Pet-store Irresponsibility!!!

[Tails]

I have another thread I posted yesterday in "Anatomy". It explains how I read a thread where a girl learned the pet-store sold her a male and it turned out to be a female! I thought it would be good to check my pet-store chin and so I went to a link on "sexing chins". I thought Tails was a female by looking at pics and comparing her with her brothers. I went to the vet today and she confirmed it!

I went to the pet store and they didn't even care, they said that they get chins young and their genitals aren't formed yet and so they can't tell. Which is so untrue! :angry: I told them I could give them info. and pics on how to sex their future chins so someone else didn't end up in this situation and they said "No". :banghead: They don't even care, they said that their animals are sold with a policy that the sex isn't guaranteed. It sounded like he was making it up because I told him I wanted to see this written policy and he wasn't sure where he kept it.

The thing is I bought Tails two brothers from ChinParkPlace(wanted chins from a reputable breeder) as I thought he was male. I could've bought two sisters! Now the three are separated and they really all loved one another and it seems so sad, Tails is all by herself again. I have to buy her a roomate now as I feel horrible, after all it isn't her fault. :(

The vet said she didn't think Tails was preganant and she has been in the cage with her two brothers since Oct. Now I saw all of them humping I think in Jan. The vet said if she had gotten preganant then you'd be able to feel the lumps, is this true? It could be me but it seems that Tails is also eating a lot more lately, do they do that right away if they're pregnant? Thanks, if someone can help?

[NeighbrGrlsPets]

I generally don't try to palpate my females, because I'm not experienced with doing so, but have been shown how to do it. I generally notice eating more and weight gain withing 2-3 weeks. But, with every chinchilla that can very. It may be useful to buy a scale if you don't already have one.

[foxbite2]

I'm in the same boat you're in.. my son brought home an "alleged" male chin from a pet store that turned out to be a female... not only did they get her sex wrong, but we feel that they lied about her age... they told us "he" was only 8 weeks old, but we just picked up a 3 1/2 month old last week that is tinier then our first one was when she was supposed to be 8 weeks. I was worried at first because she had been in the same cage with another huge male and I was afraid at first she might have gotten pregnant by him. I feel bad for your little female that you had to take her away from her little playmates and now she is in a cage by herself. I would have to go buy another chin too... guess we both learned the hard way.. buy from a reputable breeder. we made sure our newest arrival was from a good breeder.

[Kelley]

What a horrible situation. I can't believe that pet stores get away with this. Isn't there some sort of authority (like animal control) that would prohibit this.
I'm a fiesty woman. I'd probably call the local TV station and give the pet store a bad name.
I know that they are exotic animals. But the Honda dealership isn't gonna sell you a toyota and try to pass it off as a civic...ya know? And these are living beings we're talking about here.
It makes me sick, really sick.
I'm so sorry to hear of this predicament.
Good luck to all of you who have made the mistake of trying to rescue a chin from a pet shop.

[candlelight]

Well since this is in debate i will throw in my two cents. Just for the records, i work in a pet store, and these threads also makes me reply just to give people a minute to think from the other direction.

On the side of the pet store, most pet stores DO NOT guarentee sex with animals, because with certain animals (such as bunnies) when you get them at 8 weeks it IS too hard to tell. Now with chins it is easy, but with bunnys you have to push on the genitals. Therefore it is harder to tell. There is no ease with a space or not a space with certain animals. The guarantee doesn't need to be in writting. Now, if they didn't state it when selling the animal, or their isn't a sign then you have something to go after. But it's just like the "keep fingers and objects out of the cage" sign. I can't tell you how many idiots daily put their fingers in the cage, and get bit by a parrot. Then they claim they didn't see the sign, so they basically tell us we have to hold each one of our customers hands.

Did you ask for someone that owns or has a lot of experiance with chinchillas? Or even someone framiliar with them? If you just asked the employee that walked into the room, well then I can't say much for you. You really can't be mad. There are employees that work there that can tell you each fish and every scientific name to it, but if they are just checking to make sure all the customers are fine, and get jumped with chin questions well what can they do? See and this is the part where you both are at fault. You should have asked for someone knowledgeable about chinchillas and they should have asked to go find someone who knew for sure.

