Finding 'quality' rats?

[sirsmiley21]

whats wrong with petstore rats?
and how do you find a breeder in your area  a good one?
 
im in saratoga springs ny

and secondly what is the cost associated with "good quality" rats

[Dearpie]

I removed this post from hijacking another, and started this new thread.

[Heather]

There's nothing neccessarily "wrong" with pet store rats. They can be quite loving BUT you must realize when you purchase one you are subjecting more rats to take it's place. Rat mills are just like puppy mills- the animals are treated horribly, live in filthy conditions, and are bred until they die (young). You support that with your money and demand when you purchase from a pet store. Reputable breeders breed for health, longevity, temperment. They are responsible, give excellent care to their animals and most of the time you will find that breeders don't have "breeder rats" and "pet rats" as their breeder rats ARE their pets! Since you are in NY I imagine you have quite a few nice places to get rats from that are NOT pet stores. Have you looked into rescues? There are lots of homeless rats in North America and by adopting you put money back into an organization that helps more rats find their forever homes and receive proper care until they do. It's very rewarding to adopt, I'm sure there are others who can point you to some east coast rescues or just do a search. Kim's Ark may extend into NY.. not sure.

[NYDaisy]

Also, Mainely Rat Rescue gets rats to NY frequently.  I've adopted 5 boys from them.

[Ratman55]

Not trying to Hijack thread but there is seriously no place around me i live in Texas and the closest i can find is like 4 hours away and with out a really supportive family member in the rat business i will most likly have to buy my 2 boys i hope to get from pet smart... i live in roscoe tx

[calicojenn]

Not trying to Hijack thread but there is seriously no place around me i live in Texas and the closest i can find is like 4 hours away and with out a really supportive family member in the rat business i will most likly have to buy my 2 boys i hope to get from pet smart... i live in roscoe tx

not sure how far it is for you but there are some on pet finder  in Houston.

[Ratman55]

lol....that is major far for me. unfortunatly petsmart is my only option unless someone will ship their rats wich i don't want to do or drive to meet me very close around here.