# "Free rats" on CL



## Lioness (Nov 11, 2011)

The ad says:



> 2 free pet rats!
> 
> Rat1 1 yearold Male dumbo rat black and white very frendly, Loves kids!
> Rat2 2yearold Male fancy rat grey and white very nice and frendly!
> ...


Who gets rid of their two year old pet? How awful.. hold me back, I don't need these boys.
... though I do have room. >>


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## shawnalaufer (Aug 21, 2011)

Awww how sad that they have to get rid of them  
Come on, you know you want to get them, LOL!


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## A.ngelF.eathers (Jul 6, 2011)

I've a perpetual disgust for people who do away with older animals. It's never ideal to rehome an animal, but I have a special variety of disdain for people who keep an animal it's entire life then get rid of it. 
I don't know care who you are, you can't keep an animal while it's young and active and seemingly healthy then when it starts to slow get rid of it. :| Life commitment people, life time commitment. 

That being said, I don't know what this person's situation is, but I do know CL is a pretty poor way to rehome an animal.


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## Iheartroxyrat (Feb 22, 2012)

aw poor boys :-( i wonder if they no longer could afford them or somethin?


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## GhostMouse (Sep 6, 2011)

I just saw some on my Craigslist, too. It always breaks my heart. Although I'm both fascinated and perplexed by the last ad I saw, which was titled "Free to good home, two rats" and yet described them with a "rehoming fee of $25". At least with a fee like that, they aren't likely to end up as snake food. It just makes me wonder what people think the word "free" means.


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## Maiden (Mar 9, 2012)

The two rats I have are 1.5 years and the other is 9 months. Their previous owner was moving and it broke her heart to give them away. She only felt a little better giving them to me because she knew I would take good care of them. 

I'm inclined to believe this person planned on keeping them until the end but something came up.


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## shawnalaufer (Aug 21, 2011)

A.ngelF.eathers said:


> I've a perpetual disgust for people who do away with older animals. It's never ideal to rehome an animal, but I have a special variety of disdain for people who keep an animal it's entire life then get rid of it.
> I don't know care who you are, you can't keep an animal while it's young and active and seemingly healthy then when it starts to slow get rid of it. :| Life commitment people, life time commitment.
> 
> That being said, I don't know what this person's situation is, but I do know CL is a pretty poor way to rehome an animal.


They might not have had the rat its entire life. They could have adopted them as adults. My first pet rat ever was over a year old when I got him. 
Any CL isnt always bad- I got all three of my girls off CL ads!  My little girls were from a girl who works at a dog/cat rescue and took them in even though they don't normally take in other animals, she felt so bad for the momma rat and her babies. And Aniston came to me from a guy who bought the rat for his daughter who he claims bit her and she was then too afraid to handle her. The guy didnt want her to sit in a cage and never be held or even petted so he was giving her away. So not all CL rehomings are bad  But I do see where you are coming from...for every good CL rehoming ad, there is shady one.

Like the gal that I read was trying to find homes for a litter. She posted that they would not be ready for another two weeks as they had not been weaned yet..PET ONLY!!! She exclaimed in her ad. Now the same gal has an ad, same tiny rat pup pic on it, and says PET OR FOOD< DOESNT MATTER, THEY NEED TO GO. 
My oh my how the tables turned there?!


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## Iheartroxyrat (Feb 22, 2012)

shawnalaufer said:


> They might not have had the rat its entire life. They could have adopted them as adults. My first pet rat ever was over a year old when I got him.
> Any CL isnt always bad- I got all three of my girls off CL ads!  My little girls were from a girl who works at a dog/cat rescue and took them in even though they don't normally take in other animals, she felt so bad for the momma rat and her babies. And Aniston came to me from a guy who bought the rat for his daughter who he claims bit her and she was then too afraid to handle her. The guy didnt want her to sit in a cage and never be held or even petted so he was giving her away. So not all CL rehomings are bad  But I do see where you are coming from...for every good CL rehoming ad, there is shady one.
> 
> Like the gal that I read was trying to find homes for a litter. She posted that they would not be ready for another two weeks as they had not been weaned yet..PET ONLY!!! She exclaimed in her ad. Now the same gal has an ad, same tiny rat pup pic on it, and says PET OR FOOD< DOESNT MATTER, THEY NEED TO GO.
> My oh my how the tables turned there?!


