Ignorance is bliss... for whom?

[lilchris_28]

I went to a pet store today to look for a cage for my rats. I had to walk past the "rodents and others for sale" area and they had two very little baby texel guinea pigs there. Don't worry... I just said "NO!" to myself many, many times. Just for grins I said to the employee "Oh! Look at the cute little pigs! What kind are those two?" He matter-of-factly replied "curly haired guinea pigs". I asked "How long will their hair get?" He replied "That's as long as it'll get." The hair was only about 1/2 an inch long. I was like "Uh-huh... Actually- They're called Texel guinea pigs. Their hair will eventually drag the ground if the owner lets it. They're very high maintenence pigs and you need to make sure whomever buys them knows that otherwise it'll be your fault when the pigs are homeless because the people didn't want to care for all that hair. Look at it this way, you'll boost your sales on those cute little small animal combs you have over there." I'm sorry if I was rude to him but I don't have tolerance for people who act like they know what they're talking about when they don't ESPECIALLY if it involves animal care.... It was hard to walk away from them, especially because I really do want long haired guinea pigs (texels more than peruvians), but I don't want to buy and I can never find them up for adoption. :guilty: I hope they tell the new owners what I told them and I hope they get good homes.

 

[Susan9608]

I think it's good that you said something to the store clerk. Perhaps you could do more by bringing in some care pamphlets that address the special needs of Texel guinea pigs.

Also, I'm assuming that since you're a member of this forum, you probably have a C&C cage for your guinea pigs (if you currently own any pigs.) Is there a reason why that type of cage wouldn't work for a rat? I don't know much about rats as pets, but if a C&C type cage would work, wouldn't it be better to not support the pet store at all?

 

[Chloë-Jasmine]

I have a C&C for my rats! Except, because they're babies, I had to use something smaller for the grids. I bought them at the Dollarama, they're cooling racks for cooking.

Check it out!
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And I'm glad you said something to them. It makes people think about their job and the kind of enviroment they work in. I know some of the people that are vets or work at the Humane Society, their first job was at a pet store and they learned the hard way what NOT to do. Hopefully, the person you spoke to, will think about what you said.

 

[Fluffball]

I sometimes throw questions about the piggies at store clerks. The question I ask most is 'what age can a guinea pig breed at? '' and they always say 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks at one store. When I correct them ive been met with hosility and offence at one such store. One answer they gave me was '' they cant breed at 3 weeks because they are only babies''. Sorry to say dear but they can be bred at 3 weeks. No one knows anything about piggies and I constantly get offered ''flavoured treats'' and ''mineral wheels''. Wood is also an option that they offer because without it a piggies teeth get overgrown.

I remember at one store I had bought some hay and was waiting in line to be served. In front of me the manager was saying to a customer '' guinea pigs arent as smart as a lot of other animals in fact they are quite dumb''. When I got served she asked who the hay was for and I said ''my smart wonderful guinea pigs who aparently are stupid?''.

I find pet stores are so ignorant on the care of their animals, I think there should be a test before they get to work there. I assume they would all faillol

 

[lilchris_28]

I can't find a cage anyway that I like for my rats, so I'm going to build one similar to these (see link). Right now I have them in a big wire cage that I put that plastic needlework grid stuff on the wire so their feet won't go through. I thought about making a C&C cage out of the mesh grids, but I read online somewhere where a few people had rats that ingested the choroplast and got very sick and one geriatric rat died.

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I seriously have given up hope on that store. They have to be one of the worst petstores in the area. They had a tank approx. the size of a 20L that had approx. 40 rats in it! One of the little gray rats was dying. I just wanted to hold him. Then they had two more 20L with approx. 50 mice in each and they had absesses and abrasions all over them. They have snakes in critter keepers that measure in at about 8"x12"... So, yeah, I've given up hope on them. This couple that I work with has been in there 5 and 6 times a month for the past year getting on them about the reptiles and they still remain ignorant... To me, if you ignore that many people telling you things, you no longer have the right to the title "ignorant", you're just plain stupid and mean...in my opinion.

 

[Percy's Mom]

If you want to explore the C&C option for your rats and are worried about them chewing the coroplast, you can make the tray a bit larger than your walls, and put the grid walls inside the tray instead of the tray inside the walls. This way, the rats don't have access to the coroplast to chew.

 

[BabyGrl]

I have a C&C for my rats. It is a 1x2 and it is 3 grids high with about 4 different levels. Instead of building the cage with the coroplast on the inside of the grids, build it with the coroplast on the outside. Then you just drop the cage in and don't have to worry about the rats chewing it up.

PM!!!! Why do you have to post at the same time as me. lol

 

[Percy's Mom]

That's my job BG!

 

[BabyGrl]

Yeah I know it just makes me look like I am forever just copying what you say hehe.

 

[lilchris_28]

Great minds think alike. I hate cages that drop inside of the "pan" like that though because then you have to take the cage out to clean behind the bars and it gets everywhere and I make a big enough mess as it is. I'm probably going to stick with the laminated wood idea, b/c I'm planning on putting a latch on the bottom front part where I can unlatch it and just sweep the stuff out, spray, put in new bedding and go on with my sad, pathetic life...lol. I'm planning on putting choroplast on top of the wood just to make it last longer... Or shelving paper...

 

[PiggieMamaKelly]

lilchris- I totally feel your pain. I DESPERATELY want a long haired pig of some kind. I would love a texel as well, or a peruvian. However, all I ever seem to see in my local shelters are Americans. I get hay and toys from petstores and it is so hard to walk by a beautiful long haired piggie and resist the temptation. My most recent addition to the pig family is an American satin that I didn't even think was cute at first (don't tell her), but she certainly has grown on me and I keep telling myself, I would rather save a pig and get a good personality than "buy" a beautiful but infested pig and contribute to the problem of petstores selling animals. Good job and stay strong!!