Is it a good decision to get my pet rats from Petsmart? has anyone ever bought rats/ seen rats in petsmart before? if so, how were the conditions? were they housed well? were they in seperate sex cages? would i be better off buying feeder rats that are treated very well by a pet store owner who cares for all his animals?
2007-02-03 03:44:05 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Not really. First off they cost 4 times the amount you will pay at a local pet store. A rat unless it is hairless or some other specialty line should run no more than about $4.00.
Many of the animals the pet chains carry are from "breeding mills". They suffer eventually (and not all) from various inline and inbreeding problems. From what I have seen, yep for the most part they take care of the animals, however rats are social animals and should be kept in numbers in their cages not one in each cage.
Honestly, buy your rats from a smaller pet owner who relies on quality animals to keep his store in business. Not all the bells and whistles of 5,000 different toys (good or bad) for your pet. The other advantage to a smaller store, if you run into a problem, there isn't a 16 year old kid giving you bad or no advice. I can call mine up at any time with any questions.
2007-02-03 04:53:25 · answer #1 · answered by danielle Z 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It depends on the Petsmart some have people that love rats and handle them and take care of them and people that work at some of the other stores dont, the same goes for a small pet store. You should do some research on pet rats (if you haven't already) then go into each of the stores you are considering and check out how they have their rats housed and if the cages are clean, if they are housed properly (this means no cedar or pine bedding also) and cages are clean then ask to speak to whoever knows the most about rats in the store and ask questions as if you had not done any research and see what type of answers they give, if they cant answer most of the questions you are asking then go to another store because a lack of knowledge generally means that the rats either arent be cared for properly or that there isnt anyone there that really cares enough to learn about them. You could also try local animal shellters and breeders. Good Luck
I also just would like to add that I have worked at the Petco in my area and am now working at the Petsmart and I find that the Petco in our area has much less knowledgeable people and is much dirtier but it all just depends on your location.
2007-02-03 04:03:25 · answer #2 · answered by scarfiespudsushi 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I got 3 rats from Petsmart and they were wonderful pets! You can get them from the Humane Society for $3 though.
2007-02-05 08:24:08 · answer #3 · answered by Laura M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The last time I went to PetSmart, they tried to sell me a ' 6-week-old ' rat that was not only full-grown, but it bit the PetSmart lady when she tried to pick it up! Talk about horrible! So no. I ended up getting my rats from a neighborhood pet shop who sold them as snake food. I love them half to death, but I'm glad I didn't get the ones at PetSmart.
2007-02-03 05:13:51 · answer #4 · answered by P!ATDrules! 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I usaually by mine both feeder and pet from the same small pet shop in my town They sell feeders cheaper and you can usually get them younger than from petsmart also petsmart doen't really handle their animals they just feed and clean their cages.
2007-02-03 03:50:54 · answer #5 · answered by kim stiens 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on the size. Small rats are 5$ Medium rats are 7$ Large rats are 12$ these are the prices at the petco in my area.
2016-05-23 23:18:07 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
uh, no, of all the things i would buy at patsmart, actual pets isnt on that list. if you can, just visit pet co, the employees actually care for the pets, as whare the petsmart i go to dont even seperate fighting rats. most of the pet co people know what they are talking about, instead of pointing you to someone else who is always busy. usually, the store conditions and general feel is positive, not like some warehouse. visually, the rats at my petsmart dont look too healthy, like the workers ignore thier problems, im sure they are going to get shut down untill they improve the conditions. overall, petco rocks, compared to petsmart. however, if you can find a local dealer kinda place, like a family owned pet shop, look into thier buisness. thanks for looking into the shops before buying, if you ever need any advice, email me, i shall share all i know
2007-02-03 04:02:35 · answer #7 · answered by Bob7k 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋
i've bought my gerbils from petsmart, and i also saw they're rats too of course, and seen them handle all of the pets, they also let you hold them before you buy. even though it depends what YOUR petsmart is like, i think they take good care of they're animals. in Mobile we don't ahve a petco, so i've never been there, and also the employees at petsmart give you information when you ask a question, good luck!!
i think i've answered all 3 of your questions on Y! answers lol!!
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v wrong daniel z!!
2007-02-03 04:30:21 · answer #8 · answered by ferrets4ever 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
In petsmart I have seen the rats up close Idon't think you want to buy your rats there I would recomend for you to go petco thats where I know rats are treated right and they will give you any information you need about them.
2007-02-03 04:04:28 · answer #9 · answered by wanchin 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋
no idea
2007-02-03 10:13:03 · answer #10 · answered by jerry 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