Chinese and Pet Stores

[jenmac_85]

I have just read the previous post and although I skimmed through it I did pick up on the mention of a lack of certain hamsters in Pets At Home and local Pet stores.



I used to work in my local Pets At Home (had to leave when I began my course) and we always had a wide variety of hamster breeds in, although I never felt that some of the staff were fully trained in identifying the species of hamster which they were selling and therefore unable to tell the customer he exact needs of the hamster.



Although I was a member of the livestock team, supervising at the weekend I always felt that more training was needed in handling and care techniques.



I just took home three chinese hamsters and was quite concerened .Does anyone else feel this way or had bad experiences at pet stores.

[SnuggleHam]

I’m here in the US and most the time at any pet store I feel the staff needs to be more trained in being able to sex animals and also be able to differentiate breeds of animals (rodents)



In most cases they just ask if you have a cage for it, and it you owned one before and send you home with a very basic "care sheet" and I don’t think most people go more out of their way to research more about their pet online.



Iv only ever seen one Chinese hamster up close and personal and it was in a large chain pet store here called PetsMart.



Welcome to the forum by the way, I hope you will post an intro and maybe some pics of your hams

[Emma]

My experience of pet shop staff & hamsters is very bad - many didn't know the different species and couldn't sex the animals. Hamsters dying less than a week after purchase, the shop saying it was a one-off, and me later hearing that 2 other hamsters had died similarly in the same 2-week period. P@H in particular has some questionable practices - keeping gpigs & rabbits together, and selling too-small cages as "starter packs". Staff generally have inadequate knowledge about the animals and care of them too. I dealt with one case at a P@H where a rat had got loose overnight and got into all the other small animal tanks - rat could get in & out but the hams etc couldn' - I think we ended up putting down around 20 injured hamsters. Obviously better caging could have prevented that.



There are exceptions - when I worked as a vet nurse the local P@H bought their animals to us, there was one staff member who was very knowledgable and was excellent with all the animals. She left to pursue a career as a VN I think.



On the hamster front, my local P@H usually only stocks syrians, campbells and roborovskis. I read a post on a different forum by someone who bought a pair of robos from a P@H, and managed to get them charged as chinese, which were cheaper, and the member of staff didn't know any better!



I've only seen chinese in one pet shop, never in a P@H.



So generally, I assume pet shop staff know nothing about the animals they are selling. I don't mind that, but it doesn't make me want to support P@H, I worry about the standards of care. I also worry that unsuspecting customers will take the advice of the staff as gospel.

[amnerisryn]

I agree with Emma and Candace on pet stores needing much more training and knowledge about the animals they stock.



Sometimes I have problems with my local PetsMart. Don't get me wrong, sometimes they do a great job and with some of the other animals like the reptiles and fish (bettas excluded) and will monitor and tend to them like they should. However with their smaller animals they fall short of my *sky high* expectations. For example my store is really bad to house different species of dwarf hamsters together (such as two adult chinese and a litter of baby campbells ) . I've also gotten into arguments with staff members over the sex of some of the animals, particularly the previously mentioned set up of a breeding pair of chinese with about four baby campbells. It's not that difficult to notice testicles and the lack thereof in Chinese. Especially when they're having sex. The response I got to mentioning they had a breeding pair was "oh, they do that all the time, they're just playing." I was so tempted to adopt the two but as I'm definately not exeperienced with housing for baby hams (and I didn't atm have the housing available) I decided against it. I went back a couple of days later to see if they were there and to purchase them if they were but they had both been sold along with two of the four baby campbells. I doubt anyone mentioned one might be pregnant and I feel sorry for the unsuspecting owner.



I've complained and several other customers have complained (especially one mother who's child was given a 'birds and bees' lesson, if you know what I mean ) but it doesn't seem to help. And short of buying them out of hamsters (which would only perpetuate the problem) I don't really know what to do except maybe write letters of complaint to pet store headquarters rationalizing the delemma.



