Why NOT to get a Petstore Guinea Pig? *Pictures*

[MCR_Rox]

This is a tiny bit off-topic, but I found a horrible video about Puppymills:

YouTube - How much is the doggy in the window? Puppymill investigation

[confuzioncity]

Originally Posted by landhermie

This is a tiny bit off-topic, but I found a horrible video about Puppymills:

YouTube - How much is the doggy in the window? Puppymill investigation

Another example of horrible conditions. This is similar to a puppy mill I saw when I was younger, although it wasn't as bad as this. Almost but not as bad. We later found out that it was shut down by the state.

They should make these Public Service Announcements and run them on the TV several times a day.

Colleen

[lhorns55]

[quote=fourbwabbys;269925]I got somewhat lucky with my petstore pigs.]

[Susan9608]

Ihorns55 - please check your private messages. I need a reply before you do anymore posting.

[Marina_7]

On the topic, just this last week I have seen two incidences of animal abuse in petshops.
I went into the local ma and pa petstore a couple days ago. They had three guinea pigs in a the smallest "starter" guinea pig cage, dirty as can be. They were so sweet, popcorning around cause they had just gotten some Hartz pellets to eat. No hay in sight. Underneath them was a degu, that was dying. It was laying on its side, with laboured breathing. Pretty sickening. The owner wasnt there and some kid was working. I asked him about the poor thing, and said his manager was dealing with it. Yeah, sure.

Then, another day, I went into Petcetera (a Canadian petstore chain.) They dont have puppymill pups but they make up for it with the large amounts of small animals they carry. Well, I looked at the hamsters and there was this one black guy with a missing eye. He had half a chunk bitten out of his nose. Pathetic.
Also, there was a little male pig that was all by itself in a corner cage (another cage with 5 pigs was "showcased" in the center of the area.) He had dirty water, no food. I asked an employee about him, they were like "Oh, there is one in here?" Atleast, that got him some fresh water and food. I was really sickened. I am totally against buying from petstores but I was really tempted to take that little guy home. He was a underweight, little tricoloured american. Well, hopefully he will find a good home....

I used to work at at store awhile back and man had it has gone downhill. I think I am going to write a letter to the owner, stating that though he goes on about how wonderful he is to have a SPCA adoption centre in his stores he should look into treating the small animals with some respect!

[lizzagarcia]

All the stories here just made me totally sick. I cannot believe that people would do such harmful things to such beautiful creatures!

I have a story to tell and I was just devastated at what I was witnessing.

So I went over to my local Petco petstore to have a look at what was going on ... I immediately went over to the small animal section and had a look at the mouses, the rats & the guinea pigs.

The mouses were fighting each other over and over again to get time on the wheel, and if I had to guess .. about 20 of them where under a very small igloo. (not like the size thats acceptable for a guinea pig.. more like the size thats acceptable for like 1-2 hamsters)

All 12 rats were sleeping in the corners of the cages ... bored out of lack of entertainment, probably.

BUT THE WORST OF ALL .... I was looking over at the sad male *hopefully .. because thats how it was marked* and I noticed right away that something was definitely wrong. It looked like he was choking or having trouble breathing... I also noticed that their waterbottle had fallen and spilled all over the bedding .. so the guinea pig was sitting on wet bedding and choking. I immediately ran over to the counter workers... and asked them to come quickly. (It was late at night, so there were only 2 workers.. both male teenagers probably around 17-18 on their day job) walked slowly to where the poor guinea pig was and opened the cage. He observed the guinea pig and told me it was nothing to worry about, and that it was probably just a cough. He picked up the bottle, went to the sink, refilled it and placed it back in the cage... and neglected to change the wet bedding. I complained and told him that the guinea pig was NOT fine and that he needs to be taken to a vet.. and after hes safe.. the bedding has to be changed to fresh. Listen to his remark: "LOOK lady... I'm sorry.. but I think I know more about pets than you do .. seeing as I work at PETco. (he emphasized on pet) . I'm telling you that hes just fine.. and theres nothing to worry about. Anyways ... Even if there was something wrong with him.. theres nothing I could do about it since my boss went home..." I couldn't listen to him say anything anymore... I left the store to go to my car and get my cell phone to call my neighbor who's a vet... I notice him and his coworker running back over to the guinea pig cage.. I sneak back into the store just to see what he was doing. I hide behind one of the aisles.. because I knew that if he knew I was in the store .. he would immediately stop whatever he was doing. I saw him TAKE THE GUINEA PIG OUT OF THE CAGE... still breathing heavly, and say to his coworker in a joking way.. "haha.. stupid thing. chocked on the thing that held the water bottle up.... guess theres nothing to do now.. "

HOW COULD ANYONE LET SOMEONE WORK THERE WHO WAS SO CARELESS?

