Watched a Piggie go to a bad home

**Baby Bears** · #1 02-23-05, 10:47 am

I was in my local, small family owned pet store - just picking up some Timothy Hay for my boys. I always go by the guinea pig cages just to look at them and give them a little scratch and tell them they are cute. It makes me sad, but I can't ignore them. Well, this lady was in with her 4 or 5 year old daughter and they were picking out a guinea pig for her kid to take home as a pet. So, I kinda hung around them and listened as they talked to the lady working at the store. I heard the lady buying the piggie saying some things that I knew weren't right and weren't correct in caring for the little guy. I don't like confrontation, but I had to step up for the piggie. I VERY POLITELY said that she shouldn't be getting cedar shavings because they aren't good for the guinea pigs respiratory system and skin. She glared at me just grabbed her kid and the box with the pig and walked away from me. I just sighed and had to accept that this lady was not at all interested in ANY information from a stranger. I didn't tell her she needed two - at least then she'll only kill one. She also bought food with sunflower seeds in it and talked about using an old wire bottom ferret cage for the piggie. I was just so saddened and upset when I left the store. I just wanted to share - has anyone else experienced this in a store? How do you handle it?

Poohbear · #2 02-23-05, 11:11 am

I feel so bad for that Piggie. Luckely, I have never had that experience before, but about 2 months ago I was in PetsMart becuase my mom wanted to get something so I looked at the guinea pigs and I noticed something was right. So I asked a assistant so I could hold a cavy. She said yes and it was a male.Then I held another one and it was a female. So I said that they were diffrent sexes so I asked if I could sex them and she said yes. SO I looked at all the cavies and I sexed them and put them into diffrent cages. The assistant thanked me and I left.

**Baby Bears** · #3 02-23-05, 11:18 am

Good for you! You have prevented some unwanted babies! The PetSmart in my town swears they only sell males because they don't have a breeding license and would get in trouble if any of their animals bred. I don't know if it's true, a state law, or whatever.

**Marlania** · #4 02-23-05, 11:38 am

At least you tried to inform that woman in the store. I guess we just have to hope for the best in this situation, since she refused to let you share your guinea pig wisdom. I've had my fair share of petstore experiences, including one that involved one of my own pigs.

I took Permanent from a local pet store because of the situation she was in. Permanent is blind in her left eye and does not see very well out of her right eye. She has always gotten around fine, however, and since she's been with Temporary for well over a year now, you'd never know she was blind. Anyway, I went into that store one day for hay, and like you, Baby Bears, I passed by the guinea pigs to check them out. That's when I noticed Permanent's eye. So I asked the clerk about her, and she just said that she was blind and was going back today. Of course, I wanted to know where she was going back to, and I got no response. So I kept asking because my original thought was that she was going to be euthanized, and I wasn't going to let that happen. Instead, the clerk finally told me that she was going back to the "supplier" and would be used as a breeder. Now, Permanent was very young at this point, and blind on top of that, so I couldn't let that happen. So I scooped up the pig and went home with her. I'm certain that if I'd have left her there, she wouldn't be around today or there would be oodles of her offspring in miserable homes, and while it wasn't my intention to buy from a petstore, I did what was best for Permanent in this situation.

**deborahjeanne** · #5 02-23-05, 01:11 pm

The Petsmarts here in my area state that they only keep one sex of pig at the store - females at one store, males at another. Hopefully that is true.

deborah

**rabbitsncavyluv** · #6 02-23-05, 01:48 pm

Yes, but they sometimes mis sex them, sell pregnant ones and what's to stop someone from going to different ones to buy a breeding pair?

**DocDolittle** · #7 02-23-05, 02:37 pm

Don't trust petsmart! I was in their to get my first pig, a girl, and two weeks later I had the unpleasant surprise of finding out that she was a he. Of course I loved him by then, but when I complained to the store, they offered to 'exchange' him. I was so pissed off.

