# On the fence on wether to buy from Petsmart...



## SmangoandFern (Dec 1, 2010)

Hey there! My name is Lydia, and I am thriteen years old. For the past month and a half, I've been learning about owning rats! (= I'm finally excited to say that my parents are allowing me to use my allowance money to buy a pair of rats and their supplies! Unfortunately, there are absolutely NO breeders or shelters within a four hour drive away. ): Craigslist unfortunately has about three rats for sale, and we've contacted every owner to find that they've all purchased their rats from petsmart. (Witch is my alternative source..) So basically, I could either get a rat from someone on craigslist who had bought their rat from petsmart, or I could just buy directly from petsmart.. I'm leaning towards Petsmart only because my rat will be of a younger age.

So basically, I guess I'm asking you're permission to buy from petsmart. Unless someone can think of a better solution to this issue. =\ Thank you for you're time! :-*


----------



## SmangoandFern (Dec 1, 2010)

PS:

Please don't smatter me with a "no pet store's" lecture.  I have read up on why we should never buy from pet stores. But I'm just reeeally hoping this is one of those special acceptions..? ???


----------



## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Go for the Craigslist rats.

That way the money is not going TO the pet store. Your getting a rat from someone who already owns it and the money is not going to the purchase of 3 more.


----------



## catsandscales (Oct 21, 2010)

I'm in the same boat... no breeders within two hours! I'm driving 6+ hours roundtrip to pick up my rescue rats (which I can pretty much guarantee are pet store rats... but I prefer older animals to babies). 

Honestly, there are TONS of people who have had very good experiences with pet store rats. It's frowned upon because it usually supports poor breeding practices. But! That doesn't mean you will always get a sickly rat that will turn out to be super mean and aggressive or that will die in less than a year. =P Matter of fact, more often than not you'll end up with a perfectly decent pet.

What I would do, though, is ask lots of questions about the rats before you buy. Make sure you're confident enough to double-check the genders of your rats before you buy them, even if the employees tell you what gender they are. =P And as all good pet-buyers do, make sure you pick one that has bright, clear eyes, energy, alertness, and friendliness. 

[Oops! Kiko ninja'd me... I obviously am not as adamantly against petstores, but she does make a good point. It's up to you!]


----------



## eluin (Jan 25, 2010)

SmangoandFern said:


> Hey there! My name is Lydia, and I am thriteen years old. For the past month and a half, I've been learning about owning rats! (= I'm finally excited to say that my parents are allowing me to use my allowance money to buy a pair of rats and their supplies! Unfortunately, there are absolutely NO breeders or shelters within a four hour drive away. ): Craigslist unfortunately has about three rats for sale, and we've contacted every owner to find that they've all purchased their rats from petsmart. (Witch is my alternative source..) So basically, I could either get a rat from someone on craigslist who had bought their rat from petsmart, or I could just buy directly from petsmart.. I'm leaning towards Petsmart only because my rat will be of a younger age.
> 
> So basically, I guess I'm asking you're permission to buy from petsmart. Unless someone can think of a better solution to this issue. =\ Thank you for you're time! :-*


Honestly, you don't need our permission to do anything. It sounds like you've done the research and made a decision based on the options you have. You know that petstore rats can come with a world of health problems and can die earlier than breeder rats. They can also be more aggressive and harder to tame down. You've probably read all the threads where they post pictures of petstore rat mills and the conditions that your babies will be born into. If you decide to get a petstore rat, knowing all of that, it is your call. I have gotten several of my rats from large chain petstores. One died within 6 months of coming into my house and took a piece of my heart with him. The other will be celebrating his first birthday on the 11th with some of my crew that was born in the house. He seems reasonably healthy and we haven't had any issues with him yet. He nips once in a while, but he is not a biter and he is pretty friendly. I was caught by the mistake a lot of us make though. I went into the petstore and looked at the rats. He looked back, I signed the paperwork, and he came home to live with me. I couldn't leave him behind. I know that another will be bred to take his place. I know I'm just giving money to an establishment that I don't agree with. I will probably wind up with another PetsMart rat at some point in my future. It happens. I've got a good vet who is familiar with rats and a chunk of change put away against the day that one of my petstore rats gets sick or gets a tumor or one of 100 other things that might happen. 

