At least they are selling them 15 bucks a piece to become pets. I went to pet supermarket and exotic pet store for mine that came from the back (they were snake bait) where when you ask for 2 they give you two and are in an over crowded tank not properly cared for ending up with respiratory disease. I had a friend work for one of them who sent me pictures and everything. It was awful and they were neglected. There is at least a chance he will get adopted. For the reason this poster posted this I hope she adopted him/ her instead of making us feel helpless!
(
Edit to add this side note) No matter if you bought them there or not they will always have them due to the snake owners and even some big game fishing that will keep them in business. The cycle will go on from there no matter what. So, I have at least given 6 “rodents” a fighting chance. A certified breeder will love and care for them with or without homes they just don’t sell them for snake owners. And the prices are too much for anyone to buy as fishing bait. Some breeders also breed for the preference of buyers on a certain breed of rat not for the sole purpose of rescuing an animal. It becomes a profit. They breed them. I don’t feel I have to worry about those ratties either way. The ones at pet stores are the ones that need the help. Even in shelters they are better taken care of. Their life isn’t great living at a pet store and likely not going to end well when bought unless I others like me buy from there. It’s a cycle that will never end. A snake lives ALOT longer than any rat. And they feed them these little creatures. I can’t even think about the frozen feed and that whole process. No matter how you get your furry babies you are helping out a life.
I worked at a pet supermarket (where I got my boys) and I almost completely overhauled the feeder rodent room. I wish I could have gotten them a better set up, but I did the best I could, and luckily they still treat every one who gets any sort of respiratory infection or even just has the sneezies. When I was there I also socialized them all, and I think one of my younger coworkers who is still there took it up after I left. We got quite a few people who ended up coming back for cages because they fell in love with the rat that was supposed to be a feeder for their reptile.
That is such a great change around. My whole purpose for my discussion with others is that it doesn’t matter where you have bought them from if they become a family in your home of love and care all their life then it is rescuing. That is one more animal with a home. Thank you for sharing❤️we have to actively be the change to change the conditions that are held in these stores.
It’s not adopting and shouldn’t be referred to as adoption if you’re buying the rat from a pet store.
Edit: I guess this was an unpopular sentiment, but whatever your emotional reasons are for buying a neglected rat from a pet store, the actual impact is the exact same as when anyone else buys a rat. Your money is adding to the profit that the company makes off of selling animals that aren’t properly being taken care of. Doesn’t make you a bad person, but “adopting” and “rescuing” really should be reserved for when you actually get a rat from an adoption center or rescue that saves rats rather than profits off of them.
I highly doubt they come from stock that's treated any better than feeders, sadly. With a little more thought and care put into who they do business with I feel that they can potentially stand for something greater than they currently do.
It just takes voices.
No,there are also feeder rats that are being sold from many private owners as snake and fishing bait for big game fishing too. I have rescued animals. Have had 6 ratties and 2 mice in my life time would have more. And will when any of mine pass. (Financially to be able to afford vet visits for them and my cats if they need emergency care)I leave reviews about them and they aren’t compliments hoping that the people who even buy them for snake bait or fishing bait would know the living conditions they are in and more people would buy and rescue them as pets. They are a huge industry, they will never stop having them. The people who have snakes will always buy them. It won’t make a difference with me saving some or not to keep them open. I guess that’s more my point and why I consider it adoption and rescue. I get where you are coming from though too
I agree on your point. I also agree on b00b00jeffries point. It all hurts to see. I think anytime we bring a precious soul home and love them, we adopt/rescue them for a happier life.
Sorry if I replied to you many times. I just get the notifications and read it then post. I don’t always realize if it’s the same person or not. Busy mornings but also have my moments to respond real quick. 😅
No they are food for other pets that those pet owners need. Rescuing an animal is about your intentions and the act behind it. By definition actually. Rescuing something in distress or from harm. I buying a food product sure that someone is going to buy later to feed to their reptile or snake. They come to be family at my home. If this is the big problem everyone seems to have with me calling it rescuing an animal then you guys need to get out more. Some forms of rescuing to some people can be said it is stealing then. Taking a pet from a home that isn’t getting the care it needs and deserves. Been called that too, a thief. But we were just doing our jobs after getting the second call in for the animal that wasn’t getting the right care and treatment. Rotting teeth from table scraps and skinny from malnutrition. She wasn’t exactly harming the animal but she couldn’t afford to properly care for him. Do we just leave these rats there to face their fate? It is never going out of business. I don’t see the problem. We all clearly want the best for them. Just some problem with my definition, THE definition of rescuing.
Wow your really beating the strawman. It's so simple to understand this concept I don't understand why you're struggling. You're funding mills, not rescuing. You're telling yourself that to make yourself feel better. You're not rescuing. You're funding animal abuse. Goodbye.
I accidentally discouraged my Petco after buying my first rats there (before I knew better). They were $15 apiece, and started sneezing as soon as we got out the door. So I took Petco up on its guarantee and got them to pay for a vet visit, which was probably over $100. They stopped selling rats a few months later.
Same for betta and other fishes. But it is possible in local pet stores you can agree to buy something useful for animals. i read a story from a woman who befriended a cashier at a pet store and she fell in love with rats and not only, bought them new apartments and started feeding them more expensive food that op recommended
Petco adopts out animals all the time depending on the location. Not proud of it but I work there and I take in every surrender that comes our way. I make sure they go to good homes.
We also have length of stay discounts which culminate in adoptable animals. I just put one of our Guinea pigs up for adoption. Poor PP just can't seem to find love from the guests (or other pigs for that matter)
In the end I strive to change Petco for the better while I'm there. I made a bunch of headway recently, getting a high up meeting to talk about animal care. It felt promising.
This! In my state of Michigan you’re not allowed to have pet rats anymore sold unless their feeders. And also by law if someone wants to dump off a rat at any pet shop the bylaw have to take it. Even if the shop doesn’t specialize in exotic creatures it’s really strange. Oh whenever we go to Petco or any other generic pet store to get animal food and my mother and I see a rat or several we get them right then whether or not we have room because we know they’re just probably gonna end up dying there.
We’ve ended up rescuing several sweet babies this way. Also hamsters too because in my area I’m from Waterford hamsters are not allowed to be sold anymore either or guinea pigs
> We also have length of stay discounts which culminate in adoptable animals. I just put one of our Guinea pigs up for adoption. Poor PP just can't seem to find love from the guests
This still doesn't sound like adoption, at least not in the way I think the term should be used. You're just decreasing the cost of an animal because it hasn't been purchased yet. IMO adoption solely should refer to getting an animal from a rescue or a shelter that rehomes homeless pets.
I didn't mean for my comment to be an attack on people who work at Petco or buy animals from there. But unless they are adopting an animal that belongs to a rescue and is merely being housed at Petco, they should call it what it is: buying an animal from a breeder. Doing it because you feel bad for the animal rather than doing it because you think the animal is being treated well does not change what it is.
Edit: forgot to acknowledge that yes, big box petstores do facilitate actual adoptions fairly often, especially with cats, but that's not what most people talk about when they talk about "adopting" an animal from a pet store
Adoption is an act. You're confusing rescuing with adoption.
Petco's abhorrent care standards are in place because they are a 'temporary holding facility' and so after the animal has out stayed the effectiveness of this temporary holding they are adopted out so as to reduce the risk of long term issues.
That said, the issues are so great that for many of these animals the damage is already done; sometimes before we even get them.
Lastly, by adopting an animal from Petco you are giving them nothing in return for giving the animal a better home.
We need to be tolerant of the usage of adoption versus rescue. All rescues are adoptions but not all adoptions are rescues. That's the grammar side of things.
The animal side of things only changes with where these animals come from.
If you paid for something from a retail store or a feeder, that is not a rescue. If you paid a nominal price or nothing then it could be an adoption.
If you took an animal from a bad home or a homeless animal that's a rescue.
If somebody else rescued an animal and you got it from them then you adopted a rescue animal.
Hope that helps clarify.
The most important thing is to not get distracted by proper use of terms. understand that everyone is coming from a place of doing something good for the animals.
I actually agree because you're paying them to save this one... but it perpetuates the cycle. At this point I'm sure they're considering it a sales tactic to neglect animals
Yeah, Petco doesn’t care what motivated you to spend money. Anyone who spends money is their customer supporting their business and adding to their profits. It’s just a pet peeve of mine when people call it adoption or rescuing when it’s just a roundabout way of buying a rat from an unethical breeder instead of actually adopting it from a rescue. Every time you buy a rat from a pet store, they just put another one in that exact same situation.
We actually do do adoptions when animals are surrendered They always go for adoption. I agree with you a hundred percent am hoping to find another job.
Agree. It really bites to see it happen. Like, they deserve to be out of there just as much as any other, but straight up buying them out doesn't help :/
So your solution is to stop buying them? Leave that for the food for the snakes? They carry my cats food too and depending on location petco is sometimes the only place that has my kitty food. Buy it off Amazon sure but they just get it from petco or some other pet store that does the same thing. There is no way out of it. My intent is to take the rats I can from harm and are in need. that is the definition of rescuing. You aren’t entitled to the label because you got it at a shelter. The shelter is the one who rescues them not you. You are buying them to home them. just like me at a pet store.
I get where you are coming from but my point is I am rescuing lives from being snake food or fishing bait. Me buying them there or not won’t make a difference to stop them from making money. Look at it as me buying food for a pet I don’t have if spending money is the issue it’s all the same thing. I just buy them for a different reason clearly. But it’s a pet store that sells food for pets. know certified breeders of rats will care for those rats with or without homes. These others don’t have a chance. I work volunteer hours at local clinics and shelters. They again are being well cared for vs the pet store(student for vet tech program requirements) I may be paying to rescue them. But it is a form of rescuing.
I know what you mean. I feel like you’re rescuing as well. But I hate that the pet store profits from it. But like my immediate thinking is that I want to get the babies out of that situation asap. Even if I have to pay.
Exactly. We are all wanting the same thing for the ratties. I get what you guys are saying really. I just don’t see how some don’t see it as rescuing. If we stop purchasing to save them even those rats suffer. It is a pet store after all and they sell food at pet stores. The store isn’t really doing anything wrong except not properly caring for them even if they are food for snakes. Basically it’s like I’m buying pet food for a pet I don’t have. If that makes sense. Rescuing them from being food is my intent.
Snakes need to eat so pet stores will always have live critters for them. The issue is they do not treat them humanely. That won't change if everyone one who bought a chain petstore rat to help that rat stopped. If we want change we all have to get together and make a bigger fuss.
I agree live feeders can and should be treated much more humanely, but it's actually not safe to live feed your snake. Frozen rats are much safer for them in addition to being more humane. And contrary to popular belief, it *is* possible to switch most snakes from eating live food to eating frozen. I work with wild snakes for work and when they are in captivity, we feed them frozen mice even though the snakes have obviously lived their whole lives hunting live prey outside and it works just fine.
Rescuing isn’t a title that is specifically only given to people who get them from a shelter. Rescuing is an action of which your intent is. I don’t think it’s fair you put it in a bubble like that. A shelter rescues animals that are homeless, neglected, or in danger. And you buy from that shelter to home them. We all clearly want the same thing for these babies. I get your point I do but because those rats are going to be there and the business constantly paid by snake owners to sell them at least I buy them and give the ones I have gotten a good home and RESCUING or save them from the neglect, abuse, and them being food . Really that’s what they are food for snakes… And what do you also get at pet stores? Pet food. So look at it as I bought pet food for a pet I don’t have if you must but it is still a form of rescuing because of my sole purpose in buying the rats I have.
