Pet Stores Petsmart sellling bigger cages!!

[4boipigs]

Petsmart is rebranding their All Living Things small pet line into Full Cheeks (yes, great name...). I've known about this for a while but no one has any pics of the cages yet and Petsmart's site doesn't have any either. Currently my store has received some gpig cages, and the rumor is that we will also have larger hamster cages. I got a good look at a guinea pig cage today - keep in mind it was up super high and I couldn't see it all - but it looks like a mix between a C&C cage and a Midwest cage. It is supposed to be 'customizable' and you can even include a loft! However whoever designed the cage decided gaps between the grids was a brilliant idea.

I'm pleased with Petsmart doing this...idk if they will continue with the smaller cages or how they intend to get rid of the All Living Things cages. A lot of ALT items are clearance, but not the cages.

The food and bedding is also getting rebranded, but the food is still junk. I don't know if the ingredients even changed at all. Same thing with the bedding.

Initially I was super excited when I heard the rumor that there would be bigger cages. Seeing the new gpig cages made me feel really good, but I will never advocate pet stores selling animals. It's nice that Petsmart has done this, and also has done other things like stop selling fish bowls, but nothing will really make me happy til pet stores cease to exist.

 

[PhattusRhattus]

Great name change aside, this overall sounds like awesome news! I was able to find one cage from a PetSmart in July 2021 (the All Living Things - Guinea Pig Penthouse cage) that was just the bare minimum (and happened to be hidden on the side of the isle rack, not actually on the cage isle itself, go figure). However, if better cages will soon be available to the public, that's quite a relief to hear. Even if impulse buyers do unfortunately exist, I'm hoping that, at the very least, these new Full Cheeks cages would make it possible for such customers to stumble across more acceptable cage options. Now, if only PetSmart could update their "Caring For Your Guinea Pig" website/pamphlets to list the actual bare minimum cage sizing requirements, not a 2 ft. by 1 ft. prison cell...

Huh, now that you mention ALT clearances, a few days ago, at my local PetSmart, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many accessory items on sale. By "on sale," I mean that a $13.49 cuddler bed, a $9.99 cozy cave, an $8.99 crinkly tunnel, and an $8.99 fleece bed were all on sale for $3.60 each, to give you an idea of just how surprising this was to see. At the time, I thought that my local PetSmart was having a sale, but after reading your post, I realize that everything on sale came from the All Living Things brand. (Funnily enough, I was actually at PetSmart that day because I was looking for accessory items to fill my new C&C cage with, so hey, score.)

 

[4boipigs]

We got one of the biggest cages in but as for the hamster cages, it's still just trash. Funny how it appears they're going far to make things better for pigs, but not hamsters. All the old ALT cages got sent away to the distribution center. So there are no small cages left for gpigs. Hams still get tortured with Tiny Tales/Kaytee.

They also have a variety of fleece liners now, but none are quite wide enough for a c&c. Since I get a discount, I intend to buy a couple just to test out. Probably as an extra layer in the kitchen or for their beds.

There's a lot of new treats, but they're very sugary.

I also like some of the new toys and houses!

But ultimately, it's a mix of good and bad. The bigger guinea pig houses are such a nice sight, even if they're not up to my standards. They should have focused on better hamster cages also, and reduced the amount of fruity/sugary treats. I'm not really a 'baby steps' person when it comes to making stuff better and believe if you're gonna do something, you need to go big...but, at least it's something.

 

[SSLee]

@4boipigs, thank you for the information. I'm going to the one and only Petsmart store in my city this Saturday to see if if there is anything I need from the rebranding clearance.

I looked at the Petsmart website and there is a cave bed that looks very interesting since it has a top...not that I need another one for the piggies. They already have enough cuddle cups but so hard to resist.

 

[4boipigs]

@4boipigs, thank you for the information. I'm going to the one and only Petsmart store in my city this Saturday to see if if there is anything I need from the rebranding clearance.

I looked at the Petsmart website and there is a cave bed that looks very interesting since it has a top...not that I need another one for the piggies. They already have enough cuddle cups but so hard to resist.

It is likely I have the bed you are looking at. I got one to see what would happen and so far they ignored it.

Here is the largest fleece. It is not quite big enough for a c&c. I laid it over the pads I use for their kitchen, so I have full coverage. It will be a good extra piece to have, assuming it stands up to the boars tonight. It wicked away cold tap water instantly, no washing. I work at Banfield so it was only $10 I wasted.

I don't like the size of the pocket and don't intend on using it.

I'd say the fleece is about 3.5 grids long and 2 inches too short on width.

I am not trying to promote petsmart but I appreciate the better options.

 

[PhattusRhattus]

[MENTION=46209]4boipigs[/MENTION], I recently checked out the PetSmart website, and I saw some of the new Full Cheeks items for sale. I'm relieved to see that, so far, none of the Full Cheeks guinea pig cages appear to be undersized. (Hamsters, sadly, aren't better off.) I'm not too thrilled to see that their "Small Pet Harness" includes guinea pigs as a target species, nor am I happy to see their lavender/coconut-scented bedding. I'm wary about their "Pinewood Hollow Log Tunnel & Hideaway" as well, given that the tunnel is wooden on all sides (aside from one hole) and is therefore likely to be soiled. Their kiln-dried "Pinewood Corner Hideaway & Hay Holder" looks quite interesting, though, as does their "Firwood Cabin Hideaway." Their plastic "Tower Hideaway" is also neat, and I appreciate how a few window-like squares are cut out for extra ventilation.

I definitely see how sugary some of their treats are, as you mentioned. Their "Berry Flavored Drops" actually have sugar listed as the first ingredient, followed by vegetable oil and then dried yogurt later, yikes. Look at that guaranteed analysis of "Crude Fat (min) 19.5%" too. (For comparison, Oxbow Essentials pellets are only 2.0% minimum.) Yeah, no thanks.

At the very least, their guinea pig cages are an upgrade, and there's more fleece options, albeit less than C&C dimensions. (I wish that bright red pocket was a lighter and more desaturated red (that exactly matched the red chevrons), but that's just a pet peeve of mine.)

 

[SSLee]

Checked out Petsmart on Saturday and there was no clearance on any of the ALT items. The ALT items were available side by side with the new Full Cheeks merchandise. However, there were only 1-2 of each item, regardless of brand. I did get to take a close up look at the new guinea pig cage and am happy to see the improvement.

While at Petsmart, I ended up chatting with a dad of two small children who were there to buy a hamster. The dad made a comment that everything was so expensive and it would take about $100 to get a hamster cage and accessories. He also said that the little girl saved up her money and was paying for everything herself. I tried to tell the dad they should do some internet research and put together a DIY cage, if possible. The Petsmart clerk gave me a dirty look. But really, there weren't much hamster supplies. None of the pet stores in my city have much small animal supplies, regardless of chain or independent stores. That is why I love to shop on Chewy.com.