The age issue. Sometimes people jump and say it was the pet stores fault. Well not all the time. We buy animals from breeders. Sometimes the breeders lie about the animals age. I know breeders that will lie about the animals age, because we won't take older animals. Yes there ARE bad breeders out there guys! I also know of breeders that lie about their chin colors, and when confronted they tell us we know nothing :|

Animal control can't punish a pet store for sexing an animal wrong. That's actually kind of silly. I've sexed baby rats wrong before on accident at my home. It happens. Am i going to get the aspca after me? No. Now if the chin was sitting in 3-4 inches of feces and urine, and was missing half of its fur due to terrible skin condition and had dirty stale water then i can see you complaining to a tv station.

Overall, sometimes people can over react about the pet stores. The pet store i work at takes great care of our animals. And trust me, i'm not just saying that, i hate my job there :( We clean small animal and birds cages everyday, they get fresh water twice daily and fresh food once daily. We siphon out the fish tanks and scrap for algae DAILY, we clean reptiles cages about once a week or more when needed. That is honestly better care than what a lot of people take of their pets in their own home. Which is upsetting.

End of the line, flame against terrible pet stores all you want. But i think we should support the good ones. There are very few out there, and they are just a business trying to make a living. As far as the quality of the animals go, they are sold as pets. Happy healthy fun loving pets. Not show quality pelts of fur.

I'm sorry this post was somewhat snappy, it's just upsetting to see all my hours spent at a hardworking job shot down by someone upset because someone made a mistake.

[Nel]

You may not have to buy her a room mate. If she has babies and has a female you can just keep them together :)

[Tails]

Well since this is in debate i will throw in my two cents. Just for the records, i work in a pet store, and these threads also makes me reply just to give people a minute to think from the other direction.

On the side of the pet store, most <a style='text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 3px double;' href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=22&k=pet%20stores" onmouseover="window.status='pet stores'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">pet stores</a> DO NOT guarentee sex with animals, because with certain animals (such as bunnies) when you get them at 8 weeks it IS too hard to tell. Now with chins it is easy, but with bunnys you have to push on the genitals. Therefore it is harder to tell. There is no ease with a space or not a space with certain animals. The guarantee doesn't need to be in writting. Now, if they didn't state it when selling the animal, or their isn't a sign then you have something to go after. But it's just like the "keep fingers and objects out of the cage" sign. I can't tell you how many idiots daily put their fingers in the cage, and get bit by a parrot. Then they claim they didn't see the sign, so they basically tell us we have to hold each one of our customers hands.

Did you ask for someone that owns or has a lot of experiance with chinchillas? Or even someone framiliar with them? If you just asked the employee that walked into the room, well then I can't say much for you. You really can't be mad. There are employees that work there that can tell you each fish and every scientific name to it, but if they are just checking to make sure all the customers are fine, and get jumped with chin questions well what can they do? See and this is the part where you both are at fault. You should have asked for someone knowledgeable about chinchillas and they should have asked to go find someone who knew for sure.

The age issue. Sometimes people jump and say it was the pet stores fault. Well not all the time. We buy animals from breeders. Sometimes the breeders lie about the animals age. I know breeders that will lie about the animals age, because we won't take older animals. Yes there ARE bad breeders out there guys! I also know of breeders that lie about their chin colors, and when confronted they tell us we know nothing :|

Animal control can't punish a pet store for sexing an animal wrong. That's actually kind of silly. I've sexed baby rats wrong before on accident at my home. It happens. Am i going to get the aspca after me? No. Now if the chin was sitting in 3-4 inches of feces and urine, and was missing half of its fur due to terrible skin condition and had dirty stale water then i can see you complaining to a tv station.

Overall, sometimes people can over react about the pet stores. The pet store i work at takes great care of our animals. And trust me, i'm not just saying that, i hate my job there :( We clean small animal and birds cages everyday, they get fresh water twice daily and fresh food once daily. We siphon out the <a style='text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 3px double;' href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=22&k=fish%20tanks" onmouseover="window.status='fish tanks'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">fish tanks</a> and scrap for algae DAILY, we clean reptiles cages about once a week or more when needed. That is honestly better care than what a lot of people take of their pets in their own home. Which is upsetting.