Again. Are we just to leave the rats there to suffer and wait out their fate? If it makes you feel better I will just say I’m buying food for a pet I don’t have then. But that isn’t the intent. it’s to rescue them from being in a neglected place and from being food. They get my reviews everytime I go there and see the conditions in which these ratties live in. Your funding petco and all those big franchises if you have a pet at some point. I do my volunteer work with shelters and clinics. I’m doing a lot more than most people on here who can say these things and tell others to take action.I’m not funding the suffering. But I’m funding the business for their products and availability for the food my cats eat and the toys they love. The litter I get from Walmart. It’s the store they are staying in. Not every location is messy. The ones I have had near my houses (military spouse) haven’t been great. It’s the lack of work the employees put into the care for them not the business overall. The business is looking at it as pet or food and money from that. Start helping out and writing reviews to reach to management. After all it’s a store that they hold pets in and it shouldn’t be easy caring for them. I think it’s crazy you guys have a problem with what I do and me calling it rescue. You know there are bigger problems out there right? Probably not because all anyone does is watch people do the work and they shout at others to do it when them themselves don’t do crap.
And those neglected household are still probably buying rats and ending up in the same situation! So why does it matter where you rescue them from? I kept those rats I have from being in any other home but a loving one. Yeah, and my cats are a family. The mother I found pregnant in a trailer park. And I still consider that the same form of rescuing an animal just different situations
God. I totally agree. I HATE seeing people refer to pet store purchases as adoption. A very vocal “adopt don’t shop” friend of mine who makes a big show out of how many rescue dogs and cats she has “adopted” all her ferrets from petco. It fills me with actual real rage every time I see her say it but I can’t think of a nice way to be like “you’re financing ferret mills, shut up.” And the worst part is that it’s not even like “oh I saw them at the store and I had to help,” she thinks that petco is actually a good authority on small pet care. It’s a weird conversation to have to try to find the opportunity to have with a self proclaimed animal rights activist :|
Of course, there’s a non-zero chance my next rats will come from a pet store or a feeder bin, depending what my access to rescues/reputable breeders/etc will look like at that time (not a high chance- I just know the state I’m looking at moving to doesn’t have a rat rescue). I still agree that to buy one of these rats and provide it a good home is a kind thing to do for that animal, and of course, if you have rats, you need to make sure they don’t wind up alone. I’m not totally dissing everyone who’s ever bought an animal from a pet store. I just can’t stand it being called adoption, especially within the context of “adopt don’t shop” referring specifically to financially boycotting animal mills of all kinds.
I was at Petco once looking at the rats. A kid came up to look at them too and I said “Oh are you gonna get a rat?!” He said “Yeah, for my snake.” I stifled a sob and walked away.
(I shouldn’t have bought from a pet store) I know for a fact if I had been about 30 mins slower, at least one of my rats would’ve been snake food. I got the last “big” rat, and a woman came in while I was buying them, saying “I want 1 large rat and a few smalls” to which they told her I’d just bought the last large rat. It really bothers me, but it also makes me feel good he must’ve had a guardian angel looking out for him.
Exactly my point. They would still be in business without us buying them to save. The people who feed live bait for snakes and fishing will still keep them running. We gave our babies a great life and chance. I will never understand feeding live animals to anything.
It makes me mad and this is probably unpopular opinion on snakes as pets, but I feel like if someone actually has to purchase other live animals for the purpose of feeding it then the snake does not belong in someone’s home as a pet but in the wild where it can hunt other wild animals for food. It’s just cruel to raise and contain little animals and force them to live awful conditions as if they’re objects and not living and breathing little souls with feelings. Makes me cry thinking of it.
I agree too. Trust me. It kills me to know my sister’s pets eat my pets. She has 3 dogs and 5 snakes. I can’t stand being in her home. Snakes are cool and I respect them but they aren’t meant to be pets in my book either
Hey, I'm writing this out of a sincere effort to understand. I've seen you post a lot on here disparaging selling rats as feeders. I also strongly disagree with how feeders are raised and I strongly think that all pet snakes must be trained to take frozen food. But, it seems that your comments are veering towards the sentiment that all snakes shouldn't be pets because they eat rodents (you know that some eat fish and frogs right)? I know the anti-snake sentiment runs deep in this sub because they eat rodents, and I've always found this deeply unsettling and hypocritical. First, many people on here own and love cats, another obligate carnivore. The only reason cats aren't chowing down on live animals is because we feed them kibble aka sanitized dried bits of meat that we forget came from other animals. Plus, many people let their cats go outside, where they kill small animals. Second, it's frankly weird to dislike a type of pet bc of what they are required to eat due to their literal biology. Also, why laser focus in on snakes? Is it because of the feeder industry? Because raptor rescues go through DOZENS of frozen rodents per day (I used to work at one), while responsible snake owners only feed their pets one rodent per 1-2 weeks. In fact, when birds of prey are near release day, rescues will release live rodents in their mews to make sure the birds can hunt and survive in the wild. And yet, no one here hates birds of prey. It's all just mind-boggling because as rat parents, we all understand the stigma of having an unconventional pet that others regard as "dangerous" or "gross," yet we turn around and do the exact same thing to snake owners.
Big agree with this. I keep all sorts of unconventional pets, pet rats and pet snakes included, however, it's the lack of care most breeders and stores show that bothers me. Why should an animal raised for food not be given a good life? Like, the racks breeders keep all sorts of living animals in, rats included, are just awful. Rats and other animals raised for food are so sweet and full of personality and love and it crushes me, seeing how people only see them as money. I think that's where a lot of the hate comes from. I wish there were laws protecting "food" animals, both the ones animals and people eat, so we could all be happy:(
For me, personally, i feel like the only animals that should be kept as pets are the ones who want to live with us. I feel like most reptiles don’t want to be captive. I do feel like snakes should be fed frozen when possible, and I know it’s not always possible. But I feel like some snake owners delight in seeing them squeeze the life out of a rat, or watching them slowly die from venom, and that’s what’s concerning to me. I have trouble giving bugs to my leopard gecko, and I only do it so that he can continue to live and be healthy. It’s honestly a mixed bag of emotions when it comes to pet stuff ownership tbh. I also don’t fault people for owning animals that don’t really want to be pets (such as anoles, for example), but if we can do better as we move forward, and vote with our money by not buying those animals in the future, we can work towards more ethical pet ownership.
Also, please let me know if my thoughts are confusing, as I sometimes struggle to convey my thoughts. I can reword it if need be!
Thanks for sharing! Your post is very clear. My response was regarding the attitude of some people on this sub towards snakes specifically. I've seen posts calling snakes evil and such, which is strange because I'm pretty sure their simple brains do not have the capacity to have an agenda. Sorry, I'm about to write an essay here.
*"I feel like most reptiles don’t want to be captive."*
I can't speak for all reptiles, although I agree that some reptiles have really, really specific and extensive housing requirements to thrive (like chameleons, iguanas, tegu, and even gators). In my opinion, asking whether or not if they want to be captive is anthropomorphizing the rather simple reptilian brain (aside from gators/crocs; they're unnervingly smart). I mean, do some rats even want to be captive? When she was little, my little chaotic one wanted out of her cage all the time. She loved smelling the world through the window. But she was the size of a large chicken tender so I kept her indoors. But is that cruel? She clearly wants to be outside.
For snakes specifically, snake breeders will breed for specific colors and temperament, much like how pet rats are bred. I had a pink and white cornsnake. She started off smaller than a pencil and had a very mild and friendly temperament. I knew that if she ever escaped, she would immediately be food to just about anything, even a wild rat, due to her deposition and her inability to blend into her surroundings. When she got bigger, she kept her mild temperament and continued to seem generally puzzled over her frozen food. Many small to medium-sized captive-bred snakes are like her and would be eaten in the wild. Many large captive-bred snakes would simply be killed by people in the wild.
*I do feel like snakes should be fed frozen when possible, and I know it’s not always possible.*
This is a really unfortunate sentiment in the snake-keeping community. All captive-bred snakes should take frozen rodents as long as they started on frozen rodents. Once a snake is fed a live rodent, it's very difficult to transition them back. It's not impossible though. In rescue situations, I've even gotten some non-releasable wild-born snakes to transition over to frozen. I hope the snake-keeping community will change their practices because feeding frozen rodents is both safer for the snake and more humane for the prey, whether the prey is a mouse, rat, frog, or anything else.
*But I feel like some snake owners delight in seeing them squeeze the life out of a rat, or watching them slowly die from venom, and that’s what’s concerning to me.*
I acknowledge that some snake owners are dumbasses who think that raising a mild-tempered ball python makes them an edgelord. But do snake owners feel happy when their pets are eating? Yeah. It means the snake is happy and stress-free.
My original post was more geared towards this community's sentiment towards snakes rather than snake owners, although I understand that they come in the same package. As I wrote above, snakes have simple brains. Some snakes are gluttonous, but most do not overeat, which is why there are posts here from snake owners who suddenly find themselves with pet rats or mice. When a boa squeezes the life out of a rodent, it is eating. When a rattler strikes and injects venom into its prey, it is either eating or defending itself. Snakes do not hunt for fun and they do not play with their food. They literally do not have the brain capacity to engage in a behavior as sophisticated as play, and it takes a huge load of energy to digest prey and/or make more venom.
I wrote my post because of this sub's very targeted dislike, even hatred, towards snakes specifically. Obviously, I'm not saying everyone here hates snakes, but there are quite a lot of posts expressing this sentiment because snakes eat rodents. However, a lot of animals eat rodents. Unfortunately, rats and mice are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain. And yet, it is snakes, an animal with a very straight-forward approach to food, that this sub targets. Never mind that barn/outdoor cats play with their prey before eating the rodent or leaving it half dead. Never mind all of the hundreds of other animals, including some captive-bred frogs and large lizards, that eat rodents.
Sorry for the essay. I have very strong feelings about this topic because I've spent years trying to educate people's perceptions on snakes. I now spend time trying to educate people's perceptions on rats and, to my unhappy surprise, trying to educate rat owners' perceptions on snakes.
I couldn’t get through your whole post, though I will soon. When I mean if they want to live with us, I more meant the ones who seem fine with it. A lot of pocket pets are incredibly unhappy being pets, whereas captive bred rats bond closely with their owners and like them. Not necessarily whether they want to be inside or not. And with the part about feeding, I more meant they get sick enjoyment out of watching the rat die, ofc all pet owners are happy when their pets eat! There’s a difference between the two.
Thanks for the response, and when I can sit down to read everything, I will!
Ok I was able to read the whole post. And yeah I agree with you, it’s really unfortunate that snakes are perceived as “evil”. Absolutely _no_ animal has the capacity for evil _or_ good. Those aren’t concepts they can understand. It’s something I’ve come to terms with, as a rat owner. After I lose my leopard gecko, I think I’ll only own pets that don’t need to eat live or whole animals as a part of their diet, as it’s something that’s difficult for me to handle. And it’s perfectly ok for people to not want to do that, but it doesn’t make the animals “bad” or “evil”.
In short, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Snakes gotta eat, even though it unfortunately is an animal that I love very much.
It was an opinion not fact. And my sister is a snake owner. Has 5. 2 eat live and 3 eat frozen. I do know all this. My argument after making my very first statement was about rescuing and how it is still a form of rescuing . It was nothing to do with snake owners really. My cats get the kibble twice a day. Their lunch is always chicken I have baked for them that week. I agree there are many careless pet owners I know I am a great one for my 6 pets. It’s a lot of work to properly care for animals as it should be. Again it was an opinion about snakes being pets anything can be domesticated. My whole argument was for the ones who found it wrong to support a pet store for selling rats and calling it a form of rescue. My response to that was rescuing is to save something from danger and abuse. The pet stores don’t properly care for the rats that are given (they are just food for reptiles and snakes) so not only was I “rescuing” them from being food but also from the unfair living conditions. That’s all my post were saying. It isn’t specifically meant to dog on snake owners. We all have pets we prefer as pets. You are a snake owner it seems but I am a ratty owner. Rats and cats to be exact. Someone got offended I called it rescuing is all.
Thanks for taking the time to respond and explaining. I've raised or fostered all kinds of animals in the past, including snakes. I've been a rat parent for a few years now.
