I Have Just Put Someone Off Buying Guinea Pigs.........

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artcasper

artcasper

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A neighbour popped in, said she was thinking of buying guinea pigs for her grand daughter ( who only comes round a few times a week and is about 5 years old )..... She looked at mine... said how cute they were ( yes - they are )... I then told her what i do every day............

she left thanking me for being honest ! she doesn't have the time for them at all and I said you can't just stick them in a cage and just feed them... She had been to a well known pet shop and said they had told her they can live without food for about 3 days - then she said i might be confused with the hamsters ! I said OMG.. I hope no one did say that about any animal ...

Did i do the right thing? I love my girls but i think being honest and telling someone how much is involved is important....
 
Omg wth?! You definitely did the right thing, saved piggies hard ship and your neighbour some stress!

I would be right in that pet shop kicking up a storm. That's outrageous!
 
No, it's better to be frank really. They need loads of floor time, it's awful to think of piggies stuck in a cage all the time. Good on you :)
Right now, Mr Darcy is doing zoomies around my feet has I sit at my desk! It bliss :luv:
 
Much better to tell the truth and put someone off, it would be devastating for the new owner and the piggies if she couldn't cope with them. I've put people off a few times. I don't think many people realise what time consuming little fur balls piggys are.
 
I agree with everyone else, it was right to deter them...buying a pet for someone so young, well lets face it, how many people pitch up on the forum for a couple of times only to say they need to rehome them.?...(bloody boiling). Or apparently they aren't getting on....?

As a whole, the personality of the person looking after guinea pigs and all pets to be honest in a proper way tend to have the same personality traces to a lesser or greater degree. Was the lady trying to substitute and buy love or entertain? Probably one of them.

I too have deterred persons in buying when I know full well they aren't the type of person for looking after animals.
 
Good for you - I put a customer off buying guinea pigs the other week - I had Truffles in the shop with me in her little open plan pen on the floor and a huge "no dogs in the shop today please - elderly guinea pig in residence" sign on the door (as we were off to the vets later - it wasn't a take your pet to work day)- she said her son had been nagging her for a pet as his stepbrother and sister had pets and he didn't - she thought one guinea pig might be nice as it wouldn't need much room ! explained they need company and space and vets bills had to be taken into consideration - and no they didn't live for about 3 years - my piggy in the shop was nearly 8 - and probably not best to be in the same room as the step brother and sisters snakes!
 
I once told someone considering Guineas as a pet how much my Guineas had cost in vet fees that year.. that gave them a reality check! You did absolutely the right thing :yahoo:
 
Last time we were in the UK my daughter was bought to me by a member of PAH staff and I was asked to leave the store.
When I asked why, I was told she had been in the isle with the guinea pig cages and had overheard a mother and daughter talking about which cage they should get for the 2 guinea pigs they planned to buy.
My daughter went up to them and told then the 80cm 'starter cage' was a total waste of time and money and a cage any less than 120cm was cruel. They told her that the pet store staff said it was fine as a first cage and my daughter disagreed and said the staff member clearly knew nothing about guinea pigs.
The mother and daughter then confronted the member of staff and then left the store without purchasing a cage or guinea pigs.
I tell her that she did the right thing and hopefully those 2 pigs ended up in a decent sized cage in a knowledgeable home.
 
I'd rather be kicked out of Pets At Home and save a couple of piggies! Well done to your daughter, totally correct thing to do. I can barely go in there anymore without interrupting someone about pet care. Normally guinea pigs or hamsters (as that is where my expertise lies).

The best way to go about informing (while keeping employees happy) is to just take the person interested in the species round the shop and showing them the best things to buy (for example, bigger cage) as the better items are often more expensive, making the shop happier. You might end up with someone who isn't interested and then put off buying that pet, but you can also encourage the people who want to care for their pet correctly, they just need showing how.

I find it ironic that they sell the Guinea Pig Magazine, yet I bet not one employee has read it, otherwise the care would be VERY different.

I have put quite a few people off guinea pigs. I really don't understand how they're easy pets. I spend hours each week caring for them and my family has spent a lot on their care and vet bills, meaning they are very expensive.

I do think guinea pigs can make wonderful family pets, if the adults are truly responsible and the piggies are well cared for. I would say guinea pigs are a better family pet over something like a hamster. I have found my hamster needs a lot less effort to care for him, but hamsters are much more delicate and can be even more complex than guinea pigs, making them a bad choice for young children. Also they are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk.

It is shocking that someone could suggest not feeding a guinea pig for three days. I will never leave the pigs for more than 12 hours (unless completely unavoidable, which happened once and will never happen again, although nothing bad actually happened) and Jasper for any longer than a day or two (he is incredibly healthy and his feeding schedule works out in a way that makes this possible, but I do not recommend this, unless your hamster is also young and healthy).
 
Who on earth would suggest not feeding any animal for three days? Obviously just after a sale. Good for you for giving her an accurate picture of what is involved in guinea pig care. Fewer pigs would be surrendered to rescue if people understood what they were getting into!
 
I'm glad you were honest with her. Imagine if she had bought a guinea pig and as advised only fed it every three days and was none the wiser. My two would squeal the house down if I was three minutes late at meal times. The assistant from the well known pet store should be sacked for giving out false information. When I bought my two piggies from a pet store I was not told that they eat pellets and hay and they were not even available for sale.
 
Well done, I'd do exactly the same.
There is a reason there are so many guineas in need of adoption and so many rescue centres!
 
After Velvet had her babies last year my friend's daughter wanted to adopt them ("ahh they are so cute they are so tiny I've always wanted guinea pigs!") Her Mum said yes she would look after them properly as she had a horse and knew how to look after animals. I was very sceptical about this as a horse is a lot different to a guinea pig! The next time I saw my friend she said that her daughter "had better look after them". Well that did it. She didn't get to adopt them I kept them as I knew I would look after them properly and that with my friend's daughter it would just be a flash in the pan and after a couple of weeks she would have got bored. I have known my friend and her daughter for about 20 years so I know her daughter quite well.
 
Thanks everyone.... I feel i did the right thing cos she wasn't buying them to be a family pet - just something to look at i think.. i did say her grand daughter can come and see mine once a week ! If you are not 100% committed to what is involved then you should not buy a pet, any pet...

And whoever did say food every 3 days wants the sack !
 
Betsy said:
Too right fancy a pet shop telling her that! What terrible advise. Would you like to live without food for 3 days?
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I could do without food for 3 days - fat wise lol !
 
Swissgreys said:
Last time we were in the UK my daughter was bought to me by a member of PAH staff and I was asked to leave the store.
When I asked why, I was told she had been in the isle with the guinea pig cages and had overheard a mother and daughter talking about which cage they should get for the 2 guinea pigs they planned to buy.
My daughter went up to them and told then the 80cm 'starter cage' was a total waste of time and money and a cage any less than 120cm was cruel. They told her that the pet store staff said it was fine as a first cage and my daughter disagreed and said the staff member clearly knew nothing about guinea pigs.
The mother and daughter then confronted the member of staff and then left the store without purchasing a cage or guinea pigs.
I tell her that she did the right thing and hopefully those 2 pigs ended up in a decent sized cage in a knowledgeable home.
Click to expand...
love this ! well done to you and your daughter !
 
@artcasper I think you did that lady a huge favor by educating her before she made a decision without knowing what she'd be getting herself into.
If she has now decided that guinea pigs would be too much for her then it's better that she decided that now rather than get some and then discover it wasn't what she thought.
 
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