Animal Welfare Professionals

Hi,

So I am new to having small pets, or should I say unlucky. Unfortunately, due to severe allergies I cannot have a dog or cat. My young daughter wanted a puppy so we compromised and started with parakeets, then Hamsters. However all of the pets we purchased from a pet store haven’t survived. Some lasted weeks, others days and we would find the birds dead in their cage. I did tons of research online to figure what I was doing wrong. We had the same issues with the hamsters. First hamster lasted a week and a half. Second hamster lasted 2 months, but ended up having a swollen red foot. I took her to the vet, he prescribed antibiotics and pain meds, asked me my hamster regiment and everything I told him I was doing as per the pet store he said was incorrect. He said the bedding I was advised to use was to hard for the hamsters to walk on, he said get softer kind of like the paper bedding (I was advised against that type in the store), the food I was using, he said it doesn’t have much nutritional value( another item suggested by the store) then came the chew toys, he said some of the chew toys are chemically sprayed and sometimes pieces of the chew toy can be swallowed by the hamsters( again recommended by the store). Needless to say that in the matter of months I have lost all my birds and hamsters and my daughter and I are devastated, to the point that I don’t think I can introduce anymore pets for the fear of this happening again.

so I was wondering what am or could I be doing wrong.. could it be something in the air of my house, could it be the supplies I have purchased, could it be what I am using to clean the cages, could it be the filtered drinking water?  I have spent so much time and money invested in providing comfort, treats and fun in the cages for these pets. I went back to the pet store just hours after one of the hamsters passed and the manager (I will keep my negative thoughts to myself) was unkind and practically implied that we were doing something (abuse)to the animals because this is the 2nd animal from the same pet sore to pass almost  immediately after purchase. I will say that I was totally appalled and if my daughter wasn’t with me, I would have given her the business. It’s easy to imply than to help a costumer understand what they may or may not be doing correctly, or is it possible that some of these pets purchased from this pet-store aren’t in good health

 Not sure what Pet Store you got your hamsters from but I would not return to that place for anything. There are better stores out there to get them from. I think the animals were sick before you got them and that it was nothing that you did to cause them to be ill and die.

Hi KPS,

So sorry to hear about this. How stressful, sad and confusing for your daughter and you. Pet stores are in the money-making business, and prioritize that over animal health. Same with the breeders that supply the animals to the pet stores. So I think it's entirely possible that these animals weren't in good health to begin with. Additionally, they are trying to sell you the supplies they have in their store, which may not be the best bedding/food/housing/etc for the animals.  I totally understand wanting to have pets (if I couldn't have my cats I know I'd look for another kind of buddy) but I would try to look outside the pet store to get one, get supplies, and learn about their care. There are lots of great small animal rescues that, even if you don't get the animal from one, will have expert information on their proper care.  One I can think of off the top of my head is the Pipsqueakery, and you can also check Petfinder. It sounds like your vet also has small animal expertise and could advise on what the animal will need before you take it home.

I hope it works out with your next little guy. 

Thank you kindly for your responses.  The Vet actually told me that just like there are puppy mills the same thing can happen with smaller animals such as birds/hamsters etc. I researched for local breeders in my area but the ones I found are all out of state. Unfortunately, there are only 2 pet store chains in my area and they both start with the works PET.😏😄... it took some time for me to realize that I most likely wasn’t the cause. It’s amazing how the pet store is very quick to blame or think the customer is doing something wrong. The manager even told me that my case is very unusual and they have never experienced anyone bringing back pets who have passed or having an issue with their pets passing. Blah.. as if I believe that.. many people don’t take their deceased pets back to the store especially if the 14 day return window has passed. Thank you for suggesting the part about “ the rescue animals” I will certainly look more into that.

Try your local shelters.  Ours gets rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, etc a lot.