Don't rule out the rescues entirely though, just because they are far away. You'd be amazed at the effort some of us put into getting ratties where they need to go. For example, I'm looking at taking in a couple of needy girls over on GooseMoose (another rat website you might like). I live in Traverse City Michigan. The rats are in Akron Ohio. Another Goosemooser is running down there to get girls for herself. She is going to bring my rats within an hour of my house and I'll meet her there. A lot of the rescues travel a lot too. Huron Valley Rat Rescue is a big one in my area. They are 4 hours from me, but if arrangements are made, they'll deliver rats all the way up to Traverse City. Mainly Rat Rescue is even better. The woman who runs it has a trucker for a husband. He delivers rats all along his route, which seems to include several states around MRR. If you go on GooseMoose and post that you are looking for rats in a certain area, we may be able to help you get them. Especially if you are in the California area (or surrounding states). There was a huge hoarding bust there and there are literally thousands of rats that need homes right now. Rat Trains are being set up to get the rats to neighboring cities and states. I think the last count was 1300 rats were seized from a condo in San Jose, with more babies being born every day. 

Edit to break up the big block of text, even though I used paragraphs to begin with. I think my computer must have eaten them or something.


----------



## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

To me it's not about the health of the rats. Being as that my rescue rats were probably all pet store rats at one point.

To me it's a matter of who you want to give money to, and I'd rather not give money to a pet store who is just gonna get more rats with that money.

If rats are available from Craigslist I say go for it. 

Where are you located? We could even help find a Rescue or Breeder near you.


----------



## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

And yes Mainly Rat Rescue has rats places in fosters all over New England (Maine, Connecticut, NJ) AND NY.


----------



## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

Kiko said:


> To me it's not about the health of the rats. Being as that my rescue rats were probably all pet store rats at one point.
> 
> To me it's a matter of who you want to give money to, and I'd rather not give money to a pet store who is just gonna get more rats with that money.
> 
> ...


Exactly! All my rats are from petstores, thats not the point, its about not paying them.

Agreed, rat rescues do large transports frequently.


----------



## TamSmith (Mar 1, 2010)

Any rat I have ever gotten from petsmart has been sick and died way too early. I currently have 2 in my group that were originally from petsmart and one has already had 2 tumors (even with a spay) and the other has a chronic URI that has even stopped her from growing.

I don't think it's ever a good idea to go to a pet store because they are more likely to be unhealthy at a young age. Plus I don't like supporting the places they get the stock from. Taking in one rat for my selfish need is only hurting many more.

All of my rats are rescues and all of them came from some kind of pet store (i'm pretty sure) and all of them are ill at a young age. I would never stop rescuing but I won't contribute to any more being bred with these genes. 

Sometimes I get lucky and I can rescue a rat from my friend who is a local rescuer but if she doesn't have rats, I drive 5 hours away to the nearest rescue. I'm even currently willing to drive out 10 hours away and rent a hotel if it means saving a few rats from a really bad situation. Sometimes the effort is worth it


----------



## killybutt (Nov 22, 2010)

While the rats you buy from Petsmart may be young, they may also be sick, or pregnant, or both. There have been numerous complaints about the way rats are bred and transported for pet stores, and the staff usually don't sex the rats properly so they put males and females together.
If you can't adopt rats from craigs' list, at least try to find another pet store, maybe an independent one, that is more knowledgable and takes better care of their animals?
But with craigs' list, you know you will be getting somebody's PET, not just their revenue. They are more likely to be tame and healthy. Better for you AND the rat overall.


