Buying to Give a better home??

[TicsMom90]

There is a pet store down the steet that has these 2 chins caged with a big rabbit. The chins have an orange water bottle which is only orange because of rust. The whole mouth piece is rusted. There is moldy poop beside the cage. They have nothing to chew on except for plastic things. They have no dust. They look horrible. So anyways my ? is, do you guys belive in buying chins for $115 a piece just to know that they have a better life.

[critterrx]

I would. I'd hate to give the money to somebody who is treating the chins like that, but at least the chins wouldn't be mistreated any longer.

[TicsMom90]

Maybe I can try to raise some money by making some hammocks or selling feed or supplement. Then I tehnically wwont be giving money to them.

[Wootie]

That is just terrible! ugh... the poor chins! I'd have to agree with Critterx... My heart is breaking just hearing about it. I hate to see chins in that kind of situation. well... in ANY bad situation.

[Lauren_201]

I would if I had the money.

[ChillaAddict]

I totally agree with buying those chins, but thought I'd throw out another view:

If you buy those 2 chins, aren't you just giving the pet store $230 to buy more chins to put in filthy conditions? I would maybe call Animal Control on the pet store, to prevent them from housing/selling chins every again! :(

[TicsMom90]

Yes I plan on that. I dont think theyll be buyinging anymore chins. These have been there for awhile. I think the female since its a "breeding pair" as they call it is pregnant. I held her today and she had a really firm bellly and nipples. I hate some petstores.

[dawn]

I am guilty of it, Rocco was in the Modesto ***** for 9 months during which I bought him toys that I donated to them to give him and after telling John every weekend how Rocco was at the ***** he went down and bought him and brought him home to me. John also got kicked out of the ***** during the transaction and I was told not to come back.

[OnyxChins]

A petstore is a business. They purchase these animals to sell and make a profit. Yes, you would 'save' these chins, but this will only send the message to the owners of the petstore that Chinchillas are profitable for them to sell and they will purchase more, which will go into the same environment which these are in. As much as you may like, you probably don't have the money and cage space to purchase every chinchilla this store decides to carry now and in the future.

Rather than purchase them, I'd try to talk to them about the animals condition. Explain proper care to them and see how they respond. Suggest giving them dust bathes for their fur. Housing them AWAY from the rabbit since they can get sick. Proper food and hay. Express your concern for the rusted bottle and the water quality they are being offered. Visit them at a later date and check in. If the conditions are the same, have another talk with them, but stay polite yet firm. The longer the chinchillas are there, the more they will realize that they aren't as profitable as they might have hoped and they could possibly decide not to sell them in the store any more in the future OR correct their living conditions to an acceptable level of care with your persistance. This would be the best gift you could give to these and future chinchillas this store may carry. Just my opinion.

[RichInGB]

I have bad will power in situations like that myself. A couple things i'd do first 1. Talk to the manager or owner and ask them if they're getting any more. 2. Print off literature online and bring it to them and read things to them that point out the things that they're doing wrong.

If you don't see any changes, offer to pay cost for them. Don't let them make a profit. If they won't budge on the price, in a subtle way, say they're puting their health and lives in danger and you're willing to give them a good home. If worse comes to worse, threaten to go to the local animal shelter and report them. I've done that before and got positive responses from stores. Even though shelters probably won't do anything, they could point you in the right directions and help you.

Rich