Pet Stores: I just realised how bad pet stores are for myself!

[jayx2]

There are only three really small pet shops in my area as I live in quite a small town in Scotland, and the other day out of total curiosity I had to go in to one and see if there were any guinea pigs and how they were being kept after reading about some of the things people see in their pet stores, so anyway me and my boyfriend went in and there were 5 large grey rabbits in a small pet shop glass box basically, there was hardly any room for these poor things to move just enough room for a small round food dish to fit in with them and if that wasn't horrible enough to see, I looked a little closer and there it was a tiny brown guinea pig pup lying squashed between two rabbits backsides I couldn't believe my eyes, it couldn't have been anymore than about 3-4 weeks old. I felt sick, angry and upset all at the same time I had to leave took me all my strength not to turn round and go back in and buy that poor little baby to take it home with me, I felt so guilty and can't stop thinking about it and how scared it must have been, but I knew some other poor guinea pig would only replace it and I'm glad I never thanks to the people who give their time on this site giving all us newbies a little more knowledge on our piggies and the bad things like pet stores!

[LawlKatGG]

I had the same exact thing happen to me today. I went to the local pet store and was looking around for cage accessories and saw cute fluffy bunnies so I went up to the cage and looked at them but I didn't want to touch them as I am HIGHLY allergic to those adorable balls of fluff. I heard the sound of a guinea pig and I looked into the pet igloo and sure enough... 3 baby guinea pig boys in with 4 giant rabbits. The ignorant petstore lady walked up to me and asked me if there was anything I was looking for and in response I said "Not at this store" I was curious about the guinea pigs so I asked her if they had record of the breeders that brought them there. She replied with a shrug. Then I asked her if she knew if they had any issues with health. She replied with "The breeders that bring them in are home breeders and take good care of their pets"

I snickered.

Me being the person that I am looked at her and in a sarcastic tone said:
So you don't have record on where you get them from, yet you know that they take good care of their pets? You don't know if they have any health issues, you're feeding the guinea pigs rabbit food AND you're homing them with guinea pigs?

She made this face ... O.O
and I made this face D:< And walked out.
I know, I'm rude.

I should print out papers and tape them all over the local pet shops and wal-mart (everyone loves wal-mart) that read :Before you buy a pet, think adoption

[SheriMartini]

I have a similar story. I was picking up my fleece from the post office the other day, and I decided to just have a gander at the pet store that was close. I went in, and it STUNK horribly. I knew at that point it was bad news.

They (thankfully) didn't have any guinea pigs, but they did have three small rabbits in, of course, an aquarium. I'm not sure about rabbits, but I would imagine they like to have things to interact with? They had absoutely nothing in there except a small bowl of pellets, and a water bottle.

I was perusing the small animal accessories, and of course for guinea pigs, all they had was giant balls, seed treat sticks, and salt licks. Couldn't get much worse there.

Then, I was curious to see what animals they had, so I went upstairs. It was a lovely day outside, a little over 70*F, but upstairs it was proally over 80*. The animals they had were in glass rooms. The first was kittens, in wire cages with no toys. The second room was birds. Probably 15 in a cage the size that we have our TWO birds living in. The third was puppies. Three puppies, all separate, also with no toys, laying on wire floors.

Next came the reptile area. One snake had a hidey log that he was obviously too big for, as his little snake body was pressing up against the hole it had in the side. Like, imagine fitting a guinea pig in a cereal box. Yeah, they'd probably fit, but it really wouldn't be comfortable. The thing that was the most disturbing was one particular lizard the had. It was so skinny that I initally thought it was dead. It was hardly breathing and was all contorted weird. It had a few bits of wilted lettuce and dried up carrots in its cage. I watched it for a moment, and it would go about a minute between taking a breath. Now, I don't know a lot about reptiles, I've never owned one... but I wouldn't begin to think that this animal was healthy.

I walked out of there disgusted and sad. There were all, what looked to be, high school kids working the counter, not paying attention to anything. It made me sick.

[LawlKatGG]

I would have definitely made a scene. People like that disgust me. and then they have the nerver to walk up to you all snooty-like and tell you crap that you already know about the pets that you own. I just look at them and say "REALLY, I HAD NO IDEA A GUINEA PIG NEEDS HAY AS WELL AS PELLETS, GOD YOU'RE SO SMART" (That for example actually happened to me).

Fun times.

[jayx2]

My pet shop was the exact same, horrible smell as soon as you walk in the door, dead fish floating at the top of the fish tanks!!! Also I think it's a family who own this pet store, they range in age but all as stupid as each other on the subject of the animals they look after and their welfare.

