# Pet Store Stop Made Me Sad



## roseykrh (Aug 30, 2008)

I stopped into a local Pet Warehouse on my way home from work to pick up some Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. Like I do in every pet store, the first thing I did was walk through and look at all the animals. I had never been to this particular store before and I noticed they had a sign advertising a hedgehog, so of course I bent down to check him out. First off, this poor hedgie was in one of those rabbit hutches that has the wooden cabinet/house thing on the left and then the wire cage on the right. And the floor was wire, not solid. Also, the cage stunk really badly and there were 5 or 6 flies buzzing around inside. There was a bowl of some sort of food and the wooden cabinet/house side was filled with shredded paper. Like 8-9 inches deep. So I couldn't see any little spike ball at all.

I went on and picked up what I needed then went back to the hedgehog cage and waited to get someones attention so I could ask to see the little guy. The cashier finally became free and I asked her if I could hold the hedgie. She kinda smirked and said "oh we don't pick that thing up, it's really mean and sharp". I asked if it was a boy or girl, she hollered over to a nice dressed man who seemed to be doing inventory and asked him. He said nobody knows because they've never looked. I asked the cashier how long the hedgehog has been there and she said about a month. I told her I had a hedgehog at home and tried to convince her to let me go in and pick him up but they wouldn't let me. The only thing she could tell me was that it was solid white.

Now, even though Bella is keeping me busy enough, I am heartbroken that this little fellow is stuck at the pet store. I wish I could bring him home but I don't have the extra money right now. I do have the extra cage, but I would have to buy a second wheel and other stuff. Also, I'm having enough trouble trying to keep up with Bella biting me. 

But I really wish I could go back and rescue it. I am so sad.


----------



## Pinkerton (Sep 15, 2008)

oh man, i hate it when that happens to me. i try to avoid pet shops all together because i go in and end up coming out, wanting to take everything home with me. i'm almost always on the verge of tears, because some pet shops just do not know how to take proper care of their animals and it's absolutely heartbreaking.

i think, though, if the cage and hedgehog were in the shape they were in that maybe you should report it to somebody? the fact that there were flies buzzing about and the employees completely ignored the little guy isn't right in any sense of the word.


----------



## lilhoglet (Aug 28, 2008)

Try reporting them. Any decent pet store (sad that there aren't many) would handle their animals and keep their living arrangements in a nice manner... Flies buzzing around does not seem like a good sign. Flies usually buzz around feces, decayed food, and/or decayed flesh. For all we know something could be seriously wrong with this hedgehog and no one would be the wiser because they do not bother to interact/check him.

I'm sure other members will chime in and tell you who you can contact and other steps to take.

I hope the little fella is alright.


----------



## Hedgie17 (Aug 28, 2008)

I know the feeling, whenever i walk into this one store that sells hedgehogs, i go right to the area they are kept in.it is a small aquarime with poor ventelation anf wood shavings. It has what looks to be wet cat food and a some water, thats it. no wheel, no toys, and they just throw a cloth over the hedgehog so it, "calms down". This just really bugs me. :?


----------



## iamdbf (Aug 28, 2008)

Ya. I feel sorry for the hedgies by my pet store too. one has like, half density of quills as normal and like... very flaky skin.


----------



## heavenlyhogs (Sep 18, 2008)

Oh how sad is that  
A lady in another forum i use was seeking a hedgie and she was pointed in the direction of a pet shop...i jumped straight in there advising her not to,i had a few people jump on me for that but am glad i did as i recieved a message from the lady thanking me and to tell me she had just got her new hedgie from a breeder...she also saved quite a lot of money.


----------



## Hedge hogs rule (Oct 28, 2008)

It is always sad to see an animal treated so cruelly, i acctually got my hedgehog at a petstore but i know they treat them well because when i got there they were acctually handling them and cleaning there cages at that very moment

i got him at http://www.corbinspets.com/pets/?species=6


----------



## hedgie love (Aug 28, 2008)

:x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x 
That makes me sad and mad at the same time. I have never come across a hedgehog in a pet store before. If I did I don't know what I would do. 
:x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x


----------



## zoologist (Sep 2, 2008)

This is upsetting and way too common.

If you come upon a hedgehog in a petstore i urge you to NOT get it. Think about it, if you buy the hedgie, they are just going to replace it with another one. In my eyes, its one life lost but sooooo many more saved. (its still awful and i'm sorry if that offends anyone, really. i did get cloud from a petstore. but they're not allowed to carry hedgehogs anymore)


----------



## laurennicole (Oct 16, 2008)

awwww. this makes me so upset do you have any updates??


