Australia what is your opinion on Australian pet stores?

[cavy_lover]

Hi all i just wanted to know everyone's opinion on pet stores in OZ, and your experiences...

I recently bought my first 2 piggies from a local pet store before i found cavy cages...i regret buying from a pet store now, but i still love my piggies. In the future i intend to buy from a shelter because of my bad experiences with the owners of the store... and i would rather save a GP then buy one.

We took our pigs to the vet both were female, and discovered they were pregnant. They have now given birth to one baby each, both female as well. I went back to the store and asked ''do you keep males in the cages with the females?'', they replied yes. I then asked 'how old are females before they can start breeding?'', they replied 9 weeks. It is actually 3 and i told them so!! I then demanded that they should get their information straight before they put a male in with the females as my guinea pigs were pregnant. They didnt reply and asked if i wanted anymore pigs!! i said no and walked out.

I have been looking at the laws in australia regarding selling pregnant pigs to the public knowing full well the sex of the pigs. I have also asked other pet stores what age females and males can start mating and they have no clue. I get various answers such as 10 weeks, 11 weeks 12 weeks. They all have no idea that it is 3 weeks for males and 4 for females!!

I was looking at legal action against the pet store in regards to carelessly breeding and in breeding them. I have only found one law that states ''rats and mice may not be housed together in pet stores unless the owner has the full intent to breed'' Pet stores must also state whether they are intentionally breeding GP's and tell you that yes ''the Gp you are buying may be pregnant''. I am not sure if this law is applied to stores in sydney NSW, as it was a law i found in the ACT. It is part of the animal welfare ACT 1995.

I am thinking of creating a petition and will post it here shortly, in regards to GP breeding in pet stores. It is in breach of the animal welfare ACT 1995, however i do not know whether i is relevant here in NSW. Any other info, experiences stories or corrections to my post are welcome.

Thanks
cavy_lover

 

[VoodooJoint]

I'm glad you are doing something about this! Good job. Having done stuff like this myself you need to know that you are bound to run into some brick walls, but even brick walls can be knocked down with persistance. Good Luck and keep us updated.

 

[Alanas]

The pet stores that I have been to ALWAYS keep males and females apart. Unfortunately a lot of them do not provide enough space for cavies to run around. It isn't only piggies though, I see poor puppies in tiny cages with glass fronts. Some pet stores try to justify this saying that they take turns each day giving the puppies a turn in the dog run, but that ends up being about every three days they get a run, which isn't enough. I am getting sick of Australian pet shop attendants trying to sell me crap I don't need, like chew toys and "special" food, that is packed with goodness but looks like it is 100% artificial. Also what is with the red seeds in most of the foods on the market for guinea pigs? Mine don't eat them. I get my food from a wharehouse wholesaler now, and I get to choose what goes in it. I am sick of getting nuts and seeds in the food. So I get a mix of pellets, hay, grass, and these wheetbix type things, there is other stuff too, can't think right now because I am not looking at it.

 

[cavy_lover]

Thankyou for replying alanas and voodoojoint. I know that lots of animals in pet stores have no room....they only care about making a profit and not about the animals themselves. I find that when i talk to the assistants they have no idea at all about products for Guinea Pigs or what is necesary for them to live healthy lives. The pet store i am taking action against had 10 Guinea pigs all in one small pet store cage and 1 rabbt. In grid terms a 2 x 1 grid equivalent cage. The feeds that they sell are full of artifical colours and flavourings....the red seeds are artificially coloured and i think should not even be sold in pet stores. They need to research information on all the animals they keep to ensure a healthy diet and life. I walked into a pet store the other day and the GP's only had water and mixed seeds. Their bedding was straw and they had mites. I told the assistant and she replied ''oh they just get itchy'' I said ''look at the white spots all over its fur....its mites you should get it looked after''. I went back a week later and the problem still hadnt been looked after. I also complained about a bird that had a feather dificancy...all its feathers had fallen off and it had no jumper, no treatment..... nothing. They just said the bird had always been like that there was nothing they could do. I said ''how about a jumper to keep it warm?'' They said yes we'll get it done.....went back 2 weeks later and surprise surprise the bird was still cold and featherless.

Ive contacted an animals rights group here in sydney...they are with the government and will call me back soon hoppefully to recommend what action if any they can take against the pet store.

 

[The Magic Taco]

What pet shop is this? I only know of good shops in Brisbane (Ok, Petcity isn't perfect, but it sells their favourite food and treats).

 

[cavy_lover]

Its a pet store in Sydney. Its in the western suburbs and just has the name ''pets'' written on it. It is run by breeders I presume because they dont seem to be a franchise and the whole family works there. I assume its a breeder who owns it because all the Gp'S look the same and they put the males in with the females on purpose despite my effots to tell them over and over that it is wrong. They ignore this information and still continue to breed. They are unducated and ignorant of my pleas to make them stop.

