# Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees plz



## radlations (May 24, 2008)

So I bought my first rat on May 20th, 9 days later she got a respiratory infection. I brought her back to petco and had them take care of her for 2 weeks.

When I got her back. She looked almost completely different. Her pattern was a little different. Theres a faint blue ring around her eyes. I noticed a new pattern on her tail. Her tail got really thick. She got really big. Her poops are two times the size as they once were. Her reaction towards everything that she once experienced are different. EX: Shes scared of the clicking sounds I make. EX: She took a while to get used to her old cage. I was amazed at how she much she grew in 2 weeks. I had her for 1 week and didn't notice this much growth.

So what do you guys think? Did petco kill my rat, lied and give me a different rat? Or did she really change this much?


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## SweetLittleDelilah (May 13, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

Sounds like a different rat to me... o.o;
I don't know why petco would do something like that..
the ones around here are wonderful. (except the manager at one who sold a pet rat as a feeder, ugh...)
But maybe someone who has worked at one will be able to help you better. ^-^


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## radlations (May 24, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

Do rats grow this big in 2 weeks? I really wish I had a before and after picture set up but I don't. I would say she is 25% bigger than what she once was.


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## lostbutnotforgot (Apr 19, 2007)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

I would say that a few rare rats could grow that much on a proper diet and that I have grown one rat (male) that big in such a time. That being said, Petco does not offer said proper diet. 

It certainly sounds like you got a different rat. 

And do get another if you don't have two already, rats do best in pairs. :wink:


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## radlations (May 24, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

I don't have the cage for another rat. Im going to confront the person at petco about this in the morning.


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## Volkl (Feb 14, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

I used to work for Petco. If the one you went to was anything like the one i worked at, then they definitely didnt kill it. 

The first problem at petco stores is that the vet comes in once per week, sometimes less. If you brought it in and your rat had to wait 5-6 days to see the vet, the infection might have gotten really bad.

The other problem is the way they run the "wellness room". All the sick animals AND overstock typically go in there and if the employees arent organized, things get really screwed up. There might have been more than one rat back there and someone made a mistake. I remember once, two mice were in wellness. One was overstock, one was a customer return. The paperwork got mixed together and the customer's returned mouse went back on the sales floor when he was healthy again, while the overstock mouse stayed in the back for the customer. Something like that might have happened as well.

Anyway, just my two cents. Good luck finding out what happened. Ask them to see the paperwork for when he/she was returned. Those forms are supposed to stay in the store for one year after it is filed, so if they tell you there isnt paperwork, tell them they're breaking policy 

If you get the papers, look at who the primary associate and manager on duty were. It should be in the upper left hand corner of the sheet. Those will most likely be the people who know what happened.


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## radlations (May 24, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

Overstock? Is that when they have too many rats?

I happened to be able to see how this particular petco restocks their rats.

Some guy comes in with a bunch of rubbermaids. Pops the lid open and the petco employees pick out which rats to put in the Rat Selling cage.

That being said, how could this petco have overstocked rats?

Oh and the person(im guessing shes the manager or personal associate) drove my rat to the vet.


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## CaptainFlow (May 16, 2007)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

Maybe they just got them mixed up? Which seems weird, but I dunno... I can't think of a reason why PetCo would just switch rats on you...

Also, having a pet rat is really having two pet rats. They require ratty company. Sadly, we humans are just terrible at lick grooming, sleeping in teeny spaces, sharing a sipper tube with, wrestling under the bed, and all sorts of other things that rats really like to do to be happy. And I dunno about you, but my Rattese is horrible. It's just not the same, and they are colonial animals that crave same-species attention. If your cage isn't big enough, then you should invest in a new, larger cage rather than doom your poor girl to a life of solitude. 

Good luck with the PetCo person!


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## Volkl (Feb 14, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*



radlations said:


> Overstock? Is that when they have too many rats?
> 
> I happened to be able to see how this particular petco restocks their rats.
> 
> ...


Hmm, thats different. They usually dont pick out rats when the guy delivers them. The manager has to order what they want in the store, so what they order is what they get. they dont bring in rats that the store wont be receiving, since they cant return livestock to the distribution center. :?


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## radlations (May 24, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

Im not sure if they pick out rats, I didnt see that part. But I did see that they picked out their guinnea pigs. Distribution center? The way he brought the rats in made me think he was a home breeder.

I got to pick out my rat from this guy. And a petco employee told me he would be stopping at other stores. He had like 4 rubbermaids stacked on top of each other.


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## Volkl (Feb 14, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

the one i worked at got ferrets, bunnies, and chinchillas from a local breeder but all the rats and mice came from a huge center. They shipped all of them out from the same place by the hundreds and the guy had to go to various stores in idaho and washington. the guy who drove the truck wasnt in uniform or anything, but delivering all those animals was his job. were the rubbermaid cases white?