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Pet store rats can make fabulous pets.... the majority of rescues are in fact from a pet store. Like everyone mentioned.. its what your supporting by giving them their money. Lets say the price ticket is $10 in the store..(its more in my area, but thats just an example) doesn't seem like much but rats have such a low value to the rat mill they came from that that $10 enables the pet store to buy 10-20 in its place. The pet store also notices a rise in interest in the pets (and notices you picked out the prettiest one there) so they increase their order next time and ask the rat mill for the unusual looking ones. (which spurs the rat mill to get in some weird colors and inbreed them heavily - we all know that some of the most lovely markings are associated with high white and mega colon. And inbreeding will just strengthen bad traits within the line.) So yeah its not really about the rat you'll get (albeit LOTS of pet store rats have issues, no socialization and possible pregnancies) its about the chain your purchase sets off that means more rats will suffer in the space you freed up and money you put in their pocket.

Pet stores have no idea how to care for rats properly. Most use tanks, pine, seed mix, no houses, no toys, can't sex them, can't age them, taken too early from mom, don't handle or love them. This increases the chance for you to get a sick/pregnant animal. 

Like everyone mentioned, don't rule out rescues. 4 hours is not really that much and many rescues will set up trains and get the rats to you! Rescues OFTEN get pregnant does and young rats - don't think all their rats are old, used and unwanted. I've seen some gorgeous rare colored ratties in rescues! These rats may be originally from a pet store (so similar gamble on health) but the BIG difference is that the adoption fee goes towards saving more and the space you freed up enables another life to be spared. Plus the rescue are always on hand to help you, give you the right info etc. The rats are guaranteed to be healthy at the time you adopt them and well handled, fed the right diet and loved. 

What ever you decide. Best of luck, and please think about putting aside a little bit of money each week for a vet fund. Vets are not cheap!!!


----------



## Nekopan (Mar 18, 2010)

I would recommend the ones from Craigslist. I know that you'd rather have babies, but take it from me, it is especially difficult to tame pet store babies if they're your first rats. I had a pet store boy that still fear-pooped after a year of frequent handling. The rats from craigslist are probably already tamed, and you won't be giving the money to Petsmart.

Better yet if you can find a rescue to train rats to you. Hope it all works out!


----------



## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

My first two rats were from a pet store (not petsmart). One died within a few months of my having him after an expensive trip to the vet and medication. The other is doing well (he's a year old), but has always had a poor coat and had some aggression issues (now resolved). A lot of this probably had to do with his genes and the way that he was kept as a baby, but that being said, I wouldn't trade him for the world. He's a lovely, loving, adorable boy who captures the heart of all who meet him (with the exception of my dad, who is terrified.)

My two other boys are from a rescue. Sure, the probably have similar poor genes because I'm sure that their parents are from pet stores too. But here's the difference, the foster mom played with and handled the babies daily, they were on the best lab block available, and in a proper cage with the right enrichment. I would much rather my adoption fee go towards supporting rats in foster homes than the giant chain of petsmart.

That being said, I consider any situation in which a person acquires an animal through surrender a rescue. It could be because of divorce, being deployed, loss of interest, lack of funds, or poor conditions. So, technically, those rats from craigslist are rescues (assuming you agree with my definition). And there are many advantages to getting an older rat.

Chances are they're already used to being handled, they're not in that "I'm going to run around, relieve myself indiscriminately, chew your favorite item, and escape" phase either (though I'm sure multiple people would be willing to point out exceptions.) 

And, after all of that, I'm going to say what I usually say. I'm a strong supporter of the idea that your animals find you, not the other way around. You may think that you've found "the rats" and then something falls through or something and you end up with other rats. And those ones are really "the rats" but you never would have given them a chance before. So just keep your heart open until you find the rats that make it go bah-boom-bah-boom.


----------



## Kimberloy (Feb 2, 2011)

this is my feeling....

pet store or not sick or not, Id rather a rat be with me and given the chance to live out his life comfortably. If nobody buys the rats from the pet stores what happens to them?? it is not the rats fault that, that is where its life has taken him, does he deserve a home less than another? I hear where your all coming from but we cant always give birth to perfectly healthy children and if they do get sick we cant set them a side. Im not fool I know a rat if different than a child but in reality its the same thought process. I have a rat from petsmart, will he become sick? will he die young? I dont know but what I DO know is that I love him he's a part of my family and Im certainly glad hes with me no matter what. me not buying him would not have changed all the bad treatment and things you speak of but let me tell you what, me buying him matters to HIM and that's perfectly ok for me!!!


