberly, and my husband, Dustin. I also run a small hobby rattery, Ratty Rat Rattery. We are located in San Diego, CA.

I have a bachelors of science degree in Wildlife biology, specializing in Animal behavior from UC Davis. I have over 10 years of experience in owning rats, and have been a small hobby breeder since 2009. I have been a zoo keeper since 2005, and I currently work as a Mammal Keeper at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. I've worked with and trained many species, including elephants, rhinos, giraffe, gorillas, and now currently work in the nursery, hand raising many species of neonates, which also requires me to step into the roll of vet tech, providing "nursing" care for ailing, injured, and fragile newborn babies. I wear many hats as a zoo keeper, and that is what I love so much about it, (aside from the adorable animals!).

I spent most of my childhood surrounded by animals, from fish to horses,  and decided that's what I wanted to do professionally as well.  Much of my research and studies at UC Davis were focused on the many species of rodents (40% of all species of mammals are RODENTS!), which initially peaked my interest in rats, in particular.  my first rat, Hidey kept me company during my college years, I loved her deeply and found her truly fascinating.  Working with animals just isn't enough "animal time" for me. I also surround myself with animals at home. In 2009, I started Ratty Rat Rattery, and began breeding rats for hobby and show. With my Biology and animal husbandry background, I aim to educate about proper rat care and health, as well as breed for the betterment of rats as a species.

My husband, Dustin has always loved animals as well, he dreamed as a child of becoming a zookeeper. Kinda ironic that he married one! He has had many animals as well, including two wild mustangs. But he had never even considered having rats as pets until he met me. Boy, was he in for a surprise. Our household currently contains more than 20 rats, and yes, he loves them as much as I do.

He served 4 years in the U.S. Navy, and is quite the computer techy. He is the nuts and bolts of our web store, and  I don't think there is anything with computers that he can't do! Without his help, this web store wouldn't exist.  Dustin is currently working on his business management degree,  He breeds many species of dart frogs, and designs and builds acrylic terrariums for them (he's the frog guy, I'm the rat girl=)