I wouldn’t really be surprised if nothing happened either; that’s just the way the industry goes

When I was visiting pet stores to distribute my bunny information flyers, I noticed that almost every single one of the bunnies at all three of the stores had dirty/damp noses. I highly suspect it was because they were all being kept on pine; when we first adopted Peppy, she had a messy nose too (and was kept on pine by her previous owners) but a vet visit and some antibiotics cleared it right up.

If their whole cage was wire, and that’s all they had on which to stand, you could tell the petstore people that it could cause problems for their feet and even bring along a piece of cardboard they can put in there to give the rabbit’s an option of standing on something solid. That at least would make things a little better for them…

I understand your sadness at this situation. I got my newest bun from a reputable pet store in my town. They really do have great workers there who all actually know what they are doing regarding their animals. But I think that many people don’t know how to care for bunnies, especially if they’ve never had one as a pet. Pandia had a drippy runny nose when I first got her. I honestly didn’t know that she had the “snuffles” when I bought her because my only other bunny Devi has never been sick before. But it only took a few days for me to realize she was constantly having sneezing fits. After a couple vet visits and quite a lot of medication, Pandia is doing much much better and is happily binkying as I type.

The only thing I can say is that I think Pandia will be prone to sneezing / a wet nose for most of her life. Even after all the vet visits and medications and me being very careful about what kind of wood/objects I give her to play with, she still sneezes randomly and has a damp nose. I just keep a close eye on her sneezing so I know when it’s turned into a cold.

I can only guess that the reason so many bunnies have a “cold” while at the pet store is due to the fact that there are so many of them in one small space. Pandia had around ten other bunnies in her cage with her.

It always breaks my heart to see so many in one small cage….

I don’t know if the plexiglass would be ideal either, since I’ve read that the ammonia fumes from rabbit’s urine can be damaging unless their enclosure has adequate air-flow, so wire topped cages or open-air pens are in fact better than aquarium or solid-walled types of setups.

I have no idea if the wire floor or the closed-walled cage would be worse though… I guess it’s kind of like choosing between two evils but maybe someone else has better advice about your suggestion with the plexi-glass enclosure.

The plexi-glass would be a BAD choice. a piece of cardboard would be better. The plexi glass will contain fumes from urine, and if they use shavings in it, it will contain the smells and oils from that as well. NOT a good idea. Even if it has ventilation holes.

I had visited a local petstore (popular chain petstore) and there were some little bunnies trying desperately to drink from their water bottle. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it was COMPLETELY dry. I took one that did have water out of the cage beside them since there was no animal in there and gave it to them. It was a sad sight. 3 of the 4 bunnies immediately started drinking from the one bottle. It was sad to see them struggling for it. i alerted one of the employees who didn’t seem that all concerned with it, and started telling me about how they are all female, blah blah blah (i think he

was starting a sales pitch here). Well, i emailed the chain about my experience and got a reply back from the manager at that store who did seem concerned and if there is anything else ever again that doesn’t seem right, to notify a manager, and not the employyes. I have been back there to check the rabbits since (of course they are different ones there now) and happy to say they all had water!

I always wonder what happens to rabbits in pet stores. How can they get rid of them so fast? Surely there aren’t 5 people a week around here getting new bunnies?! Some probably buy them to feed their snakes or something. And still others are probably killed. I at least know of two that were killed at that chain store and they took pictures of the employee proudly holding the two up that she drowned. it is sickening and I wish all petstores that sell pets for profit would be shut down.

*sorry for the long post, I am just passionate about this subject lol*

I agree with the suggestion about cardboard for the petstore- it is free and disposable.  Anything else that would need to be cleaned could be a problem.  Wood is not a good solution because it cannot be thoroughly sanitized and other surfaces that can be scratched- like some plastics- the bacteria will stay in the scratches and is difficult to thoroughly sanitize.  And I would never assume that the pet store workers would be thorough enough when a simple cheap alternative exists.  Maybe the bunnies will chew on the edge of the cardboard and have something to do!

It is important to have items thoroughly sanitized at a pet store when numerous animals and animals from different locations are all then housed in a small area.  I would recommend that you  NEVER remove a water bottle from another cage (empty or not) and put it into another cage.  You should tell an employee and even wait until they get water if you are that concerned.  Switching items from cage to cage (sometimes even with cleaning) increases an animals exposure to other pets.

Three words: Animal Control Officer.
Every city has one, and you can report the store as having poor conditions and ask that an animal control officer check out the situatiion. You can call your Town Hall to get connected to the right department, or even call your local police to ask to be directed to whoever has that duty in your town. The owners of the shop may need to comply with a warning, but once alerted, a follow up should happen. This is how stores stay in business, or get shut down. It needs to come to legal attention. If it’s something as simple as a switch from pine shavings, they’ll be better off. It’s it something underhanded, like a puppy mill purchase, they’ll get caught.