**PumpkinPunk** · #8 02-23-05, 05:50 pm

I was in the local pet store here a few months ago buying piggie supplies (there aren't any other places around here that don't sell animals that i can go to) and there was another woman there buying stuff for her tenant's guinea pig. I got into a friendly conversation with her and told her about my pig. The woman was very nice and caring, as the pig wasn't even hers but she felt bad for it because the guy who owned it never did anything for it and it didn't have any toys in the cage. I told her some things to try using and other things to avoid (to the dismay of employees who were also trying to help..hehe they would suggest something and I'd be like actually no and explain why). So I actually ended up giving this woman the address for this web site and told her that it would have everything she needed to know. She seemed happy and eager to check it out, so hopefully she did and the pig is a little happier.

**sasha** · #9 02-23-05, 08:32 pm

So can a pet store that leaves both males and females together and lets them breed get into trouble? The pet store I visited the other day that normally has healthy pigs with hay, had 25 in a cage, some females as young as four weeks, and was letting them all breed. The cage was maybe a 2x4 size, and the pigs were crawling all over each other, but since they had food and water, I didn't think I could do anything they wouldn't allow me to voluntarily. I offered to sex them, and told them some of the risks, and they told me that they would sell all the babies and make money, so it wasn't a big deal, and that they take back babies if someone buys a pregnant pig. I would love to get them in trouble if there was a law that said they couldn't breed without a license.

Poohbear · #10 02-23-05, 09:13 pm

Yes do not trust petsmart. The piggies cages may look nice but you never know what is in the back of the store. I asked the Petsmart where they get all of their babies and they said they got them from breeders and mills! They also keep the piggies in 15 gallon tanks while the other ones are getting sold!

**Baby Bears** · #11 02-24-05, 07:11 am

Sasha >> I'm not sure about the breeders license thing in Maryland. PetSmart told me that they couldn't have females because they don't have a license to breed and would get in trouble. It would be worth researching, and I think I'll do just that!
The pet store I was at (that I started this thread about) has two fish tanks with piggies in them. When the lady was picking out a pig, the store lady said "Not those tanks, they aren't for sale - they're breeders."

**sasha** · #12 02-24-05, 10:24 am

Please let me know if you find out anything, I don't want to call animal control unless I know it might do some good, because I was just in there the other day trying to make them separate them, give them hay, etc and they would know it was me. So if animal control didn't do anything, they wouldn't even listen to me, let alone take the advice, and there would be nothing I could do. I don't think they will listen about these pigs, but its better than nothing I guess.

Poohbear · #13 02-24-05, 11:19 am

Yes probally they will not listin.

**Quiet Things** · #14 03-16-05, 10:23 pm

If you know for certain someone is violating certain rules/laws should you tell the authorities?

**pigsandrats** · #15 03-20-05, 10:43 am

When I'm in a pet store and I hear the clerk giving out incorrect information, I go right up to the clerk and the customer and tell them that 'No, that's incorrect.' and if I look like the biggest 'witch' in the world, I don't care. If it embarrases the clerk- too bad. Maybe they'll take the time to learn about the animals they're selling.

**Quiet Things** · #16 03-22-05, 03:42 pm

Thats a good point, maybe I should try that one day with our local pet store. Yesterday they had a piggy that looked so sick, it was lying on it's side and wiggling occaisionally. I have never seen a pig behave this way so I was like, whats going on? Another lady also thought it didnt look right so she informed the shopkeeper who went and grabbed the pig (either the pig knew her or it was dozy) and flipped it over and looked at its eyes and then just put it back, the poor pig just sat there and then sort of hopped and sat down for a while looking dazed. I still don't know if anything was wrong but it sure did look bizarre.

LuvMyPiggers · #17 03-23-05, 04:01 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poohbear

Yes do not trust petsmart. The piggies cages may look nice but you never know what is in the back of the store. I asked the Petsmart where they get all of their babies and they said they got them from breeders and mills! They also keep the piggies in 15 gallon tanks while the other ones are getting sold!

I reAlly have nothing wrong with petsmart at all. When I asked my local Petsmart where they get them, they said either other petsmarts or adoption places. My brother and I once asked to sex all the guinea pigs in the cages. They were all females in the female cage and all males in the male cage. They looked quite healthy to. Petco can be a dump though....

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