# Rat rescues



## linbobin (Aug 18, 2008)

Everyone is saying that it is much better to get rats from a rescue than a pet store. I have my two rats from the pet store now, but some questions for next time...

How much does the average rat cost from a rescue? I know there are many variations and types of rats, but I mean just in general.

Can someone help me find a rat rescue in Orange County, California? That is the area that I live in and I went on Google to look, but I couldn't find anything?


What type of rats do they have at Petco? I know it won't be anything special, but are they a certain breed? There are pictures of them here:
http://ratforum.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=12016.html


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## junior_j (Jan 24, 2008)

I am from UK so i am not to sure..

Here rescued rats are usually free..

Unless you pay for treatment ect. Our rescued boy Keith was free from the pdsa but a rat we were going to get was 5 pounds from the rspca
Jess x


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## chevalrose (Aug 13, 2008)

Usually they're like, $10ish, in some cases free. Not too expensive. Sometimes it also depends on age, younger ones can be more expensive than older ones.


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## Nicotine (Jan 2, 2008)

Most places I've looked into (Michigan, US) usually have a $10-$20 adoption fee, to help pay for vet and general care costs, in part. I actually haven't seen any shelters that say they don't have an adoption fee, and it makes sense to me there would be none.. I mean, they need money for the animals they have somehow, and an adoption fee can be used as kind of a filter for potential new owners whose intentions really aren't the best.
I've also seen some shelters that have you fill out an adoption form, too, which is another way of screening, I suppose.
It also depends on their health, or whether or not they've been spayed/neutered. HVRR's rats are all $20, unless they've not been neutered or spayed, in which case they're $10.
As for finding a shelter in your area, have you tried petfinder.com? That site has quite a few shelters who adopt rats out through there.

All in all, it really depends on where you look. 

Additionally, there are no different breeds of the domestic rat - it's all the same rat, rattus norvegicus. They have different markings, colors, ear types and coat types, but it's all the same and I think shelters treat them all the same/sell them all the same. I couldn't tell you what Petsmart sells.. I think, from the last I knew of, they sell all kinds but mark blues separately and sell them for higher, and call them fancy to get people's attention drawn toward them. :roll: Which, really, isn't fair treatment, and it's pretty much a rip off.


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## AceYourFace (Jan 4, 2008)

They asked about petco lol Petco from all I have seen has only sold feeder rats so you will get the generic white and white and black hooded. Occasionally they will have rescues/adoptions. They usually have them out somewhere if not you can ask. Petsmart carries them as pets. And usually have a few different varieties. I have heard they also have adoption ones. But you have to ask because they keep them in their sick bay area.

as far as Orange county I found this one
Furry Friend's Orphanage, Orange County, CA.
Contact: [email protected]

Phone Diane: 949-631-4513 or
Phone Debra: 949-770-0323

That place is teamed up with RMCA in Westminster CA which is like 20 mins away from Orange.

This site gives you a list of places in California
http://www.ratzrealm.com/id24_htm.htm

Heres another List
http://www.altpet.net/rodents/CA.shtml

Are you sure you googled? lol jk


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## Nicotine (Jan 2, 2008)

AceYourFace said:


> They asked about petco lol


.. >>; oops! My bad. well, I'm even more clueless about Petco, anyhow.


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## linbobin (Aug 18, 2008)

Thanks. I am looking into one from the second link you gave me.


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## lovinmyworm (Feb 18, 2008)

Petco rats are feeder rats. They are bred in mass mills. They aren't bred for temperment, health, or markings, they are just bred over and over again to get the most amount of rats they can turn around and sell to the petco stores. Petsmart is the same thing, only their rats seem to have a few more markings available. All domesticated rats are fancy rats. The only difference between rats are their markings, nothing else. 

Rats around here from a rescue are typically $10 for un spayed or neutered rats and $20 if they are spayed or neutered. Rescue rats are better because the rescue knows their temperment, they can tell you more about that rats personality than any pet store could ever tell you. They know their health and their rats are vet checked at the first sign of health problems typically. (The exception to this is people who "rescue" who shouldn't be rescues).


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## junior_j (Jan 24, 2008)

Rescues are 9/10 better then petstores in my opinion
Jess x


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## SweetLittleDelilah (May 13, 2008)

lovinmyworm said:


> Petco rats are feeder rats. They are bred in mass mills. They aren't bred for temperment, health, or markings, they are just bred over and over again to get the most amount of rats they can turn around and sell to the petco stores. Petsmart is the same thing, only their rats seem to have a few more markings available. All domesticated rats are fancy rats. The only difference between rats are their markings, nothing else.


By petsmart is the same thing, do you mean that they sell for feeders?
If so, you are wrong. They do not sell feeders, and will refuse to sell an animal to someone looking for a feeder. While they are still bred in a mill, they seem to have good temperaments...at least the ones in the Petsmart where I work.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Petsmart markets as pets, however, they cannot stop someone from buying as food. They do limit with price to some effect. Petco hardly tries at all.


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## SweetLittleDelilah (May 13, 2008)

Not true, Forensic.
We can refuse to sell to someone who we suspect is buying for food, and it's pretty easy to tell when they are.

ETA: And as for Petco, of course they don't try. Their rats are marketed as feeders.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

And it's pretty easy to act like you're not, just my opinion.


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## SweetLittleDelilah (May 13, 2008)

;
I guess. But it's still easy to tell.
If someone wants a pet, they are going to have a genuine interest in the animals and getting everything they need to care for them.
And besides, I tell people that when our rats come in, they are sprayed with flea stuff...so that is a good deterrent to feeder buyers. It will make reptiles sick.


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## lovinmyworm (Feb 18, 2008)

What I mean by that is that petsmarts rats come from a mill that breeds feeders. The ones with the pretty colors and markings are sent to the store to be sold as pets instead of feeders. They are not bred for temperment or health. If petsmart says they are only to be sold as pets that's fine and dandy, but they are from the same litter as the PEW's and other what's considered "bad colored" rats. They are seperated and sold as pets only because they have better markings, no other reason the rest of the litter goes to other pet stores to be sold as feeders.


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## SweetLittleDelilah (May 13, 2008)

Yeah...=/ which, I'm sure, is why they're usually skittish. (though I got lucky and Delilah wasn't.) That's why I try to handle them as much as possible.


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## linbobin (Aug 18, 2008)

Alright


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## mallina (May 26, 2013)

Most rescues charge an adoption fee, because they don't want their rats being fed to snakes. Real rescues spay/neuter their rats, and that costs money. The adoption fee will, of course, be more for a fixed rat to account for the cost of the surgery. There are cases where a rat won't be fixed due to age/health and the adoption fee is typically less. No one should ever give away any animal for free, because of what cruel people are capable of doing.


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