Guineas Galore
Cavy Quiet
Cavy Gazer
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2012
- Posts
- 411
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2012
- Messages
- 411
So my friend and I went into this local pet store owned by this one lady.
~~~
(You can skip this if you want, this is only why I hate the store.)
I hate this pet store because I went to get a friend for Sugar a couple of years back (there're pictures below), I was so excited since I 'wasn't allowed any more pets' and as we were taking home Spice (what we named her) I noticed how brittle her fur was, and that she had some bald spots and a scabby, swollen foot.
Since I was only 13 and had only owned Sugar for a few months (outdoors, it was way before I'd discovered that they were meant to be kept inside) I thought they would sort of just go away. Anyway, she fully attacked Sugar when we introduced them, so I took her back and the lady looked at her and said "Oh...shes pregnant I think." And we said, "Oh okay, that would explain why shes feisty. We can't keep her, we don't want more than two" And the lady said, "We'll happily take her back, see ya later." She picked her up and walked off, and my mum said "Aren't we getting any money back?" And the lady was like, "Oh, um, sure. How much did you pay for her again?" So while mum sorted it out, I offered to put Spice away and say my goodbyes, and the cage was literally like, two 30x30x30cm cubes made of rotting wood and sharp chicken wire (all sides, even bottom) with a pvc pipe, carrot and water-bottle shoved in. I put her in the cage and left with tears in my eyes.
~~~
Anyway, this pet store is apparently 'So Good' according to heaps of people...I wanted to prove them wrong. I'm going to keep updating you, as I'll be going back next time with a hidden video camera in my shirt or something. Anyway, so me and my friend went up to the lady at the counter (who owned the place) and this was our conversation:
Me: "Oh hi, I was just wondering if I could take photos of some of your animals?"
Lady: "Um, why? That sounds weird and kind of suspicious...?"
Me: "Oh, its totally fine to say no, but my friend wants a small pet...but she was too sick to come with me today, so she asked if I could just take photos of the guinea pigs, birds and fish."
Lady: "Why? Can't she just come along and take a look some other day?"
Me: "She wanted me to check it out with her and get my my opinion, cause I own a fair few pets, and she wants to see the variety!"
Lady: "Hm, yeah, I guess that's all right then. But only the guinea pigs, birds and fish...leave the cats alone, they don't like being pestered..."
Me: "Yeah, sure thing!"
~~
Suspicious right?
So the first place I went to was straight to the guinea pigs...they were all in small cages, that were all separated by unsafe grids, no cage mates..they all had mites and seemed terrified of people. I took some photos of them (will upload later) and pretended that they were so cute and well looked after, you know, baby talk and such. Then I turned to the lady:
Me: "Do you mind if I pick him up? He's really super gorgeous!"
Lady: "No you can't hold them."
~~
Then she walked off and served some people while I looked at the birds, who were all kept in tiny, dirty cages. They were going absolutely mental, climbing upside down and walking in circles...one bird had worms in the bottom of its cage.
I went to the fish and she was keeping two MASSIVE bristle-nose catfish in a 5 Gallon tank (they were at least 30-40cm long) and goldfish in super cramped tanks. I also noticed something super odd...
~~
Me: "May I please buy a few goldfish? They're REALLY cute!"
Lady: "Yeah. Which ones? From this tank?"
Me: "Yes please...I'd like the black one, that one that's white with that orange dot and...[Friend], would you like to choose one?"
Friend: "Oh, I'd like that cutie with the freckles!"
Lady: "Yep."
She caught them and something caught my eye...there was a SWORDTAIL in the goldfish tank!
Goldfish are cold-water fish, and swordtails are tropical so they need a heater.
Me: "Wow! That's such a cool goldfish! What variety is it? I might get him too!"
Lady: "That's not a goldfish, its a swordtail. I think he jumped in there or something, I should probably get him out or something."
Me: "Okay then, ahaha."
Lady: "So would you like to buy anything else?"
Me: "Yes please, do you mind just keeping the goldfish on counter for a moment? I'd like to get some things for my rat and guinea pigs."
Lady: "Sure."
~~~
So my friend and I went to the 'rodent enrichment' area, and I found this rat leash thing (yes, I KNOW they are unsafe) and took it up to her.
