Our pet shop

Pebbles82 · 11-10-2015, 07:38 AM

I'm just wondering if I should subtly try to educate our pet shop owner! I called in today as I was passing. I didn't really need anything but thought I'd see what hamster food they have in. The lady who runs it is so nice but comes out with things that make me cringe! She tried to sell me a packed of Burgess dwarf hamster food saying it's probably ok for a larger hamster too.

She clearly loves animals and hamsters and cares about them and has had 15 herself at one time. I bought a mini igloo for out of cage playtime. We had a chat about houses - I said Charlie had had a pod house from the hamster heaven at first but it was too small. And now he had a big house with his potty inside and I only needed to do a clean once a month. She said they always tell people to clean every week. I said - it tends to stay dry when he uses the potty and he always got stressed when I cleaned the cage. She seemed quite thoughtful at this and said yes if he uses a potty it would keep cleaner wouldn't it. She hadn't heard of the hamster heaven. I'd said he was so big and I had so much stuff in the cage I was thinking of getting a bigger one - she then said she had some big cages in and showed me a tall one that was about 40cm square. I changed the subect!

I talked about an alternative to Harry Hamster as Charlie was leaving bits and she said they do tend to leave the logs but we just fill the bowl up every day - showed me a full hamster bowl - and then said - and put some chocolate drops on top to give them a treat. Which I guess is ok but there was a huge pile of chocolate drops on top!

It's not a bad pet shop really and although the hamsters are in small tanks (about 60cm) they have a cardboard tube and plenty of bedding. They only ever have a couple and there was a lovely grey coloured Syrian having a wash in his nest. I so wanted to get him when she said he had been there for quite a while and was an adult now.

So when she looked confused and said she hadn't heard of a hamster heaven, I was just wondering if I should go back and suggests she gets one in stock to sell to people. (I think the hamster heaven comes with a potty too doesn't it?)

What do you reckon?

BrainGirl · 11-10-2015, 07:48 AM

Can't hurt! You're lucky though, you can actually get the Hamster Heaven. Which is why I'm surprised that you still have shops that sell tiny cages. It just seems that everyone over there would choose it having the option! I'm not so surprised to see tiny cages here because we just don't have them. At one time the Zoozone cages were available but they're not any longer. People here just aren't ready to accept that hamsters have greater needs.

flowerfairy · 11-10-2015, 07:54 AM

Our local pet shop is run by a lady who clearly loves her animals (not a hamster person though). They have loads of great toys and always have decent food for all species but the cages are totally minute.

Sad isnt it?

Pebbles82 · 11-10-2015, 08:28 AM

It certainly is! And it's weird! Savic make all kinds of cages yet they don't have them in small local pet shops. All I can assume is that local pet shops buy supplies in the Uk whereas larger stores can ship things in from Belgium (where Savic is based). So the cages sold in pet shops are uk made, unheard of crappy little things! She does actually have a pink zooone 1 in stock but she said that was for a rabbit!

Shannonmcn · 11-10-2015, 08:41 AM

The thought of a RABBIT in a zoozone 1 is simultaneously hilarious and really depressing.

I don't know that independent shops could afford to sell the bigger cages and make any money, if Amazon are selling the hamster heaven at £65 then for a little pet store to make any money (even if they get Savic to supply and ship them which they might not unless it's a big bulk order and those things don't flat pack!) they would need to have the price point way above that. I always thought that if I was a pet shop owner I would get really good at making neat and tidy bin cages and sell those for like £25.

Pebbles82 · 11-10-2015, 08:50 AM

That's a good point - they'd probably need to buy them in bulk. I think people might pay the higher price as most cages are bought simultaneously with the hamster and a bit impulse - rather than go away and check out the prices on the internet and have all the hassle of delivery and possible damage.

But you're right there may be a big mark-up on these rubbish little tall cages - they could be very cheap to produce.

Shannonmcn · 11-10-2015, 08:58 AM

Yeah those small cages seem to fall into the £25-35 category, looking at p@h anyway, just enough to seem like you're not being cheap but not enough that you'll feel the need to think about it and come back and if that happens you might Google it and find out you're being ripped off. When I think about the fact you pay as much for a tiny pet shop cage as you do for an alaska I get so annoyed

velma · 11-10-2015, 09:01 AM

I was about to say the same - we have certain things where I work that it's just too expensive for us to get in because either a) we can't sell it at a competitive price or b)the company requires a minimum order. And the other thing is that with small pets, what's understood to be good for them is changing all the time. Maybe you could print SynNix's sheet about suitable housing to take in to show her. No need to be preachy but just take the approach that as she seemed interested when you were chatting, she might be interested to see the variety of cages out there, as researched by a hamster rescue. Hopefully she'll notice the common sizing. It's not necessarily that she'll be able to stock them but might make for better advice she can give her customers. Same with all those info sheets actually.

Pebbles82 · 11-10-2015, 09:37 AM

That's a good idea - although I guess it would be being a bit preachy! I think initially I was thinking if I could get her interested in the Hamster Heaven as a cage sold as suitable for hamsters, she might stock them, but it probalby isn't viable for her. I might take her a picture of it though as it was mentioned during our conversation (and a list of wholesalers!). But - if it has taken her months to not sell one syrian hamster (the only hamster in the shop right now) I guess she isn't going to be keen on stocking many cages at all. But - one hamster needs one cage - so maybe.

Bertiebobbins · 11-10-2015, 10:01 AM

I could have written this about my local independent pet shop too, they're so well meaning but they drive me mad. They have the best selection of stuff in the area - toys, wheels, food, bedding, big cages, etc etc etc. We got little Bertie from there. I got my first small pets from there nearly 30 years ago! The animals are all looked after well, they obviously love them and look after them and on the odd occasion an animal doesnt sell, they take it home to add to their menagerie.

The things that have made my heart sink though are:

1. They have six or seven decent sized cages in the shop yet they pointed me away from them when I bought Bertie and convinced me to buy a far too small one.
2. They sold me fluffy bedding telling me it was the best cosiest one there was.
3. When I went in for a big Trixie wheel three members of staff ganged up on me telling me it was the wrong size wheel and I needed a much, much smaller one.
4. I went in to see what 100cm cages they could order me for the hams, because i want to support my local independent, and the owner tried to convince me I was after a cage that was simply too big and too expensive and pointed me to the smaller cages. I ended up ordering from zooplus instead.

Now we have reached an impasse - they think I'm barmy and make no secret of it, and I make a big song and dance about how big Nibble is whenever I buy anything rat size for him. They think I am mad when I buy Whimzees for them. They do not believe he can possibly be that big because hamsters aren't that big.

We go in there quite often so I think in time I will get to know them well enough to start addressing some of their 80s knowledge!