# Baby rat died.



## Ratiful (Jan 6, 2010)

Her health seemed perfectly normal on the outside. She was lively, hyper, played on her wheel, loved to be held. I had her for a little over 2 weeks. She was from the local petstore. I checked on her every day. I know what foods are good and bad for rats, and anything I fed to her was fed to my adult rat girls too -- and no problems at ALL with them.

Why did she die?
She always had food, water, a clean cage...

I checked on her this morning as I was going to feed them, and she was limp at the bottom of her cage. :'(

I was extremely upset, I had really bonded with the little girl. RIP Echo. </3


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## rattiesalem24 (Feb 21, 2010)

Oh no, RIP. I'm sorry for your loss.

As for why she died, if she was from a pet shop, you can never be certain what her genetics were. Maybe she had a generic disease, but again, you never know from a pet shop.


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## Ratiful (Jan 6, 2010)

RattieSalem24 said:


> Oh no, RIP. I'm sorry for your loss.
> 
> As for why she died, if she was from a pet shop, you can never be certain what her genetics were. Maybe she had a generic disease, but again, you never know from a pet shop.


Yes, I never wanted to buy rats from a petstore when I first got prepared for owning them. I couldn't find any breeders in my small town though, rarely anybody likes rats as pets here, they're mostly sold as feeders.


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## Elizabethm (Sep 10, 2010)

i bought mine from a reptile breeder. i have 6 for about 2 almost 3 months now and they seem pretty healthy so far. they also dont have the best genetics but they can be better than pet stores. i seen some pretty bad pet store rats. id advise you to look around better before you buy from a petstore. id say look for a reptile breeder business. they dont usually breed for profit like petstores or BYBs. you may find a better option


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Elizabeth, please don't give out bad advice like that. how could you recommend buying from a feeder breeder after all of the rats and babies you lost? do not buy rats from a feeder breeder. 

sorry to hear about your loss, though. pet stores really are a gamble with the health of your rats. these are the kind of threads people should read and consider before buying from one.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

...and feeder breeders definitely are in it for the profit, not the health, longevity, or temperament of the rat.

I am sorry about your wee one, it does sound like there was something genetic going on.


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## Elizabethm (Sep 10, 2010)

well the feeder breeder i got mine from was recommened by Debbie D. "the rat lady" "the rat fan club" from chico. they are not in it for profit because they do not sell to the public they are a food supply for the guy who breeds the snakes. rats from pet stores can also have those birthing issues. also ive only lost 1 rat and alot of babies out of 7 that ive gotten from them. things happen. i am sorry about the baby and as i said they do not have the best genetics but definantly better than pet stores... 

just to let everyone know... the lady who sold me mine from the reptile breeding facility does selectivly breed her rats for good traits. right now she is in the process of breeding out the pink eye trait in her white rats because they can suffer from cateracts. she doesnt just throw a male in the cage


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Elizabethm said:


> *i just remembered i had these on my phone from my very first trip to that reptile facility for my first ever hairless rat. i looked at all the racks and this is what every one looked like. all 4 walls had a huge rack system jam packed with rats and a door to enter the building* this is the place where all my rats lived before they came to live with me


Yeah, I'd totally want to buy rats from there.


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## Elizabethm (Sep 10, 2010)

you know... dont attack me about this, i know what pics i posted. this is about the person whos rat died. we should stay on topic. i will no longer post on this ad because i have nothing to say further to the *owner* except i am sorry and good luck finding a new friend.

piece of advice to all who have posted. sometimes transportation and location do not leave much for the person. i dont have rattiers near me or a car. i was refered to that place by a knowladgable person because i am allergic to rat fur and there are no near ratteries who have hairless rats


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Pet store rats often come from rat mills or feeder breeders, they don't breed them to be healthy or sweet and are kept in terrible conditions on a terrible diet before you get them. I'm really sorry you lost your girl  R.I.P Echo.... I defiantly wouldn't get another rat from the same place, they would likely be related as rat mills/feeder breeders do a lot of inbreeding - which can strengthen any bad traits within a line. 

Elizabeth no one attacked you, you gave out terrible advice. You've been told before there are tons of people who call themselves the 'rat lady' and the particular rat lady your on about has given out plenty of bad advice. (Including home euthanasia with illegal medicine and outrageous dosage amounts) Also how can you say your feeder breeder is good... she sold you two pregnant females, both litters died and so did one of the mothers. Your lucky your third girl with the 'accidental' pregnancy had no complications with her litter... very lucky!


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

multiple people had told you debbie d was not a good source of information. with all the losses you've suffered with these rats, i thought you would have been the last person to recommend someone else to get their rats from the same place and risk the same thing.

anyways, sometimes you just have to be patient and keep looking. it was a good couple of months before i found a source for my rats. its' totally worth the wait and effort. i've suffered so many hardships because of pet store rats, and the best advice i can give is just to keep searching and waiting until you can get your rats from a reliable source.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

The sucky part is that even the rescues you get can often be second-hand pet store rats. BUT at least you are saving a life instead of buying one and making more suffer in their place like if you bought from a petstore.

Elizabeth, I won't even go there with your choices. But remember they are YOUR choices and not good advice to splash out over the forum.

I wouldn't touch those feeder rats with a 10 foot pole (I feel terrible for them but I would never buy a rat from such a person). As for breeding for health? PEW's are not known especially to get cataracts and cataracts are normally not dangerous to their health and often happen in older rats as a sign of aging. IF cataracts showed up in her "lines" then it was because of their careless breeding they brought it in as a genetic issue (I have known families of rats with cataracts as little babies...blind as bats). They aren't trying to improve rats overall but are trying to fix the mess they created.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Rescues are also better because the rescue genuinely cares about them! They will of received medical care, proper diet, caging, bedding and had a temperament evaluation prior to being placed. The rescue will make sure your getting a good match, let you know any health/temperament concerns (if any) and they are always willing to take them back and keep in contact with you. They are in it to help rats and save lives... I'd say that makes them a million times better than any pet store - who are in it for profit.


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## Ratiful (Jan 6, 2010)

I would never think of buying from someone who breeds rats specifically as FEEDERS and nothing else... that seems irresponsible in my opinion. The owner obviously wouldn't care enough about all of the rats' health if they're just going to be fed... why put the effort into breeding good temperments, etc. if they're not meant to be pets? -- that's probably something most feeder breeders ask themselves.

...Those pictures actually made me really sad... 

And, anyhow, I'm waiting a while to get another rat. I'm going to try harder to find a breeder as close as possible to where I live. If I don't succeed, I'll see if there's any rescues that take in rats near me. If again, I turn up with nothing, I'll make contact with other rat owners and see if anyone has to give any up. I know one lady at the petstore (knows a very great amount about them, I've spoken with her) who owns many healthy, happy, EXTREMELY friendly rats.

In the meantime, I'm busy looking for healthier rat food as I am not sure if the petstore-bought food I have has enough nutrients and the like. If anyone has any good suggestions, they'd be much appreciated!


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## SimplySomeone (Oct 29, 2010)

sorry for your loss, it's sad but sometimes it happens :'( focus on your lovelies you have now and hopefully you will be able to find other from a better situation later on.


(decided to stop lurking and post something)

and yeah those pictures made me extremely sad!

again sorry for your loss
SS


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