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R

RVT

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Messages
13
Location
Canada
I am interested in adopting some babies from a reputable breeder who is willing to ship to NS Canada. I live in Nova Scotia Canada and there are no reputable breeders in the Atlantic provinces, and I am tired of purchasing from pet stores. I am not so interested in coloring as I am health and longevity. I have no plans or desires to breed, and all of my rats are neutered and spayed.

I guess what I would like to know is how do I discern a "good" breeder from a "bad" breeder? and if the breeder is willing to ship to me, what should I look for to know the rats would be shipped appropriately?

Is there a list of breeders I can look at in Canada? or if anyone on here has had some recent litters, I would love a pm :)
 
I too recommend MRRG... a great rescue group, not to far from you either.
Shipping rats at this time of year is really not a good idea.
 
I don't believe shipping animals is a good idea, period, unless you're dealing with unusual circumstances. If you were to purchase rats long distance I'd highly recommend driving to pick them up or meeting half way.

The unfortunate thing is there really aren't any good, reputable, ethical breeders in Canada. None, zip, zilch.

We are not a breeder based rescue either so you certainly wont get any PMs from breeders here. But as you've already been directed to, MRRG just recently had a litter of BEAUTIFUL rescue babies. These babies are being socialized like crazy and there's nothing like getting babies from someone who has loved them like crazy and spent lots of time with them. When I adopt babies they always end up being my heart rats.

Here's the thread they've posted with that rescue litter :)

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=22357
 
Even if you found a breeder that was good (like Moon said there are none in Canada unfortunately), there is no evidence that good breeders that breed for health, temperament, and longevity, produce statistically significant longer living rats. Rescues are the way to go in my opinion. They are very well socialized, in need of homes, healthy, and plenty to choose from if you are looking for a particular age or colour. MMRG is a fantastic organization and does wonderful work in the Maritimes.

And the first clue for me that the breeder you are currently dealing with is that they are willing to ship you a living animal. At any distance, at any time of year this is a very bad idea.

Keep us updated!
 
Welcome to the shack! I'm in NS as well, we don' buy from petstore, bu we have adopted from MRRG :) There are no good breeders here, only people breeding litters from pet store rats so you're really getting the same thing as pet stores if you buy from a local breeder. Also this time of year is horrid for shipping animals, and any good breeder wouldn't ship an animal to you without meeting you first and knowing what kind of home their babies are going to. Please, stick around, we'd love to get to know you!
 
Thanks for the replies everyone! Coincidentally enough, the same day I posted about breeders someone brought their rat into work and couldn't afford the treatment (mammary mass removal), so they surrendered her to our clinic and long story short I now have a new bub!
She had her surgery today and everything went really well!
 
I don't know why you guys would say there are NO reputable breeders in ALL of Canada? I got two of my rats, Pashmina and Penelope, from a new breeder in Surrey, BC. She's being mentored by SITH rattery in New Westminster and their rats are pedigreed as well. :|
 
KTyne said:
I don't why you guys would say there are NO reputable breeders in ALL of Canada? I got two of my rats, Pashmina and Penelope, from a new breeder in Surrey, BC. She's being mentored by SITH rattery in New Westminster and their rats are pedigreed as well. :|
Click to expand...

We've not been introduced to these breeders maybe? I know SITH had a good reputation but heard that was coming under fire, I could be wrong. Perhaps we are jumping the gun on that particular comment but even if SITH and your breeder are still considered ethical and reputable they shouldn't be an option in this case as the OP is located at the other end of the country and I do not feel there is a safe way to ship rats unless they were driven.
 
Whether or not SITH is a good/ethical breeder or not, BC is very far to ship to the Maritimes and ethically questionable given the risk to the rat during and after transport and the insane amount of homeless rats there. Even if someone was willing to spend possibly thousands to ship a rat, that money would be better spent on veterinary care that could help ensure a rat of unknown pedigree lives a long, healthy life IMO.

ETA Moon beat me.
 
I haven't heard about SITH having anything bad said about so I'm not sure. All I know is that the breeder I got these two from was responsible and didn't give me any bad vibes in the info. she gave me or anything. I wouldn't want rats shipped all the way across the country either, especially in the middle of winter! I was just wanting to make a point that there are breeders out there that are reputable.
I would rather rescue than buy from a breeder anyways, so that's what I'd advise! :)
I just want to make it clear that I was definitely not suggesting that they try to get a rat from a breeder across the country!
 