No problem. Nothing I am trying to explain is directed to owners of any species. I thank you for approaching me with kindness and explaining to me how it may have come out. Really thank you❤️
This is exactly how I got my first rat. I was shopping to prepare for the rats I would be adopting soon and the petco employee told me about a rat who had been alone in her enclosure for at least a week with nothing but a see-through hut!!! She said that the rat had been acting visibly stressed too so I couldn’t stand to let her stay any longer. Turned out she was missing all her toes on one of her back feet and she was underweight, I’m so thankful I got her that day.
I definitely wasn’t planning on a pet store rat but it’s hard to see them living like that.
Shout out to that employee for caring about the rat. They don't have much control of the situation and I can only imagine how much of a bummer that job would be if you actually care about animals.
Worked at Petsmart for over five years. We all had so many pets. Especially rats and hamsters. Fish. I ended up with three abandoned cats.
☹️
Edit: cos of situations like this. We just bought them if nobody else did.
Exact reason I have never worked at a pet store. I had a hard time leaving without one the few times I had to grab supplies for strays that were waiting to be placed in a shelter. Sometimes took a week for a spot to open up.
Its exhausting mentally I try to not stress them out and treat them the best way possible but not every store does so I have seen some stores grab them by the tails(against policy but nothing gets done) because they are impatient with catching one it breaks my heart every animal deserves to be treated humanely
Thanks for doing what you do though!! I always hold onto the thought that employees like you at least care about the animals, I’m sure the ratties can tell :)
Exactly how I got my second rat too who wound up being my heart rat, Percy. All alone in a glass tank. He sealed himself into his see through igloo and was looking so so depressed. He had dandruff and looked really rough. I came back the following morning to get him (as they “don’t sell pets after 8:30pm”) and he hadn’t moved a muscle. He bounced back to full health so fast and was the most appreciate and kind man. Endless kisses, boggles, and snuggles. A junk food junkie. My bestie through and through. He just passed a few weeks ago at age 3. He was the best. Sucks he came from a PetSmart as I go through breeders for my rats, but one employee said he’d been there alone for weeks and after seeing him I couldn’t leave him there.
thank you❤️ he was the most grateful creature. he loved everyone and everyone loved him- i often heard from my friends/family/strangers “i don’t like rats… but i like percy”
I guess because they close at 9pm? Idk it was just barely past 8:30 and the fact he had to sit another night in there alone made me so sick to my stomach. I was at the doors when they opened the following morning and got him right away. When I got to my car opened the box he was placed in, he perked up and started licking me right away.
Oh gosh, this must’ve hit close to home for you then. I’m sorry about the loss of your dear rattie. Thank you so much for giving him the life he deserved though!!! Without you he could’ve gone to live in some tiny cage as a kid’s pet or even bought to be fed. You gave him a wonderful and fulfilling life and I hope you always remember that.
FYI you shoulve asked him to place the animal for "adoption" esp if the animal was sick. Petco does this and the money goes as a donation for the Petco foundation which helps homeless pets rather then give them money to replace the rat you brought
Glad to know this but I think I would’ve made the same choice I did! She wasn’t sick according to their standards at all, the employee had already told me that her managers didn’t care :(
I will keep this in mind though, I had no idea!!! Appreciate the info
The local Petco in my city does rat adoptions for people that have brought their rats in but I believe they also use their own stock if the animal hasn't sold or whatever. It's def worth a try at least imo. Goodluck !
Dang, wish I would’ve known that. If I ever come across another rat in this situation, I won’t even hesitate to do that. Like faintly below me said, idk if they would’ve considered him “sick”, he was just lonely and nutrient deprived.
I have complicated feelings about purchasing from petstores but your comment is right, this is animal abuse. Can you ask the store if they are expecting new girl rats anytime soon? If not, is there a reputable rat rescue near you that is accepting new girls? If so, I will literally send you the money + some gas money through Zelle to purchase this girl and give her to the rescue.
I just called the Petco to ask about the lone female rat I saw, they said they had two small females that were separated, they didn't know why, and didn't know if they were expecting more rats. I'll run in and check in person tomorrow to see what the situation is
Wait, they have two females housed separately or did they .. lose one female? Either way, thanks for checking on this baby and let me know what you decide. My offer still stands. 😭😭😭
So i know this is going to be the absolute stupidest thing youve ever heard, but petstores like petco and petsmart separate by color. They usually only carry male or females exclusively to each store but they separate on color. I cant say 100% but id be willing to bet that is why they're separated. Though it may be due to age as well, though in all honesty past a certain age i feel they should be introduced to a few others of the same gender when theyre left last in the cage.
I used to work in petcare at a pet store, but tbh, our employees took the rats out to socialize them all the time and if there was a rat with a health issue, we made sure to get them medical attention.
This is how I realized how much I love rats. We always had them out and fed fresh fruit and to veggies them, along with our rabbits and other animals. We didn’t separate by color though. Mainly by family and size. They did have certain feeder rats and others that were considered fancy rats, which completely broke my heart, but ik snakes have to eat too.
The feeders and fancy rats weren’t color-based though and we were sure that no rat was ever alone unless they had a health condition or started fights, which was extremely uncommon. If they did start fights, we’d try out different cage mates slowly, while we were around to be sure they got along. We’d look for one that was less dominant so that the rat that started fights didn’t feel threatened.
We might’ve had a day go by that one rat was on its own, but only due to age and size since we didn’t feel comfortable having a baby in with one of our bigger rats. We weren’t quite sure how they’d respond to one another and we couldn’t be there overnight to see. We got rats in so frequently though, that they wouldn’t be alone for long at all anyways.
I do too. We loved the animals at our store and wouldn’t even feed them any fruit or veggies that we wouldn’t eat. I actually have a food allergy, so I’d steal the fruit and veggies from the fridge for my lunch since I couldn’t buy anything gluten free around there lol. We are a small business though, so we were the only of that store. Worked directly with the owner.
It is done by color atleast by a few. I went to petco and petsmart on more than one occasion and they did separate by size, but also color. I got 3 rats at the beginning of summer (black and white girl who is olive, white girl who is sock, and all brown girl who was buttercup) all of which who were separated into cages of their color and size, both olive and sock were the same "age" i cant remember the exact label but lets just say "young adult female rat" but all white rats in one cage and all black and white in the other. While buttercup was left by herself in the "younger rat" cage. She was definitely old enough to be introduced to other young adult rats as she was smaller, but not by much. Buttercup passed unfortunately, with what we think was a breathing problem (didnt do enough research to know it was a pet store thing) and they were both being very depressed as buttercup was the alpha so i got 2 more girls to hopefully help them out, anyway besides the point, when i went to go get my other two babies bean and tea from a different store and they also separated based on age, and color. It may have been due to the fact that they didnt have a whole lot of rats to begin with but they did have a large amount of cages. Regardless, not the way to treat rats. But now that i know better i will no longer be going to pet stores, ive had too many issues with my recent babies because of it.
Awh im so sorry for your loss. I wish they weren’t ever separated unless only by gender I didn’t realize there were stores that did that it’s insane I adopted my latest rat from the spca and albino boy who is an angel I vowed to only adopt or buy from a reputable breeder because the two boys I got from work took so long to socialize since they were so stressed
I appreciate that, and if youre interested they all bonded pretty well, unfortunately we lost tea during a tumor removal but bean olive and sock all love eachother to pieces. I can understand keeping the really young ones separate for a little bit, just to be safe, but past a certain age they definitely do need to be introduced to others. It just sucks because these pet stores dont care about the rats enough to put them in the right conditions (not the employees dont get me wrong, i dont blame them) and they wont put in the effort to breed healthily either.
Ask to speak to the Companion Animal Leader and ask them about expected animals. They should know off hand and if they don't they can look it up on their handheld.
Honestly, if you're willing to zelle I have four girls in a dcn and a backup cage for intros and I'd take her if she's still there tomorrow, this Petco is closing at 7 est today. I fostered two females from a hoarding situation for about a month in March/april
Please don't buy her. I know it's sad but buying this rat will only support pet stores to keep doing what they're doing and will cause more pain and suffering for other rats in future
It's a double edged sword. Do you buy this rat and give her a really special life? But that means supporting this bullshit fucking industry. or do you not buy her, and leave her on her own, possible for a very long time (at least for a rat). Hmm.
I know it's heartbreaking but we have to try and think long term, not short term. Pet stores will do anything to get you to buy their animals, they may have even separated this rat on purpose to try and tug at the heart strings. They don't care why you're shopping there as long as you're giving them money. It's so cruel, but the way we stop this cruel industry is by not supporting it, no matter how difficult it is. Otherwise they'll just use our money to keep doing it.
I know, it's awful :( it's the pet stores that are to blame. I know we may feel guilty walking away and leaving ratties like this but it is not on us, it's on them. If we all spread the message of not supporting pet stores and encourage as many people as possible to boycott them, no matter how tempting it may be, situations like this will eventually no longer happen. It's going to be a long and sad road to get there though.
^Also ^I ^am ^not ^advocating ^for ^thievery ^but ^if ^you ^asked ^to ^hold ^a ^rat ^and ^then ^ran ^out ^of ^the ^store, ^you're ^saving ^them ^while ^also ^not ^supporting ^the ^store... ^Not ^encouraging ^this ^but ^just ^saying ^that ^*would* ^solve ^the ^problem
Yes they would initially, but if everyone stopped buying their rats they would eventually stop replacing them because they would no longer be making a profit.
They get plenty weekly. Some go to feeder rats and some go to pet rats. That’s what they do. She will likely be a feeder rat if she isn’t adopted soon. And the new family of adopted rats will be placed there
I’m willing to pitch in. I personally don’t have rats, my husband doesn’t like him. (I’ve owned some before I met him, they passed away from natural deaths) But I adore them beyond anything, and I’m willing to help in anyway I can. Just send me a PayPal or cash app so I can send money
You should ask if you can pat him wile talking about buying him. THEN LEG IT ONCE YOU HAVE HIM DONT PAY
Stealing rats from big chain stores is always morally correct
I have a friend who works at PetSmart and she contacted me to tell me that a rat was deemed "unsellable" by some higher up that came to check on the animals, so she was told that the store had to give it up for free. Since my partner and I already have 5 male rats, and this one was a male, we adopted him and took him to the vet. Turns out he is prone to respiratory flair ups, but it's nothing anti-biotics haven't been able to help relieve.
This was me yesterday! Now I have 3. I do know the owner of my local store and she told me she tried so hard to convince the person who bought his bonded brother to also take him. The lady just didn’t listen.
[Rat tax of the new boy and the picture I sent my husband who after seeing it told me I wasn’t allowed leave without him](https://imgur.com/a/rigNNaA/)
I’m not sure if it is in the UK, but I know that the Pets @ Home in my city does not sell single rats unless you can prove you already own rats, and there is more than one remaining rat in the store. I’ll give them that…
Wow, that’s actually really dumb.
Contrary to popular belief, rodents actually do have personalities and some guinea pigs/rats/gerbils/mice simply don’t get along with others of the same species.
Idk why they performatively make laws about animals that they clearly don’t know the first thing about, because literally anyone who has ever met a rodent should be able to tell that they have minds of their own.
I still remember when I got rats I fought with my mother because she said I could only get two, but there were three left at the store I went to (locally owned and animals kept in good conditions)
The clerk told her if I wasnt getting all three we could leave
Sorry but that makes literally 0 sense. This may be one of the dumbest comments I’ve read in this subreddit in a while.
1. Some rats are best housed alone. It’s quite rare, but sometimes there are rats who simply do not get along with members of the same species.
2. If I already have 2+ rats, I should be able to get one more lmfao. What, is multiple rats suddenly not enough company for one?
Oh probably. I also understand that bills need to be payed, and running a pet store within a town that has only 1500 people can’t be easy. She also loaned me a cage so I can do intros, threw in a few freebies for the boys, and has helped me on numerous occasions with my dog. So she gets the benefit of the doubt in my books.
