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We all know puppies in pet stores come from puppy mills, bad, but what about other animals in the store? Do they typically have a horrible upbringing and likely have health issues? Like snakes, ferrets, etc.
It all depends on the pet store. Petco and Petsmart aren’t the best place to get a pet and a lot of other pet stores are the same way but a few aren’t. My husband and I just recently visited a pet store in his home town that didn’t take good care of their pets. They all looked and acted sick. I would never support that pet store in any way.
On the other hand there are two pet stores in the area that I live in that seem to take very good care of their animals. In one of the stores I actually know one of the dog breeders as well as one of the rabbit breeders. Both these breeders are very good to their pets and love them very much. These pet stores have good reputations and I do my best to support them. The employees know a lot about the animals and are very helpful.
So even though most pet stores are bad some aren’t.
Yup.. There are hamster mills, ferret mills, etc. It’s a sad industry. The reptiles are often wild caught and shipped too many to a box and without food and water.
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I can tell you right now about the ferrets part, that if it’s a pet store selling them, 99% of the time they’ll be from Marshall. There’s a lot of controversy over them as a lot of people call them a "ferret farm" and from the ferrets I’ve seem come from there, they are not as in good shape as ones from private breeders nor do they live as long.
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In chain stores, I do not trust them with their pets any longer.
Long story short, quite a few fish and 3 birds later, they all died. All from pet stores.
My bird now isn’t from a pet store and he has now been with me for over a year(my record).
Locally owned businesses that raise the occasional animal by themselves, not too much, I think those are OK.
But NOT dogs, good breeders never get their dogs to sell in a pet store.
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I work at a pet hospital thats connected with a pet store and we get so many sick pets from them all the time. They care for them when they get there but how they were taken care of as babies they usually come in sick, and don’t have a long life span! I recommend getting a pet from the humane society. They have a policy if your pet dies under 1 year you get your money back and another pet, they have healthy pets there or they wouldnt put out that policy, plus they come spayed/neutered.
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definatly and its descusting. go to peta.com and it has a video of an animal mill related to petco and petsmart. or you could even type it in youtube.
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I used to work at a small family owned pet store. They did not get their puppies from puppy mills. The breeders were all local and only had a few dogs that bred. (no inbreeding) Anyway, all of our animals were taken from local breeders we checked out before buying from. Don’t get me wrong, there are tons of pet stores that mistreat their animals and get them from horrible places but please don’t just assume every pet store is the same. Anyway, one of the best things to do is see how much the employees know about the animals and where they came from. Usually, though not always, the less they know the worse the animals condition.
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Some pet stores are pretty safe and on the up-and-up, but in general they are not, and the more animals they have, the worse the conditions you can expect they came from.
Check with their adoption policies, do they keep veterinary records? Can you get a refund or similar if you take your new pet to the vet immediately after adoption and it is unhealthy?
If they are not willing to take that kind of responsibility for the health of their animals, then the animals probably are not treated properly and were not raised via proper breeding practices.
It is really best to just go to the animal shelter. You are rescuing an animal that may not otherwise get to live, you receive documentation of a reliable veterinarian’s examination, and you can be CERTAIN that you are not economically supporting any sort of animal abuse.
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Well that’s hard to say because the main supplier US Global Exotics is now shut down due to its poor living conditions and abuse of animals so chain stores like pet-co and petsmart are going to have to find new suppliers so their animals are going to be of a very different quality hopefully for the better the ones they have now are not that good of quality due to the conditions they came from at Global.
Small pet stores that use a private breeder or do it themselves are much better. Look for clean cages and a staff that can answer any of the questions you may have (ask about history of the animal and where they got them) and do some research on the animal that you want before going into the store to buy it see what the conditions should be what an animal of the age they say it is should look like and the signs of a healthy (your animal choice) are.
Getting a healthy pet from a pet store is as much up to you as it is the pet store arming your self with a little knowledge will save you time money and frustration and lead to you having a happy health pet
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pet lover and reptile breeder for local stores
Honestly,
Most of the pets such as snakes , tarantulas, and scorpions come from breeders or are brought in from people who no longer wanted them. There IS nothing wrong with purchasing them as all you have to do with the reptiles is get a fecal done at your local vet, it doesn’t cost anything to have it sent it, so they can check for parasites.
Thus being said i dont see what the concern is, the animals are not in living conditions which they thrive better in due to supply and demand , they will not stay in the pet store for over 6 months which is why you might see the tanks in bad conditions , etc. People buy them too fast.
I have purchased most of my stock from pet stores locally around me and so far have not had any problems and this isn’t coming from a known store such as petco or pet smart. Normally if something is sickly they will not sell and you are supposed to ALWAYS handle a snake and reptile and check to make sure it looks good and Always get a fecal done on them.
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reptile, arachnid, dog owner
Before considering buying a puppy from a petstore, please take a look at the HSUS’s “Pet Store Double Speak” http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/facts/pet_store_doublespeak.html as well as the “Tips on Buying a Puppy.”
) If you’re not sure if you’re ready to adopt, or make a long term commitment, volunteer with a local shelter or rescue, dog sit and foster!
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/tips/buying_puppy.html People need to realize that the puppy is going to grow and require long term commitment (i.e. not just until your childen go to college
It all depends on the pet store. Petco and Petsmart aren’t the best place to get a pet and a lot of other pet stores are the same way but a few aren’t. My husband and I just recently visited a pet store in his home town that didn’t take good care of their pets. They all looked and acted sick. I would never support that pet store in any way.
On the other hand there are two pet stores in the area that I live in that seem to take very good care of their animals. In one of the stores I actually know one of the dog breeders as well as one of the rabbit breeders. Both these breeders are very good to their pets and love them very much. These pet stores have good reputations and I do my best to support them. The employees know a lot about the animals and are very helpful.
So even though most pet stores are bad some aren’t.
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Absolutely NOT. I worked at a Petco for a few months and there was so much animal neglect! Everything was nasty and unsannitary amd there was always a mite infestation. I did my undercover investigation and took pictures and featured my story in a local news station.
The ferret birth certificates were all fake. Someone would by a ferret and the employee would just pick up a paper, not even reading it and telling the customer this is his birth certificate.
I would NEVER trust a petstore to buy a new pet. The best way to end petstore neglect is to stop buying live animals from the stores and end the industry.
A reputable breeder or animal shelter is the best way to go when getting a new animal.
All animals in these pet store companies have bad upbringings. They are in overcrowed cages.
I reported a hamster in the backroom that had a paper on it that said "Appears to have been squeezed-keep comfortable" in the back room to coorporate. I took pictures and everything. Coorporate denied it and the hamster died suffering in the back room.
The animals aren’t given any vet care and Petco didnt even cut the ferret nails which were already curling. During the slow hours I would cut the nails myself because I felt bad for them. I also ask to clean the rat cages because the smelled so bad and the glass was dirty and nasty. The manager told me after I fixed and cleaned the store. By the time I was done, I had to clock out
stupid idiots.
I brought up the filtyness of the store to the manager and he just told me "This store is 5th in the district in sales". He basically ignored me and went on with the meeting about profits.
I wouldn’t reccomend anyone buying an animal from a petstore, especially if its for children or going to be snake food. The animals are sick and lack basic care.
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Veterinary Medicine Student and Former Petco (Animal Hell) Employee
They are all treated simply as inventory, and come from inhumane animal mills.
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