Well I notice people on here mentioning about how they got their rat at a pet store or something like that but every pet store Ive gone to has never had anything special like a dumbo or a blue or anything. Just PEW, Black hooded and rarely tan rat hooded. Whats with this? Are Bay Area Pet stores just not interested in different kinds of rats?
Pet Store, plain rats..
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Hm the pet stores in my area buy whatever they can get their hands on that is CHEAP. I got my himalayan Lulu from the petstore and my black berk Piggle to. The most common rats in pet stores around here however are beige selfs, beige hoodeds, black berks, and PEWS.
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The petstores in my area have all sorts.
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the pet stores around my area only have pew's and ones that look similar to Jennielove's Silent Bob
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I got all my rats from various petstores, Double Rex dumbo, a really weird tan hooded rat, and some plainer (but not in personality) black hooded, champagne and agouti rat. I probably went to six different stores looking at all their different types. Some of those stores I had no idea existed. I would just say keep looking.
My Petco (which sells for feeders, basically) almost always has black hoodeds. Bacardi is the only agouti my roommate (who got him) or I have ever seen there. Very rarely they have a black self or a tan hoodie.
The PetSmart purchases the 'special' sorts to be sold as pets. They often have blues/dumbos/hairless.... thankfully they're all females, so I'm not tempted! :lol:
The PetSmart purchases the 'special' sorts to be sold as pets. They often have blues/dumbos/hairless.... thankfully they're all females, so I'm not tempted! :lol:
One thing I like about Petsmart is they don't keep males and females in the same building at all. Different Petsmarts will have different genders. They also don't sell as food.
Petco, on the other hand, I think is breeding them themselves. I also like how Petco sells "small," "medium," and "large" rats when it's clear the small ones are just young rats. It's misleading to someone who is getting a new rat to get a small one and think it will remain small. If they get a dude, sometimes they'll be in for quite the surprise!
Petco, on the other hand, I think is breeding them themselves. I also like how Petco sells "small," "medium," and "large" rats when it's clear the small ones are just young rats. It's misleading to someone who is getting a new rat to get a small one and think it will remain small. If they get a dude, sometimes they'll be in for quite the surprise!
Exactly CJ, I find this amusing as well!cjshrader said:
The other weird thing about that is that they price them higher as they get larger.... ie - small is $4.99, large is $9.99, Further convincing buyers that they are getting different things.
Wouldn't you think that the younger rats should be the most expensive, being that they would live the longest (in general) and be the most maleable? :lol:
Always thought that was really misleading and stupid of them.
And yes, petco DOES breed their own rats. I was at one before I bought my girls and the checkout lady said "want to see a newborn?" and she brought me into this CLOSET sized room where there was a mother and brand new babies. I felt so bad for them.
The Petsmart stores in this area have the best variety of rats, and the only place you can occasionally find dumbo rats in the area without going to a breeder or ordering them in, both better options than buying from the store anyway, but just thought I say.
One of my friends bought some rats from either Petco or Petsmart in Las Vegas, and blues were being sold for $15.99 while the "fancy" rats (hoodeds or black berks) were $6.99. I remember having to explain to him that all pet rats are fancy rats, and blues and dumbos are not different breeds from each other or from fancy rats, and that he just paid more for a certain color and bigger ears.
I haven't really looked at the rats at Petsmart around here because they only have males, but I do remember seeing dumbos there. At Petco I've only seen beige and black hoodeds and black berks. But I do try to avoid looking at the rats now, because if I ever saw a dumbo female there I'd probably take her home ^^;
I haven't really looked at the rats at Petsmart around here because they only have males, but I do remember seeing dumbos there. At Petco I've only seen beige and black hoodeds and black berks. But I do try to avoid looking at the rats now, because if I ever saw a dumbo female there I'd probably take her home ^^;
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Petsmart may have mixups. They sold me a boy guineapig at an all girl location so check em first!
My store sells as feeders. We get them from a lady whom breeds rats and mice. We get PEWS, hoodeds, few berks and occassionally we get batches of dumbos.
My store sells as feeders. We get them from a lady whom breeds rats and mice. We get PEWS, hoodeds, few berks and occassionally we get batches of dumbos.
I don't know Petco but I assume they sell feeder rats and if so generaly feeder rats are always priced by size . You pay a higher price for a larger "feeder" rat because of the time it takes to raise them to that size , the cost of feeding them ect...rattikins said:
I belive anyway
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thats what makes me mad. I really want a dumbo. REALLY REALLY BAD. but the closest rescue is like 3 hours away. and when you dont have a license thats very difficult. and probably next weekend or the week after that i will be getting another female.
Origanaly fiona was a black hooded but now shes more of a chocolate. is there any reason for that change?
and i think the reason for the lack of variety is because i think a lot of them are feeders because i know fiona was labled in a aquarium that said small,medium,large,jumbo. and i checked the local spca and they didnt have any rats. and if they did they were all black hoodies. and i almost took in a little girls black hoodie a few weeks ago who lives near my mom. my fiona was still suposed to live at joshs(boyfriend) . poor baby was skin and bones. and i thought fiona was small. this thing was tiny compared to fiona and fiona is younger. i felt bad about it. but i didnt think it'd be best for the rat at the time. but does anyone know of any rescues in va closer to hampton,va? or pet stores that offer dumbos?
Origanaly fiona was a black hooded but now shes more of a chocolate. is there any reason for that change?
and i think the reason for the lack of variety is because i think a lot of them are feeders because i know fiona was labled in a aquarium that said small,medium,large,jumbo. and i checked the local spca and they didnt have any rats. and if they did they were all black hoodies. and i almost took in a little girls black hoodie a few weeks ago who lives near my mom. my fiona was still suposed to live at joshs(boyfriend) . poor baby was skin and bones. and i thought fiona was small. this thing was tiny compared to fiona and fiona is younger. i felt bad about it. but i didnt think it'd be best for the rat at the time. but does anyone know of any rescues in va closer to hampton,va? or pet stores that offer dumbos?
You can also try having a smaller pet store order you some dumbo rats. A lot of the smaller ones will do special orders. But be cautious, I ordered dumbos and got fancy rats instead. Then of course when I went to pick them up and found out about the mistake I immediately fell in love and the rest is history.
Hmm by what some of you have posted I now realize that the major pet stores like Petsmart have different rats depending on what state you live in I think.
For example, I live in San Diego California and I got my rat at Petsmart. They have Rex's, and I've seen Blues there too. BUT. I noticed one of you say that the Petsmart where you're at only sells females. The petsmart near where I live sells ONLY males. Which is funny how certain stores only sell the certain sex.
Oh and what I really like about Petsmart is that they clean their cages daily and their rats are always in very good shape (or at least the petsmarts around my area) Because the Petco's in my area have TERRIBLE looking rats and disgusting cages. I feel so bad for them, their cages are all dirty and smell terrible. At Petsmart the cages are always fresh and clean. But I'm sure this all varies depending on location just as anything does.
For example, I live in San Diego California and I got my rat at Petsmart. They have Rex's, and I've seen Blues there too. BUT. I noticed one of you say that the Petsmart where you're at only sells females. The petsmart near where I live sells ONLY males. Which is funny how certain stores only sell the certain sex.
Oh and what I really like about Petsmart is that they clean their cages daily and their rats are always in very good shape (or at least the petsmarts around my area) Because the Petco's in my area have TERRIBLE looking rats and disgusting cages. I feel so bad for them, their cages are all dirty and smell terrible. At Petsmart the cages are always fresh and clean. But I'm sure this all varies depending on location just as anything does.
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