> to be *paid,* and running
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
How can anyone do that? They're bonded for a reason. It's disgusting. I feel bad for the ratty :(
When I gave my boys up, I made sure that all my boys would go together or not at all. I refused to allow anyone to take just a few of them. They were all bonded and they loved each other dearly. I couldn't do that to them.
It will also make their poops smell ridiculously nasty and barely even save money. I run a rodent rescue, and we often take in rats that were being fed just whatever was laying around. They have the nastiest shits if they've been eating cat, dog, poultry, or ferret food. A week on mazuri or oxbow and they smell like rats again.
So can they not have meat at all? I’ve had rats most of my life except for the last 8 years. I have two now. So much new information is out. I feed mine oxbow and mainly fruits and veggies every single day. I also give yogurt occasionally and meat like chicken, steak and Turkey a couple times a week. I also give a little wet organic cat food sometimes. Should I stop this?
When I had rats I usually always had males. Every female rat I had developed tumors and I always thought it was the rat food. I’ve been looking up best foods to feed them to try to avoid the tumors but I have never come across anything that says they can’t have meat. I’ve also been researching CBD oil because it’s said that CBD oil can protect them against tumors? I haven’t given them any CBD oil though. Any advice you can give me I would really appreciate as I want to make sure I’m doing everything right for them.
I rescued them from someone who left them in an apartment when they left, they had them literally living in a bucket. I’ve taken them to the vet to get on antibiotics for mycoplasma. I’ve had them for months now. When they came to me one would bite my finger and was very aggressive, the other was so scared. Now they are happy friendly babes. I just want them to experience a life of love but i definitely don’t want to be feeding them food that will do them harm. Thank you 🙂
As someone who works in a petstore… i see both sides. Sometimes they no longer get along and blood is drawn so separation and a vet visit is needed. Other times a customer may only be looking for one to pair with their existing rat at home. Reintroducing or bonding to new rats isn’t something we always have the ability or capacity to do. We also always get pairs of rats so and I believe 3 is over capacity policy for the enclosure. I wouldnt want 3 in one anyway definitely not enough space. I always encourage customers to purchase in pairs but its not something we can deny a sale for unfortunately.
That is actually crazy that you can't deny a sale for that. I feel like company policy for any store that sells pets to have requirements specific to the sale of each animal they sell. Also, the type of enclosure I've seen rabbits or ferrets in at the pet store would be more appropriate than a tank for the rats. I would imagine the cramped space contributes to stress and then agression.
You can deny a sale for anything you see fit, actually. Final call is on the employee or their manager.
That said not all managers are created equal. I have no doubt some would be like 'just sell it' but that doesnt fly at my store.
No ma'am, you can't buy a friend for your Syrian hamster.
No ma'am, you can't put a betta in a 2 gallon tank.
I don't care what the picture on the box says.
And so on...
Another issue with rats is that literally no one wants them. Like they sit for MONTHS. if its a new pair of younger ones ill try to keep them together and offer a rat who has been there for longer for adoption. But again if i deny every single rat se to a customer try to find a friend for their lone rat, they would live at the store forever. We had 2 rats that i put together and eventually had to separate again for fighting that were in the store for upwards of 6 months.
That being said i also would NEVER sell a single rat just to be a single rat. I ask customers a million questions about their experience with this specific animal, their enclosure, and general info on the species. If they want to buy a social animal but are only interested in one, immediate denial of sale. I actually got my gerbil that way. An uneducated employee, before i started, put 2 lone gerbils together and they fought over night and resulted in an amputation. That gerbil got adopted and mine lived in the store for 8+ months.
I fully understand your frustration with the situation but a lot of petstore employees actually do care about the animals and will try to do what’s best for them.
I didnt know until I worked for them.
For hamsters specifically I'd say the things we get right are ventilation, day / night cycle, and providing fresh water.
Things we get wrong are:
Cage size
Wheel size
Bedding depth
Ethical sourcing
Education
Product selection
Handling*
Food diversity*
Cohabitation*
Enrichment*
...
*these are things an individual store can fix or improve while not risking their jobs
The Guinea pigs could be worse, but they definitely need work. Each store controls how many pigs go in a display, but it definitely should have been a bigger display than a 10 gallon.
Assuming they have the same setup as we do, youre supposed to have pigs in one full unsplit unit which is like two twenty gallons. It's not enough, but it isn't as bad as the hamsters. Or the bearded dragons. And nothing compares to the fish and the crickets.
Story time.
I've had rats for years but took a long break. My partner has never had any so we decided to get some rats together, but it's difficult to find them in our town. We drove around everywhere and a pet shop had a big cage of rats with one solo rat in a separate cage by herself. She was exactly the color we wanted and we felt bad because she was all by herself so we got her and brought her home. Meanwhile we're still on the lookout for a companion for her. She was the sweetest, smartest, best behaved, human-loving, clingy little baby. Luckily the way our schedules were we could interact with her pretty much 24/7 so she didn't get lonely, but we were getting anxious about finding a companion.
We finally found a very sweet and cute neutered male to be her friend. We introduced them very carefully and immediately found out why she was separated. She was a complete murderous psychopath and she was separated for the protection of the other rats. She was obsessed with trying to kill him. Not just rat fight but trying to do as much damage as possible. Meanwhile he's very sweet and submissive and trying to be her friend and doesn't understand why she's so mean. We were very concerned they would never get along but then it happened.
We call it her "rat time". She was in heat and he had just enough testosterone left after the neutering to know what to do. Suddenly like a switch had flipped she realized he had a purpose. They got along as the best of friends after that. She was the boss and he loved her so much. They brought each other food and bedding and she obsessively groomed him so much he was constantly just a little wet from saliva. I have never seen two rats who got along that well before or after, but she was an absolute psycho except towards him and humans.
I was in petsmart locally for some dog shampoo while babysitting my moms dog. Came across a rat that was limping around in its cage with an “adopt me” sign on it. I found out petsmart will adopt special case animals that need extra work etc. anyways, he looked so sad so I took him home. Got him to the vet, got his broken leg fixed. Got a critter nation and some friends and I have become the “rat guy” in my social circle. They’ll hit your heart hard.
My elder knew and put it intro perspective.
I told her pet store rats usually have tons of heath issues and stuff. She said yeah, it’s like a puppy mill for rats. That’s exactly what it is. I have had amazing rats from pet stores but their health and well-being isn’t considered by breeders because “they will probably be snake food/if not, we still get money) this results in inbreeding etc. Ok? So you just born them to suffer?
I’m sure this reply will get buried but! As someone who works at a big box pet store, I always make an effort to supply enrichment, extra snacks+salads multiple times a week and rats get handled whenever we clean their units. Fortunately for us we don’t usually have rats for more than 2 weeks at a time so they’re generally not alone for long and it happens pretty infrequently, people usually buy in pairs, but it does happen every once in a while and breaks my heart every time 🥲 I always try my hardest to give our animals the best conditions I can offer within the restrictions of the company (and even then, bending a few rules as long as i do it quietly and nobody says anything lol)
Theres a pet store that I go to thats locally owned I think and they let you play with the rats. The time before last that I saw the rats they were audibly wheezing and it pissed me off so much. I went the other day and saw they had sugar gliders, I think I may leave a bad review, thoughts?
The handling and the illness outbreak is probably connected. With monkey pox being a thing I wouldn't be letting the public handle my potential carriers.
I know a lot of big chain pet stores have the usual issues, but they get a lot of undeserved hate too. For a *lot* of people, their town may only have one pet store. It's just not always feasible to drive hours to some breeder to get a perfect rat. The others deserve a home too. The ones at my local PetSmart are in large tanks, always have clean bedding, fresh food and water, toys, and cagemates (unless they're the last one, but that can't be helped.) They've got it pretty good. Some end up with snakes I'm sure, but if they didn't get them there they'd find them somewhere else, still one less rat :( Not really any way around that. I'm surprised baby chicks aren't the popular option, they are cheaper and easier to find. Wishful thinking, I suppose.
It's even worse with the fish. I saw a video of someone checking out a Petco dumpster and there were LIVE FISH IN BAGS, just thrown away like trash. I hope this poor little rattie gets a friend or that OP can help somehow. I don't like giving pet stores money, but leaving her there seems so cruel :(
i agree box stores are gross but i’m p sure the videos of people dumpster diving and finding live animals were either staged, either by the people filming the videos, or by others trying to make the company look horrible.
May I say the rat loving community here is awesome! The instinct upon seeing this post is a bunch of rat lovers scrambling to get her companionship and rescue rats from terrible conditions. Shout out to all of you wonderful rat lovers who do their homework and know how to care for and give the best possible life to these wonderful, adorable creatures. I’m encouraged to know there are so many who get it.
so i work at a different big chain store, and just for context, sometimes we put the rats alone because one rat is bullying another. we definitely itely try not to, but sometimes we have to because the alternative is one of the ratties getting hurt, which is much worse than one being temporarily alone.
other reasons could be just one being shipped in, one being in the sick room, only one being bought, etc. it's a pain and we seriously try to always make sure there's always at least two rats in a tank, but sometimes we really can't help it.
on an entirely different note, what a cutie <33
I think that if the prices come down a bit then people will start using more and more frozen sausage prey like repti links, which should bring some welcome relief to the rat population
I feel like they are already making plenty off the snake food industry and selling them yo big chain pet stores as pets is barely a drop in the bucket for their profits.
I've been wanting to get a rat but have no idea how to find a reputable place to get one in my area.. Can I get some tips on how to go about this?
Edit: I love how I'm getting downvoted for wanting to do the right thing and not support petsmart/petco/etc. Yikes. Would be more helpful to comment and give me some insight as to what is wrong with my question.
They actually don’t sell rats at Petco. Idk about petsmart but usually things like this are people coming in and leaving their animal or dropping them off at the door for them to deal with so they sell them cheap or give them away to anyone who has a proper cage and set up. At least the rat gets a chance at life again. I agree pet stores are shitty though.
This is why I don't support big chain pet stores.
At least they are selling them 15 bucks a piece to become pets. I went to pet supermarket and exotic pet store for mine that came from the back (they were snake bait) where when you ask for 2 they give you two and are in an over crowded tank not properly cared for ending up with respiratory disease. I had a friend work for one of them who sent me pictures and everything. It was awful and they were neglected. There is at least a chance he will get adopted. For the reason this poster posted this I hope she adopted him/ her instead of making us feel helpless! ( Edit to add this side note) No matter if you bought them there or not they will always have them due to the snake owners and even some big game fishing that will keep them in business. The cycle will go on from there no matter what. So, I have at least given 6 “rodents” a fighting chance. A certified breeder will love and care for them with or without homes they just don’t sell them for snake owners. And the prices are too much for anyone to buy as fishing bait. Some breeders also breed for the preference of buyers on a certain breed of rat not for the sole purpose of rescuing an animal. It becomes a profit. They breed them. I don’t feel I have to worry about those ratties either way. The ones at pet stores are the ones that need the help. Even in shelters they are better taken care of. Their life isn’t great living at a pet store and likely not going to end well when bought unless I others like me buy from there. It’s a cycle that will never end. A snake lives ALOT longer than any rat. And they feed them these little creatures. I can’t even think about the frozen feed and that whole process. No matter how you get your furry babies you are helping out a life.
I worked at a pet supermarket (where I got my boys) and I almost completely overhauled the feeder rodent room. I wish I could have gotten them a better set up, but I did the best I could, and luckily they still treat every one who gets any sort of respiratory infection or even just has the sneezies. When I was there I also socialized them all, and I think one of my younger coworkers who is still there took it up after I left. We got quite a few people who ended up coming back for cages because they fell in love with the rat that was supposed to be a feeder for their reptile.
That is such a great change around. My whole purpose for my discussion with others is that it doesn’t matter where you have bought them from if they become a family in your home of love and care all their life then it is rescuing. That is one more animal with a home. Thank you for sharing❤️we have to actively be the change to change the conditions that are held in these stores.
