That's why our local owned pet store keeps ALL their mice/rats in the back room..feeder or pet, nobody except the buyer sees anything except a little box that they use for pets as well, so it doesn't really bother anyone..

But yeah, I was told to leave once from a petsmart when I mentioned I had a ball python. She told me I would make the rodent owners like herself uncomfortable with my presence and that she would never sell me any small animals any time I walked into the store. Someone was very touchy. I wasn't even asking for feeder mice, we were buying stuff to get rid of tics when we first got Maru. Haven't stepped into that store again.

I try not to buy stuff from petstores, sometimes there are emergencies that call for it though, but when we do we try to buy from local stores rather than big chains. But the rest of our supplies are bought online, which is just easier anyway so it's a win-win!