Out of curiosity, Jenmac, are your Chinese mixed sex and what are your plans to house them? I'm currently owned by one Chinese--his royalness Tinklepaugh--and I expect to own another four or five more but I'm not sure as to group or solo housing. I'd love to hear about your experiences with your hammies.

[jenmac_85]

Hi amnerisryn,



Most of my experience with Hamsters has been while working in Pets At Home. As the livestock supervisor at weekends, I had to ensure that all animals were healthy and that any that were up for sale, were suitable to be sold.



I currently own three females who so far have been no trouble at all. They have the odd squabble, but they are usually over a peanut or banana chip!!



When working in PAH, I always found that the Males were less quarrellsome that the females, however the chinese in general were more likely to fight than other hamster species. I always tried to ensure that no more than 4 were in one of the front cages (cages used to sell hamsters) at a a time.



I house my three females together, but they have a Rotastak system that I can easily separate into three cages if I have to. All my animals are housed in pairs or colonies as unless the animal lives on its own all the time in the wild I am not keen on housing them on their own as pets.



As for the pet stores, there is not alot that can be done. The UK's animal welfare centres are quite helpful and regulary check stores, but even if they observe an act of animal cruelty they can not arrest, only report the incident and hope for a prosecution. I dont know what the situation is in the US, but it may be fairly similar.



What concerns me the most is the handling of the animals when they are delivered to the store. The breeder who supplied the store I worked in was quite happy to use large oven gloves and grab, then throw the hamsters into cages. Eventually I took two members of staff with me when the animal delivery arrived so I could be sure the animals were transported quickly and as stressfree as possible. Unfortunately, this is the area the public never sees.



Anyway, after my rant, with regard to housing, I would not mix newly purchased hamsters with presently owned hamsters, no mixed sexes and separate your hammies if there is any sign of violence. I have been fortunate so far in that I havent had any bad experiences with hamsters, but only time will tell with the three young ladies I have now.



How old is your chinese? I hardly hear of anyone owning them, only on these forums, which is quite sad as they are delightful wee things. Have you any tips about them? I am always willing to learn somehting new

[amnerisryn]

Tinklepaugh is almost 8 months old, or so I speculate. He's housed by himself at the moment though he has a great veiw of his neighbor, my betta Lutador.



Tinky's a bit territorial with his things. He hates me moving stuff around when I clean his cage and will make an awful rukus putting stuff back the way he wants it. He's quite fond of nuts, unsalted and not roasted, especially walnuts (not too many and not black walnuts because they have given him diahrrea), peanuts, and pine nuts (cooked). Also dog biscuits and strawberries which my roommates have used to spoil him.



Tinky has a habit of 'scenting' his exercise wheel and I have to wash it between cage cleanings lest it become potent. I don't know if the females would have the same problem or not though. I also have to handle him at least daily because I've noticed him becoming hand shy if I don't handle him for more than two days.



I'm not sure how the woman has the other Chinese housed. I have enough for five solo housings or if they go in groups I can connect them with tubes and couplings. Other than transporting them, I think I'm all set.



I can't wait to hear more about your girls. Are they your only hamsters or do you have more or other pets?

[jenmac_85]

My hamsters early risers, and as we speak teasing my cat by sitting in the tube which overhangs my shelving unit and watching him.

They love Milk and Honey drops as well as the Nibble treats that they get.



Apart from the 3 girlies I have, I am also the proud owner of 3 Goldfish - one has 1 eye, one has one front fin and the other looks rather swollen for a fancy goldfish so I rehomed them all from my former workplace as they probably would not have sold simply because they didnt look like a conventional goldfish. Humphrey is my 9 year cat which we also re-homed. He is a wee monkey and loves nothing more than to wait for you and pounce when you least expect it.



I also have two Australian Parakeets (also rehomed) called Ruby and Madge. Ruby is a female Barraband and Madge is a male Golden Mantelled Rosella. We didnt know Madges sex before we got him and my step-dad insisted on the name Madge!!!! They have both formed a lovely birdy bond and Madge is constantly feeding Ruby which has led to her being slightly overweight, but at least she is better condition than when we first got her.