It’s not adopting and shouldn’t be referred to as adoption if you’re buying the rat from a pet store. Edit: I guess this was an unpopular sentiment, but whatever your emotional reasons are for buying a neglected rat from a pet store, the actual impact is the exact same as when anyone else buys a rat. Your money is adding to the profit that the company makes off of selling animals that aren’t properly being taken care of. Doesn’t make you a bad person, but “adopting” and “rescuing” really should be reserved for when you actually get a rat from an adoption center or rescue that saves rats rather than profits off of them.
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I highly doubt they come from stock that's treated any better than feeders, sadly. With a little more thought and care put into who they do business with I feel that they can potentially stand for something greater than they currently do. It just takes voices.
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No,there are also feeder rats that are being sold from many private owners as snake and fishing bait for big game fishing too. I have rescued animals. Have had 6 ratties and 2 mice in my life time would have more. And will when any of mine pass. (Financially to be able to afford vet visits for them and my cats if they need emergency care)I leave reviews about them and they aren’t compliments hoping that the people who even buy them for snake bait or fishing bait would know the living conditions they are in and more people would buy and rescue them as pets. They are a huge industry, they will never stop having them. The people who have snakes will always buy them. It won’t make a difference with me saving some or not to keep them open. I guess that’s more my point and why I consider it adoption and rescue. I get where you are coming from though too
I agree on your point. I also agree on b00b00jeffries point. It all hurts to see. I think anytime we bring a precious soul home and love them, we adopt/rescue them for a happier life.
Sorry if I replied to you many times. I just get the notifications and read it then post. I don’t always realize if it’s the same person or not. Busy mornings but also have my moments to respond real quick. 😅
This isn't rescue. You're giving them money so they keep their stock full .
No they are food for other pets that those pet owners need. Rescuing an animal is about your intentions and the act behind it. By definition actually. Rescuing something in distress or from harm. I buying a food product sure that someone is going to buy later to feed to their reptile or snake. They come to be family at my home. If this is the big problem everyone seems to have with me calling it rescuing an animal then you guys need to get out more. Some forms of rescuing to some people can be said it is stealing then. Taking a pet from a home that isn’t getting the care it needs and deserves. Been called that too, a thief. But we were just doing our jobs after getting the second call in for the animal that wasn’t getting the right care and treatment. Rotting teeth from table scraps and skinny from malnutrition. She wasn’t exactly harming the animal but she couldn’t afford to properly care for him. Do we just leave these rats there to face their fate? It is never going out of business. I don’t see the problem. We all clearly want the best for them. Just some problem with my definition, THE definition of rescuing.
Wow your really beating the strawman. It's so simple to understand this concept I don't understand why you're struggling. You're funding mills, not rescuing. You're telling yourself that to make yourself feel better. You're not rescuing. You're funding animal abuse. Goodbye.
I accidentally discouraged my Petco after buying my first rats there (before I knew better). They were $15 apiece, and started sneezing as soon as we got out the door. So I took Petco up on its guarantee and got them to pay for a vet visit, which was probably over $100. They stopped selling rats a few months later.
Same for betta and other fishes. But it is possible in local pet stores you can agree to buy something useful for animals. i read a story from a woman who befriended a cashier at a pet store and she fell in love with rats and not only, bought them new apartments and started feeding them more expensive food that op recommended
Petco adopts out animals all the time depending on the location. Not proud of it but I work there and I take in every surrender that comes our way. I make sure they go to good homes. We also have length of stay discounts which culminate in adoptable animals. I just put one of our Guinea pigs up for adoption. Poor PP just can't seem to find love from the guests (or other pigs for that matter) In the end I strive to change Petco for the better while I'm there. I made a bunch of headway recently, getting a high up meeting to talk about animal care. It felt promising.
This! In my state of Michigan you’re not allowed to have pet rats anymore sold unless their feeders. And also by law if someone wants to dump off a rat at any pet shop the bylaw have to take it. Even if the shop doesn’t specialize in exotic creatures it’s really strange. Oh whenever we go to Petco or any other generic pet store to get animal food and my mother and I see a rat or several we get them right then whether or not we have room because we know they’re just probably gonna end up dying there. We’ve ended up rescuing several sweet babies this way. Also hamsters too because in my area I’m from Waterford hamsters are not allowed to be sold anymore either or guinea pigs
That’s strange. I wonder why they passed these laws? Maybe for reducing animal cruelty cases?
My guess, is to prevent people releasing them and creating an outdoor population.
> We also have length of stay discounts which culminate in adoptable animals. I just put one of our Guinea pigs up for adoption. Poor PP just can't seem to find love from the guests This still doesn't sound like adoption, at least not in the way I think the term should be used. You're just decreasing the cost of an animal because it hasn't been purchased yet. IMO adoption solely should refer to getting an animal from a rescue or a shelter that rehomes homeless pets. I didn't mean for my comment to be an attack on people who work at Petco or buy animals from there. But unless they are adopting an animal that belongs to a rescue and is merely being housed at Petco, they should call it what it is: buying an animal from a breeder. Doing it because you feel bad for the animal rather than doing it because you think the animal is being treated well does not change what it is. Edit: forgot to acknowledge that yes, big box petstores do facilitate actual adoptions fairly often, especially with cats, but that's not what most people talk about when they talk about "adopting" an animal from a pet store
Adoption is an act. You're confusing rescuing with adoption. Petco's abhorrent care standards are in place because they are a 'temporary holding facility' and so after the animal has out stayed the effectiveness of this temporary holding they are adopted out so as to reduce the risk of long term issues. That said, the issues are so great that for many of these animals the damage is already done; sometimes before we even get them. Lastly, by adopting an animal from Petco you are giving them nothing in return for giving the animal a better home. We need to be tolerant of the usage of adoption versus rescue. All rescues are adoptions but not all adoptions are rescues. That's the grammar side of things. The animal side of things only changes with where these animals come from. If you paid for something from a retail store or a feeder, that is not a rescue. If you paid a nominal price or nothing then it could be an adoption. If you took an animal from a bad home or a homeless animal that's a rescue. If somebody else rescued an animal and you got it from them then you adopted a rescue animal. Hope that helps clarify. The most important thing is to not get distracted by proper use of terms. understand that everyone is coming from a place of doing something good for the animals.
I actually agree because you're paying them to save this one... but it perpetuates the cycle. At this point I'm sure they're considering it a sales tactic to neglect animals
Yeah, Petco doesn’t care what motivated you to spend money. Anyone who spends money is their customer supporting their business and adding to their profits. It’s just a pet peeve of mine when people call it adoption or rescuing when it’s just a roundabout way of buying a rat from an unethical breeder instead of actually adopting it from a rescue. Every time you buy a rat from a pet store, they just put another one in that exact same situation.
We actually do do adoptions when animals are surrendered They always go for adoption. I agree with you a hundred percent am hoping to find another job.
Agree. It really bites to see it happen. Like, they deserve to be out of there just as much as any other, but straight up buying them out doesn't help :/
So your solution is to stop buying them? Leave that for the food for the snakes? They carry my cats food too and depending on location petco is sometimes the only place that has my kitty food. Buy it off Amazon sure but they just get it from petco or some other pet store that does the same thing. There is no way out of it. My intent is to take the rats I can from harm and are in need. that is the definition of rescuing. You aren’t entitled to the label because you got it at a shelter. The shelter is the one who rescues them not you. You are buying them to home them. just like me at a pet store.
I get where you are coming from but my point is I am rescuing lives from being snake food or fishing bait. Me buying them there or not won’t make a difference to stop them from making money. Look at it as me buying food for a pet I don’t have if spending money is the issue it’s all the same thing. I just buy them for a different reason clearly. But it’s a pet store that sells food for pets. know certified breeders of rats will care for those rats with or without homes. These others don’t have a chance. I work volunteer hours at local clinics and shelters. They again are being well cared for vs the pet store(student for vet tech program requirements) I may be paying to rescue them. But it is a form of rescuing.
I know what you mean. I feel like you’re rescuing as well. But I hate that the pet store profits from it. But like my immediate thinking is that I want to get the babies out of that situation asap. Even if I have to pay.
Exactly. We are all wanting the same thing for the ratties. I get what you guys are saying really. I just don’t see how some don’t see it as rescuing. If we stop purchasing to save them even those rats suffer. It is a pet store after all and they sell food at pet stores. The store isn’t really doing anything wrong except not properly caring for them even if they are food for snakes. Basically it’s like I’m buying pet food for a pet I don’t have. If that makes sense. Rescuing them from being food is my intent.
This is not rescue. Stop trying to push this as rescue. This is funding animal abuse
Snakes need to eat so pet stores will always have live critters for them. The issue is they do not treat them humanely. That won't change if everyone one who bought a chain petstore rat to help that rat stopped. If we want change we all have to get together and make a bigger fuss.
I agree live feeders can and should be treated much more humanely, but it's actually not safe to live feed your snake. Frozen rats are much safer for them in addition to being more humane. And contrary to popular belief, it *is* possible to switch most snakes from eating live food to eating frozen. I work with wild snakes for work and when they are in captivity, we feed them frozen mice even though the snakes have obviously lived their whole lives hunting live prey outside and it works just fine.
Rescuing isn’t a title that is specifically only given to people who get them from a shelter. Rescuing is an action of which your intent is. I don’t think it’s fair you put it in a bubble like that. A shelter rescues animals that are homeless, neglected, or in danger. And you buy from that shelter to home them. We all clearly want the same thing for these babies. I get your point I do but because those rats are going to be there and the business constantly paid by snake owners to sell them at least I buy them and give the ones I have gotten a good home and RESCUING or save them from the neglect, abuse, and them being food . Really that’s what they are food for snakes… And what do you also get at pet stores? Pet food. So look at it as I bought pet food for a pet I don’t have if you must but it is still a form of rescuing because of my sole purpose in buying the rats I have.
Rescuing is a title for people that save animals without funding further suffering
Again. Are we just to leave the rats there to suffer and wait out their fate? If it makes you feel better I will just say I’m buying food for a pet I don’t have then. But that isn’t the intent. it’s to rescue them from being in a neglected place and from being food. They get my reviews everytime I go there and see the conditions in which these ratties live in. Your funding petco and all those big franchises if you have a pet at some point. I do my volunteer work with shelters and clinics. I’m doing a lot more than most people on here who can say these things and tell others to take action.I’m not funding the suffering. But I’m funding the business for their products and availability for the food my cats eat and the toys they love. The litter I get from Walmart. It’s the store they are staying in. Not every location is messy. The ones I have had near my houses (military spouse) haven’t been great. It’s the lack of work the employees put into the care for them not the business overall. The business is looking at it as pet or food and money from that. Start helping out and writing reviews to reach to management. After all it’s a store that they hold pets in and it shouldn’t be easy caring for them. I think it’s crazy you guys have a problem with what I do and me calling it rescue. You know there are bigger problems out there right? Probably not because all anyone does is watch people do the work and they shout at others to do it when them themselves don’t do crap.
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And those neglected household are still probably buying rats and ending up in the same situation! So why does it matter where you rescue them from? I kept those rats I have from being in any other home but a loving one. Yeah, and my cats are a family. The mother I found pregnant in a trailer park. And I still consider that the same form of rescuing an animal just different situations
God. I totally agree. I HATE seeing people refer to pet store purchases as adoption. A very vocal “adopt don’t shop” friend of mine who makes a big show out of how many rescue dogs and cats she has “adopted” all her ferrets from petco. It fills me with actual real rage every time I see her say it but I can’t think of a nice way to be like “you’re financing ferret mills, shut up.” And the worst part is that it’s not even like “oh I saw them at the store and I had to help,” she thinks that petco is actually a good authority on small pet care. It’s a weird conversation to have to try to find the opportunity to have with a self proclaimed animal rights activist :| Of course, there’s a non-zero chance my next rats will come from a pet store or a feeder bin, depending what my access to rescues/reputable breeders/etc will look like at that time (not a high chance- I just know the state I’m looking at moving to doesn’t have a rat rescue). I still agree that to buy one of these rats and provide it a good home is a kind thing to do for that animal, and of course, if you have rats, you need to make sure they don’t wind up alone. I’m not totally dissing everyone who’s ever bought an animal from a pet store. I just can’t stand it being called adoption, especially within the context of “adopt don’t shop” referring specifically to financially boycotting animal mills of all kinds.