----------



## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

The rats I have had from pet stores have been healthy and a joy to live with. Yes, they require some taming but if you get them young enough it is easy to do. Go for it if you have not already.
It is easy for us to say, to get them from CL or rescue but if you cannot find them use the pet stores as a last resort. if you do get them fro a pet store, look for clean, bright eyes, clean, sleek coats that indicate heath. Listen if you hear any sniffling, indicating URI. You have to be able to say no if you feel concerned about anything. Also observe them for a while to see who is most active and interested in you.
Let us know what you decided.


----------



## karinulph (Jul 19, 2010)

Where are you located? We can help reccomend a rescue near you and they may have transport available
Heck even the CA rat rescue is going to give transport to other states!
I got my boy from Indiana all the way to Michigan


----------



## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

I'd advise against pet shop ratties, for the same reasons others have stated. However, I have three pet shop ratties-

Romeo, who came straight from a pet shop and is from an awful mill, but is the sweetest boy ever. He has had surgery for a cyst, lice, and had a URI at one point, but is coming up on his second birthday. He's doing very well for his age and origins and has not slowed down at all.

Snitch, who is from a BYB who used pet store stock, he was far freindlier when I got him than Romeo, and the lady who bred them was at least slightly careful and loved them all, but he has since become a bit unpredictable and can be agressive and bites hard. He's my biggest rat. He's around a year and a half old, and will be two in october. He has had one URI and lice.

Rosebud, who is a rescue rat who originally came from a pet store. She was surrendered to me because her owner could not provide proper care, and came to me in an aquarium, full of mites and eating puppy food. She's very sweet and quite energetic, and I love her to bits. She has not been ill in my care, aside from carrying mites, and has been recently spayed and is doing beautifully.

I've got lovely pet store ratties, but it's always a gamble, and I've been very lucky. Even with Snitchie's issues, he can be touched and is okay living with other rats. I could have ended up with a rat who killed Romeo, who was very depresed and becoming skinny when I got Snitch- he was refusing food because he was lonely. Rescuing is always better, and I would take the craigslist ratties or find some at a rescue near you.


----------



## karinulph (Jul 19, 2010)

I've had three pet store stock rats

One female suddenly started up with seizures and quickly died over that weekend. She had bitten me hard during one particularly bad seizure. She passed away after that nite.

The other female was fine and loving before. Then bit me suddenly one day on the face. Totally out of no where. She had since decided biting was the right thing to do whenever she greeted me.

The male bit quite a few times though never really hard. He passed suddenly one nite in his sleep.

Purchasing a rat from a pet store is something to think about. Possiblility of illness and problems later on. Sometimes people get lucky and get a long living pet store stock rat. But others get sick or bad temperment rats that may bite


----------



## cathouse (Feb 7, 2011)

If you are going to get a chain pet store rat you need to be prepared! I thought I was. I was way wrong. I'm not sure about pet smart but I just got my boys from Petco a few weeks ago. Petco will pay for you to take them to the vet after you get them within the first 15 days, I'm not sure what pet smart's deal is. I took advantage of that right away and found all three of my boys were sick with URIs. One of them died a week after I got him. I got another rat instead of a refund and he was also sick (I actually just got him back from petco treating his URI and I think he might still be sick, ugh).

If they are sick what are you going to do? Do you have money set aside for vet bills? My life got turned upside down when I got my sick boys. I had to medicate them by myself and the first time I tried it took about 30 minutes per rat to get them to take all their meds with the syringe. It took me about a week to figure out the quickest way to get it done. But even then I was looking at about 10 minutes twice a day. Thats 20 minutes a day of my new rats hating when I held them. That was tough, and it's made socializing them tough because they have a hard time trusting me. 

Aside from being prepared financially you have to prepare yourself emotionally. I hardly knew my P.J., I don't think we had some sort of unbreakable amazing bond but when I watched the life leave him it nearly broke me. I had no idea I would get so attached so soon but when you have an adorable sick animal depending on you, you can't help but invest your whole heart into making them better.

