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I've done my research on rats, and I've heard it's not good to get your pet rat from Petsmart, but that is the only choice I have at the times. I'm planning on getting two females. I went to look at my local pet shops and the best place to get them was Petsmart they were all females paired together. I did not ask if they were from the same litter because I was not buying them that day. I have decided so far to get them from Petsmart. I believe its not super bad to and I would like to hear other people opinions. Not the really bad ones like don't get them there I would like a comparison of breeder and pet store.

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Depending on where you live there may be a third option that you have not mentioned. It would be my first choice.

In Pittsburgh we have a local rat rescue Pittsburgh Rat Lovers Club and Rescue check if you have something similar locally.

My second choice would be your local shelter, many shelters take all kinds of pets. They may have rats waiting for their forever home, or be able to put you in contact with a local rat rescue.

The basic problem with pet stores is that some animals come from breeder mills. You buy one and they breed a few more, some of which find nice new homes and some don't. The quality of stock in a pet store is often different in different areas, so a store specific answer would need to take your location into account.

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  • I looked and I couldn't find any place for rat rescue where I live they were all too far away.
    – Steph4io3
    Nov 16, 2015 at 20:17
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    How far away? The local guinea-pig-rescue has actually had people drive 4 hours to bring the piggies into a good home, or they may know people closer to you who are just not found on the web. So, contacting them may be worth a shot after all.
    – Layna
    Nov 17, 2015 at 11:26
  • @Steph4io3 Layna has a good point, rescues will often travel so it may be worth contacting the nearest rescue even if it is a couple hundred miles. Nov 17, 2015 at 11:30
  • @JamesJenkins I knot she does but I just wanted to know that its not the worse thing in the world to get them from Petsmart. I feel like I'm saving them and yeah every store has to sell on profit and what not I just wanted to know if it was fine and it wouldn't be the end of the world. Sorry for sounding rude. I don't mean to.
    – Steph4io3
    Nov 17, 2015 at 15:04
  • @Steph4io3 it depends on where your local petsmart gets its rats. If you list a nearby city someone might be able to get more information. Generally petsmart is neither the best nor the worst place to get pets. Nov 17, 2015 at 16:09
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I know this question is almost six years old, but to anyone looking at this, I have an unpopular opinion to share with you: Shop! I got my rats from Petco, and because they are usually bought from there as feeders, it made me feel a little bit like I was rescuing them (maybe I was). Lots of people choose to adopt, leaving only reptile owners who need to feed their snake live animals (and then complain about how they were "aggressive" and "low-quality" on websites). Rats at a shelter (except for a kill shelter) are guaranteed a good home. Rats at a pet store need you to guarantee that for them.

I don't care that they get their rats from breeder mills. I don't care that they're all about profit. I care about RATS!

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    I've edited this to remove the unnecessarily rude and inflammatory language used. Please be nice, even if you disagree with or don't understand the choices of others.
    – Allison C
    Jun 14, 2021 at 13:15

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