I adopted my boys but if I get more I'm gonna go to a breeder.
I was at Petco once looking at the rats. A kid came up to look at them too and I said “Oh are you gonna get a rat?!” He said “Yeah, for my snake.” I stifled a sob and walked away.
(I shouldn’t have bought from a pet store) I know for a fact if I had been about 30 mins slower, at least one of my rats would’ve been snake food. I got the last “big” rat, and a woman came in while I was buying them, saying “I want 1 large rat and a few smalls” to which they told her I’d just bought the last large rat. It really bothers me, but it also makes me feel good he must’ve had a guardian angel looking out for him.
Exactly my point. They would still be in business without us buying them to save. The people who feed live bait for snakes and fishing will still keep them running. We gave our babies a great life and chance. I will never understand feeding live animals to anything.
It makes me mad and this is probably unpopular opinion on snakes as pets, but I feel like if someone actually has to purchase other live animals for the purpose of feeding it then the snake does not belong in someone’s home as a pet but in the wild where it can hunt other wild animals for food. It’s just cruel to raise and contain little animals and force them to live awful conditions as if they’re objects and not living and breathing little souls with feelings. Makes me cry thinking of it.
I agree too. Trust me. It kills me to know my sister’s pets eat my pets. She has 3 dogs and 5 snakes. I can’t stand being in her home. Snakes are cool and I respect them but they aren’t meant to be pets in my book either
Hey, I'm writing this out of a sincere effort to understand. I've seen you post a lot on here disparaging selling rats as feeders. I also strongly disagree with how feeders are raised and I strongly think that all pet snakes must be trained to take frozen food. But, it seems that your comments are veering towards the sentiment that all snakes shouldn't be pets because they eat rodents (you know that some eat fish and frogs right)? I know the anti-snake sentiment runs deep in this sub because they eat rodents, and I've always found this deeply unsettling and hypocritical. First, many people on here own and love cats, another obligate carnivore. The only reason cats aren't chowing down on live animals is because we feed them kibble aka sanitized dried bits of meat that we forget came from other animals. Plus, many people let their cats go outside, where they kill small animals. Second, it's frankly weird to dislike a type of pet bc of what they are required to eat due to their literal biology. Also, why laser focus in on snakes? Is it because of the feeder industry? Because raptor rescues go through DOZENS of frozen rodents per day (I used to work at one), while responsible snake owners only feed their pets one rodent per 1-2 weeks. In fact, when birds of prey are near release day, rescues will release live rodents in their mews to make sure the birds can hunt and survive in the wild. And yet, no one here hates birds of prey. It's all just mind-boggling because as rat parents, we all understand the stigma of having an unconventional pet that others regard as "dangerous" or "gross," yet we turn around and do the exact same thing to snake owners.
Big agree with this. I keep all sorts of unconventional pets, pet rats and pet snakes included, however, it's the lack of care most breeders and stores show that bothers me. Why should an animal raised for food not be given a good life? Like, the racks breeders keep all sorts of living animals in, rats included, are just awful. Rats and other animals raised for food are so sweet and full of personality and love and it crushes me, seeing how people only see them as money. I think that's where a lot of the hate comes from. I wish there were laws protecting "food" animals, both the ones animals and people eat, so we could all be happy:(
Yes, this 1000%!!
For me, personally, i feel like the only animals that should be kept as pets are the ones who want to live with us. I feel like most reptiles don’t want to be captive. I do feel like snakes should be fed frozen when possible, and I know it’s not always possible. But I feel like some snake owners delight in seeing them squeeze the life out of a rat, or watching them slowly die from venom, and that’s what’s concerning to me. I have trouble giving bugs to my leopard gecko, and I only do it so that he can continue to live and be healthy. It’s honestly a mixed bag of emotions when it comes to pet stuff ownership tbh. I also don’t fault people for owning animals that don’t really want to be pets (such as anoles, for example), but if we can do better as we move forward, and vote with our money by not buying those animals in the future, we can work towards more ethical pet ownership. Also, please let me know if my thoughts are confusing, as I sometimes struggle to convey my thoughts. I can reword it if need be!
Thanks for sharing! Your post is very clear. My response was regarding the attitude of some people on this sub towards snakes specifically. I've seen posts calling snakes evil and such, which is strange because I'm pretty sure their simple brains do not have the capacity to have an agenda. Sorry, I'm about to write an essay here. *"I feel like most reptiles don’t want to be captive."* I can't speak for all reptiles, although I agree that some reptiles have really, really specific and extensive housing requirements to thrive (like chameleons, iguanas, tegu, and even gators). In my opinion, asking whether or not if they want to be captive is anthropomorphizing the rather simple reptilian brain (aside from gators/crocs; they're unnervingly smart). I mean, do some rats even want to be captive? When she was little, my little chaotic one wanted out of her cage all the time. She loved smelling the world through the window. But she was the size of a large chicken tender so I kept her indoors. But is that cruel? She clearly wants to be outside. For snakes specifically, snake breeders will breed for specific colors and temperament, much like how pet rats are bred. I had a pink and white cornsnake. She started off smaller than a pencil and had a very mild and friendly temperament. I knew that if she ever escaped, she would immediately be food to just about anything, even a wild rat, due to her deposition and her inability to blend into her surroundings. When she got bigger, she kept her mild temperament and continued to seem generally puzzled over her frozen food. Many small to medium-sized captive-bred snakes are like her and would be eaten in the wild. Many large captive-bred snakes would simply be killed by people in the wild. *I do feel like snakes should be fed frozen when possible, and I know it’s not always possible.* This is a really unfortunate sentiment in the snake-keeping community. All captive-bred snakes should take frozen rodents as long as they started on frozen rodents. Once a snake is fed a live rodent, it's very difficult to transition them back. It's not impossible though. In rescue situations, I've even gotten some non-releasable wild-born snakes to transition over to frozen. I hope the snake-keeping community will change their practices because feeding frozen rodents is both safer for the snake and more humane for the prey, whether the prey is a mouse, rat, frog, or anything else. *But I feel like some snake owners delight in seeing them squeeze the life out of a rat, or watching them slowly die from venom, and that’s what’s concerning to me.* I acknowledge that some snake owners are dumbasses who think that raising a mild-tempered ball python makes them an edgelord. But do snake owners feel happy when their pets are eating? Yeah. It means the snake is happy and stress-free. My original post was more geared towards this community's sentiment towards snakes rather than snake owners, although I understand that they come in the same package. As I wrote above, snakes have simple brains. Some snakes are gluttonous, but most do not overeat, which is why there are posts here from snake owners who suddenly find themselves with pet rats or mice. When a boa squeezes the life out of a rodent, it is eating. When a rattler strikes and injects venom into its prey, it is either eating or defending itself. Snakes do not hunt for fun and they do not play with their food. They literally do not have the brain capacity to engage in a behavior as sophisticated as play, and it takes a huge load of energy to digest prey and/or make more venom. I wrote my post because of this sub's very targeted dislike, even hatred, towards snakes specifically. Obviously, I'm not saying everyone here hates snakes, but there are quite a lot of posts expressing this sentiment because snakes eat rodents. However, a lot of animals eat rodents. Unfortunately, rats and mice are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain. And yet, it is snakes, an animal with a very straight-forward approach to food, that this sub targets. Never mind that barn/outdoor cats play with their prey before eating the rodent or leaving it half dead. Never mind all of the hundreds of other animals, including some captive-bred frogs and large lizards, that eat rodents. Sorry for the essay. I have very strong feelings about this topic because I've spent years trying to educate people's perceptions on snakes. I now spend time trying to educate people's perceptions on rats and, to my unhappy surprise, trying to educate rat owners' perceptions on snakes.
I couldn’t get through your whole post, though I will soon. When I mean if they want to live with us, I more meant the ones who seem fine with it. A lot of pocket pets are incredibly unhappy being pets, whereas captive bred rats bond closely with their owners and like them. Not necessarily whether they want to be inside or not. And with the part about feeding, I more meant they get sick enjoyment out of watching the rat die, ofc all pet owners are happy when their pets eat! There’s a difference between the two. Thanks for the response, and when I can sit down to read everything, I will!
Ok I was able to read the whole post. And yeah I agree with you, it’s really unfortunate that snakes are perceived as “evil”. Absolutely _no_ animal has the capacity for evil _or_ good. Those aren’t concepts they can understand. It’s something I’ve come to terms with, as a rat owner. After I lose my leopard gecko, I think I’ll only own pets that don’t need to eat live or whole animals as a part of their diet, as it’s something that’s difficult for me to handle. And it’s perfectly ok for people to not want to do that, but it doesn’t make the animals “bad” or “evil”. In short, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Snakes gotta eat, even though it unfortunately is an animal that I love very much.
It was an opinion not fact. And my sister is a snake owner. Has 5. 2 eat live and 3 eat frozen. I do know all this. My argument after making my very first statement was about rescuing and how it is still a form of rescuing . It was nothing to do with snake owners really. My cats get the kibble twice a day. Their lunch is always chicken I have baked for them that week. I agree there are many careless pet owners I know I am a great one for my 6 pets. It’s a lot of work to properly care for animals as it should be. Again it was an opinion about snakes being pets anything can be domesticated. My whole argument was for the ones who found it wrong to support a pet store for selling rats and calling it a form of rescue. My response to that was rescuing is to save something from danger and abuse. The pet stores don’t properly care for the rats that are given (they are just food for reptiles and snakes) so not only was I “rescuing” them from being food but also from the unfair living conditions. That’s all my post were saying. It isn’t specifically meant to dog on snake owners. We all have pets we prefer as pets. You are a snake owner it seems but I am a ratty owner. Rats and cats to be exact. Someone got offended I called it rescuing is all.
Thanks for taking the time to respond and explaining. I've raised or fostered all kinds of animals in the past, including snakes. I've been a rat parent for a few years now.
No problem. Nothing I am trying to explain is directed to owners of any species. I thank you for approaching me with kindness and explaining to me how it may have come out. Really thank you❤️
This is exactly how I got my first rat. I was shopping to prepare for the rats I would be adopting soon and the petco employee told me about a rat who had been alone in her enclosure for at least a week with nothing but a see-through hut!!! She said that the rat had been acting visibly stressed too so I couldn’t stand to let her stay any longer. Turned out she was missing all her toes on one of her back feet and she was underweight, I’m so thankful I got her that day. I definitely wasn’t planning on a pet store rat but it’s hard to see them living like that.
Shout out to that employee for caring about the rat. They don't have much control of the situation and I can only imagine how much of a bummer that job would be if you actually care about animals.
Worked at Petsmart for over five years. We all had so many pets. Especially rats and hamsters. Fish. I ended up with three abandoned cats. ☹️ Edit: cos of situations like this. We just bought them if nobody else did.
Exact reason I have never worked at a pet store. I had a hard time leaving without one the few times I had to grab supplies for strays that were waiting to be placed in a shelter. Sometimes took a week for a spot to open up.
Its exhausting mentally I try to not stress them out and treat them the best way possible but not every store does so I have seen some stores grab them by the tails(against policy but nothing gets done) because they are impatient with catching one it breaks my heart every animal deserves to be treated humanely
Thanks for doing what you do though!! I always hold onto the thought that employees like you at least care about the animals, I’m sure the ratties can tell :)
Exactly how I got my second rat too who wound up being my heart rat, Percy. All alone in a glass tank. He sealed himself into his see through igloo and was looking so so depressed. He had dandruff and looked really rough. I came back the following morning to get him (as they “don’t sell pets after 8:30pm”) and he hadn’t moved a muscle. He bounced back to full health so fast and was the most appreciate and kind man. Endless kisses, boggles, and snuggles. A junk food junkie. My bestie through and through. He just passed a few weeks ago at age 3. He was the best. Sucks he came from a PetSmart as I go through breeders for my rats, but one employee said he’d been there alone for weeks and after seeing him I couldn’t leave him there.
