Where to get rats when just starting?

I am thinking of starting a small rat colony(5 tubs of 1.3 rats per tub) to support my BP collection and I was wondering where I can pick up some rats to get it started?

Thanks.

Pet store. I would start up with one group, keep babies from someone who has large litters, add those with a new male from pet store, and so forth.

A lot of people start with pet store rats. The important thing is to get the highest quality rats that you can. If you have a large rat breeder near you that is where I would go.

I would let the breeder pick the animals that he/she thinks will be good breeders.

i agree with Tom. Don't buy from a pet store. Buy dirrect from a breeder who is comfortable selling feeder breeder rats, but who also breeds high quality animals. That way you can get lots of info on which rats will be the best breeders for you. :)

Definitely better rats at private breeders, higher quality usually, tamer, and just better genetics.
Most private breeders care about who breeds who and what they are making and can give you the specifics of the breeders and what they will make for you.

I love setting people up with quality breeders and watching their rat groups grow and expand.

Ive got my first batch from a private feeder breeder and they have been producing like crazy. To keep blood lines fresh, ill buy a male from a pet store to breed with the babies.

There's no point in buying a male from a pet store line to mix in with a perfectly good privately bred line! :(

That just introduces health problems.

I agree. It is always best to buy from a local breeder if you can find one. If I was a little closer to you, I would help you out.
Good Luck!

Ill be completely honest, there feeders which arent bred for high quality. The ones i got were kept on pine which has them sneezing. But they reproduce great. Only had my 1.4 set for 2 months and have 4 litters. I keep them on Aspen now so the babies stay healthy but just because its a private breeder, doesnt mean there any better then what the pet stores have. Pet store rats all depends on what pet store. My local pet store is a mom and pop store which get there rats and mice local. Large chain stores dont care for there animals nearly the same way. I dont see a problem getting from a pet store as long as you know where the rats or any animal for that matter are coming from.

Contacting a show breeder is often the best way to get good rats. A lot are tempermental about giving rats out for feeder breeders. I have no problem doing this, as long as the person will still sit there and listen to me talk their ears off about care. :P