[MCR_Rox]

1-18-07

Image a pet store that sells guinea pigs were the guinea pigs' water is green and bubbly. The cage wasn't even 1'x1'. The guinea pigs were breathing heavy, and had crusty eyes. Where the guinea pigs seem lethargic. There is no where to hide for them. Their feet are red with bumps.

That is what I witnessed in the Pet Supplies Plus in Dickson City.

Also, my mom said that there was a bug in the hermit crab tank.

I am going to send them and e-mail complaint. Those pigs need a vet ASAP!

[MCR_Rox]

I found 2 videos about ALL animals:

API Media Gallery - Video/KGO TV Coverage - Size: 21mb

[North]

i got my piggy from a petstore, although i did know that they could be adopted *feels really bad right now* but the problem is that i live in a area with small towns and though there are shelters neaby (the town i live in is SO small that it dosn't have one) none of them have guinea pigs, just cats, dogs, birds, ferrets and some times horse's. the nearest shelter that DOSE have guinea pigs is four hours away. my piggy was bred in the petstore and (thank goodness) there was nothing wrong with her, but she was kept in a 2x2 pen with her sister, mother, and (until he was removed) her brother.

[piggygal818]

One time when I went to the pet store, I was looking to buy a hamster but when I got there, two beautiful guinea pigs were being tortured by an eight year old. [The cage they were in was open so that you could pick them up.] I got really mad because all of the other animals cages were closed off and said ask for assistance. I was thinking, well why not close the guinea pig cage as well? So I asked my parents if I could get a guinea pig instead of a hamster, it took a while for them to realize that the guinea pigs were sleeping in their own yern for and their nails had not been cut right. Before I left I filed a complaint about how the guinea pigs were being tortured by the kids and how dirty their cage was and the next time I came into the shop, the cages were closed and were kind of clean you could say. I am sure other people had filed complaints about it too!

[JarBax]

See next post...

[JarBax]

Don't know how old it is - but this PETA video is linked in response to the 'waggily tail' one. Says it all.

YouTube - Breaking Investigation: Pet Smart animal suppliers

[MCR_Rox]

PETA Newsletter about Petdumb (aka Petsmart):

Breaking PETA Investigation Reveals Horrors at PetSmart
Dear Angela,

I want you to be among the first to know about our breaking investigation of cruelty and animal abuse by multibillion-dollar retailer PetSmart.
click to read more
What You Can Do

1. Please don't buy anything from PetSmart until it stops selling all animals.

2. Write to PetSmart and tell the company that you want the company to end the sale of all animals and sell animal supplies only.

3. If you visit a PetSmart store, check to make sure that the animals are being treated well. Find out how you can spot neglect or abuse at PetSmart.

4. Make an urgent donation to help support our campaigns and continue PETA's important investigative work.


Over a three-month period in two different stores, a PETA undercover investigator documented sickening conditions for small, helpless animals—including hamsters, rats, lizards, chinchillas, and birds. Our investigator found that animals were deprived of adequate veterinary care and were slowly dying—out of customers' sight in back rooms. More than 118 animals died over the course of the investigation.

You can take action today to stop this needless suffering of animals. Please help stop this cruelty.

For years, PetSmart has assured PETA that sick and injured animals in its 885 stores are given veterinary care when they need it. However, our investigation and reports from concerned customers at numerous other PetSmart stores have shown that PetSmart routinely sells sick and injured animals, including guinea pigs with eye and upper respiratory infections, sick and dying betta fish, and suffering birds. Among the birds PetSmart has sold are mite-infested parakeets, a cockatoo who was screaming and bobbing neurotically from stress, and a Jardin's parrot who was "very ill" in a "dirty cage with filthy water." And those are just the animals who customers can see.

