Pet Stores Have Pet Store guinea pig standards risen lately? Getting a cagemate at a pet store

[turtlefood]

I see a lot of these threads and guinea pig pet store stories are 3-6 years old. On Petsmart's website they say they have standards for keeping guinea pigs before they are sold.

Vet Assured™ Promise
All pets purchased at PetSmart are raised under our exclusive Vet Assured program and come with a 14-day satisfaction guarantee. Vet Assured is a program designed by PetSmart veterinarians to improve the health and well-being of our pets. The program sets standards for the care of our pets by our live animal partners and store associates and establishes strict standards for the monitoring and prevention of common illnesses found in pets. PetSmart makes a significant investment in the care of our pets and it is apparent in the quality and comfort of the pets in our stores. However, if your pet becomes ill during this initial 14-day period, or if you're not satisfied with your pet for any reason, PetSmart will gladly replace the pet or refund the purchase price. Please keep your sales receipt and return the pet to the store where it was purchased if needed

I went to Petsmart today to buy some supplies for my lone female piggy and I want to get her a friend. I have had bad luck adopting a friend for her at my semi-local shelter and lately they haven't had a lot of guineas. At Petsmart there was a very cute guinea pig for sale that had a ninja stripe across her eyes that got my attention and i'm tempted to get her. So.......horrible idea? Have their standards improved or is the Vet Assured Promise a pinky swear?

 

[LovesGuineas4]

I have recently purchased from both petsmart and petco and both of my baby boys were sick. I would highly suggest not to get one from there unless you dont mind vet costs and possible death unfortunately.

 

[CavySpirit]

Same old same old. Nothing new. Petsmart has had their "return" policy for years. I don't have the energy to go into the 'return' stories. Their vets? Don't get me started on that "business" either. Nothing new.

 

[turtlefood]

But....ninja stripe....I was a little let down when there was a neat looking guinea pig that was supposed to be very friendly at the shelter but i couldn't make it there early enough and someone else adopted her. It's a shame that Petsmart's quality might not have improved despite making it sound like it did. I couldn't really tell if the guinea's looked healthy at the store, they looked young and hyper.

 

[mufasa]

@turtlefood I don't think it means a thing. I actually saw a dead pig at Petsmart in with two live ones a few months back. The guy who removed it wasn't surprised, just annoyed, as he said it just came in the previous day. Imagine if you had bought that pig. Dead pet the next morning.

Of course, I'm jaded because my Pet Supermarket pig died in 15 days, so I won't buy from any store no matter what they promise. They can assure all they want, but breeding mills are packed with disease.

 

[pocketmonster]

I can understand your temptation, but it really is best to wait for the shelter to get a pig or keep your eyes on Craigslist. My girl Radley was lonely for 3 months before I was able to find a suitable friend that I adopted from a really sweet girl on Craigslist. They're bonded now, and because I knew Olive came from a good home and had been to the vet, the 3 months of waiting was worth it. Even if Radley would cry out from her cage with these horribly whining little wheeks when she heard my boys playing in their cage, the wait was worth it. I was able to let them meet and get buddy baths together and I haven't had a single problem since.

What would you do if you came in and not only is your pet store pig dead, but you current girl is infected with whatever it had? That definitely wouldn't be better than playing the waiting game... I promise, good things will come

 

[clb89]

Not purchasing from pet store that sells animals has very little to do with how the store treats their animals. Even if magically one day guinea pigs are in C &C cages being fed quality hay, pellets and veggis the pet store still got them from breeders and/or bredder mills. As soon as those guinea pigs are sold more guinea pigs are bred to fill their spots, continuing the bad cycle.

 

[turtlefood]

At this rate i'm going to adopt a rabbit and just pretend it's a guinea pig, the shelter always has a dozen rabbits at all times. I've had my current guinea for about 1 month now, two weeks living in the C&C cage. I had adopted her with another piggy from the shelter but after two weeks of my favorite guinea getting bullied/crying every day i ended up returning the bully to the shelter. I regret doing this a little though, as I probably should have given them more time, though my current guinea looks happier and peaceful now even if a little lonely.

Thanks for the responses everyone, i haven't bought the petsmart ninja pig yet, by the time i decide to get ninja pig someone else will have bought her. ^^ So the problem seems to be that even in Petsmart started treating piggies better it wouldn't matter because they get sick from the breeders before they get to petsmart?

 

[lunarminx]

I got mine from a feed store 6 weeks ago, I must have been ever lucky. They haven't had any problems at all. If I knew so many were waiting to be adopted, I would have went to the shelter but it was a complete impulse purchase for my grandson. We went to get cracked corn to feed the ducks at the park. Now I am looking at two in a shelter near us but I am not sure if I have room for 2 more and they have to come in the pair, they are bonded. They have been there over 3 months and the links even says they are fixed not that it matters so much because I have two boars anyways.

 

[cfoster1966]

WE don't have a shelter anywhere close to where I live so all my pigs have been from craigslist and all of them were free.

 

[lunarminx]

Thanks for the responses everyone, i haven't bought the petsmart ninja pig yet, by the time i decide to get ninja pig someone else will have bought her. ^^ So the problem seems to be that even in Petsmart started treating piggies better it wouldn't matter because they get sick from the breeders before they get to petsmart?

I wouldn't say all the time but there is a big risk of that. The feed store I got the piggies at also sold rabbits and ferrets, basically everything too. They had a white/silver ferret with a black stripe down her back. I saw her about a week ago while there, If i didn't have the pigs I'd get her.

 

[SqueakyPig]

I wouldn't recommend getting a rabbit before you have done research and learnt proper rabbit care. Rabbits cannot live with guinea pigs, as they can spread diseases between each other. Rabbits are expensive, take a lot of work and require vet treatment when they get sick -- which can cost hundreds.

 

[SheWolfSilver]

After what I saw today my answer is a definite NO! We went to Lowe's and a Petsmart was right there by it so we went in to look around. I of course went right to the guinea pigs and was astounded to find 6 little piggies, all sacked out in a circular shape in a big pigloo, in a standard size aquarium cage. No, veggies in sight just one of those wheel things with a little hay and a water bottle. I was so wishing I had a camera so I could take a picture.