----------



## roseykrh (Aug 30, 2008)

I hate to admit it, but I have purposefully avoided going back to this store because I want to rescue this hedgie, but don't actually believe I have the extra time it would take to pay enough attention to 2 little hedgehogs. My Bella gets plenty of special care and attention, but cleaning 2 wheels and washing 2 cages, etc. would take twice as much time and I'm afraid I would not have time and would start getting behind and then Bella would suffer. I figure if I should just stay away for Bella's sake.


----------



## laurennicole (Oct 16, 2008)

you can get him/her and adopt the hedgie out to someone who knows how to take care of a hedgehog or something cause someone needs to rescue the hedgie!


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

buying the hedgehog is not the right thing to do. By buying it you're showing the store that there is a market for them and you're just encouraging them to get more hedgies. The best thing to do is to report the store..so that hopefully they will not get anymore.


----------



## laurennicole (Oct 16, 2008)

nikki said:


> buying the hedgehog is not the right thing to do. By buying it you're showing the store that there is a market for them and you're just encouraging them to get more hedgies. The best thing to do is to report the store..so that hopefully they will not get anymore.


yes! i cant believe i forgot that.


----------



## MintyDuhh (Sep 1, 2008)

Awh, that's a shame. D=

My mom's best friend is the manager of a pet store by me, and she's the one that actually got Nook for me. After all my research and stuff, I had to tell her what to do to keep the hedgehog healthy (because they had two in the store) and so I told her what to feed him and whatnot. When Nook was picked out, I wasn't actually feeling good, so my mom got him for me, and I never got to see the second one until a couple of weeks ago. He's honestly the biggest sweetie. They don't handle him, except to get him out of the cage to clean in, in which case they wear a glove because of the quills. =( It was sad too, because I went in there and just picked him out of the cage with my bare hands. He was huffing and scared, but after a minute he uncurled and was just smelling my hand. He didn't try to bite me or anything, which surprised me, since he was rarely handled. So after me getting him out and stuff, all the workers were impressed, so now they've been working on handling him every once in a while and stuff. But boy was he a fattie. xD; They didn't have a wheel in his cage (which I didn't know until I had went there and instantly made Cath (moms best friend) put in there) so hopefully he'll lose some wait.

But it's sad when petstore's get pets they can't take care of. D= Thankfully I've helped this little guy out, and I'm actually going to go see him tomorrow. 83

I hope you can get something done about those flies and stuff though. Were they actual flies, or fruit flies? Because fruit flies can develop in a short amount of hours, so if any fresh fruit or anything was in the cage, it could have been that. o.o

The sad thing, for me is, that there's another "chain" of the petstore in the nearby city (like 5 minutes away xD) and they have a hedgie too. And because I don't know anyone that currently works in that store anymore (I have a lot of connections. xD) I can't go in there and ask to handle the little guy/girl. =(

Thankfully though, at Cath's store, they just have the one hedgie, they didn't get another to replace Nook. =o I also got Nook the day he came into the store, so it was already planned out. xD; He was my special order baby. :3


----------



## JessHog613 (Jun 20, 2012)

I don't blame you one bit. I got my little guy because the family who had him couldn't take care of him anymore, and he's taking quite a lot of work to even be friendly. luckily, none of the pet stores in my area sell hedgies except for one who is actually part of a small local group of breeders, and who is the one I go to for advice whenever I have questions. they're an all natural pet store and take very good care of their animals. but, sadly, most places aren't like that. 
reporting them is the best plan of action, though. I believe we have an obligation to speak up for those who can't speak for themselves, especially when it comes to animals. far too much abuse is done just through lack of education about an animal and it's needs. if it comes to it, boycot the store. tell everyone you know, or anyone who will listen what you saw and to stay away. maybe then, they'll get the hint.


----------



## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

This thread is 4 years old.


----------



## gogrnny1955 (Jul 6, 2011)

I'm wondering if the Pet stores have changed in the 4 years since this first was posted :?: 
Hedgehogs are still not legal here so no pet stores sell them in my state ,but what about where they are legal
Have things improved yet?

I'm thinking that perhaps those that see they are not being cared for properly could copy
from this site the proper care for them and make like a binder type book that could
be dropped off with the manager of the store.
It may help and worth a try.
And you would feel better then avoiding the store altogether.


----------

