# Why not to buy from pet stores



## Jessen (Apr 9, 2008)

Eddie was a baby rat we got along with his brother Sam at Jack's Aquarium and Pets.



All the small animals there were kept in these rows of glass boxes stacked on top of each other. I felt uncomfortable with that, the ventilation must have been truly terrible, but we picked out 2 babies anyway..

The girl at the store picked them up by their tails.. I felt bad about that too, but I still didn't say anything. The babies appeared to be just fine and we took them home.

Later I noticed that Eddie was a bit skinny, and a little lethargic. I started growing concerned, and kept an eye on him. I knew something was terribly wrong when he took a step forward into a little hole Sam had dug, and fell into it like he was drunk. I took him out and comforted him now realising he was very very sick. By now he was skin and bones. It had only been 24 hours.



_this is sam, picture taken around the same time as eddie - notice how round he is in comparison.._

I tried to feed him some apple sauce through a syringe to keep him going, but it just dripped out of his mouth. He became floppy and unresponsive. His feet started turning blue. A few hours later he started shuddering and gasping, and then went still in my hands. I kept him in a shoebox with my scarf until my girlfriend got home from work. We buried him under a tree out the front.

We told ourselves we would never buy from pet stores again, after our first 2 rats suffered URI's and then eddie died. We returned to Jack's a couple weeks later, though, to see how they were treating their rats.

One rat possibly 3-4 months old was lying on it's side taking in huge gasps.. probably on the very brink of death.. they were horrible gasps that made him shudder and it reminded me of Eddie just before he died.
we informed someone at the store who said "Yeah, we just got them".. not knowing what that even meant, we left, and I tried to keep from crying about the dying rat..

Please don't buy from pet stores no matter how healthy the rats seem at first or how 'reputable' the store is.. every rescued rat is just replaced with a bunch of other rats that will mostly likely die sick or as snake food.. paying money for abused animals will just perpetuate the rat as a cheap disposable thing..

Breeding rats brings in little income unless they are being bred for snake food, there are alot of good breeders who care about rats and it is them who should be being paid for their time and effort not someone who doesn't care at all about the wellbeing of animals. Think about it, if caring for and loving rats becomes more profitable than abusing them, would there be as many abused rats? No.

thankyou for your time.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Poor little Eddie... Megacolon?


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## phaidraft (Apr 9, 2008)

Poor baby!


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## DingoMutt (Feb 27, 2008)

I'm so sorry for your loss, something similar happened to my baby Cow. He began to gasp, he was a baby for the two weeks I owned him, and my only option is a petstore.


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## Jessen (Apr 9, 2008)

Forensic said:


> Poor little Eddie... Megacolon?


I thought it was that at first, because of his blaze. Now I think it was probably CK.


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## Jessen (Apr 9, 2008)

DingoMutt said:


> I'm so sorry for your loss, something similar happened to my baby Cow. He began to gasp, he was a baby for the two weeks I owned him, and my only option is a petstore.


I've heard Tekka Makki Rattery will ship anywhere in the US [not sure of this though,] and they produce excellent rats.. 

http://www.tekkarats.com/index.html


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

I have to agree. My baby Klardae was barely over a year old... from petco... I am holding her body now as I type this.


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## Marysmuse (Apr 28, 2008)

I am so sorry to hear.

We bought a guinea pig this week from a local pet shop (Reptile Company, Washington Ave, Endicott NY- avoid them. Also ReptileCompany.com.) who is absolutely loaded with mites. 
I came to this site searching for remedies, and found some, thank you to those who were talking about it on another board.

I turned Rep. Co. into the Humane Society. Perhaps you should do the same. If this store is knowingly selling animals that are ill and dying, they should not be in business. I'd raise an unholy stink, especially since your dear babe passed so soon after you bought him, he was obviously ill, and they should not only give you a refund, they should immediately stop selling their remaining stock and get them vet-checked.

Again, I am so sorry to hear of the loss. <hugs>

=Mary


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## SamsterAndRocky (Jul 24, 2007)

my baby would have been 10 months on may 2nd....instead he is playing with his 5 week old brother across the rainbow bridge now.


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## shinzo-chan (Apr 2, 2008)

It is illegal for them to sell any injured or ill animals, and they should recieve medical care imediatly. You should seriously report them to your local authorities and inform them of the conditions, as well as your story.

Im so sorry to hear about this, its really upsetting to think that Eddie had such a bad start to life that he couldnt take it anymore. At least he had a short time where he was loved and cared for, i hope his brother is well.

Unfortunatly my only option is pet store rats, we have no breeders here and i cannot drive. However i have recently turned a pet shop called 'Booths' in for the condition of their rats and hope that something will be done, i baught my rats from Pets at Home and Kiba has what im presuming to be a URI. 

Again, im so sorry for your loss.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Jessen said:


> DingoMutt said:
> 
> 
> > I'm so sorry for your loss, something similar happened to my baby Cow. He began to gasp, he was a baby for the two weeks I owned him, and my only option is a petstore.
> ...


They do produce excellent rats but do not ship usually. Dan has a huuuge waiting list for his amazing TEK rats and doesn't even need to consider it.


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## Tishatti (May 14, 2008)

Very sad stories:-( my heart goes out to you all. Your right about such stores. We have a pet super store near us called zoars Ark. They are brilliant, only get pets from reputable breeders and the people that work there know what they are talking about and are really caring and ready to advise. They always take your name and address when you buy as well. My last lovely rat Claudia came from them and she lived 4 years and was always healthy.


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## totoro (Feb 25, 2008)

I'm so sorry for your loss.
I wish all pet stores could be like the one I work at.
I spoil all the little ratties and we take very good care of them.
=(


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## RoRo (Mar 10, 2008)

every petstore is only as good as the person who runs it. If they trust in idiots, things will go bad. If they trust it to people who love their pets, this would never happen.

But, sadly, there is no shortage of idiots in this world.


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

exactly, RoRo, which is why in the case of buying rats from a pet store I go to Dee's Pets or The Fish Net [both private-owned stores], not PetCo.


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