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Pittsburgh Rats, WHERE to buy?

7K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  pinkie1205 
#1 ·
Hey I am from the Pittsburgh area and I would like to get a rat. I had two of them when I was at college. I went to CAL U of PA. Down there there was a pet store that had all kinds of different rats. I had a hairless one also for about 3 years. I am in need of a different kind of rat. I really dont want a typical fancy rat that you can buy at Pets Smart. BUT I also dont want to drive 1hr ++ to get an unusual rat species. Anywhere around here that I can find them? I am about 20 minutes north of Pitts, in Alison Park/Hampton Area. ANY help would be greatly app. thanks
 
#2 ·
Have you tried Petfinder? There are tons of homeless rats looking for a forever home.
 
#3 ·
You need to get two rats because they ae very social and unless you can have the rat with you every minute of the day he or she will get very lonley and get behavour problems or something else you know what I mean.
I don't know where you can buy from.. if you have a local pet shop that would be okay, but pet shop rats are not well looked after or handled and prone to resporational illnesses. If you can find a breeder in your area or near your area this would be the best place to get your rats from. Or you could always try and find a local rescue or one thats near by, they probably have some nice rats there that need homes and in rescues they are norally if not always looked after properly ;)
 
#5 ·
I had this big analogy and stuff prepared but I just deleted it to say. What do you mean? Do you mean you want like a dumbo with the big ears or a rex with curly hair or hairless or something like that, or do you mean you want like an african pouch rat or a black rat or something? I know we all talked about and joked about the new Indonesian giant but you can't get them. LOL. No seriously. Pouch rats are illegal to import and in some places illegal to own. You would have to find a captive bred one and my understanding is it is fairly difficult to breed them. Mostly because (from what I have read a few places) it seems only the dominant female from a pack or maybe litter will breed. The others never will. It is odd but the way they work apparently. I don't have experience with them I can only relate what I have heard. They are hard to find. They have small litters and so many people abandoned them after they were made illegal so many places that there just aren't that many people doing it. I have heard of black rats as pets but they haven't been as domesticated to my understanding. They may not be domesticate-able. Some animals don't take to domestication as well as others. They may be but no one bothered much cause they weren't as attractive or popular. There are also some Australian rats that are kept in captivity there but again I believe they were illegal to import and if there are any here they would be tough to track down. I believe they are fairly new to the domestication process as well so they are still considered wild too.

So depending on what you are talking about the answers could be easier or more difficult.
 
#7 ·
Thanks!

Thanks for all the advice.

Jennicat
I have looked on pet finder but they are pretty much all fancy rats, nothing unusual. I would prefer something different.

laydeerodentzz
I wouldnt mind getting two rats, and there is a pet store locally (like within 2 miles of my house) that breeds rats. They are pretty and nice looking and well kept for, but just typical fancy rats or dwarf rats. I am looking for something different.

Vanilla_Rat
I did google that and I didnt find any really close to me. Nice hatchet man logo!! ICP!

fezzik
Yeah something like a rex or dumbo or something. Not some weird rare african sumo rat or something. The pet store rat breeder lady, as mentioned above, knows about rex'x and dumbo's but doesnt breed them for some reason. If she did, I would have no problem. She said that she may be able to order a hairless or dumbo or something, but if she could, why cant I just do it too? I would be kinda nervous about having someone mail me a rat though.

But thinking about that, when I was substitute teaching last year, the school orders chicks, and they come in the mail fine!

pinkie1205
Um, yeah driving 6+ hours with 4.05 gas prices to get a 7 dollar rat. If I was out there that would be nice, but really not in my time and budget to do that. thanks
 
#8 ·
Well, I was thinking that if you talk to the pet store rat breeder than maybe she could get you in touch with some other breeders she might know who have what you are looking for, she could be part of a breeding group or something.
Getting two rats will be best and it's just as easy looking after two rats than one.. and it'll be twice as much the fun!
 
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