# In For a Lava Ledge, Out With A Rat



## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

So yesterday I went to Petsmart to get lava ledges. I knew I shouldn't go in, _*I KNEW*_ I shouldn't go in! 

And then there they were. Cute little baby rats. 

I had been considering getting more for the 2 girls who stay in the cage............and they were _soooo adorable_!

I have to say that this pet buying experience was different than the one I had at Petco.

At Petco, they rudely reached into the cage and asked me which one I wanted and that was that.

Last night, they actually asked me questions to make sure I wasn't buying them as feeder rats. After I told them I have a DCN and a 12" Wodent Wheel, they let me look at the babies. There were only 4 rats in a clean cage with ventilation this time as opposed to the 20 or so I saw in a tiny aquarium at Petco. Petco charges less for smaller rats than they do for bigger ones. Petsmart has ONE price, unless you wanted a dumbo rat.

I took one of the youngest ones that showed interest in me and the one that was a little older than the others. It's obvious that while they haven't been completely socialized, they have been handled and apparently loved on. 

Whether or not a rat is already socialized is not a primary concern for me. I just want to get the poor thing out of the cage! But it is nice to have 2 rats that are already socialized, that I can hold and love on right away! 

I know people will tell me this wasn't a good idea, but I introduced them all last night. I'm so glad I did because the other two rats seemed to really come alive playing with those two younger ones! Keisha, one of the ones I already had, actually got on the Wodent Wheel and ran for a bit! She didn't even notice it before. 

Tess, my terrified and probably abused rat took to the young ones right away. She cuddled and cleaned them like they were her own. It made me wonder if maybe she was used to breed feeder babies?? I don't know how old she is. I think she might be full grown. I can easily see an unethical 'breeder' getting rid of her if she's getting old. 

It that's the case, I'm glad the rest of her life will be good.



One of them, the smallest one is Pebbles.









The other older one hasn't told me her name yet
.








From now on, if I can't buy things for my rats from anywhere but a pet store, I'm ordering it online! 

PERIOD


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Yep, better to order online. Plus it is cheaper too. I hope they are healthy, fingers crossed. Petsmart doesn't sell feeders so they weren't never at a risk to become feeders. Last time I checked Petsmart's prices on rats it was over $12, way too expensive for a feeder anyway.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

Yeah, and _*YOU'RE*_ the one who told me about Lava Ledges!


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## InuLing (Dec 26, 2015)

You have no idea how many times I've been grateful that my petsmart tends to be out of rats. They'll have them in for a few days and then they'll be gone for a few weeks. I live in an area where the big pet stores don't sell feeders, so I'm also grateful for that. I'm in petsmart 2-3 times a week usually and I'd be in so much trouble if they had rats in more often. I'd probably do the same things you did lol. I know one of these days I'm going to see a single female in the cage and it'll tear at my heart.

I keep lava ledges too. Just replaced one yesterday actually.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

catty-ratty said:


> Yeah, and _*YOU'RE*_ the one who told me about Lava Ledges!


LOL. I bought mine online. I guess next time I'll add the website where I got my stuff from just to be extra cautious, lol. Don't put that on me


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

Well, I didn't really want to wait to get ledges. I have Amazon Prime, but since I live out in the sticks, it still takes an extra day to get things. 

So I guess I'll take the blame for this one!


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

InuLing,

If they hadn't so adamantly told me that they DO NOT sell feeder rats, I would have taken all of them home last night! 

When I saw the higher price and fewer rats, I thought maybe they didn't sell feeder rats. I was really glad when they asked me questions about habitats, etc. Especially since I asked if they were feeder rats so I should no if I should get them all out!


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## Rugrats (Jul 29, 2015)

InuLing said:


> I know one of these days I'm going to see a single female in the cage and it'll tear at my heart.


That's literally how I adopted Feta.  Her friend at PetSmart got adopted like two days before and she was so depressed that when they opened the cage and I reached my hand in, I pet her and she didn't even move a hair. She cost me over $300 in vet bills but I love her so much. <3


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

Rugrats said:


> She cost me over $300 in vet bills but I love her so much. <3


I'm so glad you kept her anyway! A lot of people would have just taken her back for a refund. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!


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## InuLing (Dec 26, 2015)

One time, before I got my first rats, I walked into petsmart while they were cleaning the cage of a single rat. They know me very well there so when I asked to see her the associate just said yeah and kept cleaning. I picked her up and she was sitting on my shoulder, running accross my chest, and letting me pet her. The girl was astonished, saying that rat was usually very antisocial and that she had never seen her behave like that before. If I had the space and supplies that I do now I would've taken that little rat home right then and there. At the time I couldn't budget it so I had no choice but to leave her there. I was so torn.

Btw the petco by me does not sell feeders either. Only places I know of within range of me that sell feeders are a small local pet store and people on Craigslist.


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## Ratloved (Oct 4, 2015)

Lol, I warned you warned you, hey are addicting!! Enjoy and love them !


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## Love My Rats (Sep 3, 2015)

makes me wonder if I put all my girls together if they would get along , and maybe not Mickey and Snowball are 16 months old and Summer and Breezy are a year old so the age difference would worry me but it sure would be nice just to clean one cage instead of 2 big cages , their cages are next to each other so they can smell each other , they know they are next door think it's worthe a shot to try to introduce them all together ? or are they to old for that idea?


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## dguizzy (Jun 9, 2014)

My first two rats were from Petco, one is still alive who i'll have had for 2 years come April, and neither were socialized properly, but turned out to be two of my most lovable rats i've had. (I currently have 5). Daisy, my first, died of a URI turning for the worst, but other then that she was as healthy as could be. Pearl, my tumor'd up albino, is so sweet and lovable. But I do buy all my things online now, because everytime i go into a store with rats I want to bring even more home!

I hope all goes well for your new additions! They're adorable!


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## Tabitha&Tobermori (Mar 14, 2016)

I got my babies at Petsmart too. The people there said they took this one out every day after closing to play with her!


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

Love My Rats said:


> makes me wonder if I put all my girls together if they would get along , and maybe not Mickey and Snowball are 16 months old and Summer and Breezy are a year old so the age difference would worry me but it sure would be nice just to clean one cage instead of 2 big cages , their cages are next to each other so they can smell each other , they know they are next door think it's worthe a shot to try to introduce them all together ? or are they to old for that idea?


I know for sure that two of the rats I already had are not full grown yet. Tess I think might be. So I don't think there is an awful lot of difference in their ages. 

You could always try introducing them. Ask some the experts around here. I'm sure they can give you good advise. 

Do the older rats show any signs of aggression towards the younger ones? If they don't I would think it would be worth a shot since they're already right next to each other anyway.


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## InuLing (Dec 26, 2015)

Another reason to try would be that as they get older one will eventually be lost. If whoever is left behind has two other friends in the cage then they could help her get through it without too much of a loss and help keep her from becoming depressed. I don't mean to make things depressing but it is something to think about.


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