moxie
New Member
Hi All,
My husband and I just got two new rat babies as companions for our resident rat after losing one of our rats to CHF (holy heartbreaking 6 weeks). We got them from PetCo (I know, never again, don't worry) and they were a bit sneezy when we brought them home. I chalked this up to them getting used to the new smells of our apartment. Today, the smaller one started to have a hard time breathing and was honking/snorting/squeaking occasionally so I took them back to PetCo to take advantage of their 15 day warranty (they will take the pet - we have to return it - and then give it vet care and we can repurchase her when she is healthy again).
My experience doing this was a bit...uncomfortable. The manager lied to me about how long they had had the rats (when we got them two days ago she remarked that they weren't social because they had just gotten them however when I dropped them off she said that they had had them for over a month and were very healthy the whole time they had them). As I tried to explain why I was concerned and began to question whether I should simply take them to my own vet, or try to take them to Petco's vet myself she became pretty rude and told me the only way they would pay for vet care is if I did their return/repurchase program and that I could not just drop them off for a vet appointment when scheduled. However she and a much friendlier associate assured me they would be in good hands, that they would be observed overnight, and that they would take her to the vet if she needed it. So I left my two new babies at Petco (I left both because I didn't want to separate them - they are pretty bonded already).
Now I am wondering if I did the right thing. I am really worried that either they won't take them to the vet, they won't care enough to give them vet care, or they will try to switch out my rats on me. Does anyone have experience with this? Should I go back and see if I can get them back and take them to my vet? Am I crazy for having cried in the store? The last question is rhetorical.
On a completely different note, I spent a lot of time lurking in the forums when my older girl was sick and all the old posts were amazingly helpful to me in trying to understand what was happening to her. So thank you all for all the help - you probably don't realize how many rat parents read and are helped by these forums.
My husband and I just got two new rat babies as companions for our resident rat after losing one of our rats to CHF (holy heartbreaking 6 weeks). We got them from PetCo (I know, never again, don't worry) and they were a bit sneezy when we brought them home. I chalked this up to them getting used to the new smells of our apartment. Today, the smaller one started to have a hard time breathing and was honking/snorting/squeaking occasionally so I took them back to PetCo to take advantage of their 15 day warranty (they will take the pet - we have to return it - and then give it vet care and we can repurchase her when she is healthy again).
My experience doing this was a bit...uncomfortable. The manager lied to me about how long they had had the rats (when we got them two days ago she remarked that they weren't social because they had just gotten them however when I dropped them off she said that they had had them for over a month and were very healthy the whole time they had them). As I tried to explain why I was concerned and began to question whether I should simply take them to my own vet, or try to take them to Petco's vet myself she became pretty rude and told me the only way they would pay for vet care is if I did their return/repurchase program and that I could not just drop them off for a vet appointment when scheduled. However she and a much friendlier associate assured me they would be in good hands, that they would be observed overnight, and that they would take her to the vet if she needed it. So I left my two new babies at Petco (I left both because I didn't want to separate them - they are pretty bonded already).
Now I am wondering if I did the right thing. I am really worried that either they won't take them to the vet, they won't care enough to give them vet care, or they will try to switch out my rats on me. Does anyone have experience with this? Should I go back and see if I can get them back and take them to my vet? Am I crazy for having cried in the store? The last question is rhetorical.
On a completely different note, I spent a lot of time lurking in the forums when my older girl was sick and all the old posts were amazingly helpful to me in trying to understand what was happening to her. So thank you all for all the help - you probably don't realize how many rat parents read and are helped by these forums.