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My first show!

Venue = Hook community center, Hook road, Chessington, Surrey Date = 14th July 2001 Club = NFRS.

On this page I'm going to try and tell you about my first showing experience in a way which will help you if you have never been to a show before. I will split it into sections so that it is more relevant.

Note = It is worth contacting the show secretary to see if non-members can attend.

Entering the show ...

To enter the show you have to phone the show secretary, this has to be done before the Wednesday/Thursday before the show. When you phone you have to tell him/her the sex of your rats and the variety and what class you want to enter them into. At this point you can also rent show tanks, if they are available. In my case I had two does, who where Striped Roans and I had to rent 2 show tanks, This is because they are of the same variety and it would be unfair to expect a judge to tell them apart especially as mine looked quite similar.

I also got some good advice from the secretary about trimming their nails, so if you where like me and worried what to do you can always ask them.

The preparation ...

I prepared my rats about a week before the show so that it gave their coats time to settle. I used a tooth brush to clean their tails and soft sponge to clean there ears. I used a dog shampoo that is especially for white breeds. I also trimmed their nails I did this the week before as it gave them time to wear of the sharpness that sometimes comes with cutting.

I made sure their cage was cleaned out before they went back in, after their bath and I didn't put any newspaper at the bottom in case it stained them. I also did an extra clean out half way through the week so that they didn't get stained by any dirty bedding. I don't know whether any off this helped but it certainly reassured me.

The night before the show I cleaned their tails again as they picked up quite a few stains that week and I filed their nails and on the way to the show I took some tissues and cotton buds just in case they needed last minuet cleaning.

Traveling ...

I took my two rats in a small cage I have for cleaning out. I put saw dust in there and a box for them to hide in. I had their water bottle on the cage and I put a couple of dog biscuits in there to avoid having a bowl of food to tip over. I mainly put the saw dust in there to cover the newspaper because the last thing I wanted now was for them to get stains on them, but I now know that it was a silly idea because I had to clean the car after!!!! Next time I plan to uses some plain paper at the bottom of the cage with no sawdust.

It took us an hour and a half to get there and for the first part of the journey they where very excited! and wouldn't keep still but they did eventually settle down.

The show...

When you arrive at the show you go to the show secretary to check in and get your show tanks if necessary. They also give you a receipt which I paid at the end because she was quite busy at the beginning. My receipt was just under £4, which I think was great for a nice day out.

She gave me the show tank and I put one of my girls in each I then gave them each some apple which they started eating straight away, so I needed more then I realized (about a quarter of an apple each). I then had to put a label on each tank saying a number, their class and their variety- this is because there can be many new varieties in the unstandardised class, where Striped Roans were showed at the time. I then took them and found a place on the show benches which where set up in a "U" shape around the three judging tables.

Before the judging started I could see a lot of preparation going on and felt quite worried that I wasn't doing anything so got mine out for a cuddle. I found that you can learn a lot form watching the other people who have been many times, I will now buy some spray on coat shine and a soft cloth for rubbing down my girls before they are judged at my next show and I will get two small water bottles as I only had one and had to keep changing it form one tank to the other (Although you are not allow to leave it on once the judging starts).

Everyone seemed really friendly at the show. I never thought anyone would come and talk to me because none of them had ever met me before, but I was wrong ! While I was cuddling Luna a lady came up to me and commented on her being a cutey. I then showed her Spring and she introduced me to her rat who was a Striped Roan too.

When the judging started at 11 I went down the shops near by to get something to eat. When I came back they where in the processes of moving the tanks around in to class and number order. I could see mine were already on the judging table and Spring was being held by one of the two women judges. I watched closely as they judged my two, I then took the chance to have a walk around and look at all the different varieties. I particularly liked an American blue Dumbo doe I saw in the pet class she was very friendly.

After the Unstandardised class was judged the placed rats where put on top of the show benches, with colored stickers on their tank labels to represent 1st, 2nd and 3rd and the other where put underneath. Unfortunately mine didn't win anything.

The show was due to finish at 5 but I was allowed to go early as mine had already been judged. I paid the money I owed and received a sheet for each rat with their comments on colour and type, which I found very interesting. I also returned the show tanks.Before leaving I purchased some treats for my rats and then left, I had really quite enjoyed myself although I was a little bit disappointed. The part I enjoyed most was seeing all the different varieties in the flesh rather then on my computer screen.

Em.

Last updated 26th August 2008

All photo's and some art work are produced by me, unless stated otherwise. Please do not take any of my art work or photos as allot of work has gone into them. If you do wish to use some of my art/gifs/photos then please email me for permission first.

Disclaimer = I do not claim to be an authority on rodents or rats and any information on this page is just opinions and advice and is by no means a substitute for good books or veterinary advice. All the toys on the toys page are just ideas and may not have been tried out so it is up to you to implement them and judge there safety.