End of the line, flame against terrible pet stores all you want. But i think we should support the good ones. There are very few out there, and they are just a business trying to make a living. As far as the quality of the animals go, they are sold as pets. Happy healthy fun loving pets. Not show quality pelts of fur.

I'm sorry this post was somewhat snappy, it's just upsetting to see all my hours spent at a hardworking job shot down by someone upset because someone made a mistake.

Sorry, I really am. I only labelled the thread as "pet-store irresponsibility" becasue it suited the situation. I'm not criticizing all pet-stores I'm just frustrated with this ones non-chalant attitude toward the situation. I had read up on chinchillas before I bought my first chin from there. I however didn't think to turn her over and make sure it was a boy. I went to the store many times to view all the chins before I decided on him. I asked the girl if they were all males in the cage and she said yes. Then when I went to the checkout I asked again to make sure and she said yes and said "see it's right on the receipt as "Male"." Maybe they do have a policy on not guaranteeing the sex I just found it funny that he couldn't produce it as he wasn't sure where it was wrtitten. Also he was supposed to call me by 6pm tonight after he talked to the district manager on this situation and he didn't. I'm not saying all pet-stores are bad I'm just not impressed with how the situation was handled when I spoke with the manager in charge and he didn't care one bit. Another thing that annoyed me is that I offered to give him pics and info. on how to sex chins in the future so this doesn't happen and he said "no". I just feel that this pet-store doesn't know much about chinchillas and so they should be in a store that does. I understand your point though and I don't dispute that you don't work hard, taking care of so many animals would be a tough job for anyone. The pet-store across the street from me does and excellent job and I now go there, they take really good care of the animals and are helpful. That's the way all should be but unfortunately it just isn't so..

[chinchilla_boy]

I know that they are exotic animals. But the Honda dealership isn't gonna sell you a toyota and try to pass it off as a civic...ya know? And these are living beings we're talking about here.
It makes me sick, really sick.
I'm so sorry to hear of this predicament.


HaHa! :laugh: I do love the Honda example as it is a perfect example afterall. I've replayed this scenario many times in my head and can sympathize with you. The way I look at it, is if a pet store and it's employees are not knowledgeable enough to know the sex of the animal, then they shouldn't be selling pets in the first place, in my opinion. That is like a chinchilla breeder saying they don't guarantee the sex of the animal. How long do you think they would really last? It is also like a manufacturer that gives you a very short warranty as opposed to a different manufacturer that gives you a long one. Anyone who stands behind their product the longest is a customer of mine. Why would anyone buy from a business that doesn't have faith in their own product? :confused: There is much more to doing business than the final transaction and money exchanging hands. A lot of satisfied customers and repeat business is based on what happens many months after the transaction and not during the actual sale! Any seller can put on a smiley face to get your money, but where are they to be found after the sale??

I'm not much of a gambler, but the odds of an animal being bought is close to 50/50 being a male or female, and based on these odds, pet store employees will stare at customers with a straight face and say its a male or female with confidence without having a clue. Can you blame them? Probably not, since the odds are equal in that they will be right or wrong. I remember being with one of my friends when he bought a guinea pig and he asked the employee to give him the proper food and to sex the animal. The employee didn't even look at the animal and said its a male! To this day it's still up in the air whether Sandy is a "he" or a "she", hehe. And the only food my friend was given were el' cheapo pellets and not even a whisper that guinea pigs eat hay/grass!

All you need to be employed in a pet store is a heartbeat, a willingness to work minimum wage, and reliable transportation! The requirements of being a respectable breeder is much more vast, therefore, animals should really be bought through a respectable breeder.

The excuse that every future pet owner should know everything about the animal being purchased doesn't fly with me. Anyone selling an animal should be able to explain to a customer how to properly care for the animal being purchased, regardless if the future pet owner knows everything about the animal anyways. Future pet owners should not be used as a scapegoat to get unknowledgeable pet store employees off the hook!