(We got this conversation voice recorded...posting a link to that soon.)
~~~
Me: "I was wondering how big this is?"
Lady: "It's $6.95"
Me: "No, I could see that, I didn't mean the price sorry...I mean like...how small could it get? My rats only a baby."
Lady: "Oh, I don't know. There are adjusting things on the back, so, that's about it really."
Me: "Are they safe for them?"
Lady: "I don't know, I've never had a rat or anything, but its made for them, as you can see by the picture."
Me: "Ah, okay. I don't think I'll get it...I had one for my guinea pig once and it slipped out. So I'm not sure if they really work or anything."
Lady: "Oh yeah. I suppose."
~~~
So I decided (since they were $4.00 each) to get 6 of these small water bottles for my travel/quarantine cages.
I wasn't just going to leave, because I didn't want to seem suspicious...so I played like, super dumb, bought some stuff (including goldfish, who are now happily swimming in a quarantine tank, since some of the fish with them looked sick. I named the black one 'Darth' and the white one with the red dot and red eyes, 'Dr. Evil'. My friend named hers, the freckled gold-and-white one, 'Freckles'. If they aren't sick they're going into a huge tank with heaps of friends and plenty of love) and pretended that she was like an info god.
~~~
(Me paying at the counter.)
Me: "While I'm here, may I ask you for some help?"
Lady: "Yeah, I can try. What's it about."
Me: "My guinea pigs."
Lady: "Oh yeah, I should be able to help you with that, they're in stock pretty often." (ugh...treated like they're objects)
Me: "Okay, so I have 12 guinea pigs and I'm having a problem with two."
*actually true
Lady: "Are they like, fighting or something?"
Me: "No, one's got some...sickness or something and the other's pregnant. Do you know what I can do to help them?"
*also true, but don't worry, I took them to a guinea pig specialist and she gave me antibiotics, relieving cream and instructions for the sick piggy. She has a urinal tract infection...commonly caused from being old, fat and it mainly happens to sows - she is all of the above. For the pregnant piggy, she told me that there is a slim possibility that she isn't pregnant, she also gave me instructions and a new diet so she stays healthy. She offered to look after her for free when/if she gets close to popping, just in case something went wrong. It was really sweet of her c:
Lady: "Well I guess you just need to feed the pregnant one extra, um, don't worry about separating the babies until they're about...9 weeks. That's when they reach their breeding age. Whats wrong with the other guinea pig?"
Me: "Her genitals are sort of, well, super swollen and red...its missing hair and its all scabby-"
*The specialist told me it was cause by her urine being too acidic and it was burning her skin. So I DID know what was going on.
Lady: "I'm not a vet. I don't know that stuff." (little b***h)
Me: "Oh, that's all good. I just thought you'd know cause you owned a pet shop and stuff, I thought that I might as well ask. Because she's had blood in her wee and stuff...it didn't look good."
Lady: "Yeah, but like I said. I'm not a vet."
Me: "Like I said, it's fine, I just reckon guinea pigs aren't worth taking to the vet. I mean, they're just cute rodents. I can always get another later."
(such a lie, I can't believe I said it with a straight face)
Lady: *laughs* "Yeah true."
Me: "I'd better get going...oh, by the way, you aren't hiring are you?"
Lady: "No. I'm doing fine on my own."
(clearly not)
Me: "That's fine, I was just curious...I love this place so much, I'd just feel honored to work here."
Lady: "Yeah, I know."
Friend: "Wait, should I get a water-bottle for Mr Wubbles?"
(her guinea pig)
Me: "You probably should."
Lady: "What's he using now?"
Friend: "Well he's super classy and fancy...he drinks out of a cup!"
*true, lol
Lady: *laughs* "Yeah, he should be fine then. So long as he has water."
Friend: "Okay, cool! Thanks for all your help today, and letting us take photos for Emma."
(Emma was our made-up excuse to take photos)
Lady: "No worries, see ya later."
Me: "Okay, bye!"
~~~
My friend and I left and once we were outside we were ranting and raving for AGES! And I bought Mr. Wubbles a water bottle - so he could be normal AND fancy c; - from a better pet store down the road (they don't sell animals).
I will seriously go in another time with a hidden camera or a better mic, will be posting the private link to the audio recording of our convo.
