Moral dilemma

[FuuHouhouji]

My husband and I have been considering getting a pet. We are both adults, and with a very demanding jobs so a nocturnal pet would be ideal. After much reading and consideration a chinchilla seems to be the better option. We have done our reading and we both think that it would be a great addition to the family.
The problem is that we live in Mexico; and the only two options to get a chinchilla around here is the pet store (that I know are not very good with them) and a breeder. The breeder is a fur breeder, but he also sell his chins has pets.
I have a moral dilemma about buying a chin from a fur breeder. They seem to be well care off (clean environment, lots of food, air conditioner, etc.) but that’s only because he needs them to be “pretty” so he can sell them well.
I still have time to seek other options (we will not be buying the chinchilla until we have save the money for the cage and at least 6 months of supplies) but there are not rescues around, and the other breeders are in the other half of the country and seem to be fur breeders also (haven´t found a hobbyist here) I not that far from the USA border, but I don’t know if I can bring a Chinchilla back here (all the information I have found is for cats and dogs) specially a rescue one.
What do you think, should I “save” a chinchilla from being kill for fur; or that would only be worst in the long run? I wonder if enough people shows interest to have chinchillas has pets the breeder would realize that it’s better to sell them has pets (you can get around $50 dollars for fur, both you can sell them form $75 and up when you are selling them has pets) :hmm:

 

[Riven]

The issue is only one that you can answer. If you have troubles with "supporting" a pelter, then that is the only issue I see here.

Take a pet store chin for example, they get sold with lots of bad information, and they promote people to buy things that aren't good for them from treats to food, dangerous cages and such. Next thing you know you're chin is neglected and standing in it's own poo or dies of impaction or other disease. Not always, but happens.

Fur breeders as you call them, they take good care of their animals, feed quality feed, dust often, and keep clean cages. I personally if I were a chin would rather live a short well cared for life than a long one full of health issues being chased by a dog or cat because my owners think it's funny that we're "playing" and such.

Buying a pet from a fur producer won't encourage them to breed more animals for fur, they breed based on fur market, not pet market. Chances are the ones that aren't good enough quality for fur are the ones you see in the pet stores.

Something you said above makes me wonder, is this a fur producer? Most fur producers don't care if the animals are "pretty to sell" because they pelt, not sell unless you meant to sell the pelts/fur?

In the end, it's a decision only you can make, you will get a full range of responses here.

Before it turns out badly as well, I just want to remind everyone that this is a PELT NEUTRAL forum.

 

[jags]

All good breeders need their animals to be pretty be it sold alive or as a pelt. If not taken care of they will look terrible and they do not sell well either way.

 

[FuuHouhouji]

The issue is only one that you can answer. If you have troubles with "supporting" a pelter, then that is the only issue I see here.

Take a pet store chin for example, they get sold with lots of bad information, and they promote people to buy things that aren't good for them from treats to food, dangerous cages and such. Next thing you know you're chin is neglected and standing in it's own poo or dies of impaction or other disease. Not always, but happens.

Fur breeders as you call them, they take good care of their animals, feed quality feed, dust often, and keep clean cages. I personally if I were a chin would rather live a short well cared for life than a long one full of health issues being chased by a dog or cat because my owners think it's funny that we're "playing" and such.

Buying a pet from a fur producer won't encourage them to breed more animals for fur, they breed based on fur market, not pet market. Chances are the ones that aren't good enough quality for fur are the ones you see in the pet stores.

Something you said above makes me wonder, is this a fur producer? Most fur producers don't care if the animals are "pretty to sell" because they pelt, not sell unless you meant to sell the pelts/fur?

In the end, it's a decision only you can make, you will get a full range of responses here.

Before it turns out badly as well, I just want to remind everyone that this is a PELT NEUTRAL forum.

