What should I do wait to get my pet rat or get it from a pet store?

Question

I have studied up on rats reading anything that I can touch so I could learn about them and as far as I see they are really cool pets, and I want one badly. But I have a problem I decided I want to buy from a breeder. How much should they cost? Because the person that I would get it from that lives in GA the only breeder I have found, is selling each one for $20.00 and I want 2. At Petsmart they only cot $11.00. Today I went to Petsmart because I wanted to hold one and see how comftorable I would be with it and it was love at first sight a fawn hooded rat but I really want a dumbo rat. So what should I do go on and buy 2 from the pet store or wait till October when the breeder will be breeding what I want? And now I am stuck btwn. either if I want boys or girls after i held a girl today i think i want one but then my first choice was that i want a boy because i heard they are laid back and dats wat i want. From your experiences wat do u prefer?

Answer 1

Howabout adopting? There are many great pet rats in shelters that would love a home. What's also nice about adopting? Many rats have underlying illnesses when they come from pet stores, and yes, even from breeders. They are properly treated for any sickness at shelters, so you won't have those nasty unexpected vet bills due to problems the pet store and breeder "promise" they don't have.

Above and beyond, animals at shelters are handled daily and are much better socialized.

Answer 2

I would personally go with the Breeder. The rats may be slightly more expensive, but will come from a healthier stock than the pet store, so you will have fewer pet bills. Also, Breeder rats tend to be more social and more loving toward humans, in my experience, than rats from pet stores.

$20 sounds about right. Some breeders will sell a pair for less, however, so do ask. The reason they sell for more than the pet store, aside from the fact that they're putting more into the care of the animal and breed, is also to discourage people from trying to get their rats just for feeders.

Good luck, and welcome to the joys of owning rats. They're amazing creatures.

Answer 3

well i got mine from a pet store and it never bit me and all that, but i got it at petco. when my bro got his from petsmart and it was sweet and all but it was not a people kind of rat. if they have people come out and play with them they are probably fine! if there are too many or it looks like it is not a good habitat, try some other place!

Answer 4

Trust me, waiting is a heck of a lot better than getting anything from a pet store!

All pet stores get their animals from high-volume breeding facilities. These are a lot like puppy mills, if you have ever heard of them. Basically, these breeders get paid for the amount of rats they sell, not how healthy they are. So for these people, it is all about breeding more and more. They do not care at all about health or genetics, so you might be getting ill-tempered or sickly rats. They also usually over-breed the animals they use for the breeding, so even though at the pet stores they are cute and happy, their parents are extremely sick, miserable and abused. By giving pet stores money, you are giving them the okey to go and breed more rats, so more rats will suffer in the end.

Reputable breeders care about quality over quantity, and this is what you want! Breeders are highly knowledgable and very careful when breeding. They will only breed rats that will produce healthy and social babies. They will also be very careful to adopt out their babies and will not just sell them to some pet store for anyone off the street to buy.

If you do not wish to wait, please consider adopting. Look at some shelters around where you live. Also, look at some classified ads, like craigslist.com or kijiji.com. There are many people which cannot keep their pets and are trying to find them good homes. By the way, age really does not matter! I have kept around 30 rats, and only thee of them I got as babies! ALL my ratties were very friendly and lovable. Give it a try :)

Answer 5

the only guarantee on a rat you'll get from petsmart or any petstore is that they have an upper respiratory disease.

rats do not ever get over this kinda up upper respiratory disease.  it will shorten their lifespan and you will spend the rat's lifetime of listening to it sneeze.

just wait and prepare.

Answer 6

I think you should rescue one. First of all there are SO many rats out there that really need homes either because someone can't take care of them or because they got bored of them. I know how it is to not be able to wait (I recently got two rats after deciding they were AMAZING pets - guess what? I was right, haha), but I kinda wish I'd rescued my rats instead of buying them (granted I did buy them at a family-owned pet shop, so that's better). Another thing is that rats at pet stores like Petsmart have a tendency to have myco, which you don't want.

http://members.aol.com/MMCart3475/Myco.h...

So I think you should consider looking for rats in your area on www.petfinder.com. I've already found two rats I want on Petfinder (just have convince my mom!), and you can get them just as soon as you can from a Petsmart once you find the right pets!

But if you can't find one you want for rescue, I'd go with a local, family owned pet store. Less likely to have myco running about.

Good luck, and I hope you love those ratties as much as I ended up loving mine!

Answer 7

We have 2 females that I am trying to give away to a good home in Chattanooga TN. they are both a year old and are very smart.  If you are inst. you can E-mail me at [e-mail] or my wife's E-mail is [e-mail]

Answer 8

Even though rat's are not my fave, I know that with pretty much all animals there is an uncountable amount out there still looking for a home in an animal shelter, no matter how long they have been at the shelter they are miserable and want a loving home instead of being tossed out the door AGAIN to the same place just because someone wasn't able to care for them, and so if you adopt one you will be like that rat's hero and they will absolutely love you for that.

Answer 9

I know people have already mentioned this, but I just want to press this point further. Do NOT buy from the pet store, you are not getting your money's worth.

The best choice is to get your rats from your breeder. I don't care if the pet store may have a vet who says the rats are healthy, that doesn't affect the rat's genetics, intelligence, socialisation and overall personality.

A breeder always breeds for the best. They give their animals all the care and attention they need, and they start socialising the babies from a very young age.

A pet store gets their rats from mills who don't care at all for the animals. They breed for money and raise the animals in dirty and dreadful conditions. It would certainly horrify you to know what they do to animals who can no longer breed, or how they keep the animals.

This effects how the rat responds to humans, since they were used to harsh conditions as a baby.

At the moment, I can tell you don't want to spend that extra $9 for a rat from the breeder, but let me tell you. It is certainly worth it and definitely not a rip off.

Rats from breeders live a longer, healthier life than rats from mills, they also have a lower chance of suffering from problems like obesity and depression, and they are more likely to respond better to obedience training.

Be patient and just wait that extra time for your perfect rat. Don't come home with something you know isn't worth it.

Answer 10

I have gotten all of my rats from petstores or from ppl who had gotten them and either didnt want them, couldnt take care of them at the time or threatened to feed them to snakes. Problem is shelters most of the time dont have them. Or at least no shelter in my area or no where near my state has them. Petstore rats are sick alot of times when you get them. Usually when you decide to get them from the store they arnt showing any signs of sickness till you get them home. Breeders usually pick from there best stock so to speak. They will take rats that have a long family line of healthiness. Rats that never got tumors, never had myco flairups and basically healthy in anyway. Not saying that what happens will happen they could get sick from the stress of moving to a different home. But rats that come from breeders are usually socialized alot better than ones from a shelter or a petstore. If your willing to wait and the breeder is willing to sell you one I would go with the breeder. $20 is a good price for one of there rats. Most if not all breeders are registered with the RMCA and so on. There are a couple more of those and most reputable breeders are registered with all of them. And alot of the breeders rats being that they come from good stock sometimes make really good show rats. If it were me I would rather wait and pay a little bit more for a rat that I know is socialized really well and would be alot healthier than the other. Hope I helped. Also make sure the breeder you get the rat from is a reputable one.

Answer 11

LOOK AT THE SPACE!!!!!THEN PE STORE BECAUSE THAT IS LIKE RECUING THEM TOO!!!-good luck-