If anyone knows this store its located near penrith plaza and is next to a gem shop. Please if anyone knows this store take a look at the Gp's and you will see what i am talking about.

 

[Alanas]

I go to uni at Penrith, I am going to go down to the Plaza after uni on Monday and check it out. Might take some photo's and get them put in the uni paper and then the penrith paper and things like that. If they give me crap about the flash harming the animals I will let them know that a camera flash is nothing compared to the harm they are doing.

 

[Alanas]

Actually you know, I might do it properly, I will call before hand and say I am doing an assignment at uni on business and I am writing a paper about big petshops v's small independent pet shops and ask if it is okay to come down and take some pictures, approaching it nicely will mean that they will probably agree, and then I will expose them....write to the paper, write to Penrith council and animal shelter, I am so sneeky.

 

[cavy_lover]

Thanks alanas. If you need directions its the store with ''PETS'' in big blue letters. Its near dick smith and its on the street that the bike shop is on, next to the gem store. Just look and there is a small cage with 10 cavies in it. I dont know if they would of sold some by now....and if you see a lady there, she is the one that deliberately puts the males in with the females. She knows how to sex them and still deliberately puts in the males with the females at 10 weeks of age. They breed at 3 weeks of age so obviously they should not be housed together. If you look at the back you will also see some puppies in small cages one on top of the other with only sawdust as bedding. The Gp's also only have pellets and sawdust in their cage. No hutches at all. They also have some quite disgusting food items....kangaroo tails for dogs and pigs ears (being a vegetarian i find it quite upsetting) .

Let us know what happens and thankyou for joining my cause against this pet store!

 

[kathrynj]

You know my beef with pet stores in Brisbane is that the piggies are almost always housed in the bird room or next to the birds. Can you imagine the noise? And one assistant even said, 'it's hard to get a calm guinea pig, people don't want the skittish ones"

 

[Bellebelle]

The pets stores around us thankfully don't sell animals so i have never actually been to petstore with animals except once when we were living in America but thats another story.
Housing a pig near the birds thats already nervous would not be a smart idea the noise would be horrible.
Emma

 

[enchantingcavy]

Yeah I don't agree with petstores at all they should not be selling live animals as they get more people " gawking " at them than buyers. I get more upset seeing all the dogs and cats in petstores they always look tired and I feel sorry that they have to be in their with people staring and touching them all day long:weepy:

I can't believe this..I walked into a petstore in a big shopping centre tjhe other day. They had a couple of gorgeous pet piggies in there and i was tempted but when i saw the price I almost passed out....they were charging $50 each for pet guineas...

In saying this though alot of petshops in queensland charge $35 or more for guineas nowdays...it's only the smaller rundown ones that seem to still sell them for $8-$10 dollars....I hate seeing those prices on pigs because its a " pocket money " price where a kid could just waltz in and walk out with a new guinea so easily....It gives them that view of the " cheap disposable " pet.

In QLD the bigger petshops seem to house them ok but I still don't like any animals sold in petshops because 1: whoever buys the pigs dosn't have any information provided to them on guineas that an owner selling their animals could and they dont have the background on the animal or a contact number to call if they ever need advice 2: I don't think its right that they have live animals on " display " like they do....They're just wide open clear sided pens with bright lights shining on them all day long and it must be so uncomfortable for them...I wish petstores would set up their animals so that the public couldn't nessessarily see them directly and so that the animal has some right to privacy and more comfort....then if someone from the public was a serious buyer then the person working there could take the animal out to show them.I think petshops should exist but not to sell live animals...to sell pet products etc...

Just my thoughts...

*~jess~*

 

[enchantingcavy]

Oh with regards to them putting males and females together I find that ALL smaller petstores still do this including poor little two week old sows with adult boars ( i had to rescue one the other week ). The larger big name stores seem to always keep them apart ( that's if they know how to tell the sex of them correctly which alot muck up ).

 

[The Magic Taco]

I saw a texel piggy in Pet Paradise (horrible!) for at least 45 dollars! I was shocked!

 

[cossmia]

The petshop i went to (Edgecliff sydney) ON first apperances seemed alright. They only had guinea pigs and rabbits in the same cage, rats and mice (in different cages) and fish. The giunea pigs were housed in a glass box with only one igeloo (which rabbits couldn't fit in now to think about it). They had a sale where you brought the cage and got the guinea pig free. I thought that was alright since at least they madesure that the little guy at least had a cage. The guy had dogs, so i didn't really think to ask wether he knew about the smaller animals, but they didn't have a large range of food for their animals. at the time, i thought that was because that it was the best or at least a better quality. When he spoke, he spoke with confidance, which suggests to me that he hasn't really learned about these animals, only telling what other people told him. Nibbles isn't dead so his advice wasn't on the 'what not to do list" more the one of "what isn't the best for them, but they will kinda live" sort of list. dose that make scence. actually at the moment i'm having trouble finding a place to buy propper pellets for Nibbles. I live in Sydney very close to the CBD. can anyone help? also I brought a male, so i don't have to deal with the pregnancy (sp?) issue.

