pet sore vs. breeders

[gerbillover2000]

i have gotten all of my gerbils from a pet store.
jackie and flicka, had some trust issues but there ok now.
from breeders, they are used to people, but...

i like taming the gerbils myself, it seems more rewarding when they do trust you..
i want to know some peoples thought on this though...
so, what one to you prefer?

[mice]

What I would argue is that there are more reasons to buy your pets from a reputable breeder aside from the fact that they have been socialised to a better standard than in a pet shop. When you get your pets from a breeder you can be sure that your pet is healthy and they should have a good idea of the pet’s history/pedigree which means you can be sure there's no inbreeding for example.

That said, I did get my boys from a pet shop and I love them to bits but had I been able to locate a breeder near me at the time I was looking for gerbils, I would have defiantly gone to them as I do worry about my boys, they've very tiny, much smaller than I would have expected of a fully grown male so I wonder if they won't have health problems later in life.

I've been doing lots of reading about why buying from pet shops isn't always the best way to get your pet as my OH has decided he wants a pair of rats and I've told him I'm not even going to consider it until we've both read up on them thoroughly, that and I'm worried he'll ignore my gerbils .

[gerbillover2000]

fat chance. gerbs are very ard to ignore.
that is true.

[doomgerbiluk]

Well if he does get rats there are soem very good breeders out there and with rats getting them from a good breeder is even more important than with gerbils as rats are prone to respiratory problems and cancer. Even with rats from a breeder cancer is a very common killer .
that said they are wonderful pets.

As for pet stores v breeders consider 2 things
Your pet store may get gerbils from 2 sources, a small local breeder, in which case they are usually of reasonable quality, or a commercial breeder with all the possible problems associated with it. Some breed their own from a small genetic base and inbreeding can certainly be an issue.

It may be that talking to your petshop will give you an insight into how they source their gerbils. That said a breeder can give you a good idea of genetics, recessives, possible health issues etc and I would certainly recommend setting up a dialogue with your breeder if possible. Also as a breeder I love to hear how my 'babies' are doing.


Re: taming them yourself. If a gerbil is tamed from pup then it does not go through the stress of 'taming' as it was never NOT tame.

[mice]

doomgerbiluk said:

Well if he does get rats there are soem very good breeders out there and with rats getting them from a good breeder is even more important than with gerbils as rats are prone to respiratory problems and cancer. Even with rats from a breeder cancer is a very common killer .
that said they are wonderful pets.

That's what I've been finding out over the past week. I always imagined (for some reason) that rats were hardy little creatures but the seem a bit fragile really, which makes them more appealing to me in some ways, I'd have more responsibility and as you say there are some fantastic breeders out there and at least three of them are local to me! But I'm not getting rats...nope....no lovely little ratties. How long before I cave in?

I certainly think that if you do decide to get gerbils from a pet shop it's much better to go to a small independent pet shop, rather than a large chain store. Both my local pet shop and the pet shop my brother got his gerbils from breed their own which I think is great. However when I started mentioning genetics to them they gave me a funny look.

[RyanF]

I bought all mine from the petstore. I prefer getting them from a petstore because it is as if you are "rescuing" a few little gerbils from the usually-bad conditions of a petstore.

[crazycritter]

Ryan, you are not "rescuing" them, you are just supporting what they are doing. You give them money, say "Sure, I'll buy your gerbils" , and then they buy more. If people are willing to buy them, then the petstore will just buy more and more, putting more gerbils into that bad situation, and providing undeserved money to both the petstore and the commercial breeder.

[sorchajude]

i got two of my gerbils from the pet shop and im happy i did . sure it took lomger to tame them but i could tame them in my own way . and what are they going to do with them if know one buys them kill them ! so i will always get half of my gerbils from a pet shop ther other half from a breeder .

[doomgerbiluk]

OK Ellorie thats nto what we mean
BUT a shop has one purpose..to make a profit
if gerbils don't sell, they stop stocking them
many have them on sale or return
If people buy them they get more
It is no real loss to a shop to not stock animals. They make the money on cages, feed, bedding, toys and medicines.
But there is no doubt that buying animals from a pet shop only feeds the trade in pet shop animals...it is NOT, and never can be considered to be, rescuing.
Now if a shop has animals in poor state and you report them or discuss the issue and change their pratices, THEN you are rescuing both those animals and further generattions from cruelty. If you buy the animals then the shopkeeper has just made money and will then go get more in to sell.