Pet stores are shocking, anyone else want to share there stories?
~~~
(You can skip this if you want, this is only why I hate the store.)
I hate this pet store because I went to get a friend for Sugar a couple of years back (there're pictures below), I was so excited since I 'wasn't allowed any more pets' and as we were taking home Spice (what we named her) I noticed how brittle her fur was, and that she had some bald spots and a scabby, swollen foot.
Since I was only 13 and had only owned Sugar for a few months (outdoors, it was way before I'd discovered that they were meant to be kept inside) I thought they would sort of just go away. Anyway, she fully attacked Sugar when we introduced them, so I took her back and the lady looked at her and said "Oh...shes pregnant I think." And we said, "Oh okay, that would explain why shes feisty. We can't keep her, we don't want more than two" And the lady said, "We'll happily take her back, see ya later." She picked her up and walked off, and my mum said "Aren't we getting any money back?" And the lady was like, "Oh, um, sure. How much did you pay for her again?" So while mum sorted it out, I offered to put Spice away and say my goodbyes, and the cage was literally like, two 30x30x30cm cubes made of rotting wood and sharp chicken wire (all sides, even bottom) with a pvc pipe, carrot and water-bottle shoved in. I put her in the cage and left with tears in my eyes.
~~~
Anyway, this pet store is apparently 'So Good' according to heaps of people...I wanted to prove them wrong. I'm going to keep updating you, as I'll be going back next time with a hidden video camera in my shirt or something. Anyway, so me and my friend went up to the lady at the counter (who owned the place) and this was our conversation:
Me: "Oh hi, I was just wondering if I could take photos of some of your animals?"
Lady: "Um, why? That sounds weird and kind of suspicious...?"
Me: "Oh, its totally fine to say no, but my friend wants a small pet...but she was too sick to come with me today, so she asked if I could just take photos of the guinea pigs, birds and fish."
Lady: "Why? Can't she just come along and take a look some other day?"
Me: "She wanted me to check it out with her and get my my opinion, cause I own a fair few pets, and she wants to see the variety!"
Lady: "Hm, yeah, I guess that's all right then. But only the guinea pigs, birds and fish...leave the cats alone, they don't like being pestered..."
Me: "Yeah, sure thing!"
~~
Suspicious right?
So the first place I went to was straight to the guinea pigs...they were all in small cages, that were all separated by unsafe grids, no cage mates..they all had mites and seemed terrified of people. I took some photos of them (will upload later) and pretended that they were so cute and well looked after, you know, baby talk and such. Then I turned to the lady:
Me: "Do you mind if I pick him up? He's really super gorgeous!"
Lady: "No you can't hold them."
~~
Then she walked off and served some people while I looked at the birds, who were all kept in tiny, dirty cages. They were going absolutely mental, climbing upside down and walking in circles...one bird had worms in the bottom of its cage.
I went to the fish and she was keeping two MASSIVE bristle-nose catfish in a 5 Gallon tank (they were at least 30-40cm long) and goldfish in super cramped tanks. I also noticed something super odd...
~~
Me: "May I please buy a few goldfish? They're REALLY cute!"
Lady: "Yeah. Which ones? From this tank?"
Me: "Yes please...I'd like the black one, that one that's white with that orange dot and...[Friend], would you like to choose one?"
Friend: "Oh, I'd like that cutie with the freckles!"
Lady: "Yep."
She caught them and something caught my eye...there was a SWORDTAIL in the goldfish tank!
Goldfish are cold-water fish, and swordtails are tropical so they need a heater.
Me: "Wow! That's such a cool goldfish! What variety is it? I might get him too!"
Lady: "That's not a goldfish, its a swordtail. I think he jumped in there or something, I should probably get him out or something."
Me: "Okay then, ahaha."
Lady: "So would you like to buy anything else?"
Me: "Yes please, do you mind just keeping the goldfish on counter for a moment? I'd like to get some things for my rat and guinea pigs."
Lady: "Sure."
~~~
So my friend and I went to the 'rodent enrichment' area, and I found this rat leash thing (yes, I KNOW they are unsafe) and took it up to her.
(We got this conversation voice recorded...posting a link to that soon.)
~~~
Me: "I was wondering how big this is?"
