We went to Petco and Petsmart today for supplies and to look at piggies.(I know everyone says not to buy from petstores,but that is were I got my Luna)My god was I lucky to get a healthy first piggie from those hell holes!
Petco had 3 females and the baby had a huge sore on his ear,so I asked for the employee to show her to me.He was busy trying to convince me that it normal and it was a bite from another pig that just happened.You could see the swelling and tell that it was clearly not a bite(it was on the base of her ear!)So I asked to see the manager and took his name and asked for medical attention for her ASAP.
So we hit Petsmart,another know it all employee tells me that you cannot introduce a new female to another or they will try to kill each other,even if there is an adjustment period.They had a baby there and since I knew this guy did'nt know squat I asked another employee to show her to me,she opened the cage and I was horrified at what I saw.The water bottle was leaking and was forming a moldy pool,there was a fly buzzing around with this poor piggie.So employee hands her to me and her eyes had quite a bit of goop.I asked the employee about this and being the einstein she was she told me"Just put soap on a q-tip and wash her eyes out if you buy her"!
My heart is broken because I would love to bring those piggies home and nurse them back to health,but I cannot compromise Luna's health nor afford plentiful vet bills.
So just so all of you know,I'm proud of us,seeing the pics of all your piggies healthy and happy is keeping me from crying.My thoughts and prayers go out to all those piggies that do not have the luxury of having loving owners.Thanks for letting me vent!

I have pet store rescue syndrome bad. Last time I went into a pet store, it was a locally owned one and they had a sweet golden agouti guinea pig in a teeny tiny filthy wire bottom cage. Someone had gotten it for their kids a couple years ago and didn't want to go through the hassle of taking it to the shelter so they brought it here so they could sell it. Well, now Maxx is living with us and though I love him to pieces and would never ever regret my decision I had to put a stop to it somewhere. I knew it was bad when I almost bought a whole cage of fancy mice and Syrian hamsters at the local PetSmart. My fiance drug me out of the store bawling my eyes out.

*sigh*

I had to resort to having all of my pet supplies ordered online. I use Hunt Club bedding for the hay boxes and thankfully there's no animals at the farm supply store. I couldn't see myself putting money into these "businesses" that treat their animals like crud. Now I only go to vet supply places online or buy things through my actual vets office.

Yup, I can't walk into pet stores either. We have 1 store in town with small animal supplies and no small animals so I shop there and buy online. I just cannot support them. I won't walk in the door, recommend them, or shop there.

I cannot walk into pet stores that sell pets. A little part of me dies everytime I see the suffering of the small animals.

Luckily there are 2 small pet stores in the area that don't sell animals. Otherwise, I order supplies online.

Lunasmom,
When I went to the Petco near me there used to be a name of a vet -located several towns away - that was supposed to be taking care of the small animals. Maybe the Petco one near you has the same thing and you could call the vet.

I also do not have the stength to go into a petstore. I drive forty minutes one way to go to the grain store that carries my cat and dog food, and that is also the place I buy shavings and bermuda grass. I order my pellets from Oxbow online direct, and from KM for my hay. I use fleece so bedding from the grain store lasts me longer (shavings for high potty spots in the kitchen area with bermunda over top of that).

All of my dog toys and stuff like that I order from Petedge. I have not walked foot in ANY petstore in close to two years.

I would only ever buy from one pet store, they are very knowledgable and all there animals arevery healthy and well taken care of. The only reason we thought of going there was to check on prices of gp food and bedding. when we saw that all there gp's were good looking and very healthy my mom said we could buy one.My next pig or pigs will be rescue pigs though. I hate going to petco also, last few times I was there all there gp's had URI's. The lady was all "Im going to have to have the vet check her out." I dont know if that ever happened though.

Beans - just because the store looks okay, doesn't mean much. Their animals still come from breeders and pet mills, and contribute to the pet overpopulation problem. It's what you don't see that is the problem.

I've gone into supply stores that sell pets and they have been sorry that I did. It was right after my little male gp Cupid died, and I went in to a Petco for cat things and looked at the pigs, and there was a dead pig under a pigloo and a very sick one in there with it. And it was not good.

I will not go into all of the details of how I freaked on them and how it all went down, but when I got home there were local managers calling me and regional and district managers calling me, all apologizing to me and thanking me (ha!) for being so helpful in noticing these problems and helping them have a better store, blah blah.

They said the sick pig would be taken to the vet they use the next day. SO... the next day I call and use a sweet voice and talk to a cashier, and tell her I've got a sick gp, and where should I take it, and she told me the vet they use, and I called that vet and checked up on them. And they had taken the gp to the vet.

The manager called me again and apologized, and thanked me (I know it was like gargling with insecticide), and although I had no intention of ever going back to that store, I told him I'd be back and I'd keep checking things out.

Sometimes you've got to make a fuss. A big one. You've got to be the intimidating bitch that a guinea pig would be if it were 5 foot 4. I want to make them say, "damn, it's easier to take the guinea pig to the vet and fix the cage than to deal with this hideous pale woman who will not leave me alone and keeps asking for the district and regional managers' numbers and wants to report me to societies that deal with cruelty to animals."

I don't know if the humane society or PETA would do anything, but the pet store people don't know that.

I check things out at Petsmart too, sometimes I have to go there for hay, and I must say, the one I go in does a pretty good job. The pigs have hay, orange sections, plain pellets. But last time I was in there I got them to pull out a little male with crust around his eye and a nip on his ear -- so I got the manager and showed him and he sighed -- I think he remembers me -- and the little pig went to the vet the next day.

Amen Piggywig! They just opened a terrible pet store in our local mall that uses a puppy mill. I almost got kicked out of the mall because I was telling people how horrible puppy mills are and all that. The people from the pet store called mall security. Little did they know that I new ALL of the security officers from when I managed a Claire's in the mall a couple years back. They just laughed and said "are you the one causing all the problems?!" The manager of the pet store came out and starting yelling at me and the guards. It's was a site.

Weaver: I LOVE Petedge's website. I actually get a lot of the cat/small dog stuff for my rabbit. Great prices too!

I go to Ok Feed & Supply!
I got timothy hay, large bag ( they bag it there from bales) for $2.99 and bermuda bag ( as much as you can stuff into a big bag ) for $.50.
Bales : Timothy - I think she said $24
Bermuda - $12

They are nice there. They do make their own guinea pig food. It's plain with just a label of ingredients. I didn't buy any though because it had beet pulp. Overall the ingredients aren't any worse than buying it at a pet store. Might be better because they are handmade. I'm going to continue to buy from oxbow or KM on the pellets and one day try the blue grass. But I would suggest there for less animal cruelty and yummy hay!

When grabbing out the Timothy it was very soft and I didn't get stuck in the hand with hard stems. Very pleasant experience compared to petno hay ( very hard and hurt my hand to put it out). They have hay all year round due to ideal weather conditions here. My piggys popped themselves silly to eat it. So if you need to go grab stuff stuff here in town, I suggest it. They have regular pet stuff for all kinds of pets... Especially nice bird and horse stuff.

I'm lucky that my local pet store is an independent and doesn't sell animals at all. I would be the same, worrying constantly about all the animals. I have a far too vivid imagination - I end up even thinking about the homes they will go to and how they probably won't be looked after properly etc etc.

I order my things online now. I have been part of a crusade to shut down the Heartland pet store here in Erie. I have a habit fo going there and making a terrible scene. I am not allowed to go into any pet store unsupervised. I just want to scoop them all up and take them. I have been very tempted to steal them at times.