My pet store experience

[KR1279]

Hi, I am very new here. I am a bunny owner. I have a question..... I know you should not buy animals at petstores. But if you dont buy supplies there then where do you buy them? I got my bunny supplies at petsmart (they dont sell bunnies b/c they said too many people buy them for Easter and then abandon them.... I do think they sell piggies though:weepy

So Can someone tell me where I should be buying my food, hay, and bedding from? Thank you!!

 

[Jennicat]

There are stores that only sell supplies, and no animals.

If you can't find one near you, many people also order online. I've actually saved money by ordering hay in bigger boxes online instead of buying it in the tiny bags that Petsmart sells!

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Petsmart does sell rabbits in some of their stores. They also sell ferrets, chinchillas, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, reptiles and birds. Just because they don't sell your fav animal in your store doesn't make them okay.

There are pet supply stores that don't sell animals, feed stores, ordering online, rescues or shelters that sell supplies, etc.

 

[KR1279]

I never said they were a good store b/c they dont sell Rabbits, I just said they dont sell them. None of the stores near me sell them (at least not the three I have been to). But yes, they do sell other small animals.... along with cats- though I believe the cats are from a rescue shelter.

I will look into area stores that just sell supplies. Thanks!

 

[Feather_n_Coca]

You have a convert.

I will never buy a single item from a pet store again that sells pets. I am so angry. I went to PetLand today to get some bird supplies for my parakeet. It is closer to my home then PetSmart or Petco. Anyways, they had new baby parrots in one glass enlosure that had 2 new babies and 1 adult parrot and one adolesant. ONe of the babies was laying on the bottom of the cage and looked as if it were dying. My parents have African Greys and My Cousin has a parrot and another large parrot type bird and I called them and they said that the only time a bird will lay down like that is if it is dying.

I told the employees and they laughed at me! I was told by the "manager" that she has been working w/ birds for 2 years. My cousin could hear her and said that she has owned birds for 20 years and that she was full of crap! There were other customers that felt the same way but they would not do or say anything. I put back the stuff I was going to buy and went up to the front to where they had all moved to and I asked for the owners name and number, I was told that I had to call corp PetLand. I will first thing on Monday.

I asked who the vet was, she told that there is one that comes in once a week on Fridays to check all the animals. I told her she needed one there NOW. EERRRRR I was sooo mad! I dont know which made me madder the fact that they acted as if I were insane or the fact that they totally dismissed this poor parrots distress.

I dont know what to do today. I am so worried about that parrot. I have no one to call. I will call PetLand come Monday but I think I will call my vet also and see what she suggests.

 

[envisionary333]

I'm glad you have joined our anti-pet store stance. What you saw in the pet store with the bird is no where near as bad as what goes on before the birds even get to the store. Just think of that. While you might focus on what you see with your own eyes, keep reminding yourself that there are even bigger problems than that in the breeding mills and the animal shipments. Even if they took perfect care of their birds in a huge cage, with all the supplies they need, they would still come from the same horrible place. I'm glad you've changed your mind, but I just want to be sure you aren't doing it just because of what goes on in the store. Think bigger picture.

 

[Feather_n_Coca]

I am in tears. I have looked up on the internet about sick parrots and it says just what my family told me.

And you are right. I will do my darndest to make others realize that they should not buy pet store pets. I feel like such an idot from before. I had never been exposed to all the bad stuff that happens "behind the scenes" before. I really had no clue.

Now I do and I dont know how to help that poor little baby parrot.

 

[envisionary333]

Don't be hard on yourself. Most of us made the same mistake of buying from pet stores before we knew any better. I used to visit my local Petsmart so often that all the employees knew me by name! Now just thinking about that makes me feel terrible. What matters is that you now know the truth and will make a change. You should be proud of yourself for that, and we are proud of you as well. :hug:

 

[Feather_n_Coca]

I called the Wildlife rescue and rehab here in SA. They are suppose to call me back. I told the lady that answered what I saw and what the employees said to me and she agreed that this is NOT normal behavior for a healthy bird. I still can not believe that this person at PetLand told me that the bird was sleepy! And there is a sign on the door that says : We are not sick we are babies. To me that means that someone else has complained.

 

[Susan9608]

I'm glad to see you converted to an anti-pet store stance. I hope this gives you a new appreciation for animal rescues.

 

[MCR_Rox]

I've heard horrible things about Petland. Fortunately, there isn't one around here .

 

[Alusdra]

Probably there is not much you can do for the poor parrot. When birds show distress usually they are about to die. If its looking like that now, probably it will die before you can get anyone to do anything. With a bird yourself at home, you can't demand they give it to you (which you shouldn't do anyway as it relieves them of ownership of the situation) as you would likely bring disease to your 'keet (budgie?). Most of these pet superstores get their parrots from Kaytee, which is a baby parrot mill. Like cavies, most birds you get from there will be sick with something. Recently there was a rash of bird deaths/disease in Cali due to PDD (I think). This baby might have PBFD or polyoma, neither of which you want to be bringing home. You might have anyway just by being there... It might also have crop burn or aspiration due to poor hand-feeding methods.