Unfortunately, I very much doubt that pet stores sanitize anything. Pet store animals are viewed no differently than objects for sale on a shelf. I dream of a day when selling animals like this is made illegal. The worst part is most areas don’t even have laws regarding the care the animals receive. We all need to boycott and spread the word.

When I got Olivia, she was in a tiny glass aquarium and had a bad eye infection. My vet and I concluded it must have been from the ammonia inside the aquarium since there was no bacteria. She is so wonderful and I don’t ever want to think about what would have happened if I had not brought her home that day.

Well you can’t save every animal, it’s sad to see them in petstores. Some things you can do…

1) Don’t shop there. Dollars are votes…shop only in stores that don’t sell animals. Call the store or email them to tell them why you don’t shop there….as often as you’d like to call them.

2) Make a stink if you see a sick animal. Bust in front of a line of customers and ask what they plan to do about the ‘sickly looking x’ and state that you can help by calling the animal control officers if they’d like….(even if you have no intention). Make a stink about dirty cages or kids harassing an animal too.

3) You can call animal control. Even if they put you off, and don’t do anything. Nothing will change when people are silent. It’s frustrating, but how are they to know there is an issue if no one calls. And they do report to someone, and calls are logged and reported. If they have to answer to the fact that there are 30 phone calls about concerns about animals in a pet store-they are going to have to eventually do something.

But I’d agree, it’s frustrating and we’ve all seen it. I approached the manager at a store where the bunny clearly had an eye infection. (It was my first time in this big box pet store that recently came to Canada and I didn’t know they sold animals…I won’t be back).
I patiently waited while she arranged a vet appointment for the rabbit (In front of me) and then packed the rabbit up to go. I was literally shaking from that amount of confrontation (I’m shy) but it worked well.

It’s such a difficult situation.. I used to work in a pet store (a very well know name with over 1000 stores in the US). This particular chain actually pledged not to sell the top animals given up to shelters (dogs + cats (duh) and bunnies and chinchillas). But for whatever reason we still sold ferrets and guinea pigs. I got into the job because I love animals and they were hiring. I can say a few things:
1.) Yes, we DO clean cages. We did everything except reptiles and aquatics twice a week. And usually we do it well (unfortunately there’s some moron employee that really doesn’t care about animal welfare and just wants the money).
2.) We provide vet care at the first sight of illness… always.
3.) We very much do depend on customer concerns. We handle animals/feed/water/change bedding as necessary twice a day, but between those times, we have a lot of customers to deal with, other cages to clean, etc. Please please please tell an employee or manager if you’re worried about something! You don’t have to do it accusingly, but it makes our jobs so much easier when someone alerts us that a water bottle is leaking or a turtle is flipped on it’s back or a guinea has a runny nose. We aren’t ignorant, but sometimes we get busy!
4.) I have read horror stories from all types of pet stores. I have gone into the same chain as the pet store I worked at and saw awful conditions. Unfortunately, not everyone is like us. Not everyone cares about these animals and they only care about the paycheck. It’s awful. :\ I can say that the store I worked at had some truly amazing people working there. Those that really cared about animals and KNEW how to take care of them were the ones that did. Everyone else was on the register or working backstock. But not all petstores are like this.
I’ve found that a lot of big retail chain pet stores are easier to complain to and they comply better. When I got my first bunny, Velvateen, he was at a small mom and pop pet shop & feed store. He was in a 40 gallon aquarium with his two brothers on pine (would NOT fly at the pet store I was working at..). His feet are white, but when I got him they were YELLOW! And the kicker: I told the lady (she was the manager of the store) that I wanted him and she didn’t ask me any questions… no “how big of a cage do you have” or “what are you going to feed him” or “how many hours a day will he be out of his cage”. Now, when I worked at the pet store, I was excessively… protective of the animals I was selling. Yes we sell small cages, but you will not be putting a guinea pig in it.. Haha. I wouldn’t sell a goldfish in anything less than a 10 gallon aquarium.
I guess my point is, always let someone in the store know. None of these pet stores will carry any animal in a suitable size cage because we plan on selling them within a week of their arrival. Not ok by any means and completely irresponsible, but that’s why they are in small cages. It can be hard for us to notice when something is sick with 5+ animals per cage and easily over 50 cages of small animals + another 30 for reptiles, 100 tanks of fish, and 5 for birds… It’s one thing to take care of 2 bunnies. It’s another to take care of 10 ferrets, 8 guinea pigs, 20 hamsters, 100 mice, 10 rats, 4 gerbils, 6 chameleons, 30 frogs, 15 snakes…. yes, this goes on. So pleassse, tell us! If you come in once a week and tell us your concerns, you will make our lives a little easier, and most importantly, improve the lives of the animals in our care.
And no, don’t tell the person at the cash register. What do you expect them to do? Jump over the register, ignore the people in line, and some how magically fix the animal? People on cash registers almost never have keys to cages and a lot of the time, they don’t know squat about animals, hence them being on the register. Find someone in the store or kindly ask the register person to call up the manager.