RVT said:
Thanks for the replies everyone! Coincidentally enough, the same day I posted about breeders someone brought their rat into work and couldn't afford the treatment (mammary mass removal), so they surrendered her to our clinic and long story short I now have a new bub!
She had her surgery today and everything went really well!
Click to expand...

Oh Congrats! Good timing all around :)
 
KTyne said:
All I know is that the breeder I got these two from was responsible and didn't give me any bad vibes in the info. she gave me or anything. I wouldn't want rats shipped all the way across the country either, especially in the middle of winter! I was just wanting to make a point that there are breeders out there that are reputable.
Click to expand...

As of right now, those would be the only two ethical breeders in Canada then. So saying they are "out there" is kind of... extremely misleading, LOL. And do keep in mind that there's a difference between reputable and ethical. I just like to remind people that there is a difference since "reputable" gets thrown around a lot, and "ethical" not so much.
 
Sorry about that. :p
When I picked up my girls she showed me the moms and I could see all of her other rats and their cages and everything and no red flags so I atleast trust them to be responsible (dunno about SITH since I haven't dealt with them personally).

*edit- just wanted to say that the breeder I got my girls at was "Sinsational Rattery" in Surrey. Their website is http://sinsationalrats.weebly.com/ incase anyone wanted to check it out.
 
KTyne said:
Sorry about that. :p
When I picked up my girls she showed me the moms and I could see all of her other rats and their cages and everything and no red flags so I atleast trust them to be responsible (dunno about SITH since I haven't dealt with them personally).

*edit- just wanted to say that the breeder I got my girls at was "Sinsational Rattery" in Surrey. Their website is http://sinsationalrats.weebly.com/ incase anyone wanted to check it out.
Click to expand...

Their baseline rats are all unpedigreed. So... red flag.
 
I didn't notice that before, and didn't realize that could mean petstore rats. Thanks for pointing that out. :|
They don't seem to have problems with health though (so far atleast, I know in the future it could show with tumors, etc, but still).
I'll have to ask her about that.
 
Pet store rats may not have problems either... a lot of it is the luck of the draw. The point is that rats from breeders and pet stores are not necessarily very different but in both cases you are often encouraging rats (or any other pets) as being regarded as a good (like a purse or picture frame) that gets given away when it is no longer trendy or suits the owners lifestyle instead of as a companion. To me, ethical breeders of any companion animal have detailed health records going back many generations, treat all of their animals as well as most of us treat our pets, screen their adopters to make sure they are willing and able to provide a good home, and make sure that none of the animals they bred or their offspring end up in a shelter. If a breeder can convince me they are doing all of those, I have no objections to their activities, although as long as there are homeless animals, I will continue to rescue only.

I should also add, I looked at the site briefly but stopped at the part that said "Our prices have increased as we are no longer competing with pet stores." The fact that she was at one point tells me she's in it to make a profit and not to produce healthier, happier rats.

Edited for typo and to add last comment.
 
Definite huge red flag that they're using unpedigreed rats. Also they're breeding rats with high white markings. I've yet to hear of a safe high white line in Canada, so that's another HUGE red flag to me, one that nearly makes me cry (having had a rescue litter with megacolon, it hits pretty close to home). Unknown backgrounds + high white markings and it's only a matter of time before megacolon pops up :(
 
I did notice that she had rats that had high white markings, and was concerned about that.
I'm starting to re-think ever getting another rat from her. She seemed really nice and well-intentioned. (Her rat care seems good and such) but I dunno now. :|
 
Moon said:
KTyne said:
All I know is that the breeder I got these two from was responsible and didn't give me any bad vibes in the info. she gave me or anything. I wouldn't want rats shipped all the way across the country either, especially in the middle of winter! I was just wanting to make a point that there are breeders out there that are reputable.
Click to expand...

As of right now, those would be the only two ethical breeders in Canada then. So saying they are "out there" is kind of... extremely misleading, LOL. And do keep in mind that there's a difference between reputable and ethical. I just like to remind people that there is a difference since "reputable" gets thrown around a lot, and "ethical" not so much.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:

I'm to the point of AVOIDING using the word "reputable" because about all it means is the breeder has a little popularity club that will vouch for them. Speaks nothing of their practices or ethics though.
 

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