My name is toyah Leitch, and I live near Glasgow in Scotland. I have been using the prefix Hawthorn for my fancy rats since I began breeding them in 1999. As well as the rats, I also share my home with a variety of other pets – snakes, geckos, guinea pigs, tarantulas, and cats.
I currently breed mainly marten and silver agouti rats, which are new varieties. I imported these into the UK from Europe (where they are known as red eyed devils) in early 2010, and my aim is to see these new varieties on the show bench for 2013. I also breed silver fawns and occasionally agoutis.
I have been on the committee of the NERS since helping form the club in 2001, and am currently also on the committee for the SRC as well as being a member of both the NFRS and the YRC. I am an NFRS show judge, and I both judge and show my rats as often as I can.