I want to make pamphlets, please advise.

[Nicolene]

I went into a new pet store today and found 2 guinea pigs, each in it's own cage. They were in your run of the mill store cages, on some sort of pellet, with a bowl of pellets. No veggies, no hay. The kid who works there said he gave them a handful of hay and they ate it. There was no mention of vegetables on the list of info. He said he would talk to the manager... yeah right!

So I emailed the store, as follows:

[Dear Pet Store Owner/Manager,

I was in your store for the first time today, I've never seen it before. I have 2 guinea pigs at home and I am very well versed in guinea pig care. I found my first guinea pig in a state park, after having been abandoned. He had a few medical issues but with proper diet he has fully recovered. We also got a buddy for him as they are social animals.

Looking at your list of care info on the cages I found that there is no mention of vegetables (guinea pigs get scurvy if they don't get enough nutrients through vegetables). I assume this was a misprint and not simply left out because you don't sell vegetables? The next major part of a guinea pigs diet is hay (timothy, orchard or bluegrass), they need UNLIMITED amounts every day. They eat hay ALL DAY long. Their teeth grow constantly and if they don't have hay to chew on all day their teeth will overgrow and need to be filed down under anesthesia by a vet and it can be costly. Pellets should be timothy based (unless they are under 6 months of age or nursing sows) as alfalfa and alfalfa based products contain too much calcium. Too much calcium will almost always lead to bladder stones (a stone removal procedure costs $800).

I realize many people don't know these things until they have them and run into a problem and THEN visit an exotics vet and find out the proper nutrition, so I would like to offer to type out and print (I am willing to keep bringing them if you run out) pamphlets with more detailed info for people who buy your guinea pigs. I promise not to suggest any brands or stores, only general info. These are not things I have made up, you are more than welcome to call my vet, Dr. Olm in Benicia (707) 745-1135 to double check that I am not some nut and I didn't make these things up. He is currently treating both of my pigs for mites.

Please allow me to do this, I'm sure you too would want only the best for them. I can bring them by as early as tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you for your time. I'll be in touch.]

Now, my pigs don't get pellets and they are in a c&c and on fleece and so on and so on. But I was going to mention this site and guinealynx on the pamphlet and hope that people find more info here, without making the owner angry about suggesting other cages, pellts, bedding etc.

Any suggestions besides the obvious, diet, water, hay etc.?

-I don't want to talk about them being skittish, shy, not great for kids (though I will advise on supervision). I don't want them to seem like bad pets that won't interact, because mine really do.
-I didn't mention this site in my email, I didn't want the manager to go look and find all this stuff he doesn't sell is being suggested.
-I want to keep it kinda general, so that he'll actually allow it.
-I'd also like to add one or 2 "example menus", think if a pig gets nothing else, what would be best for him to get every day? I will of course suggest they do some additional research as piggies need variety, but this would be for the lazy owner.

Also, if they refuse, what are my other options?

I may have forgotten a thing or two, so assume I did if you find I didn't explain something or left something out. Thanks!

[MaggieMae]

I feel like while it isn't a good idea to make them seem shy or skittish from a sales standpoint, many of them are. You want to make them seem like good pets but you don't want to mislead people into thinking they are something they are not. That is a key reason why many guinea pigs get neglected or given up. People want them as a pet they don't turn out to be.

You should mention something about them being prey animals and that they need a shelter to spend time in and feel safe. You could also say they can be very ::insert whatever you feel such as affectionate or curious, exploratory.. whatever:: but often appear shy at first. Or that they need time to warm up to you and trust you.

Also, saying they are not great for kids probably will be a red flag for the store owner, however, it is the truth and it is in their best interest to make the fact known. And no I am not saying it is not okay to have a guinea pig and supervise children with it. However, many parents buy guinea pigs FOR their children and do not so much want the guinea pig themselves. Therefore they get neglected often.

In the end, I feel it is important to get good information out there. Your goal isn't to help the pet store sell guinea pigs, your goal is to inform people who buy them. Ultimately I think your goal would also be to get the pet store to NOT sell guinea pigs, so why leave out details that are generally true I guess..

[mtm88781]

Sounds good to me. I aplaud you for what you are doing, to help end neglected and abandond pet store piggies.

[Nicolene]

Here is the message I got back, I am going to go back and visit them and find out if they are truly taking in rescues, I may even have my friend pose as a "interested customer" and see what info she gets from them:

Thank you for contacting the *** Pet Store. We appreciate the opportunity to communicate with people equally as passionate about pets as ourselves.

With respect to your concerns, “Looking at your list of care info on the cages I found that there is no mention of…”, (summary of concerns follows):
a) Vegetables
b) Timothy, orchard or bluegrass hay
c) Teeth grow constantly
d) Pellets should be timothy based (unless they are less than 6 months of age or nursing sows)
e) Too much calcium.

The information card attached to pet homes does not contain the above information because it is not intended to be a care sheet. Instead, the information is intended to
a) Provide short introductory information about each pet
b) Help parents initiate and discuss pet needs and interesting facts with their children
c) Present a segue to customer education
d) Encourage customers to initiate conversations to further discuss pet needs

Any customer adopting a pet receives a detailed care sheet. The Alamo Pet Store care sheets have been developed with assistance from a number of veterinarians specializing in the specific species. The guinea pig care sheet does provide the useful information that you pointed out. It also provides some additional information that we feel is very important, for instance, what to do as soon as the pet is home, proper attention and rest, how to recognize and prevent problems, including problems that people may solve themselves and problems that REQUIRE Veterinary care.

**** Pet Store also understands that people often lack proper pet care information. To this end, we provide education using our care sheets, additional curriculum that we developed, and spend a significant amount of time on education programs including:
a) Summer camps. Were we have actually convinced customers to not add a pet to their family
b) Teach a 6 week long “Pet Care: course at a local elementary school
b) “An Introduction To Pets” class for local schools, local Girl Scouts and private functions

Even with out-reach and education programs, there are times when pets need to find a new family. We are one of a very small number of pet stores who accept pet rescues. Based on the date of your email, you probably noticed the rescue rabbit, cockatiels, geckos, and cats that were in the store at that time. In fact in the past year we have taken in and found new homes for approximately 100 small animals including: cats, dogs, guinea pigs, rabbits, cockatiels, lizards, frogs and fish and are proud to work with the White Kitty Foundation.

Since you have an obvious interest in the welfare of guinea pigs we would love to have your feedback on our guinea pig care sheet. Please feel free to call so I may arrange to provide you with a copy of our care sheet and you may provide your feedback to me personally.

Once again, thank you for your interest,