It's really hard to turn from the petstore birds as they almost always look pathetic or have been there forever. I try to remember that every one that is there is taking up a spot that a cute sun or GCC could be in to get snatched up... it's hard and I've stopped going to Petco etc. I'm glad someone mentioned parrots as being part of the petstore overpopulation problem- someone in an earlier post was using them as an example of a run of pets someone might abandon and it gave my heart a twinge as it's so true...

 

[Feather_n_Coca]

I talked to the SA Zoo vet today (he treats lots of exotics also) and he gave me some signs to look for, he asked me to go back and check on the baby. I did. Today it was perched. it was still on the floor of the cage, but it looked somewhat better. I also called the corp offices of Petland and make a complaint. I was told today by petland that they did call a vet and that they are "suppose" to come out to check it. Its still caged w/ other babies. I will call the zoo vet back tomorrow and let him know what I saw today and let him make his mind up. He said he would try to get by also and take a look. There was also another lady from yesterday who came back too and she and I were talking about it. She called the ASPCA and the health department. There is some kind of bird disease that can transfer to humans and cause health issues. I hope with all the attention that we are giving this store that they do the right thing.

They sell the birds for over $1000 and they cant even bother to take care of them! One of the girls that works there, tried to tell me that the man who raises them is very professional that he even comes in and trains the employees on how to take care of them. I told her that he doesnt give a crap about these birds, they are income for him. He only cares how much money he can sell them for! He doesnt care about the health or welfare of these birds. She shut up and went back to work and left me alone.

I spent about 45 mins in there today. I wanted to get a really good look at the baby. I will go back everyday if I have to. I want them to know that I will be there making sure that they take care of those animals. While I was there I looked at the other pets. I could only think about what you guys told me and the YouTube video I saw. I had to leave.

Thanks for helping me to see the light.

 

[Texas Rustlers]

Rainbow Exotics is the breeder that's supplying most of the sick animals to pet stores in our area.

Many of the Guinea Pigs are arriving at the stores with upper respiratory and ring worm, while the hamsters have wet tail. The past few months several stores have not had any piggies on display because they have either been returned to the breeder or are in the backroom due to illness.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

I recall a horrible pet mill/ distributor named Rainbow something. I wonder if it is the same one.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

According to Rabbitwise, Petsmart is going to start selling rabbits soon.

"Many PetsMarts across the U.S. will soon begin to sell domestic
rabbits. By selling rabbits, PetsMart is attempting to boost the sales of
rabbit related merchandise, and is not considering the welfare of
the rabbits it soon will be exploiting."

Hi, I am very new here. I am a bunny owner. I have a question..... I know you should not buy animals at petstores. But if you dont buy supplies there then where do you buy them? I got my bunny supplies at petsmart (they dont sell bunnies b/c they said too many people buy them for Easter and then abandon them.... I do think they sell piggies though:weepy

So Can someone tell me where I should be buying my food, hay, and bedding from? Thank you!!

 

[Texas Rustlers]

They are located in Texas but supply state wide; I was told by an ex-breeder that 'Pedigree' breeders also send their surplus / excess stock there.

 

[mommyoffive]

I recall a horrible pet mill/ distributor named Rainbow something. I wonder if it is the same one.

Yup, we get our small pets from rainbow and the guys who come in deliever them just throw them in our bins with no care in the wind...I just wanna slap them!

 

[DaisyGP]

People come into petsmart to buy their children hamsters for their birthday and they ask for the one who wont live the longest because they simple dont care. They ask why they cant get pine bedding because its only 3.99. They look at browns tropical mix and say hey thats cheap "it" will eat anything right? It makes me so sickened when I have to sell an animal to people like that but I have to because "we cannot reserve the right to deny anyone of MECHANDISE." And just like Res Judicata said people do not care about animals with either the short attention spans or short lifes. Its just sad how animals can get into the hands of people like that.

Mommyoffive, I know what you are talking about! I use to work at a petsmart awaile ago. Fortunately, our store went against the coperate policy of "we don't refuse to sell anyone merchandise". We were allowed to refuse the sell animals to someone, if we found out they were going to treat that animal enhumanly, that included fish! No one told coperate this though. It was a under-the-table type thing. Even so, supporting that one store would still mean its profits would fund the overall coperation and its policies.

 

[seagirl96]

I had a local petstore to buy supplies from. they didn't have live animals for sale until now. I went in Sunday to pick up bedding and there were two rabbits and two guinea pigs. I asked about the guinea pigs and was told by the owner that they were a male and a female. I asked about pregnancy but he told me that they were too young to reproduce at seven weeks of age. I suggested that they could in fact, reproduce at a younger age than that but he said no, couldn't happen. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Time to find a new place to buy my dog food and bedding. Do I need to tell you that these piggies were shipped in, were being housed in an aquarium with no shelter and only pellets to eat? I wanted to get the female out of there in hopes that she was not yet pregnant by her brother, but I knew that if I bought her, the owner would think "Wow, these things are selling like hotcakes! Better order more!" :sad: