Pet shops :(

[tigafer]

I am so mad! Someone on my Facebook just posted saying they had an interview at Jollyes and I commented saying if you get the job pleeaaase stop letting them use the fluffy cotton bedding in the cages and someone else replied being really defensive saying that they work there and basically I have no idea what I am talking about and that they LOVE it. What is wrong with pet shops and their lack of education for their staff? Why do they even stock it? It takes two seconds on google to find hundreds of posts and articles explaining exactly why it shouldn't be used! I couldn't even be bothered to reply to her ignorance, they probably think the cages they sell are big enough aswell.
Sorry just had to vent somewhere where people actually understood what I'm talking about!

[Hekomi]

A lot of pet stores just don't have the education. If the products are made, why shouldn't they be safe? Of course this isn't the truth, as many products which are unsafe are made. Hamsters do love the cotton bedding, so it's easy to see why they think using it would be good. "They love being snuggled up, it helps them make a nest". I thought it was good when I was 8 (over 15 years ago) and used it all the time with my hamster. We never had problems with it actually.

The lady I adopted our latest hamster from, Coffee, who's a 2yr old dwarf came with cotton bedding. She is a pet health specialist at a really great, I think, small pet business. Even still she had no idea. A lot of these employees know a lot about dogs, or cats. Maybe fish or birds. There is very little expertise in small critters, especially up here, and a lot of them don't really care.

Their managers, who probably do love animals, but may just be there for a job, have been told that this product is good for hamsters. The bags says that it's good. I can see why they don't understand.

It would take an entire product recall, or huge public outcry to stop it. And unfortunately with how spread out even our population is here, I don't see that happening. I'd love to see our pet stores not use mesh wheels, or not sell crittertrail or habitrail cages... but they do anyways. They're appealing for younger kids and they make money off them.

Unfortunate, but there's not much you can do. Good on you for telling them about the dangers, but a lot of people will stick their noses to it and go with what "they know" which isn't always right.

It's a pretty lose-lose situation, but that's how I see it. You just have to hope that the adoptees of the hamsters will do more research than those selling.

[CPalmer]

So maddening! Link in a good (bad) article reporting the danger of death due to getting wound on teeth etc. They all need a good shaking and a new education.

[tigafer]

I just loved that she assumed she knew so much more than me just because she works there and wasn't even open to my opinion.
I always shove it all at the back and put the tissue bedding at the front, I am the bedding vigilante muahaha

[Hekomi]

Some people are just like that, and nothing you do will shake them. My brother and sister-in-law are like that with their kids/dog. Yes... yes... please tell me more about how it's perfectly acceptable your 2 year old dog still uses a pee pad and barks her head off every morning at 4am. I loved hearing her songs when I was so busy doing my master's program!

But yeah, I try to just inform people when I do go to the store. I have some sort of "talk to me!" sign above my head (I think it comes from being a tour guide and interpreter in museums, etc.) so people will see me browsing the hamster aisles and just happily come and talk to me and ask my recommendations. Considering how hard it is to find an employee anyways in chain stores it helps. Sometimes if I see people struggling on water bottles, or something, I'll pop my head over and tell them "if you're looking for a hamster, I use XYZ".

I usually speak with people at least once or more every visit and generally I can drill a bit more sense into them than the employees.

My only real gripe is the lack of education on products for size, diabetes prone dwarfs, the fluffy bedding and then the use of mesh wheels in the display tanks.

[hamtastic1]

I guess ITE like supermarkets selling junk food for kids and dogs. There is still demand for the products by uneducated consumers, a fight that can never be won

[icklemunch]

Originally Posted by tigafer

I just loved that she assumed she knew so much more than me just because she works there and wasn't even open to my opinion.
I always shove it all at the back and put the tissue bedding at the front, I am the bedding vigilante muahaha

Haha this made me laugh .
I'm going to do this next time i'm in!!

[Hekomi]

Originally Posted by icklemunch

Haha this made me laugh .
I'm going to do this next time i'm in!!

Is it easier to access the hams in the stores where you are? I have to ask the employee to unlock the box so I can look at them.

[icklemunch]

Originally Posted by Hekomi

Is it easier to access the hams in the stores where you are? I have to ask the employee to unlock the box so I can look at them.

The same they usually have locked tanks.

I was meaning the fluffy bedding on the shop shelves for sale.

[Hekomi]

Ohhhhhhh. It's usually not too easy to hide here, haha. I try to steer people towards carefresh and say "hey did you know you can just use toilet paper and it's so easy!" and then they usually are like "ooooh" and put down the fluff, lol!