Also, the people who run businesses are supposed to be hiring people who are smarter than they are, to ensure a smoother and more profitable running business. Less babysitting is the positive result when people underneath you are smart and know what they are doing. Unfortunatley, this is not always the case and retail stores such as pet stores is the perfect example. Do you honestly think business owners really know anything about their business and product without being on the front lines every day? Most likely not. I couldn't even imagine the president of Petco or Petsmart even knowing 1% of the species they sell and giving a hoot!

But of course, with anything there are going to be anomalies, and some pet stores out there do run a very tight ship and I do applaude them :applause: , but they are far and few between!

[candlelight]

It's okay tails, its hard for me not to "blow up" in these types of threads. I am sorry for coming off snotty or anything of the sort.

Anything to consider for the people who say they don't like pet stores selling animals. You'd be surprised how many people come in (mainly with hamsters or gerbils) and say if we don't take the animals, they will let them go outside. It's about 12 degrees here right now. I used to hate pet stores for selling animals too. But now working in one i understand that half of the time we are SAVING these animals LIVES and placing them in better homes. All the animals that come in we check over completely.

And on a happy note, here is a happy ending story..

One woman brought in a cat that had ringworm. With our cats we stick them up in the hospital to make sure they are healthy enough to sell. Well turns out 7 or 8 employees including myself (but not nearly severe as some) bursted out with ringworm. A guy bought a kitten that was housed in the same room at the same time but wasn't showing signs. We thought she was cleared. Turns out she turned up with ringworm. Guy brought her back, her name was angel. We took her to the vet, got her clear of ringworm, paid for the vet bills, refunded the guys money and gave the guy the cat back because he loved her so much! Without a cent!

Maybe our pet store is the only one that are beyond a heartbeat, don't mind minimum wage and reliable transportation. Maybe our pet store has people who are knowledgeable and that care. But pssspt, we're a pet store. Only mindless druids work there that have never owned pets :)

[tunes]

Did you ask for someone that owns or has a lot of experiance with chinchillas? Or even someone framiliar with them? If you just asked the employee that walked into the room, well then I can't say much for you. You really can't be mad. There are employees that work there that can tell you each fish and every scientific name to it, but if they are just checking to make sure all the customers are fine, and get jumped with chin questions well what can they do? See and this is the part where you both are at fault. You should have asked for someone knowledgeable about chinchillas and they should have asked to go find someone who knew for sure.

This doesn't fly with me. You go to a pet store expecting questions answered and knowledgeable people. I don't expect to walk into a pet store and have someone say - duh, I don't know, gee I don't know. Then why are you there? The one I used to get shavings and dog food from had very knowledgeable people working there. They could tell me which dog food was good, which was bad, and literature to back it up. If I had a different species question, she referred me to the appropriate person. If you are going to work in a specialized store, why is it not your business to know everything you can about what goes on there?

Another one I went to I looked at the rat tanks. I asked the woman if she had sexed them. I've had rats for over 20 years. It's pretty darn hard to mis-sex a rat, especially one that is two months old. I'm sorry, but those goolies are right out there in front of God and everybody. I asked her AGAIN if they had been sexed. Yes, she did it that morning. I said then that girl has the most swollen rectum I have ever seen, because she's dragging very testicle like objects behind her. She had three males in with five females. That is pure carelessness. She never sexed them, she threw them in the tank. Why lie?

As far as it being the buyer's fault, no, it's the pet store employee's fault. Instead of trying to be important and act like he/she knew all - she should have simply said "I have no clue. Let me find someone for you who does." Why should the person buying the pet have to go from employee to employee asking that type of question? Going back to the car dealership (cute BTW!) - if I want to know about the particulars of a car, they darn well better know it or find me someone who does.

Sadly - I agree, it is silly to expect animal control to step up to the plate here. Maybe if they DID take a more active role in the overall care provided by pet stores and their activities, there'd be less bad ones and more of the good ones mentioned above.

Chinchilla boy - Great post.