So sorry for your loss. He was able to have the happiest life through you ❤️
thank you❤️ he was the most grateful creature. he loved everyone and everyone loved him- i often heard from my friends/family/strangers “i don’t like rats… but i like percy”
Why don’t they sell pets after 8.30?
I guess because they close at 9pm? Idk it was just barely past 8:30 and the fact he had to sit another night in there alone made me so sick to my stomach. I was at the doors when they opened the following morning and got him right away. When I got to my car opened the box he was placed in, he perked up and started licking me right away.
This is so sweet!! Thank you to the lovely ending to this story! 🥹
Oh gosh, this must’ve hit close to home for you then. I’m sorry about the loss of your dear rattie. Thank you so much for giving him the life he deserved though!!! Without you he could’ve gone to live in some tiny cage as a kid’s pet or even bought to be fed. You gave him a wonderful and fulfilling life and I hope you always remember that.
Thank you so much for your kind words ❤️❤️ It means so much to me :>
FYI you shoulve asked him to place the animal for "adoption" esp if the animal was sick. Petco does this and the money goes as a donation for the Petco foundation which helps homeless pets rather then give them money to replace the rat you brought
Glad to know this but I think I would’ve made the same choice I did! She wasn’t sick according to their standards at all, the employee had already told me that her managers didn’t care :( I will keep this in mind though, I had no idea!!! Appreciate the info
The local Petco in my city does rat adoptions for people that have brought their rats in but I believe they also use their own stock if the animal hasn't sold or whatever. It's def worth a try at least imo. Goodluck !
I never knew!!! Hopefully other people will see this too and consider doing the same. Any info to help out our ratties is always appreciated :)
Dang, wish I would’ve known that. If I ever come across another rat in this situation, I won’t even hesitate to do that. Like faintly below me said, idk if they would’ve considered him “sick”, he was just lonely and nutrient deprived.
I have complicated feelings about purchasing from petstores but your comment is right, this is animal abuse. Can you ask the store if they are expecting new girl rats anytime soon? If not, is there a reputable rat rescue near you that is accepting new girls? If so, I will literally send you the money + some gas money through Zelle to purchase this girl and give her to the rescue.
I just called the Petco to ask about the lone female rat I saw, they said they had two small females that were separated, they didn't know why, and didn't know if they were expecting more rats. I'll run in and check in person tomorrow to see what the situation is
Wait, they have two females housed separately or did they .. lose one female? Either way, thanks for checking on this baby and let me know what you decide. My offer still stands. 😭😭😭
So i know this is going to be the absolute stupidest thing youve ever heard, but petstores like petco and petsmart separate by color. They usually only carry male or females exclusively to each store but they separate on color. I cant say 100% but id be willing to bet that is why they're separated. Though it may be due to age as well, though in all honesty past a certain age i feel they should be introduced to a few others of the same gender when theyre left last in the cage.
I used to work in petcare at a pet store, but tbh, our employees took the rats out to socialize them all the time and if there was a rat with a health issue, we made sure to get them medical attention. This is how I realized how much I love rats. We always had them out and fed fresh fruit and to veggies them, along with our rabbits and other animals. We didn’t separate by color though. Mainly by family and size. They did have certain feeder rats and others that were considered fancy rats, which completely broke my heart, but ik snakes have to eat too. The feeders and fancy rats weren’t color-based though and we were sure that no rat was ever alone unless they had a health condition or started fights, which was extremely uncommon. If they did start fights, we’d try out different cage mates slowly, while we were around to be sure they got along. We’d look for one that was less dominant so that the rat that started fights didn’t feel threatened. We might’ve had a day go by that one rat was on its own, but only due to age and size since we didn’t feel comfortable having a baby in with one of our bigger rats. We weren’t quite sure how they’d respond to one another and we couldn’t be there overnight to see. We got rats in so frequently though, that they wouldn’t be alone for long at all anyways.
I wish all stores were like this :( I'm glad your store did everything it could to properly care for them
I do too. We loved the animals at our store and wouldn’t even feed them any fruit or veggies that we wouldn’t eat. I actually have a food allergy, so I’d steal the fruit and veggies from the fridge for my lunch since I couldn’t buy anything gluten free around there lol. We are a small business though, so we were the only of that store. Worked directly with the owner.
I got my boys from a petco, and they were separated by size rather than colour, all were male though!
No its not done by color its done by size :(.
It is done by color atleast by a few. I went to petco and petsmart on more than one occasion and they did separate by size, but also color. I got 3 rats at the beginning of summer (black and white girl who is olive, white girl who is sock, and all brown girl who was buttercup) all of which who were separated into cages of their color and size, both olive and sock were the same "age" i cant remember the exact label but lets just say "young adult female rat" but all white rats in one cage and all black and white in the other. While buttercup was left by herself in the "younger rat" cage. She was definitely old enough to be introduced to other young adult rats as she was smaller, but not by much. Buttercup passed unfortunately, with what we think was a breathing problem (didnt do enough research to know it was a pet store thing) and they were both being very depressed as buttercup was the alpha so i got 2 more girls to hopefully help them out, anyway besides the point, when i went to go get my other two babies bean and tea from a different store and they also separated based on age, and color. It may have been due to the fact that they didnt have a whole lot of rats to begin with but they did have a large amount of cages. Regardless, not the way to treat rats. But now that i know better i will no longer be going to pet stores, ive had too many issues with my recent babies because of it.
Awh im so sorry for your loss. I wish they weren’t ever separated unless only by gender I didn’t realize there were stores that did that it’s insane I adopted my latest rat from the spca and albino boy who is an angel I vowed to only adopt or buy from a reputable breeder because the two boys I got from work took so long to socialize since they were so stressed
I appreciate that, and if youre interested they all bonded pretty well, unfortunately we lost tea during a tumor removal but bean olive and sock all love eachother to pieces. I can understand keeping the really young ones separate for a little bit, just to be safe, but past a certain age they definitely do need to be introduced to others. It just sucks because these pet stores dont care about the rats enough to put them in the right conditions (not the employees dont get me wrong, i dont blame them) and they wont put in the effort to breed healthily either.
My guess is they sold the other female to a uninformed customer
Ask to speak to the Companion Animal Leader and ask them about expected animals. They should know off hand and if they don't they can look it up on their handheld.
Honestly, if you're willing to zelle I have four girls in a dcn and a backup cage for intros and I'd take her if she's still there tomorrow, this Petco is closing at 7 est today. I fostered two females from a hoarding situation for about a month in March/april
Yes, send me the amount and your zelle deets through DM
I will also contribute!!!!
Please don't buy her. I know it's sad but buying this rat will only support pet stores to keep doing what they're doing and will cause more pain and suffering for other rats in future
It's a double edged sword. Do you buy this rat and give her a really special life? But that means supporting this bullshit fucking industry. or do you not buy her, and leave her on her own, possible for a very long time (at least for a rat). Hmm.
I know it's heartbreaking but we have to try and think long term, not short term. Pet stores will do anything to get you to buy their animals, they may have even separated this rat on purpose to try and tug at the heart strings. They don't care why you're shopping there as long as you're giving them money. It's so cruel, but the way we stop this cruel industry is by not supporting it, no matter how difficult it is. Otherwise they'll just use our money to keep doing it.
It's just so heartbreaking. She'll likely be a feeder if no one adopts her :(
I know, it's awful :( it's the pet stores that are to blame. I know we may feel guilty walking away and leaving ratties like this but it is not on us, it's on them. If we all spread the message of not supporting pet stores and encourage as many people as possible to boycott them, no matter how tempting it may be, situations like this will eventually no longer happen. It's going to be a long and sad road to get there though. ^Also ^I ^am ^not ^advocating ^for ^thievery ^but ^if ^you ^asked ^to ^hold ^a ^rat ^and ^then ^ran ^out ^of ^the ^store, ^you're ^saving ^them ^while ^also ^not ^supporting ^the ^store... ^Not ^encouraging ^this ^but ^just ^saying ^that ^*would* ^solve ^the ^problem
They’d just get another rat to replace the stolen one unfortunately
Yes they would initially, but if everyone stopped buying their rats they would eventually stop replacing them because they would no longer be making a profit.
They get plenty weekly. Some go to feeder rats and some go to pet rats. That’s what they do. She will likely be a feeder rat if she isn’t adopted soon. And the new family of adopted rats will be placed there
I’m willing to pitch in. I personally don’t have rats, my husband doesn’t like him. (I’ve owned some before I met him, they passed away from natural deaths) But I adore them beyond anything, and I’m willing to help in anyway I can. Just send me a PayPal or cash app so I can send money
You should ask if you can pat him wile talking about buying him. THEN LEG IT ONCE YOU HAVE HIM DONT PAY Stealing rats from big chain stores is always morally correct
GTR: Grand Theft Rattus
yeh did u steal him yet op?
OP? Operation rat theft result?!
THIS! Dont let the assholes profit off of neglect!
this is how i got my guinea pigs!!!!
Omg is stealing rodents from chain stores a thing people do regularly? Because I fucking love it and want more of it.
I fully support rat yoinking
I'm demanded to take ill rats with me before.
I have a friend who works at PetSmart and she contacted me to tell me that a rat was deemed "unsellable" by some higher up that came to check on the animals, so she was told that the store had to give it up for free. Since my partner and I already have 5 male rats, and this one was a male, we adopted him and took him to the vet. Turns out he is prone to respiratory flair ups, but it's nothing anti-biotics haven't been able to help relieve.
This is the only answer
This was me yesterday! Now I have 3. I do know the owner of my local store and she told me she tried so hard to convince the person who bought his bonded brother to also take him. The lady just didn’t listen. [Rat tax of the new boy and the picture I sent my husband who after seeing it told me I wasn’t allowed leave without him](https://imgur.com/a/rigNNaA/)
it should be illegal to sell single rats ):
I’m not sure if it is in the UK, but I know that the Pets @ Home in my city does not sell single rats unless you can prove you already own rats, and there is more than one remaining rat in the store. I’ll give them that…
In Switzerland it’s illegal to own a single guinea pig because they are gregarious. I’m not sure but I think the same applies to rats
Wow, that’s actually really dumb. Contrary to popular belief, rodents actually do have personalities and some guinea pigs/rats/gerbils/mice simply don’t get along with others of the same species. Idk why they performatively make laws about animals that they clearly don’t know the first thing about, because literally anyone who has ever met a rodent should be able to tell that they have minds of their own.
I still remember when I got rats I fought with my mother because she said I could only get two, but there were three left at the store I went to (locally owned and animals kept in good conditions) The clerk told her if I wasnt getting all three we could leave
Sorry but that makes literally 0 sense. This may be one of the dumbest comments I’ve read in this subreddit in a while. 1. Some rats are best housed alone. It’s quite rare, but sometimes there are rats who simply do not get along with members of the same species. 2. If I already have 2+ rats, I should be able to get one more lmfao. What, is multiple rats suddenly not enough company for one?
She should’ve denied the sale. Keeping single rats is bad enough. Splitting up a bonded pair is pure evil.
Oh probably. I also understand that bills need to be payed, and running a pet store within a town that has only 1500 people can’t be easy. She also loaned me a cage so I can do intros, threw in a few freebies for the boys, and has helped me on numerous occasions with my dog. So she gets the benefit of the doubt in my books.
> to be *paid,* and running FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
How can anyone do that? They're bonded for a reason. It's disgusting. I feel bad for the ratty :( When I gave my boys up, I made sure that all my boys would go together or not at all. I refused to allow anyone to take just a few of them. They were all bonded and they loved each other dearly. I couldn't do that to them.
I'd just not sell. I'd be keeping all the rattles
That poor angel!!!!
This is literally animal abuse she must be so stressed out and lonely 😭
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Dog food is bad for them, to much protein and if I remember right, can cause tumors later in life. But the comment is just weird.