Lady: "It's $6.95"
Me: "No, I could see that, I didn't mean the price sorry...I mean like...how small could it get? My rats only a baby."
Lady: "Oh, I don't know. There are adjusting things on the back, so, that's about it really."
Me: "Are they safe for them?"
Lady: "I don't know, I've never had a rat or anything, but its made for them, as you can see by the picture."
Me: "Ah, okay. I don't think I'll get it...I had one for my guinea pig once and it slipped out. So I'm not sure if they really work or anything."
Lady: "Oh yeah. I suppose."
~~~
So I decided (since they were $4.00 each) to get 6 of these small water bottles for my travel/quarantine cages.
I wasn't just going to leave, because I didn't want to seem suspicious...so I played like, super dumb, bought some stuff (including goldfish, who are now happily swimming in a quarantine tank, since some of the fish with them looked sick. I named the black one 'Darth' and the white one with the red dot and red eyes, 'Dr. Evil'. My friend named hers, the freckled gold-and-white one, 'Freckles'. If they aren't sick they're going into a huge tank with heaps of friends and plenty of love) and pretended that she was like an info god.
~~~
(Me paying at the counter.)
Me: "While I'm here, may I ask you for some help?"
Lady: "Yeah, I can try. What's it about."
Me: "My guinea pigs."
Lady: "Oh yeah, I should be able to help you with that, they're in stock pretty often." (ugh...treated like they're objects)
Me: "Okay, so I have 12 guinea pigs and I'm having a problem with two."
*actually true
Lady: "Are they like, fighting or something?"
Me: "No, one's got some...sickness or something and the other's pregnant. Do you know what I can do to help them?"
*also true, but don't worry, I took them to a guinea pig specialist and she gave me antibiotics, relieving cream and instructions for the sick piggy. She has a urinal tract infection...commonly caused from being old, fat and it mainly happens to sows - she is all of the above. For the pregnant piggy, she told me that there is a slim possibility that she isn't pregnant, she also gave me instructions and a new diet so she stays healthy. She offered to look after her for free when/if she gets close to popping, just in case something went wrong. It was really sweet of her c:
Lady: "Well I guess you just need to feed the pregnant one extra, um, don't worry about separating the babies until they're about...9 weeks. That's when they reach their breeding age. Whats wrong with the other guinea pig?"
Me: "Her genitals are sort of, well, super swollen and red...its missing hair and its all scabby-"
*The specialist told me it was cause by her urine being too acidic and it was burning her skin. So I DID know what was going on.
Lady: "I'm not a vet. I don't know that stuff." (little b***h)
Me: "Oh, that's all good. I just thought you'd know cause you owned a pet shop and stuff, I thought that I might as well ask. Because she's had blood in her wee and stuff...it didn't look good."
Lady: "Yeah, but like I said. I'm not a vet."
Me: "Like I said, it's fine, I just reckon guinea pigs aren't worth taking to the vet. I mean, they're just cute rodents. I can always get another later."
(such a lie, I can't believe I said it with a straight face)
Lady: *laughs* "Yeah true."
Me: "I'd better get going...oh, by the way, you aren't hiring are you?"
Lady: "No. I'm doing fine on my own."
(clearly not)
Me: "That's fine, I was just curious...I love this place so much, I'd just feel honored to work here."
Lady: "Yeah, I know."
Friend: "Wait, should I get a water-bottle for Mr Wubbles?"
(her guinea pig)
Me: "You probably should."
Lady: "What's he using now?"
Friend: "Well he's super classy and fancy...he drinks out of a cup!"
*true, lol
Lady: *laughs* "Yeah, he should be fine then. So long as he has water."
Friend: "Okay, cool! Thanks for all your help today, and letting us take photos for Emma."
(Emma was our made-up excuse to take photos)
Lady: "No worries, see ya later."
Me: "Okay, bye!"
~~~
My friend and I left and once we were outside we were ranting and raving for AGES! And I bought Mr. Wubbles a water bottle - so he could be normal AND fancy c; - from a better pet store down the road (they don't sell animals).
I will seriously go in another time with a hidden camera or a better mic, will be posting the private link to the audio recording of our convo.
Pet stores are shocking, anyone else want to share there stories?