This is a subject that I have thought about often. I have gone into pet stores and seen sick animals and it upset me so much. I always found a store employee and told them about it, but it was hard to know whether anything was done. When I went back, the animals in question were usually gone- hopefully they either got sold to a good home or were at the vet, but other scenarios are highly likely too . I’ve seen horrifying shows on TV about neglect at pet stores too. I guess it really comes down to the fact that some places are just in it for the $$ and don’t educate their employees or care for their animals properly, and will sell pets to anyone, and then there are other pet stores that have high standards and employ knowledgable people who care about animals and hold a high standard of care for them- like Tate, who posted above me.
Kokanee, I think it is awesome that you stood your ground at that pet store. It must have been very difficult, and the fact that you’re shy makes it all the more admirable. I really respect you for that . Good suggestions on how to help situations like this too. There is power in numbers- it’s hard for anyplace, no matter how oblivious, to ignore 30 or more people calling to complain about something. And refusing to buy from stores that sell animals or mistreat them is a good idea. If everyone who thought about calling to report something or boycotting a store actually did it, it would make a HUGE difference!

Tate, I’m glad that you posted- it’s good to hear firsthand about a good situation in a pet store. You brought up many valid points too, about the reasons for small cages and how busy the animal caretakers can get. I have thought of applying for a job at a pet store but have always been afraid that I would get too emotionally involved. I imagined a mom with a bratty, rambunctious 5 year old kid buying a hamster and telling the kid how he could hold “it” as soon as they got home- I got so p*ssed off just thinking about it that I can’t see myself not getting fired for teling someone off. Of course, I’m imaging a scene where the customer simply refuses to listen to suggestions. Most people actually want to take good care of their prospective pets and just need guidance. But anyway, I think there should be more people like you working in pet stores, Tate.

LBJ10. any word on the sick bunny? It’s great that you care, and are taking the time to do something about this. All we can do is try our best, but it’s so frustrating to see things like that.

Hopefully he is ok! One thing I forgot to leave out, a lot of pet stores are tied in with veterinarians. They will suggest to customers to visit that particular vet and in turn, the vet will give the pet store discounted services (exams, antibiotics, etc.). Not sure about mom and pop shops though, but I would assume most pet stores have this!
I know that doesn’t entirely help with the situation, but there may be some hope that the store took buns to the vet.
It is a smaller pet store though and not a chain, right? If you continue to see these sorts of problems and you feel like the animals are being neglected, a local humane society may point you in some direction. Check alternative humane societies as well! And the ASPCA website! All of these organizations unfortunately get many relinquished pets that came from pet stores, so they may at least be familiar with actions you can take.
And I agree with Dee, you did a wonderful thing telling some one in the store! Too many people would just let it go…

Hopefully he is ok! One thing I forgot to leave out, a lot of pet stores are tied in with veterinarians. They will suggest to customers to visit that particular vet and in turn, the vet will give the pet store discounted services (exams, antibiotics, etc.). Not sure about mom and pop shops though, but I would assume most pet stores have this!
I know that doesn’t entirely help with the situation, but there may be some hope that the store took buns to the vet.
It is a smaller pet store though and not a chain, right? If you continue to see these sorts of problems and you feel like the animals are being neglected, a local humane society may point you in some direction. Check alternative humane societies as well! And the ASPCA website! All of these organizations unfortunately get many relinquished pets that came from pet stores, so they may at least be familiar with actions you can take.
And I agree with Dee, you did a wonderful thing telling some one in the store! Too many people would just let it go…

Hopefully he is ok! One thing I forgot to leave out, a lot of pet stores are tied in with veterinarians. They will suggest to customers to visit that particular vet and in turn, the vet will give the pet store discounted services (exams, antibiotics, etc.). Not sure about mom and pop shops though, but I would assume most pet stores have this!
I know that doesn’t entirely help with the situation, but there may be some hope that the store took buns to the vet.
It is a smaller pet store though and not a chain, right? If you continue to see these sorts of problems and you feel like the animals are being neglected, a local humane society may point you in some direction. Check alternative humane societies as well! And the ASPCA website! All of these organizations unfortunately get many relinquished pets that came from pet stores, so they may at least be familiar with actions you can take.
And I agree with Dee, you did a wonderful thing telling some one in the store! Too many people would just let it go…