Advertise, Advertise, Advertise
Put up posters in all pet-related businesses in your city. Use your computer to make them look professional, and include a picture of the babies if you can. The best, cutest pictures are taken just when their eyes open, so that would be a good one to use. You can also advertise all over the internet at many of the rat-related sites. Also, tell everybody you know, even people that you know don’t like rodents. Put an ad in your local paper. Give the pet stores your number, and if they have any rat inquiries they can pass them on to you (however some pet stores won’t do this if they carry their own rats, but it’s worth a try). Get the word out there and you’re bound to find somebody who is interested.
Bring Your Rats to a Popular Place and Show Them Off
You can do this even as young as two weeks old, if it is just for a short time. Bring your babies to a busy park and just sit on the bench playing with them. Kids, curious as they are, will no doubt come over and ask to play with them. This is your chance to educate kids (and their parents!) about what great pets they make. Make sure you have some pieces of paper with your phone number written on it so you can give out your number to interested people.
Insist That Your Rats Be Sold in Pairs
Rats are social animals and need the companionship that only another rat can provide. For this reason, only sell your babies in same-sex pairs, unless the person already has another rat of the same sex at home (though if it is an older male they have, you may want to insist they get two anyway, since introductions to an older male some times do not work). This will be beneficial for the babies, as you can be sure they will have a better life and it is also beneficial for you because you home the babies twice as fast!
Finding GOOD Homes
Of course, you don't want your lovingly-raised babies to go to just anybody. Make sure that anyone who is interested in your babies knows enough about rats to take care of one properly, or is eager enough to learn on their own or listen to your tips about rat care. Here are some sample questions you can ask potential buyers.
2. What sort of health care do you intend to provide for this rat? Luckily, rats usually need very little veterinary care. Of course, accidents do happen, and rats are often prone to tumors. Is this person willing to spend the money needed to take care of this rat properly?
3. Do you intend to breed this rat? Ideally, unless you are a well-known breeder selling to another well-known or well-educated breeder, you should not sell your babies for breeding purposes. There are far too many rats in the world that need homes. Make sure this person does not intend to breed. Also, if they have both male and female rats, make sure they know that there is a possibility they will mate. Even if they are in different cages, they may escape, and it takes less than two seconds for mating to occur. If they are taking a risk like this, make sure they know the consequences of breeding. If they actually intend to breed this animal, you probably should not sell to them at all.
If the potential buyer is new to rats, or seems uneducated about rats, you can direct them to one of the many websites out there about rats (but make sure you have read the website so you know the information is correct, don't just tell them to do a search on rat care!), or you could print off relevant parts of a website for them.
To discourage people who feed rats to snakes or other reptiles, as well as people who may not be willing to spend money on health care, it is a good idea to charge a fair amount for the rat. Most pet stores sell baby rats for $4 to $8, so it is best to charge at least $15. This way anyone who is looking for cheap feeder rats will not attempt to buy rats from you if they know you will charge them more than the local pet store would. It also works to see how much people are willing to spend on other rat-related expenses such as food, housing, and health care. If they think your price is too expensive, chances are they won't spend any more money on the animal, leaving it to suffer if they either can't or won't afford health care. Don't sell a rat to anyone who will not spend $15 - $20 on its initial purchase.
If you are a new breeder and are unsure of what price to put on your rats, it is a good idea to look around at the other breeders in your area and see what they are charging. Keep in mind the type of rats they are breeding and the rarity of the colors / types they breed for. People will be willing to pay more for a show quality rat than a rat that looks the same as the ones at the pet store feeder bin. If the new breeder is breeding the same types of rats as breeders in her area, she should respect the prices the other breeders have set, and try not to undercut them.