Pet Supplies Plus care sheet

[MCR_Rox]

Pet Supplies Plus care sheet

[FONT=FontName, arial]Caging: Guinea pigs will thrive in a variety of commercially available cages with the following basic requirements: solid flooring (not wire), secure lid, protection from heat, cold, and drafts, and hiding area. A cage with 2 square feet of floor space is large enough for one guinea pig. For each additional guinea pig that is kept, the cage should be 1 square foot larger.[/FONT]

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No wonder why when I was there the cage was too small! It wasn't even a 1x1 foot, though!

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[FONT=FontName, arial]Substrate: Guinea pigs can be successfully kept on a variety of substrates including pine shavings, pelleted or processed bedding. [/FONT]

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Pine = dust
dust= sneezing

[/FONT][FONT=FontName, arial]Guinea pigs must have access to fresh, clean drinking water at all times. A water bowl or sipper bottle can be used. The latter is typically cleaner and easier to maintain. [/FONT][FONT=FontName, arial] [/FONT]

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Then how come when I went in there, the water was green and bubbly? Hypocrites. Also, they use BOWLS, and on their site, it says that sippy bottles are better.


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[Cavy Ema]

That is ridiculous. Petco and PetSmart put their care sheets online as well. Maybe I should take a close look at those too. I'm sure theirs is similar though.

[PiggieMamaKelly]

Actually pine bedding is fine. It just needs to be kiln dried.

[MCR_Rox]

Originally Posted by PiggieMamaKelly

Actually pine bedding is fine. It just needs to be kiln dried.

It doesn't say that, so people will be getting the wrong kind. Also, pine has a lot of dust in it.

[Cavy Ema]

INFO I FOUND:

Petco's care sheet (PDF file) is recommending a 3.75 square foot minimum for a cage, the same beddings as Pet Supplies Plus as well as stating that wheels and balls should be used with caution. I would think not at all. But they do state that it could cause injury. I'm also relatively amused that they recommend a high-quality pellet food yet they don't sell any.

PetSmart's care sheet is recommending vitamin supplements in water that are dissolved out shortly after putting them in (not to mention possibly having tastes your guinea pig won't like and makes it not want to drink water). They also only recommend a handful of hay instead of the unlimited hay. Basically the diet (and fresh veggies) measurements are very off. They are also recommending only a 3 square foot cage.

MORAL OF THIS STORY:

Do not trust any information provided by most pet-selling pet stores. They don't know what they're talking about.

[Ly&Pigs]

The pet stores go by the caging standard of most breeders. Breeders think it's fine to keep pigs in 2-3 sq. ft. of space and since petstores support breeders and mills, well that's why they advocate such small spaces as well.

Pine is ok as a bedding. If it's not kiln dried, it can be air dried for 7-10 days (or longer) before use but kiln dried is preferred. Some pine is dusty but not all pine bedding products are that dusty.

[Marina_7]

Honestly, I think the companies that sell commerical cages made up all this guinea pig "care" info just to sell more of their product! It doesnt help when the staff at most petstores are feed all this wrong information, thus to help promote the sale of cages, seedy food etc. And sadly alot of the general public see petstore workers as the "experts."

Last week I saw a posting for a guinea pig on craigslist. As I am looking for a companion for my girl, I thought I should look into it. The ad didnt have the sex, age etc. Just a black guinea pig. So, I email them, nice as can be.
Then I get this curt reply
" The guinea pig is a boy. It is not a good idea to introduce guinea pigs when they are adults. You should consult an expert at a petstore"

So, I then replied " Thanks for the quick reply. And no, as guinea pigs are social animals, they do better if they are given a same sex companion. If the guinea pigs are introduced in a neutral environment they can become bonded friends. Please check out this great site " www. guineapigcages.com" It as wonderful information about proper guinea pig care. Good luck finding a home for your piggy."

I guess I was alittle passive aggressive, but honestly a "expert" in a petstore! Too much!