Alright, I am set on the fact that I will be buying two male rats very soon. My best friend has two rats currently, and bought one from Petco and one from a place that sells baby rats as snake food. Do you guys/ladies think it really matters where I get my rats from? I was considering the pet store that sells them as food...not only because I'd be saving two of their lives, but also because I want two baby rats so I can hand raise them (Petco and PetSmart tend to only have the adult rats). My only concern is the health of the rats from the food store. I'm not sure what to do. What do you guys think? I need some opinions. Also, does anybody here prefer a specific breed of rat? If so, please explain why.
Thank you =)
Answers:
IFyou BUY from a pet store you ar enot 'saving' them you are merely making an opening for 2 more too take their place
However a good petstore [whilst still getting their rodent from mills]will know their source and their source WILL be inspected and controlled where a backyard breeder will not
for two well socialised boys then a breeder is best, look for one that is approved somewhere like
http://www.goosemoose.com/
http://www.nfrs.org/
or whatever is applicable in your country
a breeder will be able to give you papers detailing the history of your boys and any problems within the lines and will be aware of where all the siblings have gone and how they have got on
breeder boys will be bigger and shinier than petshop boys of the same age, due to correct breeding andfeeding and will have been handled from birth
feeder rats are actually healhy and well fed as snake and lizard owners will not endanger their animals by feeding them rubbish. but they are often supplied by the same mills that supply the pet ones theonly difference being the pets will be the pretty ones and the feeders will be the blacks/browns/pew
rescue rats are often the result of buying from petshops and finding that they dont settle or are nippy or that people havent had the patience to keep with them and have got bored. they are also often the result of petshop missexing and are therefore as unhealthy as their parents
personally i would never advise a new rat owner to get a rat from a rescue, most rescues have either been traumatised in some ways/have health problems/bred by mistake/ not socialised/biters/old.
the truth is people just dont put good healthy young rats into rescues, those are the 'keepers'
there are no breeds of rats all pet rats are one breed, rattus norvegicus, there are many different varieties though and all are created equal and its your personal choice
here i have
1 black hooded
1 agouti hooded
1 agouti hooded dumbo
1 roan/husky dumbo
1sealpoint siamese dumbo
1 black berkshire dumbo
4 roan/husky top ears
and
1 naked hunny
all boys, none related and ranging from 14 months-6months
in the past weve had fawns,champagnes, pews selfs, boys and girls
all my rats have picked us rather than we pick them, these are rats who are first up to us and climbing all over us saying 'im yours take me home'
good luck with your choices
The PetSmart in Lexington, KY sold me my pet rat, and it was still a pup! I would be afraid to buy a rat that was to be used as snake food only because of health issues %26 they probably havent been handled %26 properly socialized. Talk to the people at Petco or PetSmart %26 see if they get rat pups in to sell. Good luck!!
Where you get them from is incredibly important.
Rats from pet stores are mass bred so, as you say, can have bad health. They also won't have been handled much so won't be very friendly. If you buy from a pet shop you support this trade so you are basically funding animal cruelty. If the rats sell they will keep getting more in. So although you save the lives of the rats you buy, you condemn others to cruelty.
If you go to a rescue on the other hand you are supporting a good cause. Rescues often get pregnant does in so will have litters of babies looking for homes. A good rescue will handle babies from very young so they will be nice and friendly.
Breed wise, rats only really vary in colour and this doesn't affect their personality the way it does with dogs for example.
Feeder Supply usually has babies or young rats for sale. If you are looking for a baby that could become snake food it will end up being a mouse because they usually feed snakes baby or small mice not rats. If you are looking to save a rat, try looking on PetFinder. They have rats for adoption pretty cheap and you could save one.
They make great pets. I had a hooded rat and she was great and loved to climb on me and give kisses. I picked her out by placing my hand in the cage and seeing which one would come to me and she ran up to my shoulder so she went home with me. Good luck.
If you want a well socialized, healthy rat, please adopt one from a rescue or shelter. You'll be saving a life, and you'll be able to get a bit of history on him too.
If you go to www.petfinder.org you can search for rats by gender and location!
I wouldn't get your rats from a place selling them as feeders. They are not socialized with humans and are probably very hand shy. You would need to work with them a lot to get them over their fears of humans. Sometimes petstores like PetSmart get young rats in. I would check a few stores before committing to your pair. I would also choose them from the same place, that way you know they get along and will be more comforted since they already know each other.
i do not think it matters where you get it but i got a hamster from a store called feathers and fur and 10 days later after we got her we discovered she had mites that took $160 to pay for the treatment so i think you should get one from petsmart or petco because they take VERY good care of there animals
well rats make babies 8 times a week. so you don't have to buy two to save their lives because there are a lot more out there, and also this is keeping the rat population down. Yes I do advise you to buy a two baby rat, so you can handle it so it wont be mean or bite and so it can trust you. And so If you get two they won't get lonely. You should get two from the same litter, so they'll know each other . Make sure the pet store of your choice has the male separated from the mother and babies. When you look at the babies they should have dark eyes. When I go to pet stores to look at the hamsters I see the male rats eating the young, I'd advised them to keep the male separated from the female and her Young if I were you. Rats are a a bit mean in my opinion.
hope what I said helped!
I would not buy a rat from a pet store, they are not socialized, too young, have many health problems and if you buy them for a pet store you are just encouraging bad practice for the pet stores, if you buy one, then they get in more because people are buying them. Do not believe that you are "rescuing" the rat because there are many more in the back room :( and the babies are usually taken away for their mom too soon. I would recommend doing some research before you buy even if you buy from a breeder because some are not good breeders. I would only get one from a shelter if I was ready to deal with any issues that they have because shelter rats are also not well socialized and may be aggressive (they are there) they also will not be babies but adults and their ages may not be known so you might get a older rat. Check in your area for information here is a useful rat forum that also includes the U.S. and they can help point you in the right direction http://www.lilratscal.com/forum/index.ph... and remember, rats live about 2 years, need proper food, care, housing and love they are not a pet to get on a whim. I love Dumbo rats and Albino but they all have different personalities and are loving pets.
If you want the healthiest, most long-lived, rats then start your search with looking for a reputable breeder
http://www.ratster.com/
You can still get your rats from a pet store, just keep in mind that these rats are puppy-mill bred and their health is an issue. I've had breeder, pet, and feeder, rats over the years and they have all made awesome pets. Some just had more health issues to deal with.
A question that I answered earlier may answer some of your pet store rat questions:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...
Our pet rats are Rattus norvegicus, a species of rat.
http://www.ratbehavior.org/ratspecies.ht...
Since there is no such thing as breeds of rats, only Types and Varieties to date, there is no real difference in rats except for their coloring and markings. Pick your rats with friendliness as your first priorty. I've had almost every Type and Variety of a rat, would love to get my hands on the Harley Type, and there's been no substancial difference between them.
http://spazrats.tripod.com/mischief.html...
Since you are new to rat keeping may I suggest that you join one of the many Yahoo rat groups where you can talk to others about their rat-keeping experiences.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holistarat...
spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"
saving one is a good idea, but first check your local animal shelter. i got a baby hamster from one near me, and it was the sweetest thing. also, they tend to also let you take the cage its in and all its stuff for one low price
After checking with our local shelter and finding out that they didn't have any rats we purchased ours from Petco and haven't had any problems. However we did get them at about 6 weeks old and on the same day the store received them.
We will have been together 1 year in August.
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