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## radlations (May 24, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

No the rubbermaids were blueish. And the rats/guinnea pigs were dropped off from the same guy. Chinchilla as well. And the guy was covered in tattoos lol.


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## Volkl (Feb 14, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

dunno then. might just be different in different places. id say that maybe they just package them differently where you're at, but that wouldnt explain the chinchillas. 

The guy i remember didnt have a lot of tattoos, but had a million piercings. i wonder if all the dudes that deliver animals are a little out there? lol


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

IF your rat was a baby then yes they grow insanely fast in their first 3 months...its almost like you feel they are gonna keep growing and be the biggest rats ever.

the blue ring around her eye is like the white of an animals eye, her eyes are extra wide open so it sounds like she is frightened. You had her for a week? Well that 2 weeks without any socialization put her back at square one...start again, plus she's a bit older so has learned there's more to be scared about.

The fur will change since they molt...the pattern on her tail could be from a dirty cage.

I don't think they killed your rat and exchanged her for another. they would just tell you she died and offer a replacement.

You really need to have 2 rats...keeping one rat alone all her life is now considered neglectful.


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

Thanks for chiming in LilSpaz, I was about to write very similar statements.

There simply isn't enough information within the OP (original post) to make any assumptions or speculations as to what happened. 

Marking do change a bit, color will change a bit & they definitely grow at astounding rates. Since a place like petco offers a pet guarantee (what is it 2 weeks fr rats, I don't know.. I've only bought fish from pet stores) there would be no reason for them to do a switcheroo to cover up a death. They would simply tell you that she died & offer you another rat. I also support the idea one poster had about the possibility that they somehow mixed your rat up with another especially if similar in appearance. If this is the case they had to look a lot alike because even you are not altogether sure this is a different rat.

The pictures would have really helped solve this so since you have none there is no way to support the queries you have. Speculation like this with no way to support the queries is rather unfair to the place of business when they may possibly be innocent of any wrong doing. You can already see by this thread that many are ready to think the worse.

I'm sorry that you are confused about whether this is your original rat or not but if things are not clicking between you too & you don't wish to work with her to smooth things out maybe it would be a good idea for you to exchange her. Maybe someone who has more experience with timid rats could help her out. 

Oh, one last thing... if you do follow that course, get a pair. No rat should be forced into a solitary life.


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## radlations (May 24, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

When I first got her she wasnt scared of me at all. Anyways Im gonna give her a couple more days to see if she can stop being so scared. If she can't along with the fact that I need two rats. I might just get a hamster. I raelly wanted a rat because they are smart compared to hamsters but a hamster would save me 100$(the money it takes for a bigger cage).


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

I can get you a pic of Klardae in the first few days I got her and one from just days before she died to show you the difference in markings... I will be back!









Young...









...Just over a year old.

Not a GREAT comparison but it's the best I've got. See the differences?


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## radlations (May 24, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

Right but in my case, the markings changed within 13 days. And for the first few days, she was recovering from respiratory infections.


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

True, true... I think it sounds like they may have been switched :\


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## lovinmyworm (Feb 18, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

O yeah my boys markings changed big time and they almost doubled in size after about 2 weeks. I got them when they were 6 weeks old and at that time they were really tiny. About 2 weeks after that their markings totally changed! Their patterns down their sides changed completely, the markings on Capitan Morgan's head was almost a different shape, and even the marks on their tail changed a bit. It was only because they grew so much that it changed! The marks were the same, just larger and spread out more. Their fur changed from an almost cinnamon color to a more grayish brown and then changed again to agouti. As for size.... they literally between 6 and 9 weeks of age doubled their weight and their body length.


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## ~AquaMerina~ (Mar 18, 2008)

*Re: Thoughts/Opinions on this situation...EX-Petco employees*

If the only thing stopping you from getting another rat is a new cage, then here are some things you might want to consider. At www.ferret.com you can get a cage big enough for 2 rats for $35.99 plus 6.99 S+H. But depending on how big your rats are you may need cover it in hardware cloth to keep them from escaping. Hardware cloth is pretty cheap. Or just keep an eye on craigslist and newspaper classifieds for a big cheap cage. Or if your really handy you can always build your own bigger cage. Just some suggestions.  
I also think that your rat just matured while she was at the vet. You didn't have her long enough the first time to really bond with her and you have to remember that when she was at the vets she more than likely was not being loved and cuddled. Iam sure she was only handled to give meds to and that's about it. Just give her some to settle in to her home and once she gets comfortable and realizes she's not going to get uprooted again she'll come around. Just take it slowly with her. Let her come to you on her own. She'll learn that she can trust you and will love you dearly for it.


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