Over all the petshop wasn't the best, but I didn't see alot of signs that they were mistreated. well not of obvious signs.

also children and animals in general are a border line thing. I don't blame the kids (the young ones) because it's not up to a 4 year old. to decide if it's best for her to own pets. that is what the parents are for. More libality had to come down to the parents. They should know how to look after these pets before the buy one for thier kids, so they can teach their kids how to look after it. Right? Well that is my thinking,

 

[i love piggies]

I was in a pet store about 1 month ago and saw a beautiful little girl piggie, and i decieded to get her. I dont know of any shelters around here. At least she came to a good home.

When I got her Home I noticed she had a cateract. she is very shy. but I love her. Her name is betty. I am also waiting for her to have babies.
I was so annoyed at the pet store for not checking thier gp's. they should be more careful. If i was someone who was not responsible, who knows what would of happend to Betty

 

[Fluffball]

It is sad that pet stores are so awful and irresponsible. I would read on www.guinealynx.com, for pregnancy information. You can get Gp's at the local RSPCA, but it is a very rare thing that they will have any there at all. I dont know in Australia an overpoulation of guinea pigs seems non existent. Then again that is no excuse for the conditions these poor animals are left to deal with.

 

[cavy_lover]

I wasnt going to come back to the forums.. but I had to update about the pet store problem.

The pet store has finally closed shop. An investigation or complaint has been filed. On the door is a sign saying ''closed for good?''

I do hope for good, I am worried about the animals and where they went...

I myself did complain and it seemed to do no good but finally it has paid off. I couldnt take all the credit as most is due to alanas and those here on cavy cages who gave us the motivation to do something about it.

Im not sure who finally shut the place down im just glad the breeders are out of business no more inbreeding and no more guinea pigs lives will be ruined for the sake of money.

If anyone had information on who finally helped shut this place down email me or pm, I need to send some congratulations their way.

I will enquire as to whether the guinea pigs need rehoming and post here in the future if anyone can help.

Merry christmas everyone, and have a very happy new year.

 

[amie60]

Thank goodness that that pet shop has closed! Its terrible to see some of the conditions that petstore animals have to live in. :weepy:

We did get our pair from a pet shop, but they were very clean, the cage was very large, and they seperated males and females. They also gave me an information page, with info on diet, housing, grooming ect.
So I was pretty pleased with this pet shop, the employees also knew a lot about guinea pigs, and answered all my questions easily (yep, I had done some research before buying my guinea pigs, I just wanted to make sure that they had been properly cared for before I brought them). They had a really nice set up, with lots of hidey places, and good food.

All in all I would say that these people are doing the right thing by the animals that they sell, Will and Dianna have had no health problems, of any kind, and the prices were reasonable.
Its a shame that good pet stores are few and far between.

 

[Seralinne]

(All measurements are in metric)
I have had generally good experiences with Pet Stores here in Victoria. The store that I brought Mocha from was on Chapel Street in Melbourne. Their birds are kept right at the back of the store. In the middle is a large cage (and by large about 3x3x2 meters) for their kittens. The dogs varied in housing, depending on how many they have in at the time, but I know they it is usually fairly large. The guinea pigs were housed in 1.5x1
meters and seperated by gender. They were housed with rabbits. Their Mice and rats were housed and the other end of the store in quiet large tanks and seperated by breed and gender. Their fish, etc were housed in the building next to it. Same store, but focused on the two seperate types of animals.

The pet store near where I live in the shopping centre houses the kittens in a 1.5x1.5x2m cage, the dogs vary depending on what they have in stock. They don't usually have alot of piggies, around 2 of each gender. They are housed in the pet store cage (about 1x2 cubes) with 1 or 2 rabbits. They are given hay and fresh fruit and veg everyday (including carrot). They are seperated by gender. All the cages are very clean, and while the water is in bowls, it always looks fresh. The birds are housed at the opposite end, and don't usually have an over abundance of them either.

There is 2 other pet shops in the same town as the above one, but I have not had alot of experience with them. When Mocha was itching and loosing fur, I did a web search and found that he probably had mites. My Vet isn't exotic and knows more about cows than anything else, so I went to the pet store to get a mite treatment to see if that would work first. The attendant was very helpful and seemed to contain some knowledge of what she was saying. She asked me a few questions and recommended a spray (that worked). She didn't suggest for me to buy anything else. I also spoke to her about what else was wrong with him (constipation) and she said to try Dandoliens, which also seemed to work well. I didn't really look to see what the situation was like there.
The other store I haven't really been to, but they mostly have birds.

I will try and see about getting some pictures and asking the staff some more indepth questions about guinea pigs, and get back to you.