Pet Shops

[Wolf-Kim]

Now, I will be the first to say I love going to a petshop. If I do any kind of shopping, I'm at the petshop playing with animals, eyeing new types of toys or food. It's funny how once you get to know your way around animals, you come to the realization how much a petstore is a rip off. LOL

I went to one yesterday, they wanted $26 for a rabbit. Okay, I can see paying $26 for something nice, so I asked what kind of rabbits were they. "They are mutt rabbits, I don't know what breed"... Okaaayyyyy... Are they standards or dwarfs ? *shrug* LOL

And oh my goodness, this store wasn't the brightest. They used those big plastic tubs(puppy in the window type containers) and they had probably about 50 hamsters in a tub. Peered over the top and they had males and females running amok in there. I stifled a giggle, because anyone buying a hamster from here was going to end up with multiples! The price? $15

Then there were two tubs of ferrets, each housing 6-12 each(a bit crowded) but all those ferrets were lounging around on their backs like they had been doing some serious drinking the night before. On their back, sprawled across each other, paws spread eagle. Very cute. Mutts as far as color, and probably males and females mixed together. Their price was $160-170.

The petstore kept their animals fairly well kept, the only thing that bugged me about them is that they kept their parakeets in one of those plastic tubs. Wings clipped and nothing to stand on. So you had about 50 parakeets standing in the bottom of this cage, sleeping or stretching because there really was nothing else for them to do. I mean put a perch or some toys in there or something. It's a huge contrast to petsmart who keeps their birds in a large social cage and plenty of perches and toys, they fly around singing and screeching, preening each other and whatnot. These just sat there, not a very appealing pet. Poor advertising on their part, I suppose.

Does anyone else go 'shopping' at the petstore? I rarely ever(almost never) buy anything from a petshop, but definately one of the most frequent places I go. Petsmart, Pet Supermarket, and a small local petshop called the Birdcage are the ones I frequent. The Birdcage being my favorite because it's run by the couple who owns it, the wife specializes in the birds, she breeds and rears them herself, and the husband specializes in fish. They take great pride in their store, even if they ask crazy prices.



They didn't carry puppies or kittens so let's not go that route please.

 

[usschicago1]

i go to petco to get a new male guppy every once in a while. I just do it to keep them from getting inbred, But then i have to work to perfect the offspring all over again haha! But petstore esp. petco is a ripoff & half there fish are diseased? and people without a trained eye have no idea. I love asking how many can i put in a ____ Tank. They come up with absurd numbers ahah!

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Yeah, that's the problem with the big chain stores. Employees often don't know basics, or just don't care. That's one thing I love about the Birdcage, the husband tests all the water in his tanks regularly and if any of the fish come up sick, they plaster a big "Not for Sale" sign on the tank. If you have something going on with your fish, usually he can figure out what it is through a description and tell you all the different meds he carries and which ones he prefers and why. Very knowledgeable.

 

[usschicago1]

Quote:
Your right and this is how all petstores should be.

Also to any fishkeepers out there i find almost all disease can be cured with a nice tank clean and some aquirum salt!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Most pet store rabbits are from the same company as Marshall Ferrets, except they are called Peter Rabbits, I think. The reason they are priced so high is because those rabbits are already neutered/spayed, so you couldn't buy a petstore rabbit from one of the big petstore chains and expect to use it for breeding. Rabbits at our petstores run $25-$30 each.

Pet store ferrets are always neutered/spayed, and descented before they leave the "ferret" farm they are bred at. Males and females together won't result in a pregnant ferret. Ferrets are about $140 each at our petstores. The ones you saw sound bored out of their little minds!

Poor babies!

I am surprised they had male and female hamsters together. Our local petstores separate those out by sex so no one gets um multiples...lol

I do enjoy going to the petstores and playing with the ferrets.

 

[Laney]

I go to Petsmart very rarely, usually when I need a leash replacement. However, I go to this great little store in Raleigh called Wag's Pet Boutique. I know it sounds like a Froo Froo place, but it's not. They sell all the best foods for dogs, some awesome toys. They carry only natural treats (no rawhide that can cause intestinal blockage yay!).

It's run by a great couple that also support a lot of the local animal charities. You can also participate in Dogi Yoga there and they have special events for your pet and you. (Runs and fairs) Dogs are welcome and the employees bring there dogs to work.

Basically if you find it in their store, they would feed it to their own dogs, let their own dogs play with it etc. They also have cat food and toys etc.

Laney

 

[PandoraTaylor]

I love going to all the Pet stores & Feed Stores...I love looking.
I raise Betta, Parrots, Cockatiels, Parakeets & Chickens.
So I don't need/want anymore pets, but I love looking.
I have had all kinds of pets over my 46 years, raised & bred all kinds of things. I also read all the bullentine boards. Currently I am just rescuing pet birds and doing my chickens.

I love buy toys & treats for my pets.....so I am always looking.
({edited to spelling})

 

[Overeasyplz]

I love to look at the reptiles and fish. I always browse through the rabbits but never touch or pet because I don't want to bring anything home to my rabbits. I've always loved petstores.

 

[Skyesrocket]

I can never pass a petshop without stopping in.

There aren't many private petshops around anymore. I don't think it's very profitable, unless you are selling a lot of pet products and food. Even with inflated prices on animals, you just aren't going to make much on small animal sales. I do know a private petshop owner that has managed to stay in business through internet sales. He said the internet sales of pet products is what has been paying his petshop overhead.
I do like a Pet Smart I go into when I'm in the city. The staff are younger people, and seem quite knowledgeable. They must hold classes about the care of the animals they sell.
Was the petshop you were in new? I wonder why they are keeping their animals in tubs like that? You would think it would be better business to provide them with lots of toys as a way of advertising the toys.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

You know what frustrates me about pet shops?

I tried to get a job at several well-known areas. I was even willing to be a cleaner, I wanted to be a trainer...anything! I have a degree in Poultry Science and know birds and diseases of them. So why on earth could I never receive a call back?

It's not that the people there don't know anything about the animals, it's that the managers will not hire people who DO know about them.