So stop deluding yourselves guys, you are perpetuating a trade in animals not rescuing. You are a part of the problem, not the solution.

Not all pet shops are bad. Soem are adequate and some are very good.
Example...Petsmart...big US petshop. A friend who works their contacted me as they had a gerbil who wasnt responding to the treatment prescribed by their vet. after l gave advice the shop made necessary changes, the gerbil respond and he adopted him. This is their practice with sick animals, to get them vet treatment, nurse them to health and have them adopted.
Example: Pampurred Pets...big tank, 1/3rd full of shavings, tubes, toys etc. Only sells boys. Asks laods of questions to make sure you REALLY understand what your getting. Guarantees that IF an animal is not sexed correctly they WILL either pay all costs and take the pups (but only first litter, after that its your responsibility) OR take the pair back and raise the pups themselves.
I'm sure many of also have positive pet shop experiences...
If we want to change the trade we should acknowledge when they get it right as well as when they get it wrong!!

[whitmoregirl]

I admit I got all my girls from petstores (except Kess, she was bought from a .. well the best name is a "breeding farm", which has rabbits, guineas etc; I know I shouldn't have as it just encourages them to do it more but I couldn't resist plus she was all alone...).
If there was a breeder nearby me I would definately be buying from them, but as there aren't I have to either go out of my way or buy from a reasonably good petstore, which luckily for me, there are a few around.
I agree that if you refuse to buy from a petstore it stops them from bringing more and more into the same situation, but if you do not buy them I figure there's more chance that the price will drop and that they will be bought for snakefood

[gerbillover2000]

well, ok.
i will kill hurps and churps.
it was a new petshoip at the time...
luckily, it got closed down because of the way they keept the shop and animal.
HA!
we got 2 gerbils from there, and they had horrible problems. mites, and one got diareah... ew...
and, the pups they had, even tho we never planned it,
haf tomurs....
inbreeding, overbreding,
genetical prob,
me...
who knows, but thats what happend.

[crazycritter]

I work at a Petsmart, and they have amazing practices with their animals. I know some stores probably don't follow these rules, but at my store, everything is very strict. We only use Aspen and Carefresh,the gerbils all have safe wheels, boxes, tubes, waterbottles, and only have four or five to a cage. Their dishes and bottles are washed EVERY day and they get treats everymorning!

And he's right, the sick animals are treated then adopted out....and kept in very good conditions until they are!

[doomgerbiluk]

Thankyou Crazycritter
I can't tell you how many times I've read on a certain other forum that Petsmart cruelly kill or sell as snakefood any sick or injured animals, it's good to know that these people are misinformed.
Petshops can have a big influence on the pet-buying public and therefore animal welfare and I do feel the big stores should take the lead.

[RyanF]

From the surface, my Petco is up to high standards too. They use aspen and carefresh only, have no more than 2 per tank, and have care sheets that reflect all that we as a forum generally believe is right for gerbils.

Crazycritter: It's not like the store is going to *stop* stocking gerbils. They don't stop ordering other pets when business is low! They just wait till the pets in the store are taken, then order more. I still view getting gerbils from a petstore as "saving" them.

[crazycritter]

No, at Petsmart, when people buy the gerbils, the company makes money. We use a bit of that money to buy more gerbils. The faster people buy them, the more money the company makes, and the more gerbils we buy. When the public, and the people demand more gerbils, then the commercial breeder starts breeding more. I actually DO rescue animals for horrible neglectful situations, and saying that buying an animal from a petstore is a rescue is kind of insulting to the whole "effort"! You're just encouraging the petstores to buy more, which encourages the breeders to breed more. Supply and Demand.

Also, there are videos of the inside of Petco's main breeding farms, and what you see on them is horrible neglect 0_0 if you want a link to them, you can have it.

Petsmart's come from a commercial breeder in Alberta (My Province). Although I don't doubt that there are some bad things about this place, all of our gerbils come in well fed and healthy, and are inspected by a vet. We're also told to refuse a sale if we even suspect it is going to be used as a feeder. We don't even sell feeder mice...just pets. AND, you have to sign a contract when you adopt, with your phone number and everything.