Spur of the moment buyers...petshops...

Just thought I would post on this, I read a couple of the first posts. I agree that most pet shops don't give people the information they need and they don't sell a lot of chin appropriate cages. I myself work at a pet shop it's a fairly small locally owned one. There is one girl there that has 4 chins and she knows as much as there is to know about them and also we have 2 vet students and 1 vet tech that work there. Anytime someone comes in to buy a pet we try to make sure they know what they're getting into from a fish to a chinchilla to a kitten. All our pets get plenty of attention especially the chinchillas (from me) we want to get our pets use to people and friendly because so many people have the misconception chinchillas are mean. Also, what most people don't understand is that people can be stubborn there have been so many times that we have gotten into arguments with customers about what they need to care for there animal. Obviously pet stores want to make money but we don't want to see our pets go home with people that don't know how to properly care for them. Sometimes people think they know whats best so if you tell them for example no this bunny needs a bigger cage, the one you want to buy is too small they will probably just leave and go buy the cage somewhere else. There are a lot of people that come to our shop and know were trying to help so they usually take our advice. I just wanted to post and say not all pet shops are bad but yes when you get into stores like petsmart or something there are a lot of people there that don't care about the pets they sell but not all are like this.

I have been pondering about posting but I feel I must....I bought my chinchilla spur of the moment which is not good I was completely uneducated I knew chin chin would require a lot of care as all pets do....but I know I am a person who will , and has in the past dedicated my life to my animals....the pet shop was not informative, did not even make me fill out a slip for live animal purchase ....the cages was very small too...no toys no chewy in sight....they pointed me to a hamster cage I was like nooo way......when I tried to ask questions they were vague....even though I was persistent....they would have let me walk out without giving any care info...not even a pet care sheet.....Im very glad my chin-chin has a home with me I have given him a better home and will make a difference in at least one pets life......I feel sad at some of the things I saw but they can happen in pet stores or breeders home or pets homes.....In my prefect world everyone would love and be educated or research there pets....I knew very little but as soon as chin chin came home Ive not stopped researching ...

I had no idea they "barked" until my first night when I fell right outta my bed LOL .....now I know about all the sounds they make

^_^!

you think that the breeder would care more as chin breeding is a "Joy Job" in my opinion. You would do it cause you love to work with chinchillas its not like your going to make millions doing it and become rich, most of the time its closer to the opposite as chinchillas are pricey to just take care of one, let alone dozens of them. Id wish that pet-stores would do more about telling what is "Chin safe" and what a big responsibility they actually are. There not like fish were you toss in some food once a day and clean there tank/bowl every week or so.

One of the troubles with pet stores besides that they are very interested in making money is the people who work for them are clueless. Some want to help but they are given information by other clueless people who were given information from, guess what, other clueless people. Then they swear it is the 'right information'

I used to work in a Petsmart, when I worked there I'll admit that I didn't know as much about chins as I know now, but our section manager (i was in the section with the small animals and fish) knew a lot about basically everything and actually cared about the animals. I may not have been at a typical pet store, but I took care of those animals like they were my own. I made sure the chins (we only had one at a time) had plenty of hay and fresh water twice a day and while I couldn't control temperature, I controlled everything I possibly could including information given to new parents. I remember specifically recommending that they did NOT get a ball of death because I knew they were dangerous for many pets. I also knew that chins chew, while our chins that I can remember never chewed their houses, I gave him chews. We were only SUPPOSED to give them a couple every week, but they were just wood and I gave them every day because he went through them quickly. I remember one was brought back sick within the 2 week guarantee and I was the one to take him to the vet. At that time I was working everyday, so I know that he got his medicine and good care.
All that being said, I didn't know everything there was to know about chins when I worked at a petstore, but now I know. I tried to inform every prospective chin owner of the things that I did know: no plastic if they are plastic chewers, no ball, lots of wood, no treat-filled food, specialized vet care. With all that I have this thought: pet stores need to be educated as thoroughly as possible about the pets they are carrying and need to educate the new parents, but I wouldn't condemn someone for buying a chin spur of the moment as long as they learn and take care of said pet, as pets are family members.