That being said, my boys are really really sweet. The only times I've ever been nipped at was when they missed food I was holding and got me instead. They've even been real sweet to the new little boy that just got home. 

I don't have much to say about the morals involved in buying a pet from a pet store. I don't know how I feel. I'm sad, I'm very angry and I'm also so so glad to have my boys. It's a big messy gray area. 

Just thought I'd share my story...


----------



## Lovely Rats (May 14, 2012)

PetSmart only sells males; no chance of being preggers


----------



## Flashygrrl (Feb 8, 2012)

Lovely Rats said:


> PetSmart only sells males; no chance of being preggers


Not ours....the one here has what are supposed to be females.

I don't think I'd pay to put money in Petsmart's pocket for a rat, just as the same I would not buy from a feeder rat breeder on Craigslist because it's all the same. My rats came from Petco but they are an older lovely pair that had been someone's pets till they had to move and were technically adopted. I'll probably look around at rescues for my next pair although I think someday I'd like to have a few from Bao Varakhii. It seems to be the only good breeder left around here unless I want to take the two-hour trip to Indiana. Anyways, keep looking and you may be pleasantly surprised at what you find.



Kimberloy said:


> this is my feeling....
> 
> pet store or not sick or not, Id rather a rat be with me and given the chance to live out his life comfortably. If nobody buys the rats from the pet stores what happens to them??


The pet stores stop ordering so many them which in turn might stop the supplier from breeding so many. Every time you buy a rat from one of those chains they are immediately replaced by more. What happens to those ones then?


----------



## Munchie (Mar 13, 2012)

Hey Lydia, I got my rats from a pet store too, and I know I've heard lots of horrible stories but I honestly regret nothing.
My ratties were clearly well socialised, in clean cages and had friends, decent food and toys. The sales advisor was knowledgeable (she had her own rats) and spent ages explaining what they would need, what bedding to use, what food, what toys were good and where I could get a lot of this stuff for cheaper in the future. My rats have currently had no problems except for sneezing (the Pet store paid me back my first vets expenses)
You're 13, a 4 hour trip to get a pet is a ridiculous amount of driving to expect. Most people would not think twice about buying a hamster from a Pet Store. Just make sure the store you go to is clean and contains healthy, well cared for animals and that the sales people seem to know what they are doing, at least that way you are giving a better store business.

That's my opinion anyway, standards of US pet stores might be way different to the ones where I am. I wish you good luck with your rats whatever you do


----------



## Rozalyn (May 21, 2012)

I am in the same boat as Munchie. I got my babies from petsmart, and so far they are healthy and outside of a little bit of adjustment are perfectly happy normal rats. Yes, some pet stores do a lot of less than reputable things to get their pets but dont let that drive you off from a pet store. The pets in the pet store need homes just as much as any other animal! Do your homework, OBSERVE the rats in the store, make sure they look happy and healthy, ASK to handle them and talk to a sales rep. You will do just fine! If they dont look bright eyed and fat and sleek of fur then go to another store, but other than that there is nothing wrong with the rats there. Go for it!


----------



## British (Apr 2, 2012)

It's nice of you guys to offer your advice, but I think she got the rats already, since this thread is from 2010...


----------



## Munchie (Mar 13, 2012)

Wow xD Serves me right for not checking :')


----------



## Korra (Dec 11, 2011)

EDIT: Whoaaaa this topic is old XD I need to look before I leap!


----------



## Flashygrrl (Feb 8, 2012)

*snort* Same here.


----------



## shedevil7953 (Dec 8, 2011)

I have to say that I knew basically nothing about rats other than they were very intelligent. I had owned hamsters, chinchillas, guinea pigs over the years and knew a little about what to look for. Since then I've done a lot of research. I was very fortunate to get 2 great young females from Petsmart. One is younger than the other by a few weeks I'd guess but she is just a doll baby. I think the rat rescue is a wonderful idea.  I would want young ones rather than getting attached to an older one that might die too soon for my heart. Seems you have done your research so you are well armed. Good luck!


----------