Sorry my English is not that good. Pelter would be the word I wanna use for fur, just didn’t know it until now. He raised them until a particular age and then take them somewhere else to be “prepared”. I rather buy from him than from the pet store. He at least knows how to care and raised healthy chinchilla.
The pet store in question is a disaster, is our local equivalent of “Petsmart” a lot of exotics with such little knowledge of the care they need (exotic birds, lizards, snakes, ferrets, chinchillas, hedgies, etc.) They even have zoo animals (chimps, crocodiles, once I saw a tiger).
I would be looking around, (‘cause I will not buy from the pet store that’s a fact) maybe I’ll found a chinchilla in need of re-homing. If not I guess the breeder would be my better option. How I said, I still have time to make my mind. And you are right, he is probably offering chins that are “unfit” for his main business, so me buying it would not change the numbers he breeds.
Thanks for the opinion, and sorry for my english I know i write like a second grade student
PS: If some moderator thinks these topic is to controversial (and would start a discussion,) I would understand if it is removed

 

[EMSChins]

Personally I do not think that we would even be having a discussion about a chinchilla as a pet and where to buy it if it were not for the many large ranchers that do pelt. It is on the backs of their hard work that the animal is what it is today. If this rancher takes good care of his herd, It would not matter to me if I bought a pet from them. JMPO.

 

[Riven]

It's good you're planning ahead, and wow, it sounds like a crazy pet shop!

I think that if you talked to the breeder he may chose to market pets more if you talk to him about it. In the US that is one of the largest markets today because a lot of the fur farming has moved to places where they can produce them cheaper. I would concentrate on finding one you like who has the best potential to be happy and healthy. If you like the idea of rescuing a chin in need and don't care about age you could ask the breeder if he has any older chins that he is planning on "retiring". Since they don't make as good of a pelt I'm sure he'd be glad to part with a slow or non-breeding animal or maybe a same sex pair if you'd like reasonably and you could give a home to an animal who would really appreciate the time and attention you offer it.

Don't worry about your English, we have many members from other countries. You have better English than a lot of people I know who are adults and just too lazy to try to spell right.

Welcome to the forum, look around and feel free to ask questions!

 

[Zoaea]

I like Rivens last post, you should talk to the breeder about retired animals. I'm sure he has at least a few that just aren't breeding, and you can give them a forever home. With the breeder you can also choose an animal from a bigger pool, Id look for one that is naturally curious and skittish chins can take years to tame. A same sex pair is also nice if you are afraid you wont have enough time for keeping it company. ^^

 

[Encantadora]

I don't have a problem buying from a fur rancher if I find the animal I want. I understand its part of chin breeding and has improved them tremendously as a species.

 

[FuuHouhouji]

Thanks to everyone! I would ask about a retired animal, I have read that newbies like me have better results with older chins. I would keep you all uptaded about how it all ended.

 

[tcraighenry]

If you're 100% against the pet store, I'd go with the pelter. As unpleasant as his business is you know you'll get a good animal that had a good life. (And an even better one later!)

 

[VolunteerChin22]

The petstore would immediately be out for me - the chances of your chinchilla being healthy with all of those species running around sounds sketchy at best.

The retired breeder point is a good one. I have had several breeding animals that came from ranchers and lots of them had great personalities despite not being handled much. Your chin can live well into their teens and early twenties, so an animal thats older is not a bad option!

One thing, do you have air conditioning in your home? Just checking as I am not sure how common that is in Mexico...

 

[FuuHouhouji]

Air conditioner is common in the north of Mexico, if you have the money for a chinchilla more than likely you have air conditioner. It was in my list of “I would not get married if we don’t have…” So yes I have one. 95F° and up is common here, so I already know that I would have to leave the air conditioner on 2-3 months a year. I will keep living in this part of the country at least 3 years more, and then I would move 1.5 hours away to a city that is in a much higher altitude where it almost never gets over 70F° (actually the rancher is near that other city). So I believe it would be ok. Also I work 15min on foot of my work so if the temperature starts to going up suddenly I can come home and turn the air conditioner on.