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Pet shops

Lucyscavies

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all, I’m very curious about what you all think about buying pets from pet shops and any bad experiences you have encountered with them.
I highly dislike pet shops for many reasons. So so many parents go in with their kids and end up buying a pet they know nothing about. I feel so sorry for the hamsters going home in those tiny cages with tiny wheels and not enough bedding to hide in. I think they need to check more who buys these pets, instead of the staff telling the new owners how to care for whatever they are buying they should ask the new owners what they know. They also should have the set up ready at home before coming in to buy a pet and getting the set up approved by staff. Pets don’t live to the average life span either as they come from breeding mills. So many guinea pigs and rabbits have been Mis sexed and ended up pregnant also. It also annoys me when I hear some people say that they haven’t had any bad experiences with pet shops simply because the staff were helpful and nice... it doesn’t change the fact they come from horrific breeding conditions which is why the animals are so ill and untamed.

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I think we have to be a bit cautious about generalising about an organisation to the point where it is libellous! My mother had a less than satisfactory experience (as a partially sighted person in a wheelchair) of coming home from a branch of that store with a hamster and a completely unsuitable cage. However a couple of forum members quickly pointed out that they worked for that company and those things didnt happen in their particular stores where staff were well trained. I think perhaps potential new owners also have a responsibility to think carefully about pet ownership. Rescue is always better of course, but this might be easier said than done for some people if they have limited transport options or dont live near a rescue. I think many forum members have had unhappy experiences with pets at home, but this probably applies to many other pet shop chains and private breeders too...
 
My local pet shop is OK, apart from they do sell single Guinea pigs from the adoption section, I know because I have two that I bonded together, but bought separately.

But the pet shop a little further out from me, sold me a "male gerbil" that I found was definitely a female when I got her home. ( adult size, not a testicle in sight). Also they didn't even know she was still in the cage in the shop, I asked about her because the sign with her name was still up, and they were rude saying, if you can't see a gerbil, then there's not one there! 😮.

I said, can you just check in the hay pile, because they do hide in hay you know, then out she came lol. In your face, the lady who said this was a store manager


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I know no harm was meant but please can everyone be careful what you post.This is a public forum and we have to be careful what you post. Please don’t name pet shops or I will close this thread.
 
I know no harm was meant but please can everyone be careful what you post.This is a public forum and we have to be careful what you post. Please don’t name pet shops or I will close this thread.
Sorry I put the name before I see you said this. I'm guessing the pet shop named could take action if they see this ( head office)
 
I personally haven't had any bad experiences though I have never brought a baby piggy from the mass group, only from the adoption centre. I've always been asked about the set up I have, the other pigs I have that I would bond them with and I've always had a follow up call to check everything was going smoothly
 
That said one of my first group of piggies was a baby from a rescue I found online. Took two trains and a fair walk to get there to then find out she had been bred in the rescue so that her mum had company. Of course mum died as a result and left two boys and the girl I adopted needing homes. She passed away at 5.5 years old so fairly young compared to some of my other pigs
 
I think it works both ways. I learnt my lesson the hard way which is why I read up on everything I could on Guinea pigs and followed the rescue for nearly a year until we adopted the girls. My kids had been nagging for ages to have a hamster so we went to a store I won't name to see about getting some they advised us that Syrian hamsters don't like living together and the best ones to get were Roborovski hamsters as they can live together in groups so they advised as which cage to get and food etc and we got two which they said were boys. We got home and set their cage up and pretty much straight away they started fighting over the wheel so I read up and found the cage was nowhere near enough big enough for two and that they should have two of everything. So next day I had to make a makeshift cage while I took their cage back to the shop to change it luckily they let me exchange it for a cage that was nearly 3 times bigger than the one I had been sold and I bought two of everything to go in it. But even having a massive cage and two of everything the one started bulling the other one to the point where I had to separate them and buy another cage but sadly the smallest bullied one died 3 days after them being separated and the other one died 3 weeks later ☹️ I think if you are going to get any pet you should research them first so at least you have some knowledge of what is needed and you don't just go by what could be bad advice.
 
I think it works both ways. I learnt my lesson the hard way which is why I read up on everything I could on Guinea pigs and followed the rescue for nearly a year until we adopted the girls. My kids had been nagging for ages to have a hamster so we went to a store I won't name to see about getting some they advised us that Syrian hamsters don't like living together and the best ones to get were Roborovski hamsters as they can live together in groups so they advised as which cage to get and food etc and we got two which they said were boys. We got home and set their cage up and pretty much straight away they started fighting over the wheel so I read up and found the cage was nowhere near enough big enough for two and that they should have two of everything. So next day I had to make a makeshift cage while I took their cage back to the shop to change it luckily they let me exchange it for a cage that was nearly 3 times bigger than the one I had been sold and I bought two of everything to go in it. But even having a massive cage and two of everything the one started bulling the other one to the point where I had to separate them and buy another cage but sadly the smallest bullied one died 3 days after them being separated and the other one died 3 weeks later ☹ I think if you are going to get any pet you should research them first so at least you have some knowledge of what is needed and you don't just go by what could be bad advice.
I don't know why the u. K isnt clamping down with laws against this crap
 
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