Is it HORRIBLE of me to exchange my new pet?

Question

We "adopted" a Dumbo Rat from someone who was allergic, so we got a friend for him, since they are social. SHE BITES!!! Petsmart has a 14 day policy, and it's only been 5 days. Today, she bit so hard that after 10 minutes, my finger is still bleeding!

I feel AWFUL thinking of returning her, she is cute! But VICIOUS!!! I'm also afraid that the next rat will be just as bad...

Thoughts?

Answer 1

Thinking about doing this does not make you a bad person at all. But your rat may still be nervous and is biting out of fear. With some rats it takes more time for them to trust you than others. For example: I went to a petstore one time to get a baby rat for my daughter. This rat whom we named Buttercup is the sweetest most loving rat I have ever owned and she has been like this from day one. Went to petsmart and got Sheepy. She is a velveteen and I think she also has a bit of rex in her to. Anyway we have had her roughly a year. She would bite fingers up until maybe a couple of months ago as soon as you would stick them in the cage. She just doesnt like anyone to pet her or pick her up. Has always been like this. Latley she will come up to the front of the cage and all you get is one pet off her and then she runs to the corner of the cage. Rats like ppl have different personalities. If you yourself feel that you just dont think you can devote alot of time to try to socialize him and try and tame him and are that afraid then its your rat and your choice to take him back and get another one. But since you got him at petsmart Im assuming he is no older than 10 weeks old. He might just need time to adjust to his new home and new owners. For him to not bite he needs to trust and to him he probably feels scared and frightened at the moment. Give him time. I would. I have had older rats around 15 months old that I had rescued from horrible owners that were terrible biters. Now they let you pick them up and they give kisses. All because I took a little bit of time to trust train them. Try bits of treats and stuff that tastes good. Hold it in your fingers and open the cage and start getting him to come to you and take the food. Talk to him often in a low loving voice. Eventually if you put a little time and work into him he will be a sweetie. I guaruntee it. I would keep him and work with him. It may take some time but I guaruntee he will come around. Believe me its alot easier and less time consuming to get a baby to trust faster than an adult and I have worked with both. Dont give up on him yet. You may just be suprised the outcome given time and effort. Give him a chance.

Answer 2

It is fine.  I had to return my first leopard gecko to Petco.  I couldn't even feed him, becuase whenever I reached my hand in, he hissed at me and tried to bite off my finger.  He was evil <(:'( )-I--<

Answer 3

Yea you should take her back! If my hamsters were to bite me like that before the 14 day policy then i would take them back.

Answer 4

petsmart is horrible. they'll kill her if you put her back. give her to a shelter or like other people, work with her.

Answer 5

Naw, id do it. Especially if that one is vicious

Answer 6

That is OK for you to exchange it if she was evil as you say.

Answer 7

If everyone did that to their pets... Then no one would want there pets, they would want that perfect pet.  There would be millions of more unwanted pets.  Just get to know her first and treat her gentle.  Hold some food before you pick her up or something.  SHe is probably just scared.

Once my mom adopted a blind pomerainian  Which was  super viscious.  He also had multipule health issuses and a surgery.  But she didnt return. she kept the dog.  And she bonded with the dog.  my mom even taught him to use potty pad which was surprising.

Basically give your rat a chance.

Answer 8

The kind of life a pet store rat lives would make you a biter, too. They're kept in tiny, dirty cages with almost no handling or human interaction at all until they're old enough to be shipped off to the store. Then they're taken from the only home they've ever known, packed into crates with unfamiliar rats that will bite them and fight with them, and then once they get to the store, some stranger picks them up by their tail and dumps them into a new, unfamiliar cage, possibly with the very rat that fought with them and injured them on the ride over.

So you can see, it's not a great recipe for an even-tempered animal. What your rat needs is time, patience and TLC. She isn't vicious or aggressive, she's scared out of her mind and hasn't had any positive experiences with people so far to allow her to trust you. It can take awhile to build up trust in an animal that has almost never been held in their entire life. You should never expect just to bring home a perfect, affectionate, cuddly animal, especially from a pet store. Try trust training methods with her. Sit next to the cage, and just talk to her. Get her accustomed to the sight, sound and smell of you. After a few days of this, try it with the door open, so she can come closer if she wants, but don't reach for her. Offer her treats like baby food or yogurt off of a spoon. It allows her to associate good things, like food, with you, but she also has to l**k it off and stay close to you, without being able to grab it and run away. After you've built up some trust, allow her to sniff your fingers, gently stroke her back and head/ears, but don't try to pick her up until she's good and ready. If she cowers away from your hand or attempts to backpedal when you reach for her, she's not ready yet.

Answer 9

I would take her right back to the pet shop!

Answer 10

its not that bad, i mean who wants there supposed to be new best friend biting and be mean!

-April <3

Answer 11

i think you should take her back and get one thats less bity.

Answer 12

That's the risk you take buying a rat instead of adopting from a rescue that will be able to tell you how the rats' personality is.  

She isn't vicious, she's scared, stressed out, and likely just needs to be worked with a bit.  She probably hasn't been socialized at all, and so just needs more work.  If you don't want to commit to her, you'd probably be best off handing her over to a rescue (NOT a shelter) and explaining to them the situation, and that you're not able to really handle her.

Answer 13

Take it  back they should have made sure that it was gentle before letting you adopt it.

Answer 14

The same thing happened to me. I felt a reason not to return Him. He soon just stopped biting and was really sweet. Your rat may just not be sure of you yet give it a bit more time.

Answer 15

PetSmart has horrible & unsocialized animals. Return it and go with rescue or private breeder.

http://www.petsmartcruelty.com/

UPDATED: Don't jump to conclusions because its PETA, I'm not talking about them, I'm talking about PetSmart. Everyone agrees....

http://aspcacommunity.ning.com/group/sma...

http://www.helpinganimals.com/oi_petsmar...

http://members.aol.com/homeforgps/advice...

http://www.theguineapigrescue.com/cruelt...

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/14...

And if nothing else, just look at this one...http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

Just because you dislike PETA, doesn't make them okay. I don't agree with everything PETA says by any means, but I've worked at PetSmart first hand & don't buy their bs anymore. Check out the sites and what other previous employees have said. It's not just one place.