Rats from petsmart

[radzer0]

is there anything bad from getting them from there?
because its the best local place i could find and asking local petshops they do not know any breeders localy (they all breed there own and i dont like the one place localy that does.. nor do i realy want hairless rats at this time)

[kmw]

Where are you located?  I know there are people on this board who run rat rescues - and may have babies or rather young rats who are looking for homes.  I think it's better to rescue a rat than buy from a chain store

[radzer0]

metairie, la
right outside new orleans

[Nellybird]

I don't know if you live near any of these places but..

http://www.altpet.net/rodents/LA.shtml

You can also look for breeders in bordering states. If you can find some rats at a shelter though, consider adopting them first.

[ckhs]

Where are you located?  I know there are people on this board who run rat rescues - and may have babies or rather young rats who are looking for homes.  I think it's better to rescue a rat than buy from a chain store

 DITTO,however i kinda feel from a pet store is also a rescue.
ckhs

[Dearpie]

Almost all of us have bought from pet stores ..... it's not the worst thing!  And PetSmart keeps their rats separated by sex, actually only sell EITHER Males OR Females!  So you won't bring home a pregnant female!  That's the good news.  However, there tends to be an abundance of upper respitory infections going on with pet store ratties, which tends to be less prevalent with breeders stock.

Many pros and cons.

[ckhs]

Absolutely,i got all my babies from pet-co(feeders) i absolutely hate the place,they were all very sick(four)my littliest and most dear to my heart is carmen and she had leisons on both her lungs...all healthy now,thank god.

[Anna]

I try not to think of rats at pet stores as rescues, even though they do need to be rescued!
If we think of them that way, then we are encouraging the pet store to continue breeding and selling low quality animals. Instead we should insist that they meet a standard for animal quality.
That said, I rescued a blue from a pet store. At 5-6 weeks old she was in a tank with boys, on pine, and deathly ill. She came home with me and is a wonderful (if a bit rambunctuous) addition to my family.
I personally like petsmart. The one here keeps their animals on aspen and carefresh, never kicks me out for telling their customers what bedding to buy and only sells on sex in the store, so no pregnant rats.
I respect that personally. I even have a dumbo that came from a petsmart. I'd never seen a dumbo in person, and the thought of him going home with anyone else was too much for me to bear.

So the point being, we shouldn't think of them as rescues because we are hurting our cause, but we should for the sake of the animals.
It doesn't make sense, but it's the only way I can deal with the idea.
Anna

[kim]

FYI - not ALL petsmarts keep their rats separated or only stock one sex - this is all up to the INDIVIDUAL store not the corporation.
mine, for instance, stocks both sexes and does not separate them.

and while you are "rescuing" your rat from being a feeder, you are also paying the store and supporting what they are doing. incidentally, petsmart must refuse sale if they know the animals are going to be fed.

hating the pet store so much isnt going to mean a thing if you still go there to get their rats- if you want to make a change then educate them and alert authorities to ensure that the animals are given proper care. they shoudl have veterinarians that can treat their animals when ill.

purchasing animals from them, much less sick ones, isnt going to help. every animal you purchase opens up another slot for the supplier to breed more rats. if animals are ill, most good herps wont even think about feeding the sick animals to their snakes. if they werent purchased, the store would have to second guess why they bought so many rats and tell the supplier to back off breeding so many. as is, when people go there to buy pets, you are giving them money and supporting what they are doing.


what would help is if people refused to purchase anything from there. hit them where it hurts - their livlihood. let them know that we wont tolerate their abuse of their animals, that they need to treat their animals better.

[kim]

and i just want to clarify - this doesnt mean that pet store rats dont deserve to be pets. i have a pet store rat now, and have had them in the past - many months ago i even had a group of rescues from there (some were free, some were paid for) because they were all ill. but i will never go into a pet store again thinking that by giving them money i will be rescuing them, because as much as i save them i am dooming that many other rats.

yes pet store rats make great pets - but pet store rats have a mugh higher chance of health and temperament problems, as well as shortened lives. they werent bred to live long or be nice, and thats the sad truth.

[~Lilly's mama~]

I got all 3 of my ratties from petsmart.  And they are all healthy and friendly.  But, I've heard ALOT of horror stories about them.  

If you can't find a breeder near by, then I say, by all means go get one from there.  I would and did!  LOL!

[Bonnie]

FYI - not ALL petsmarts keep their rats separated or only stock one sex - this is all up to the INDIVIDUAL store not the corporation.
mine, for instance, stocks both sexes and does not separate them.

I just wanted to say that I work for Petsmart, and no, it is *not* up to the individual store- it *is* a corporate policy to only have males or females. I have worked in two stores and both were only allowed to order males.

If your Petsmart has both either (a) the breeders accidentally have sent females with the batch, and they had babies, and the manager is dumb and did not seperate them or (b) they are accepting rats that were no longer wanted and selling them.

Honestly, if the Petsmart near you is doing either, I highly suggest contacting thier manager, because it is against Petsmart policy to sell both, and even worse keep them toegether if they know they have both. I can say this with all honesty because I am a manager at my store, in that department, also.

I have recieved females in my store and they are automatically taken to thier own cage in back in case of pregnancies. When the babies are born we take care of them, and seperate them by 4 weeks. When they are a little bigger (at least 5 weeks) and if they are healthy, we place them out in seperate male and female cages for sale. I wish all the managers did this, but you know. Grr.

Anyways, to answer the origonal question- If there are no rat rescues or breeders in your area, then I would go with the pet store rats. Just make sure you get to hold them before you buy them- make sure they are not too bony, that they are breathing alright, etc. I would only buy them from the store if their cage looks well kept though. If the cage is gross or the wrong bedding is in there (another note- it's against Petsmart policy to use anything other than Carefresh in their rat and guinea pig cages) then i would'nt buy them.