ahhhhh thats terrible!! :-( im intrested in adopting some rats but im nervous to off CL... i dont trust alot of those ppl :-( esp that lady saying pets only then pet or food needs to go! what a ____!!


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## shawnalaufer (Aug 21, 2011)

I felt the same way. So I contacted them and asked a TON of questions to get an idea of what I was getting myself into. 
I even sent update on the girls to both people I adopted them from (since of course I got the guys email address to get into detail prior to adopting Aniston, and got the phone number from the rescue girl sicne we communicated via text messaging!)
The ones that dont want to be bothered to get into great deal are the ones I just quit responding to. 
If nothing else, just ask to see them.


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## 1a1a (May 6, 2011)

All my rats have been the product of rehomings. There's been some Very shoddy health and a lot of trips to the vet but each and every one of them has been utterly lovable (even the hormonal bully boy). As long as I have the finance to back it up, I'll keep getting secondhand rats.

@Shawna: Scarlett no-haira - Love it!


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## Iheartroxyrat (Feb 22, 2012)

id love some rescue ratties or second hand babies  and thats a good idea to ask about the rats and get backgrounds, when i got my doberman from a breeder i did that same thing and his breeder three years later still wants updates on zeus, health wise and personality  thats a sign of a good breeder!


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## Maiden (Mar 9, 2012)

1a1a said:


> @Shawna: Scarlett no-haira - Love it!


I KNOW!

I laugh EVERY time I see that XD


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## Korra (Dec 11, 2011)

CL is actually a wonderful place to rescue rats. You just have to be REALLY careful and know how to recognize a problem. (Plus any of yall who are female like me, NEVER meet someone alone. Just to be safe) 
Alot of parents get their kids rats and it often works out, but you know how some kids are. The rat ends up never being touched. I actually got Silver Lily off someone on CL who didnt want her anymore for whatever reason.
But there are also people who breed and sell their babies on there. You always have to ask questions and try to get straight answers.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Korra said:


> CL is actually a wonderful place to rescue rats. You just have to be REALLY careful and know how to recognize a problem. (Plus any of yall who are female like me, NEVER meet someone alone. Just to be safe)
> Alot of parents get their kids rats and it often works out, but you know how some kids are. The rat ends up never being touched. I actually got Silver Lily off someone on CL who didnt want her anymore for whatever reason.
> But there are also people who breed and sell their babies on there. You always have to ask questions and try to get straight answers.


If you are unsure if they are breeding or just rehoming, post the ad in here and we can help advise you.


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## Lioness (Nov 11, 2011)

lilspaz68 said:


> If you are unsure if they are breeding or just rehoming, post the ad in here and we can help advise you.


I've actually seen two different ads of people trying to rehome litters over the past week or so. One looks like they sort of remotely know what they're doing, and the other is talking something about a litter of Siamese rats but there are all sorts of markings in the picture.. either way, they're either accidental litters or BYBs.

Personally I've always had a soft spot for animals middle-aged and older. I rarely have the patience for babies. lol


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## moongate (Mar 12, 2012)

I got my boys off of CL there was a rehoming fee and the Lady selling me them gave me sites to go to to find vets, and food, also her dad is a vet and so she told me to call her if I have any problems or questions. I'm going to be giving her an update and pictures (as soon as I can get them to hold still long enough) But then again, I was willing to walk away if I had noticed anything fishy. You really just have to read between the lines of those ads and you need to be willing to walk away if you don't feel comfortable about it.


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