Our Recommended Rat Vets in Ontario

1. Swift Tails VIRTUAL Exotic Vet

Dr. Tara is AMAZING! Very knowledgeable about rats, very kind and empathetic, and very open to suggestions. If you have experience with rats, or have gotten advice from us or another rescue/trusted source, and think you know what's going on, and want to suggest what you're hoping she can help you with in terms of prescriptions/treatment, she's open to discuss and work with you.

Available to ANYONE in ONTARIO, very QUICK response time/booking options, often within 1-2 days, and ship any prescribed medications right to your door with really fast express shipping.

Obviously NO IN PERSON visits, and no surgeries, but great for respiratory infections, pituitary tumors, visible wounds/skin problems, and other conditions that don't need an in person visit, at least not initially.

2. Dr. Jenn Garner - Cottage Country Animal Clinic, Parry Sound

We can't say enough about Dr. Jenn! She has been Frankie's World vet for the last 4 years, and we could not save so many rats without her! Not an exotics "specialist", but very keen and interested to learn, open-minded, open to suggestions if you think you know what's going and know what treatment you want to try... AND since she's our vet, she sees a LARGE volume of rats on a regular basis, always learning along side us as we discover and try new things :)

She has performed surgeries including: mass removals all over the body, spays, and tail amputations. She even operated on Scoobs while he was living on oxygen!

3. Dr. Claudia Kabakchiev - 404 Emergency and Referral Hospital, Newmarket

An exotics specialist, and one of the best in the GTA and Ontario in our experience. She was the vet for Frankie the rat before she passed away and before we moved to Parry Sound. Very kind, compassionate, knowledgeable, and thorough. She's the one who got us on to oxygen therapy by suggesting she write a prescription for a portable oxygen concentrator when Quinn was hospitalized with pneumonia a couple years ago, so that we could take her home and treat her there instead of staying in ICU. She performs just about any surgery on rats, and the clinic has 24/7 vet staff if rats need to stay overnight. No "emergency" service for exotics, but they are there 6 days a week, and have daily "emergency" slots for urgent appointment requests.

4. Dr. Waters - Oakville Animal Clinic

Our Burlington and Hamilton locations often go to her, and we have had largely positive experiences. Not as experienced and knowledgeable with rats as some of our other recommended vets, but a great option nonetheless if you're in that area and need something the virtual vet can't provide, like a surgery. They have been wonderful with us in terms of listening, fitting us in for emergencies, and are always willing to research more when required for special cases.

5. Dr. Stephen Hess - Acton Veterinary Clinic

We have not used him personally, but have heard nothing but AMAZING things from a trusted and very experienced adopter. Very accessible, approachable, flexible, and open minded. Cares about rats, and will do what he can to work with you on getting them whatever care they need!

6. Dr. Munn - Jameson Queen Animal Hospital, Toronto

Many of our adopters and fosters in Toronto regularly go to Dr. Munn for their rats, and have said nothing but amazing things about his care and love for rats.

7. Dr. Urszula Korolczuk - Britannia Animal Hospital, Mississauga

We have heard about amazing experiences with Dr. Korolczuk from a trusted adopter and good friend of the rescue, including several successful surgeries for their beloved rats. We can tell from just our brief communications with them that Britannia Animal Hospital takes rat veterinary care very seriously.