I have the same problem with the wheel and the smell. I have to wash it daily as it just builds up, but they only do this with one wheel for some reason.



Do you put your hammy in a ball. I havent decided whether I will use one or not.

[amnerisryn]

Originally Posted by jenmac_85

Do you put your hammy in a ball. I havent decided whether I will use one or not.

I've got a Run-About ball that Tinky used when he was smaller. I think it's a bit cramped for him now and I plan to upgrade to a larger one when I move from my apartment into my house. I think it's the 5" one and was perfect for Tinky when he was smaller but since he's grown I don't use it much anymore. When I lived with my parents the ball was great because they had hard wood floors and stone floors and Tinky could roll along quite easily. But in my apartment where there's mainly carpet it hasn't been all that useful.

[Amyst]

I used to have Chinese Hamsters, from PAH. They were really sweet, one little guy loved just running round my lap

[littlemissdwarfhamster]

I currently work at P@H. So heres the crack -

As the livestock supervisor at weekends

These do not exsist anymore, we have managers at staff, no supervisors anymore livestock or otherwise.

many didn't know the different species and couldn't sex the animals

In the first three months of working at P@H then you have to do a training book which including species identification and sexing.



If the staff member you are being dealt with does not know what you are asking, ask to speak to somebody else or a manager. If that stil doesnt meet your needs then ask for a customer service card and ring up our head office and state your concerns.

Hamsters dying less than a week after purchase

I hate to say this, but when you ask people about how they have been handling a hamster that has developed wet tail, and also ask them how long they have left it before seeking any help, the often it is not the pet stores fault.



Wet tail happens. This time of year it is awful. We always tell people not ot handle to hamster for 24hours and then to start handling slowly. But they come in a few days later and the hamster has been in the barbie house, in action mans truck, has been to visit her friend via a bus..... allsorts of stories we hear.

2 other hamsters had died similarly in the same 2-week period.

Yes wet tail can also be a problem coming from the breeder. This is why we have moved to central supply, so we know where any problems have come from. So far, I know in our store the amounts of cases of wet tail has gone down to zero since to swap. It is unfortunate though that you rarely just get one case of wet tail. If one hamster has it, you do find that often its cagemates come down with it aswell. So to loose three hamsters would be about the norm unfortunately.

keeping gpigs & rabbits together, and selling too-small cages as "starter packs"

These practises are done based on guidelines from the Pet Care Trust They issue minimum tanks sizes, cage stocking densities etc for whent he animals are both in and out of the store. So starter kits are based on what they say. There is a livestock research team at our head office which does look into these things. So until a pet governing body actually states by law that rabbits and gpigs cannot live together, or that minimum cage size has been increased, then the practises in place wont be changing.





Ok, thats the P@H story, not neccessarily my own personal views.



One thing that I do read alot about on the net is complaints about P@H, but the complainers never seem to do anything about it. I hear things like:



"the man didnt know what sex the pair were but I bought them anyways"

"the hamsters had no food or water and I was so upset I had to leave the shop"

"the person I spoke to didnt have a clue what I was asking, so I ust left"



This applies to any shop, not just P@H, if you are not getting the information you are asking for, then why dont you ask to speak to somebody else? If there is a problem, then why dont you ask to speak to the mamnger? If there is a serious problem then get in touch with our head office - the number is on little cards placed at the till point.



If the store isnt made aware of any problems, then how is it supposed to change? Its up to you the public to speak up if you see/hear something you dont like. That way it can be put right.



Our customer service department takes complaints/suggestions very seriously and will go out of their way to see something done about it. But unless the problems are pointed out, they wont change.



Sorry for my little rant there, but I am sick and tired of hearing people about pet shops on the net, when they havent actually done anything about it in reality. I know its easy to hide behind a pc screen to complain, but its not hard to speak up either.