FastTrak
It is very important to track the health and temperament of the lines we are working on in order to gain a full perspective of how well they're doing long-term and what still needs improvement. For a long while we have wanted to have this type of information easily and readily available to other breeders wishing to work with related rats and also for our current and future adopters so that they might realize they are an integral part of our program. Without the feedback of our adopters we only get parts of a story. Without valuable information in each 'chapter' it is impossible for us to know what all is going on in our lines. This information will also help potential adopters to see what issues are in the lines of litters they may be adopting from.
Allow me to take a moment to explain that a breeder should always be working toward improving their lines. People think that if you go to a breeder you will be able to obtain the picture perfect rats that everyone dreams about. Please understand that there are no perfect lines. All lines are a work in progress. All lines have an issue of one kind or another, and if they do not then they have not been worked with long enough or in a proper manner to realize what those issues might be.
FastTrak is our attempt at sharing this information with those that will be directly affected by our rats and lines. This will be an information box located on each individual's page. This box will list Health, Temperament, Type, Litters and Monitoring sections. These areas will be filled in with all the pertinent information necessary for people to be able to get a better feel of our rats and what they may reproduce. This is not to say that if we are monitoring a specific rat for respiratory weakness, for instance, that the rat is 'bad stock' or should not be bred. This is just telling you (and me) that this rat has this type of affliction in their ancestry which may be recent or far back in the pedigree and to be watchful of it. With this information available it allows adopters and other breeders to gain a better perspective instead of going into an adoption blindly. It is up to the breeder to choose the best pairings to improve the following generation by minimizing or eventually eliminating those issues in the line.
Many breeders just list rats as being available, they are not usually forthcoming with information related to possible health or temperament issues. You usually have to specifically ask them and not always do you get the full picture. FastTrak is the beginning of our attempts to make this information openly available. Just because we list the faults in our lines does not mean our lines are bad. It just means we are being open and truthful. All lines have one issue or another. Depending on what those issues may be, the amount of experience the breeder has, and what obstacles they are comfortable working with that determines whether or not a line can be 'saved' and problems can be overcome in future generations.
In time we will list issues in past rats and litters, but for now we will be working on updating all of our current rat pages with this information. Some rats and lines we are not completely familiar with so those will not have as much information as our other rats. If the Monitoring section is blank that does not mean the line does not have any issues, they just do not have issues we are aware of or have experienced thus far. In time we want to list this information in an easier-to-read format with details on each individual rat.