Our shop says they use local breeders too, but it's rubbish as I've seen them order them from well known rodent farms. They used to use a local breeder. A local breeder who had no qualms about giving 2-3 week old kittens to the pet shop because she'd ran out of food and needed some.

Even so, very few (none that I know of) self respecting breeders would sell their rats via a pet shop (as they need to know where their rats go so that they can keep in touch for the rest of the animal's life), so 9 times out of 10 (that's being generous, as IMO it's 10 times), rats in pet shops are bred by farms or irresponsible breeders.

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Bohemian Rats

Ill only use local breeders for rabbits and g'pigs, even then the local breeders are friends, and i know wouldnt trust anyone else.

Majority of people who own my rats come to my rat club every thursday, many others are on my forum or facebook, theres maybe 5 that i dont have details but who come in either with their rats occasionally or come in for toys and food. I Cant say theres any that i have not seen atleast once since the day they bought them.

The process for me isnt different from any other breeder. Only my first litter was ever ready without reservations, every litter since has always been reserved before 6 weeks old. The litter i have at the moment is 5 days old, and 9 out of the 13 babies have been reserved. 2 of these people already own my rats, 3 are going to someone whos been waiting for rats from me since we opened but wasnt prepared until now.

Theres some people you'll never convince but im glad 80% of people agree with what i do. The reputation we have got since we opened has been great.

Cast 99% of petshops under that boat, many shouldnt be open, not by the horror stories i have heard anyway but there is 1% of them out there, that are truely out to try and make a difference, and not spend time on forums sulking about what they will never do anything to change...

PS if you'd like a list of some of my customers for feedback on my rats you need only ask, i know they would be more than happy for me to share their details.

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www.berrywoods.co.uk or www.forum.berrywoods.co.uk
What We do @ Berrywoods
Too Many Rats, 3 Guineas, Tropical Fish, 5 Naughty Ferret Boys, Mouse Boys, Winter White Hammies... and the cat

Bloody hell I can't believe what i've just seen I brought both my hamsters from P@H and i'm shocked that my two little babies will have started life like that. My zippy (the first one i brought from there) was the only one in the cage I don't think anyone wanted him cuz he was all fluffy he is my cats best mate and I am so upset to think that P@H could buy off these people

Try to get the issue on Opera she had a lot to do with getting the word out on puppy mills too.

This is a wierd one for me becuase i thought buying form petshops were bad until i contacted mine and asked them about it a few months ago now..

He gave me the number of his breeder and i arranged to see his workings, thinking i was going to be horrified, when the truth was that he only gives his rats to petshops when he has no buyers for his well bred ratties, i went the next day when he dropped off a new lot of kits to the shop and picked up a little cream and champagne husky with pink eyes , glad to say he is the best most helthiest frendliest rat i have ever had, hes adorable and called gordon :L But i would still always make sure before you uy from there if you HAVE TO. i still goto breeders as often as i can or i do a thurough check so its not all bad, becuase in the end, pet shops are there to help pet owners.. or am i jst lucky to have a great petshop on my street ? xx

My 2 guys were both bought from pets at home because it was near IMPOSSIBLE to get a local breeder firstly, and secondly one that wasnt overly suspicious. Im on the lookout again for another rattie, and im finding it impossible. Its no wonder.

To confirm, are Pets @ Home really bad offenders for this type of practise?

They are one of the worst offenders
Have you looked at any local rescues? Many rescues rehome nationally so that is also something you can look into

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Not sure what you mean by this, I take it you mean the breeder asking you questions? A good breeder will want to know who they are entrusting their babies to so would ask questions. It's not being 'suspicious', it's being ethical & if you've nothing to hide then it shouldn't be a problem

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Why presume I had somethin to hide. I couldn't, An still can't find a local breeder where I don't have to drive miles which I'm unable to do. A casual buyer would rather go pets at home for easy sake. I'm not saying me here

Wow that makes me really rethink pet shops! That makes me very upset tower those poor rats and know that a large percent of them suffered and died. ):