LucksAngel28
10-16-2008, 05:13 AM
Hey everyone! I have a question about reporting poor pet store conditions. I am pretty sure this is more than enough reason to report, but I just wanted to check before I go "causing trouble."
There is a horrendous pet store near me. It is actually where I got my hedgies. The first one I got there was a sweet little boy I named Meeko. Unfortunately he was terminally ill with pneumonia when I got him. I took him to the first vet that would take him and he just gave me meds and false hope. I followed his instructions as well as the instructions on breeder/ hedgehog-specific websites perfectly, but he kept getting worse so I took him to another vet who had more experience with hedgehogs. He told me there was nothing that could have been done - I rescued him too late, so we eased the pain and I held him safe and warm until he crossed the rainbow bridge. I had only had him 3 weeks and was livid (I get attached to my pets just like humans), so I went to the pet store and complained and they gave me a "replacement," a little girl I named Maserati. They told me SHE was a boy. I took her to an exotics vet out of town right away and luckily we caught the infection in time and she is doing well now, though it has taken me all this time to improve her personality and trust from the trauma she had at the pet store. They also advised feeding them hedgehog or ferret food. (Yikes!)
This all took place in late November - early December last year (2007). I haven't been back since because it was all so traumatic, but finally today I went in while trying to find a travel cage. I was completely disgusted by the living arrangements: 2 hedgehogs in a glass approx. 1'x1.5' cage with almost no ventilation, Yesterday's News pellets for bedding, NO WHEEL, NO HIDING PLACES (they sell pigloos, wheels, tunnels, etc. in the store but don't have the decency to provide one for the animals in their care), 2 over sized bowls for food (Vitacrap, which one hedgie was sleeping in while the other was huddled in the corner) and water (which didn't look too fresh to me). Also, they don't handle the hedgehogs at all; I had to pick them up myself. I took a picture on my cell phone, but can't get it to send to my computer or I would share it. There was also a chinchilla in the cage above - same conditions but there was only 1 chin in the cage, scratching at the side of the cage in an attempt to get out and losing huge tufts of hair. I don't know much about chins, but I'm pretty sure this is not acceptable for them either. Also, when I got my hedgie about 10 months ago they were selling them for $120 and now they are $249 - for sick hedgies! Wish I could rescue them, too, but I just don't have the money, space, or time to take on more little ones (grad student living in small apartment).
So, all of that long novel to say - please tell me I can report them or do something about it! Not sure what the laws are about this stuff, if there are any; it is in Arkansas. If I can, who exactly do I report it to? The USDA? (Fyi - some of the USDA links in the FAQ section are broken.) Thanks!
There is a horrendous pet store near me. It is actually where I got my hedgies. The first one I got there was a sweet little boy I named Meeko. Unfortunately he was terminally ill with pneumonia when I got him. I took him to the first vet that would take him and he just gave me meds and false hope. I followed his instructions as well as the instructions on breeder/ hedgehog-specific websites perfectly, but he kept getting worse so I took him to another vet who had more experience with hedgehogs. He told me there was nothing that could have been done - I rescued him too late, so we eased the pain and I held him safe and warm until he crossed the rainbow bridge. I had only had him 3 weeks and was livid (I get attached to my pets just like humans), so I went to the pet store and complained and they gave me a "replacement," a little girl I named Maserati. They told me SHE was a boy. I took her to an exotics vet out of town right away and luckily we caught the infection in time and she is doing well now, though it has taken me all this time to improve her personality and trust from the trauma she had at the pet store. They also advised feeding them hedgehog or ferret food. (Yikes!)
This all took place in late November - early December last year (2007). I haven't been back since because it was all so traumatic, but finally today I went in while trying to find a travel cage. I was completely disgusted by the living arrangements: 2 hedgehogs in a glass approx. 1'x1.5' cage with almost no ventilation, Yesterday's News pellets for bedding, NO WHEEL, NO HIDING PLACES (they sell pigloos, wheels, tunnels, etc. in the store but don't have the decency to provide one for the animals in their care), 2 over sized bowls for food (Vitacrap, which one hedgie was sleeping in while the other was huddled in the corner) and water (which didn't look too fresh to me). Also, they don't handle the hedgehogs at all; I had to pick them up myself. I took a picture on my cell phone, but can't get it to send to my computer or I would share it. There was also a chinchilla in the cage above - same conditions but there was only 1 chin in the cage, scratching at the side of the cage in an attempt to get out and losing huge tufts of hair. I don't know much about chins, but I'm pretty sure this is not acceptable for them either. Also, when I got my hedgie about 10 months ago they were selling them for $120 and now they are $249 - for sick hedgies! Wish I could rescue them, too, but I just don't have the money, space, or time to take on more little ones (grad student living in small apartment).
So, all of that long novel to say - please tell me I can report them or do something about it! Not sure what the laws are about this stuff, if there are any; it is in Arkansas. If I can, who exactly do I report it to? The USDA? (Fyi - some of the USDA links in the FAQ section are broken.) Thanks!