Adopting--what are you comfortable with?

[Rattdad]

My first three rats came from a breeder, then the next five through a rescue. I like the rescue a lot and want to support them, but at times it seems like it would be so much easier to get one off CL or from an animal shelter (since it takes time to find the right rat(s) through the rescue, and sometimes you have to drive a ways to pick them up from the foster). ( I wouldn't get a pet rat from a pet store at this point.) From the threads here, it seems like lots of people will take in rats off Craigslist. Are you worried about them getting your other rats sick? Is this worry overblown? A few times I drove two hours or more to adopt a rescue rat, and they've all been amazing, but it also seems like the ones on CL are probably no less needy.

 

[Big Schpog]

Thing is, rescues will always take in more rats that are needy. So if you take a few from them, they get to take in more needy rats. This is why I will always adopt from the local rat rescue. I also see you're from my neck of the woods. I was born and raised in Boston. I miss back East. I'm living on the West Coast, British Columbia Canada for the last 25 years.