I went into a pet store today to see if they had the expensive and hard to find brand of cat food I use. I had never been to this store before, and it was quite large. In my search for the cat food, I came accross the "small animal" section. Now, I should have known better then to look for the rats. Or, in this case, RAT. One poor black hooded dumbo, all alone in a tiny tank with no shelter.
She was curled up in the corner sleeping, but looked quite pathetic. I asked the young man who worked there if it was the only rat they had, and rather or not it was male or female. He just sort of shrugged. Then this woman came up, and I stated talking to her. She told me about how she has a rat (singular) at home, and then asks the staff to hold the girl. So doofus reaches in, grabs the poor sleeping rat around her belly, and pulls her, struggling, out of the tank. He sort of thrusts her on the woman, who has to struggle to keep a hold on her. The poor thing was terrified, and obviously not well socialized. The woman then comments, after looking at her belly, that it looks like the rat has recently had a litter.
As I look more closely at the girl, I can see that she has a bad case of mites. Her fur in patchy and her skin looks irritated. Knowing that I won't get help from the guy who I first spoke to, I spoke to the woman at the front of the store. I tell her that the rat should not be kept alone, and that it appears to have a bad case of mites and needs to be treated. "Oh," she says, totally uninterested, "I'll tell the folks in that section." A.K.A. the apathetic teenager I already spoke to. So I left the store, feeling totally sick and angry and sad. I can't stop thinking of that poor girl. If I had a place to QT, I think I would have brought her home with me. But I have nowhere to QT, and really can't afford another rat right now.
I just had to rant. Not sure what else I could do....
PS: The store is called Seaworld Pet Center, in Salem NH. I am NEVER going back there again. I would reccomend that no one from this forum does, either, unless it's to complain about the crappy conditions.
