# HELP!? no rat breeders around?



## hayls94 (Apr 17, 2013)

Hello everyone, I live in Ontario, Canada and I can't find any rat breeders around I know I've read so many bad things about getting rats from pet shops, but I really want a ratty friend. I've had other rodent pets such as mice and hamsters and now I've read so many good things about rats as pets and am looking to get some. I've looked on kijiji and have found no current ads for rats either. HELP!? where can I get one?

would anyone blame me for getting a pet shop one? aren't I kinda saving it.


----------



## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

Lots of people get their rats from a pet shop. If you do, you want to go to a pet shop you trust that you feel treats their animals well and deserves your business. If you can go to a shop that breeds their own and has a happy, healthy group of rats that they're breeding then go for it. The problem with buying from pet shops is how it supports stores that participate in animal cruelty, etc. You want to avoid major chains like PetSmart and PetCo, but I've found a lot of local pet shops are actually good places to get pets and they're worth supporting.


----------



## Ratfinx (Feb 19, 2013)

I got my rats from a pet shop, I don't regret it one bit, I didn't know much about the situation with pet shops till after I got my boys however now I would go to a breeder or rescue them  but I have no problems really with pets shops if its the only place you can get them,
They're going to be your pets so do why you thinks best 




Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Ratfinx (Feb 19, 2013)

And I agree with what rumy said completely 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Jenzie (Dec 26, 2012)

Yeah, try looking for local mom and pop shops that take good care of their animals. As mentioned the issue with big name pet shops is that they buy their animals from sources where they are treated unethically, but small shops often breed their own or source them from small breeders who do not sell to the general public. Of course, you wanna make sure that the animals seem happy and healthy, but I'd say go for it at a small shop!


----------



## zurfaces (Jan 16, 2013)

Ruka a member on this forum runs a rescue I know he/she is in Canada but I don't know where. Send him/her a PM and see 

I also see a bunch on petfinder.com


http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?animal_type=Small&pet_breed=rat&location=ontario&distance=0


----------



## zurfaces (Jan 16, 2013)

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/25843565


 Awww look at those three cuties!!! I want!


----------



## Kaliloca (Jan 24, 2013)

My most personable rat came from a pet shop. She's my hubby's favorite of the 3 rats we have. 

She was thin and small when we got her. She was also very timid. She came from the feeder bin of the local reptile pet shop, so they have a big turn over on rats. 

Anyway, beside being a thin runt that was scared of her own shadow.... She was very healthy. Healthy as in no RI's and such. She was definitely malnourished. With just a bit of nutritious food and lots of love. She's become the most AWESOME rat I could have asked for. 

My other 2 rats came from a breeder. They're pretty awesome too, but Blue..... She's awesome with a huge helping of AMAZING!!! 

So, even a rat from a "pet shop" can be a wonderful pet.


----------



## hayls94 (Apr 17, 2013)

Thank you to everyone! this is really reassuring that some people have great rats that came from pet shops 
If I continue not to find a ratty from anyone local, I will start to look at pet shops. Can't wait to get my first rat!


----------



## Roxy the Rat (Apr 7, 2013)

I'm from Ontario too and I have the same problem. I actually got all my rats from Kijiji, but in the past I've gotten them from pet stores. My mom and I had four of them when I was a child and they all came from pet stores. Honestly, it all depen on where you get them from and on the rats themselves.

I'd say make sure that you try to hold them before getting them. This may seem like a given, but some pet stores won't let you.

There's one pet store that I go to for supplies when I need them and for frozen mice for my snake, and I can never resist going around and petting the animals. They mostly have opened topped cages. There are a few which don't, but if you ask an employee they'll let you pet and hold them. This gives you good idea of each pets personality so you can choose one which seems friendly. 

On the other hand, just over a week ago I stopped at a different one because I was right there and I couldn't resist going in and checking out the pets. I had been there many times before, and about 8 years ago got a hamster there plus one of the above mentioned rats about 6 years ago. Anyways, I hadn't been there to visit the pets or anything for a while. So I went in and saw the most adorable rats. This was before I got my latest rat, so I asked if I could hold them or at least try to pet them. You know what the employee said to me?

"We can't take them out or pet them or they'll escape and we'll never see them again." So basically they're fed and then left alone. Not pet, not held, nothing. Of course that in itself made me want to rescue them, but on the other hand also made me apprehensive. I didn't end up buying a rat from there. But it goes to show that some pet stores severely neglect their animals, which often leaves said animals scared, timid or at times aggressive. 

I agree with what was said above; try to avoid big chain pet stores. 

