Unsafe toys being sold at Petco! Bells and Glue

[The Rabbit]

Today, I went to check out the cage selections at petco. The x-pen wasn’t working for the space or my buns. By the cage section, there were some products that i’ve never seen before. All by the same brand, Ware Manufacturing Inc. They had things like little straw baskets with straw vegetables in them, some corn mats, and such. But then, they had two products that really made me mad. One was a “Farmer’s market barbell” and the other was a “willow garden chew cube”

(look here for the chew cube http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-42702)  (and look here for a similar barbell, although the one I saw was made out of the same material as the cube. http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-34126)

 

The barbell was basically two flimsy balls made out of cheap willow, or something similar, glued (yes, Glued!) to a stick to make it look like a barbell.  The cube also had bells in it, and had glue too, although I can’t see any reason for the glue there.

This really made me mad! These were being sold for rats, guinea pigs, and rabbits. I can just imagine some clueless person buying this for their pet, and their pet getting hurt from the glue or the bells. These are really flimsy. one bit, and you have a nice hole where the ball can fall out or be grabbed. I know my Guinea pigs, when they were alive would have probably thought it was a treat. and Bunnies, too.

 

I got a complaint number from the petco, and I’m planning on calling. It can’t be where the pets go, if my pet is hurt or dead and can’t go there. Grr.

What else can I do? these products are not good for pets. I wouldn’t let my dog naw on one, let alone my buns!

 

 

[Beka27]

Really, all you can do is complain to the company. You could try filing a complaint with PetCo, but since it’s a large retail chain, they probably have very limited say on what is carried on their shelves. If the manufacturer could pull the product, that would be the best scenario. And if they receive enough complaints, that might happen.

Many of these companies that manufacture toys for “small animals” make inferior quality products. It is much better (and sometimes even cheaper!) to buy toys from online sites, especially ones that have a flat shipping rate regardless of what you purchase. You can stock up on toys for months at a time and never have to go into these ridiculous stores.

What did you decide on a cage? What’s the problem with the xpen?

[FluffyBunny]

I found one other toy that’s extremely unsafe, from the same company: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751780&lmdn=Product+Type

I’ve personally bought this toy before. One of my rabbits is crazy about these. The first time she chewed one up, I noticed a flimsy-looking white plastic ball with TINY METAL BALLS inside of it, to make a jingly noise. As I picked it up, it cracked open and the metal balls fell out. I didn’t even have to do anything – it just fell apart. She could have easily chewed it open and eaten one of the balls.

I still buy that toy, but I always take out the plastic ball now.

[Monkeybun]

Most pet store cages are way way way too small for bunnies. What was wrong with the xpen?

[The Rabbit]

Grr. Why sell pet toys if you aren’t going to make them safe?!

[The Rabbit]

They only need a cage to go into at night. The Cage we already had was too small to put two buns in. I tried it for one night, and Zelda wound up attacking Pixel. I had the perfect space for the X pen. But when I got it into the room, It was really imposing. It took up an entire corner of my room, and the buns seemed less than pleased with it.

I figured I’d get something else for every day use (eating and nighttime) and use the X-pen for if I go out of town or something. I picked up one that has wheel, supposedly 40″ long, and a bit wider than my current cage. I checked it out in store, but when I got it home and measured against my own (which I had measured to be 36″ long) it was pretty much the same. The issue I think, is not  enough width. the length of them is okay, but the width is not working. My buns are pretty small, but two buns can’t fit.

 

 

[mocha200]

I would say make a NIC cage. you can shape them any way and they are cheaper then store bought cages.

[LoveChaCha]

I have a WARE X-pen that I’ve had for nearly a year, it works fine. I’ve had to change the clips on it, but no other issues.

I am weary of willow balls with bells in it. When I notice that Chacha gets near the bell in the ball, I take it out and toss the bell away.

[Beka27]

I agree with Mocha. Try a NIC condo. You can build it out a couple grids but then add the length you need and a couple levels vertically. Traditional cages are just too small, and they’ll never be bigger than 2×4 feet. Definitely not enough space for two bunnies.

[Isabelle]

There’s no FDA for pets, so we have to be extra careful with what we’re buying. There isn’t much we can do but complain. Binky Bunny should be the first FDA for pets ^_^

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