Quote Originally Posted by littleindiangirl View Post
I prefer buying from other rat breeders, but if I must, I will take petsmart and petco over a small petstore any day.
The thing about buying from a small mom & pop kind of store is each one is different. Yes, some petcos and petsmarts will take better care of their animals than others, but you will see an even wider variation in independent stores. Most petcos will have approximately the same genetics as most other petcos, and the same for petsmarts.

There will be some mom & pop stores that have fantastic breeder colonies. But the problem is knowing which one is which. You can get an idea by seeing what condition the animals are kept in, but no guarantees.

Overall, I agree with Connie. The best place to get rats to use as breeders would be from other breeders.