I was at a PetMart last year looking for some fish for my friend and wandered over to a wall where they had a ton of mice, hamsters, gerbils and birds, and also had them labelled with their sex. I happened to notice that the male and female mice had chewed a hole in the plastic wall separating their cages and were going in and out of each others case. Concerned, I found an employee and let her know in case they hadn't noticed yet. She then told me (somewhat rudely, I might add) that they already knew about it because another costumer had told them a few days ago so thy were going to separate them soon. They can mate in a matter of seconds or minutes. Never mind DAYS. And they were still selling them despite the very, VERY high chances of multiple pregnant mice. 

The chances of something along those lines happening with rats it also fairly high, especially when it comes to big stores like that. 

I've found that stores which are much smaller scale are a lot better not only in their knowledge of animals but of the care they provide as well. If you're going to go with the pet store route, I'd highly suggest one of these. One of the friendliest, most amazing hamsters I've ever gotten was from a small scale pet shop and I've never regretted it, even though I've regretted other hamsters in the past.

Now, I'd also suggest that you continuously look on kijiji. It took me quite a while of continuous looking before I found ads for my rats, but it paid off.

Another option is going to stores which breed rats as feeders. These rats may or may not be sociable and they may or may not be pregnant (if you go with females) so they're kind of comparable to pet stores. 

Anyways, good luck in finding your new furry friends 

What area of Ontario do you live in?

I know of someone who runs an animal rescue in Southern Ontario, and someone else on here brought to my attention a rattery in Hamilton. I know how big Ontario is though, and they may not be anywhere near you. I've also got a contact in a cat/dog rescue, but she knows quite a few people who run rescues and such. Depending on whether you live in Southern or Northern Ontario I may be able to try and put you in contact with someone.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Roxy the Rat (Apr 7, 2013)

Oh, just to clear things up about my last statement (because I just reread it and it sounded kind of confusing), I meant she knows people in lots of different rescues for different animals such as rabbits, hamster, mice and most likely rats, although I haven't actually ever asked her about knowing anyone who takes in rats.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## hayls94 (Apr 17, 2013)

Thank you for your reply! It's nice to know there is someone else on here from ontario and understands the problem! I have been checking a lot on kijiji and one woman told me her rat accidentally escaped got into the male rats cage and got pregnant so she couldn't be sold anymore but that she would have rat babies in the future. So hopefully maybe this will work out for me, but who knows since they're not even born yet. 

I've heard many of those same things you mentioned about pet stores so I am very mindful that I must be careful and will kind of be taking a gamble. I know I've bought mice and hamsters from Petsmart in the past and they were always very shy and did not want to be held very much. 

Right now I'm actually away at school and Ottawa and will continue to live here in the summer, but my hometown where I soend the rest of my time living is in Barrie, which is closer to Toronto!


----------



## hayls94 (Apr 17, 2013)

Roxy the Rat said:


> I'm from Ontario too and I have the same problem. I actually got all my rats from Kijiji, but in the past I've gotten them from pet stores. My mom and I had four of them when I was a child and they all came from pet stores. Honestly, it all depen on where you get them from and on the rats themselves.
> 
> I'd say make sure that you try to hold them before getting them. This may seem like a given, but some pet stores won't let you.
> 
> ...


contacted that rattery in Hamilton! seems like such an amazing place to adopt new rats, and has great testimonials. Hopefully I'll be getting new ratties from there at the end of may. Super excited, glad you told me of this place


----------



## Roxy the Rat (Apr 7, 2013)

Good luck! I hope it all works out for you. It's so exciting to be getting new furry friends. 

And yes, it does look like a good place. I haven't actually gotten any rats from there yet (someone on here recently told me about it), but it seems impressive.

I was excited to find out about it in the first place since rats don't seem to be as popular of pets in Canada as they are in the USA or in the UK. And Ontario seems to have even less rat owners than other provinces. Finding a rattery (and one that is relatively close to me!) is not only exciting, but I hope is also a sign of the rising popularity of rats. So many people have negative misconceptions about them, and it's sad really.




Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Hamsterific (Jan 14, 2013)

I'm from Ontario as well and I know what you mean about there being a lack of rats/rat owners around here. Not sure about the rat breeder in Hamilton, but I know that some PetValu locations take in rescues so you could try there. I would advise against big chain pet stores. Also ratshackforum.com has a lot of Canadian rat owners and occasionally there are ads up there for people re-homing their rats.

Good luck


----------



## Rat Crew Rattery (Feb 5, 2014)

I am a rat breeder in Ontario Canada. For more information please visit my webpage


----------