When PETA first alerted PetSmart's corporate headquarters about the animal suffering our investigator had uncovered in the Manchester, Connecticut, store's back room, the company responded that the store has an outstanding "pet care team" and an "exceptional pet care record." However, our undercover video and photos reveal a very different story.

Please tell PetSmart that you want the company to act humanely and stop this cruel commerce.

PETA investigators have exposed hideous abuses inflicted on innocent animals in laboratories, factory farms, and anywhere else animals have suffered away from the eyes of a caring public. By working together with supporters like you who aren't afraid to speak up for animals, we've won many hard-fought victories that have improved the lives of millions—if not billions—of animals. Furthermore, we've helped change the way Fortune 500 corporations treat animals.

Today, we need you to speak up loud and clear once again.

Please tell PetSmart to end live-animal sales and focus on adopting out homeless animals from animal shelters and rescue groups. The animals suffering at PetSmart are depending on you!

Very truly yours,
Ingrid Newkirk
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President


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[JenniferH]

I bought mine from a "mom and pop" pet store, before I knew any better. I have had them almost 3 weeks, and last week I noticed that one of my girls appears pregnant. I took them to the vet, and she is most likely pregnant. The good news is that they appear to be in exellent health and are both indeed girls. What upsets me is she is only 7-8 weeks old and pregnant. The vet will be doing x-rays next week to check the number and size of the babies since Ariel is so young and small. I worry that she will have complications during childbirth.

[Percy's Mom]

Good for you for getting her to a vet early on. There certainly may be complications, but her early age is actually better than if she were over a year old. As they age, the pelvic bones fuse and can make birth nearly impossible. If your pigs are definitely both girls, she was obviously pregnant before you got her, so she was probably with a boar at her first heat. You have around 5-7 weeks left before she gives birth. Check out Guinea Lynx :: Reproduction if you have not already.

Yet another reason not to buy animals from a petstore, corporate or "mom and pop". You're likely to get missexed animals or find that both sexes have been housed together.

[spice_the_aby]

i went into pets at home and a packet of pineapple pieces had a fly in , the guinea pigs and rabbits had no food or hay and there was a cage of 30x30cm with 7 syrian hamsters in. Things are better though now they have split the pigs up from the rabbits and include hidey houses and hay.

[Project_C]

[FONT=Times New Roman]Thank you so much for this thread. I had no idea how bad this problem was. The breeding was sickening. Before, I thought this place must be exaggerating about the pet store animals not being taken care of well. I decided I would still adopt, but maybe still get them from a pet store. Now I know better, those videos showed me what it was really like. I had no idea it was that horrible. I couldn't watch the whole video because of the cruelty.


I thank you all for this site, and all it has taught me thus far.
[/FONT]

[gemstone_dragon]

Not all pet stores are like this. I resent the generalization. See the cutie that's in the picture for my avatar? He's a proud PetSmart piggie and he was taken very good care of while he was in the store. DON'T GENERALIZE WITH PET STORES!!

[fourbwabbys]

So the 'cutie' you bought at the petsmart near you appeared fine. Look behind the scenes before you generalise. You have NO idea where she came from before getting to the store. The money YOU gave to your PetSmart went to the petsmart that treated the pigs this way. YOU ARE SUPPORTING THIS.

[VoodooJoint]

Originally Posted by gemstone_dragon

DON'T GENERALIZE WITH PET STORES!!

Please take the time to actually read this thread and the other threads about petstores. We CAN and WILL generalize about petshops. ALL stores that sell animals are doing a great diservice, not only to the animals but to their customers and the world as well.

If you love petstores so much then that's wonderful for you. Go on out and contribute to the problem all you want. We can't stop you. Your view however will not EVER be welcome on this forum and there is no way you will ever change our minds. This is a rescue oriented forum. It's run by a rescue and supported by those that either believe in recue or rescue themselves.

If you continue to try to undermine the values of this forum, without an attempt at a logical argument, then you will no longer be welcome to post in the Kitchen.