All I think about is those poor animals what a sad start to life stuck in a glass tank, no interaction with anybody or any toys for them to discover how fun it is to play. All my two pigs do is play with everything in sight and they are so curious of all their toys which I think is one of the great things about them and it's so fun to watch.

Also my pet shop sells all those things like salt licks and giant balls for guinea pigs and those small log things which even a small guinea pig would have a hard time getting through, they just seem dangerous, I'm not sure I've never bought one. I just hope eventually pet stores no longer exist and guinea pigs and other animals get the life they deserve.

[xxunperfectxx]

I've seen all of these horrible situations. Debbies pet land inparticular has TERRIBLE pet care. I'm going to be a new first time owner. So any advice would be appreaciated. Message Me =D

[Alusdra]

I was in one of the chain stores the other day as I'm thinking of maybe adopting a couple budgies off of craigslist at some point (there are always at least a couple). I just wanted to see one 'in person' as part of the decision process, plus check out a few caging options before buying online.

There were these high school kids buying a guinea pig, talking about keeping it in a travel cage, not even a pet store cage. I felt ill enough I didn't raise a big stink with them. And then when I said I wanted to look at the budgies the guy took out a box and was going to catch me one right then and there like it was a feeder goldfish or something! They live for up to 20 years and are world record holders for numbers of words and phrases. I had to practically run out of the store... I don't think I'll ever go into one again.

[LawlKatGG]

Hahaha, I always wanted to own a pet shop since I was really young. That was before I knew the sad places from which some of the animals came from.
Most of the small animals are inbreed, mixed with other species, or they come with upper respiratory infections straight from the breeders.

The area that I'm from doesn't really have an excessive amount of guinea pigs floating around, there isn't even any guinea pig rescues that I know of.

I would love to start a small animal rescue when I get a house (Currently live in a small appartment and will for 4 more months X_X) but I wouldn't know how to even start it or if I could even afford it. Granted most small animals don't cost a lot but I fear I'd turn into a crazy guinea pig lady; Similar to crazy cat lady..... and that's just not healthy for me or the piggies >_<

[sealion]

Originally Posted by LawlKatGG

I would have definitely made a scene. People like that disgust me. and then they have the nerver to walk up to you all snooty-like and tell you crap that you already know about the pets that you own. I just look at them and say "REALLY, I HAD NO IDEA A GUINEA PIG NEEDS HAY AS WELL AS PELLETS, GOD YOU'RE SO SMART" (That for example actually happened to me).

Fun times.

Actually, it's great the person working there told you this, as most people buying guinea pigs don't know they need hay. I didn't, I thought it was only a treat so they would only get hay at christmas...
But don't worry, my two piggies have tons of hay (a whole bale in our garage !) But I sometimes think about my past guinea pigs, feeling so guilty of having them in these petstore cages, with no hay, or cozys...

[dra&pigs]

Originally Posted by LawlKatGG

Granted most small animals don't cost a lot

Actually, small animals (especially cavies) cost quite a bit when you factor in pellets, hay, veggies, bedding, cages, vet visits and any medication. Large animals cost a bit more, but having a large number of small animals definitely adds up!

[LawlKatGG]

Yea that's true. I just figure if you buy in bulk it wouldn't get too expensive. But the vet bills would add up the most. I don't think our aspca here takes in small furry friends and that's what's so sad. There's always people on craigslist getting rid of their guinea pigs saying "Our kids don't have interest in them anymore". Makes me sad, they usually end up with more kids that will shortly lose interest and they'll probably starve to death
So sad.

[Ilovemypiggies1]

Same thing where i live. Here we have a little "family" owned pet store called "Purr-fect Pets." The store smells so horrible being in it for 2 minutes was making me feel sick to my stomach. The store is not that big and is very dirty. They have a little pen where a couple bunnies are kept with one guinea pig. Their betta fish were all dead in their little containers. There was at least 20 bird in a little tiny cage, the rodents were kept in little fish tanks without any hiding places. It's so hot in there, even in the winter i'm suprised they all don't die from heat stroke. This pet store is the WORST pet store i have ever seen and been to.

[werevamper]

My mom told me to look at a small pet store in a city near me to see how bad they are. She told me it was bad, but she didn't say how bad.

As soon as you walk in there, you can tell it's a horrible place. It smells really bad, they don't sell anything good for any animals, and the condition of the animals was too bad for words. They don't even sell essential things like hay.

The guinea pigs had no hay whatsoever, they had very dirty, if any water, and were in cages not even big enough to let them turn around. They had at least three pigs in each cage. Whenever anyone walked in, the poor piggies wheeked like their lives depended on it, sadly they were right.