I'd go to the rescues and breeders first, if you can find them.

[Chic 2000]

The rats from the Petsmart around here in my neck of the woods look good.  Males are kept in seperate tanks.  In fact the only rats this petsmart sells is males it seems like.  Alot of people here tell alot of bad stories about many petshop rats.  Being sick, inadiquitly cared for, males with females, yadda, yadda, yadda.  But some stores aren't so evil.  I would give the Petsmart rating in Renton WA a GOOD to FAIR rating.  They have healthy animals on display and the employees work with them.  Haven't seen the back room though, could change my mind if I did.

But if the animals you see are healthy, don't sneeze frequently, are gender seperated, and cared for.  Then they are probably fine.  

But please take a moment to browse through the adoption section of this site.  There are many ratties that need homes and possibly one breeder or person that has rats is close enough to you.  If you can't find what your looking for then Petsmart is OK, not great, but OK.  The rats and babies from the people posting on this site and forum are more likely to be well socailized, handled properly and make really good pets.

[Anna]

Bonnie, I have 2 questions for you.
1. Are they allowed to use aspen? I see it in the tanks at the petsmart here, and I think it's great, but you said carefresh only.

2. Do the employees know why they only use those beddings, and do they help customers find a non toxic bedding?

I'm not picking on petsmart at all, I like them compared to other pet stores, I just always wanted to know what their company policies were.
Anna

[Bonnie]

Yes, aspen is allowed, but only for mice, hamsters and gerbils. Carefresh *must* be used for Rats and Guinea pigs. It's better when I started working there 3 years ago- everything was on pine! Anyways- Carefresh for Guinea pigs and rats, everything else, Aspen.

And I would HOPE the empolyees know why that those beddings are used. At least all mine do. It's one of the first things I teach them, and I have heard almost all of them stop a customer and reccomend other beddings when customers are walking out with cedar.

And I just wanted to add, I am no way promoting Petsmart. Just informing you of the policies, because if they aren't being followed at the Petsmarts near you then something is very wrong. My store is getting audited sometime this week, and I know for sure one of my pre-audit checklists had "approved bedding" on it, so it's not a company suggestion, it's a policy to get written up for if not followed.  

[radzer0]

down here at petsmart they only sells females
only female everything
not just rats.. also hampsters/guini pigs/gerbals only females

[kim]

there may be corporate policies. but there is no guarantee that the stores are following it.

because 1) our petstore repeatedly - as in ALL the time, has both sexes of rats, mice and hamsters. they arent being bred there, they are new shipments. i have watched them place them in the cages. i have had to go in there and separate them for them. then again, since these employees wont handle the animals and cant tell the males from the females, what can i expect.

2) they dont stick to the carefresh only rule for rats - because all of the rats at my petsmart are on aspen.

my point is this -- all the policies in the world dont mean anything unless they are followed and enforced. and beleive me, i have talked to the manager plenty of times. and when i approach now, they walk away.

[Anna]

Thank you Bonnie, that's really good to know.

Oh yeah, do they have a policy against irritating rat lovers lecturing their customers on bedding?
I find myself doing that there a lot.

[Bonnie]

LOl, no there's no policy against irritating rat lovers lecturing their customers on bedding, in fact I encourage it! I don't know every single thing about every pet, so if there is someone in there who has owned something I never have owned, and it sounds like they know what they are talking about- I'm not going to stop them! In fact I will listen, and I have... many times. Three years working at the store, plus all my previous pet experiences, and I STILL learn something new everyday!

And  note to Kim: I really think you should go higher than that manager. There is probably a contact on Petsmart.com for complaints or a phone number.( I should know if there is, but i have no idea- I'm just guessing) I honestly would call them, for the animals sake, because if the manager is that ignorant not to follow the policies, then I really fear for the care of those animals. It's not like putting a certain bedding in a cage is hard to do... even if it is more expensive, the company has alloted more spending to compensate using Carefresh. They are cutting corners where they shouldn't be cutting them, IMO.

[kim]

thanks bonnie - after the info you have armed me with (shall we say the local petsmart doesnt consider me their friend and they have told me that they find rats disgusting) - im gonna go higher up for sure!!!! and im sure i will be running back here to get more rules and regs from you!!

[Suebee]

And I just wanted to add, I am no way promoting Petsmart. Just informing you of the policies, because if they aren't being followed at the Petsmarts near you then something is very wrong. My store is getting audited sometime this week, and I know for sure one of my pre-audit checklists had "approved bedding" on it, so it's not a company suggestion, it's a policy to get written up for if not followed.  

Trust me, we are VERY happy to have someone here who can let us know what the corporate policies are -- it's nice to know that they are listening to us, because I know lots of us have written letters to the company, and the changes have been obvious! Our PetsMart is MUCH improved over the last few years. :~)

To address the original question: when it all comes down to it, it really depends on the conditions at the particular store. Despite corporate policies, in any chain store (I work at a non-pet-related retail chain, myself), each store can be VERY different in how they implement those policies. The staff knowledge is also always different from store to store, whether it's pets or craft supplies.

Take a look at the store by itself, and see if it meets your personal approval. My guidelines are as follows:

• Proper bedding (aspen, Carefresh or other safe bedding -- no pine or cedar
• No signs of illness, such as sneezing, lethargy, or parasites
• All animals separated by gender -- not just rats
• Proper food available at all times
• Water available at all times in an on-demand water bottle
• Clean living environment
• Sold as pets only -- no feeders
• The staff will allow you to handle the rats before you commit to a purchase

I'm sure there are other items that will come to mind, or that others can add to the list, but these came to my mind immediately.

[radzer0]

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