Why my Phebi & Joei wont mate

Question
I know they have to be in mating season to mate but, they have been together in that cage for 6 months to a year. Phebi is about a year. Joei is about 8 months to a year.
He never moves unless food is coming to the cage. When i pick him up and try to play with him, he just sits there or tries to bury his face and hide. I take them out everyday and let them both run around. He just run under stuff and sits for hours. He also has this thing where hes always breathing hard. But not sneezing. I think he is always hyperventilating. Phebi likes to get out the cage and i can never hold her for more than 5 min. She is very territorial. She is always bossing him around. When she cleans him she tosses him around and makes him lay on his back. Or she wont let him move. They never fight unless its time to eat. I always break up fruits and vegetables in pairs. They both come to the cage but she pushes him even if hes not in the way. So he stays back and he waits for her to get food first. I want them to have some babies but I dont know if they are meant to mate.

Answer
Mychel


Mating season doesnt exist with rats. I dont know where you heard that from but its obviously from a very inaccurate source. Rats go in heat every 5 days. Frankly I am happy they havent mated.  You seem to be a bit uninformed about rat care.  Your male sounds like he has respiratory problems. Why would you mate a rat that will pass along these problems to the babies?
Why would you mate at all?  Do you have room for 15 more rats? The males need to be taken out of the female cage as early as 5 weeks or they will mate with the girls and you will end up with hundreds of rats before you know it.
Do you have money for a vet?  If your female goes get pregnant and has problems she will need a ceaserean section or she and the babies will die. This is not cheap, costing anywhere from $150 to $500 depending on the vet and your location.
Do you have homes for the new rats?  Do you know how to socialize them so they are not scared of people? Rats are born shy and terrified of humans and need to be properly socialized.

There are tens of thousands of homeless rats in the US alone and these rats end up snake food, abused and unwanted or put to death in shelters.  Why bring more into this world?

Leave the breeding to the professionals, get that male out of the female cage and also take him to the vet. He has a respiratory infection.  you dont have to sneeze to be sick.


REVISED:

By the way, Pointing out the facts does not mean I am insulting you.
 
All I did was asked you questions you did not like and pointed out reasons why it is not good to breed.

Obviously you do not like to be given advice or you would have not written me such a rude response.

The other experts will also agree that you should not breed but you can go ahead and ask if you want. They probably wont suggest you breed any more than I did.
Have a good day!