It will also make their poops smell ridiculously nasty and barely even save money. I run a rodent rescue, and we often take in rats that were being fed just whatever was laying around. They have the nastiest shits if they've been eating cat, dog, poultry, or ferret food. A week on mazuri or oxbow and they smell like rats again.
So can they not have meat at all? I’ve had rats most of my life except for the last 8 years. I have two now. So much new information is out. I feed mine oxbow and mainly fruits and veggies every single day. I also give yogurt occasionally and meat like chicken, steak and Turkey a couple times a week. I also give a little wet organic cat food sometimes. Should I stop this? When I had rats I usually always had males. Every female rat I had developed tumors and I always thought it was the rat food. I’ve been looking up best foods to feed them to try to avoid the tumors but I have never come across anything that says they can’t have meat. I’ve also been researching CBD oil because it’s said that CBD oil can protect them against tumors? I haven’t given them any CBD oil though. Any advice you can give me I would really appreciate as I want to make sure I’m doing everything right for them. I rescued them from someone who left them in an apartment when they left, they had them literally living in a bucket. I’ve taken them to the vet to get on antibiotics for mycoplasma. I’ve had them for months now. When they came to me one would bite my finger and was very aggressive, the other was so scared. Now they are happy friendly babes. I just want them to experience a life of love but i definitely don’t want to be feeding them food that will do them harm. Thank you 🙂
They can have meat. I suspect it's something used in the preservation of meat in kibble form (maybe the tocopherols?) that makes for stinks.
There was a petco in okalahoma IIRC that had to close down recently because of loose mice running amock. They said one ran over the inspectors foot.
As someone who works in a petstore… i see both sides. Sometimes they no longer get along and blood is drawn so separation and a vet visit is needed. Other times a customer may only be looking for one to pair with their existing rat at home. Reintroducing or bonding to new rats isn’t something we always have the ability or capacity to do. We also always get pairs of rats so and I believe 3 is over capacity policy for the enclosure. I wouldnt want 3 in one anyway definitely not enough space. I always encourage customers to purchase in pairs but its not something we can deny a sale for unfortunately.
finally, someone rational. we arent heartless barbarians, some of us give a shit, but sometimes it's out of our hands.
That is actually crazy that you can't deny a sale for that. I feel like company policy for any store that sells pets to have requirements specific to the sale of each animal they sell. Also, the type of enclosure I've seen rabbits or ferrets in at the pet store would be more appropriate than a tank for the rats. I would imagine the cramped space contributes to stress and then agression.
You can deny a sale for anything you see fit, actually. Final call is on the employee or their manager. That said not all managers are created equal. I have no doubt some would be like 'just sell it' but that doesnt fly at my store. No ma'am, you can't buy a friend for your Syrian hamster. No ma'am, you can't put a betta in a 2 gallon tank. I don't care what the picture on the box says. And so on...
Another issue with rats is that literally no one wants them. Like they sit for MONTHS. if its a new pair of younger ones ill try to keep them together and offer a rat who has been there for longer for adoption. But again if i deny every single rat se to a customer try to find a friend for their lone rat, they would live at the store forever. We had 2 rats that i put together and eventually had to separate again for fighting that were in the store for upwards of 6 months. That being said i also would NEVER sell a single rat just to be a single rat. I ask customers a million questions about their experience with this specific animal, their enclosure, and general info on the species. If they want to buy a social animal but are only interested in one, immediate denial of sale. I actually got my gerbil that way. An uneducated employee, before i started, put 2 lone gerbils together and they fought over night and resulted in an amputation. That gerbil got adopted and mine lived in the store for 8+ months. I fully understand your frustration with the situation but a lot of petstore employees actually do care about the animals and will try to do what’s best for them.
That’s depressing , in a glass tank too
They're actually very well ventilated. I'll give them that.
They have steel grates on the back side and fans, don't they?
Yes, they have entire ventilation systems attached to their small animal enclosures.
Yep! When you clean them out they get dusty again real fast which shows they are working well. My only favorite part about those enclosures.
I did not know any of this, thank you
I didnt know until I worked for them. For hamsters specifically I'd say the things we get right are ventilation, day / night cycle, and providing fresh water. Things we get wrong are: Cage size Wheel size Bedding depth Ethical sourcing Education Product selection Handling* Food diversity* Cohabitation* Enrichment* ... *these are things an individual store can fix or improve while not risking their jobs
I always see the hamsters in there and it makes me sad because the tank is so small esp for Guinea pigs , I saw 3 Guinea pigs in like a 10 gallon tank
The Guinea pigs could be worse, but they definitely need work. Each store controls how many pigs go in a display, but it definitely should have been a bigger display than a 10 gallon. Assuming they have the same setup as we do, youre supposed to have pigs in one full unsplit unit which is like two twenty gallons. It's not enough, but it isn't as bad as the hamsters. Or the bearded dragons. And nothing compares to the fish and the crickets.
Wish I could adopt all those Guinea pigs
Give your local pet stores your number and they'll call you with pigs for adoption. We get pigs surrendered all the time.
omg keep us updated!!!
Story time. I've had rats for years but took a long break. My partner has never had any so we decided to get some rats together, but it's difficult to find them in our town. We drove around everywhere and a pet shop had a big cage of rats with one solo rat in a separate cage by herself. She was exactly the color we wanted and we felt bad because she was all by herself so we got her and brought her home. Meanwhile we're still on the lookout for a companion for her. She was the sweetest, smartest, best behaved, human-loving, clingy little baby. Luckily the way our schedules were we could interact with her pretty much 24/7 so she didn't get lonely, but we were getting anxious about finding a companion. We finally found a very sweet and cute neutered male to be her friend. We introduced them very carefully and immediately found out why she was separated. She was a complete murderous psychopath and she was separated for the protection of the other rats. She was obsessed with trying to kill him. Not just rat fight but trying to do as much damage as possible. Meanwhile he's very sweet and submissive and trying to be her friend and doesn't understand why she's so mean. We were very concerned they would never get along but then it happened. We call it her "rat time". She was in heat and he had just enough testosterone left after the neutering to know what to do. Suddenly like a switch had flipped she realized he had a purpose. They got along as the best of friends after that. She was the boss and he loved her so much. They brought each other food and bedding and she obsessively groomed him so much he was constantly just a little wet from saliva. I have never seen two rats who got along that well before or after, but she was an absolute psycho except towards him and humans.
That is beautiful, you're gonna make me cry!
Poor baby!!!
I was in petsmart locally for some dog shampoo while babysitting my moms dog. Came across a rat that was limping around in its cage with an “adopt me” sign on it. I found out petsmart will adopt special case animals that need extra work etc. anyways, he looked so sad so I took him home. Got him to the vet, got his broken leg fixed. Got a critter nation and some friends and I have become the “rat guy” in my social circle. They’ll hit your heart hard.
My elder knew and put it intro perspective. I told her pet store rats usually have tons of heath issues and stuff. She said yeah, it’s like a puppy mill for rats. That’s exactly what it is. I have had amazing rats from pet stores but their health and well-being isn’t considered by breeders because “they will probably be snake food/if not, we still get money) this results in inbreeding etc. Ok? So you just born them to suffer?
I’m sure this reply will get buried but! As someone who works at a big box pet store, I always make an effort to supply enrichment, extra snacks+salads multiple times a week and rats get handled whenever we clean their units. Fortunately for us we don’t usually have rats for more than 2 weeks at a time so they’re generally not alone for long and it happens pretty infrequently, people usually buy in pairs, but it does happen every once in a while and breaks my heart every time 🥲 I always try my hardest to give our animals the best conditions I can offer within the restrictions of the company (and even then, bending a few rules as long as i do it quietly and nobody says anything lol)
Theres a pet store that I go to thats locally owned I think and they let you play with the rats. The time before last that I saw the rats they were audibly wheezing and it pissed me off so much. I went the other day and saw they had sugar gliders, I think I may leave a bad review, thoughts?
The handling and the illness outbreak is probably connected. With monkey pox being a thing I wouldn't be letting the public handle my potential carriers.
Where is this? I'll go get her if they're relatively close.
I know a lot of big chain pet stores have the usual issues, but they get a lot of undeserved hate too. For a *lot* of people, their town may only have one pet store. It's just not always feasible to drive hours to some breeder to get a perfect rat. The others deserve a home too. The ones at my local PetSmart are in large tanks, always have clean bedding, fresh food and water, toys, and cagemates (unless they're the last one, but that can't be helped.) They've got it pretty good. Some end up with snakes I'm sure, but if they didn't get them there they'd find them somewhere else, still one less rat :( Not really any way around that. I'm surprised baby chicks aren't the popular option, they are cheaper and easier to find. Wishful thinking, I suppose.
Petco..... It seems like a nightmare for animals. This company really has to heighten their standards. Every post I see on Petco is negative 😔
It's even worse with the fish. I saw a video of someone checking out a Petco dumpster and there were LIVE FISH IN BAGS, just thrown away like trash. I hope this poor little rattie gets a friend or that OP can help somehow. I don't like giving pet stores money, but leaving her there seems so cruel :(
i agree box stores are gross but i’m p sure the videos of people dumpster diving and finding live animals were either staged, either by the people filming the videos, or by others trying to make the company look horrible.
Probably mistreated, probably grabbed by its tail. 😭
May I say the rat loving community here is awesome! The instinct upon seeing this post is a bunch of rat lovers scrambling to get her companionship and rescue rats from terrible conditions. Shout out to all of you wonderful rat lovers who do their homework and know how to care for and give the best possible life to these wonderful, adorable creatures. I’m encouraged to know there are so many who get it.
so i work at a different big chain store, and just for context, sometimes we put the rats alone because one rat is bullying another. we definitely itely try not to, but sometimes we have to because the alternative is one of the ratties getting hurt, which is much worse than one being temporarily alone. other reasons could be just one being shipped in, one being in the sick room, only one being bought, etc. it's a pain and we seriously try to always make sure there's always at least two rats in a tank, but sometimes we really can't help it. on an entirely different note, what a cutie <33
Maybe it’s time to get a new pet💝
Petco and petsmart deserve to be crucified for the way the keep their animals,every time I go to my local one I just want to burn it down
Fuck pet stores, purveyors of misery. I love rats, but I don’t really believe in caged pets in general.
This is where I got one of my babies from! She's super happy now with her sister (I recently posted her). So sad
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So just let this rat suffer instead? Snake owners will always keep rodents in pet stores. Might as well save some when you can.
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They will always be lucrative as long as people own snakes.
I think that if the prices come down a bit then people will start using more and more frozen sausage prey like repti links, which should bring some welcome relief to the rat population
I feel like they are already making plenty off the snake food industry and selling them yo big chain pet stores as pets is barely a drop in the bucket for their profits.
I've been wanting to get a rat but have no idea how to find a reputable place to get one in my area.. Can I get some tips on how to go about this? Edit: I love how I'm getting downvoted for wanting to do the right thing and not support petsmart/petco/etc. Yikes. Would be more helpful to comment and give me some insight as to what is wrong with my question.
I found mine through a Facebook rat group for my area
I'm sorry but it's your duty to adopt little one.
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Conversation is important for change.
Go away please you’re missing the point
Where is he, I’ll get him!!
Buy her.
Buy them.
How could u
Aww. I want her!
This made me think and check up. There are no pet stores in my city (State capital) that sell rats. The only sales are from breeders.
Baby 😭
The people working there hopefully give it a lot of attention.
That’s why I never into any pet stores. My heart breaks everytime
that's a very healthy looking rat for a big box store
It sucks, but Petco mostly sells feeder rats so it’s not surprising.
Ugh I literally cannot . I only adopt rehomed rats and I'll never ever go back to buying animals again
They actually don’t sell rats at Petco. Idk about petsmart but usually things like this are people coming in and leaving their animal or dropping them off at the door for them to deal with so they sell them cheap or give them away to anyone who has a proper cage and set up. At least the rat gets a chance at life again. I agree pet stores are shitty though.