The rabbits weren't any better as they were in just a tiny bit bigger cages with no hay and barely any pellets or water.

The puppies were the worst though. They were so lifeless, one would think they were dead. Out of seven pups, only one even noticed there were people there and wagged its tail. They had no toys, food, or water whatsoever. Plus, they didn't even look old enough to be away from their mothers yet.

I'm not even going to get into the rest of the animals.

The one person that was working there didn't even acknowledge me or my mom, just a family with kids. And she didn't even offer them help at all.

My mom's already reported them and apparently the authorities haven't done anything or that pet store would definitely be gone by now.

[Piggly is I]

I remember i was at a pet store looking for fish and i saw one tank that had about 100 fish in it. I looked closer and saw that they were eating the guts from another fish that they probably killed. it was very gross and i told a clerk but all she did was nothing!

[xxunperfectxx]

Commercial pet stores typically are NOT animal friendly.

[Piggly is I]

their should be people out there that could make a pet store that actually takes care of the animals and gets the animals they sell from shelters. that would help the shelters and give the animals a second chance.

[Rnd210]

All of the comments about those pet stores make the pet store that I go to every now and then and its the one that I got 2 of my guinea pigs from seem to be a really good pet store probably the best. It's a small pet store but it doesn't stink and all of her animals are very friendly and she (the owner) gives all the guinea pigs hay, pellets, and fresh fruit and veggies for all the animals. All of her animals are very well tended. None of her guinea pigs are shipped in, She breeds her own but because of this she only has guinea pigs available 2-3 times a year. She is very perticular on when she breeds them and how often she breeds perticular ones. Her pet store is they only pet store that I would actually get any more guinea pigs from since she is closer than driving 4 hours or more to get one from a shelter/rescue. If I want any more though I will keep an eye on freecycle.com and craigslist maybe their will be some there that I can give a home too if I would want more. Right now I have 5 and I am happy with that many for now. Even though everyone tells me that thats too many. I don't think it is atleast not with my set up.

[PiggieMom]

Four hours isn't a very long drive to save a life. Many rescues are willing to meet you halfway and the forums can be used to arrange piggie trains. There are also local classifieds on petfinder.com and craigslist. There's never a reason to buy from a breeder.

[Rnd210]

Yes, I aggree that driving 4 hours to adopt/rescue a guinea pig is really not that far to drive. As I said, I currently have 5 piggies, 2 I bought (first 2) from a pet store, which was also before I even knew that their was such a rescue center for guinea pigs. I didn't even learn anything about rescue centers for guinea pigs until I joined this sight. My 3rd guinea pig I got from a friend. The last 2 I got was from woman who placed an offer on freecycle.com about needing to rehome them and rehome her rats too. We got the Guinea pigs,cages,food,bedding, and hay and my husband took the rats too along with their cages, food, toys,and bedding all for free acept what we paid in gas to drive 2 1/2 hours to pick them up. The cages were 2 50 gallan fish tanks a large Guinea pig starter home. The guinea pigs are now in my C&C cage which is good. The rats are in the 2 50 gallon fish tanks connected using pvc pipes that have air holes in them and the lid cover is strips of wood with tiny wire fencing stuff attached for ventilation. I also said that if I choose to have/get anymore guinea pigs I will look on craiglist and freecycle first as many of them are closer to me and if there aren't any there when I am ready then I will arrangements to take a 4 hour drive to the closest rescue Center. Right now I am content with my 5 piggies.

[Peggysu]

Originally Posted by Rnd210

All of the comments about those pet stores make the pet store that I go to every now and then and its the one that I got 2 of my guinea pigs from seem to be a really good pet store probably the best. It's a small pet store but it doesn't stink and all of her animals are very friendly and she (the owner) gives all the guinea pigs hay, pellets, and fresh fruit and veggies for all the animals. All of her animals are very well tended. None of her guinea pigs are shipped in, She breeds her own but because of this she only has guinea pigs available 2-3 times a year. She is very perticular on when she breeds them and how often she breeds perticular ones. Her pet store is they only pet store that I would actually get any more guinea pigs from since she is closer than driving 4 hours or more to get one from a shelter/rescue.

Unfortunately this store is still adding to the over population of guinea pigs. So since that pet store is selling them you'll be able to find some on craigslist or in the classifieds that are in need of homes.

I hate stores that sell animals they make me sick. Those people don't care about animals, they care about profit. They may sell one guinea pig but because of that one guinea pig someone's going to be buying one over priced litter box (cage) and some crappy food and get some horrible diet information. The list goes on.