AIBU to expect to go into Pets at Home without being scared by a rat?

[Bananasandchocolatecustard]

I had a training session with a behaviourist for my dogs fear aggression. I went int PaH to buy a long lead. I found one and took it to the counter to pay. There was an assistant at the till, I asked her a question then saw a rat's head poking out of her fleece!!!
The next thing I knew, I was behind a shelving unit hiding from the rat.
I am so scared of rats since a rat family took up residence in my garden a few years ago. I still don't leave my back door open in case a wandering rat fancies a visit.
I know there are are lots of people who like rats, but I don't expect to be confronted by one at a till.
Needless to say I didn't stay in the shop.

All my rats have either been rescued or from NFRS approved breeders. I made a 300 mile round trip to collect one trio of babies

All my pets have come from PaH and all of them have been healthy, happy and well treated. It's like anywhere else in that it depends how good the staff of that particular store are and the treatment the animals get.

I only remember buying live fish from PaH and I had to fill in a questionnaire first.

However I do buy frozen mice on a regular basis for my snake, as the mice are all individually bagged, rather than supplied loose from my local pet shop.

YABRidiculous.

Rats are pets. Rats love sitting in shirts and jumpers and will happily sit in one for ages. Or on a shoulder or lap.

I'm actually happy to hear that the woman at the till was handling them given that most pet shop pets are wholly neglected until they are bought! For them to walk around with the animal shows that they realise that the animal needs interaction, it's a good thing.

I have my epileptic loner boy rat giving me a cuddle so I'm probably biased.

I don't agree with pet shops selling animals either, especially when they sell them to people who are clueless and the shop workers are usually clueless themselves.

rattie can you tell my rats that they like to sit nicely. Mine love being inside clothes but they will not just sit nicely, running around like loons, eyeing up where they might make a jump for it is more likely. They are only 5 months though so hopefully they may calm down a little.

I did get mine from a pet shop (not PaH though) and the girl who sold them to me was carrying a ferret around at the time, I also had to tell her our cage set up and size and she talked about them a bit until she was happy I had read up. I also had to handle them in front of her. Since reading up and on here I agree that pet shops are not the best places for animals and I do think most of the cages etc are far too small but I also think that at least I am getting them out of there so it's a bit of a catch 22. I also can't find a local breeder.

crap Oh, I never said nicely I said happily, with some of mine that can involve playing chase in my shirt and bra The only one of mine who sits still is the one who has lethargy issues! He is usually out for hours just sitting on my lap or next to me on the sofa, I do love him :)
They won't calm down if they're like my girls. My rescue, who is at least two and a half, still puts the other three girls in their places, even the one who is 250g bigger than her!

I think that the pet shops who are conscientious and vaguely knowledgeable are few and far between, obviously they do exist, they're just in the minority. I buy most of my rat stuff from a pet shop that my breeder owns so I know of one local to me that is good for the animals sake. People who actually research animals before buying are also in the minority. It's nice to hear about a pet shop that actually handles the animals, even if it is the dreaded P@H.

Nothing will be done about it, but I wish that small animals and fish were not so readily available in shops. At least with cats and dogs there is a vague thought process of wanting a cat or dog (even though many cock that up too), whereas with small animals and fish you can walk into many pet shops and buy one on a whim.

Breeders can be few and far between, we got our first two from one an hour and a half away, then were lucky to find an amazing breeder on our doorstep.

After I typed my reply I realised you hadn't said nicely . OK I'm not holding out any hope that they may calm down. I have read that boys are more likely to sit on your lap than girls. I'd love to get them out more just to stay near/on me but getting them out requires sitting on the bathroom floor for ages as it's secure and a good space for them to run around. Or they come out for a cuddle whilst I try to stop one from leaping of the sofa. We have no doors downstairs so I wouldn't trust them not to run off if they got the chance!