# Fins Feathers and Furs pet shop hedges in brick NJ



## hedgehog3333 (Nov 7, 2010)

Have any of you guys experienced these people before? I called them earlier today and they seem knowledgeable...my only concern is that they are a pet shop and their hedges are "shipped in" :roll: 

Thanks!


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Most pet shops get their hedgehogs from breeding mills. The hedgehog will most likely be inbred, which can cause illness and a number of genetic disorders. They will not be socialized. Most people on this forum don't advocate getting hedgehogs from pet stores because of this. We don't want to encourage the pet store to continue to stock animals from unethical breeders like mills. 

What made them seem knowledgeable to you? Remember that knowledge does not make them responsible pet care givers.


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## Dutchy (Jan 8, 2011)

hedgehog3333 said:


> Have any of you guys experienced these people before? I called them earlier today and they seem knowledgeable...my only concern is that they are a pet shop and their hedges are "shipped in" :roll:
> 
> Thanks!


I just purchased a hedgie from them on December 23, as a gift for my 12 year old and prob as a gift to myself to but, shhhhh, don't tell her.  Yes, bad me, I knew they were shipped >:-/ but the breeders around here seemed kinda sketchy to so to the store I went! All I can say is, Thorn, is the GREATEST lil hedgie! He does sleep a lot and poop a lot but they say that's normal for babies. As far as his temperment, he was great from the moment we brought him home. He is both a snuggler and an explorer. He has YET to curl in a ball, not sure he's even EVER done it, other than when he's sleeping. Once in a while when he's sleeping I think he's dreaming bad dreams maybe, idk lol, and he will poke his quills in different directions but he hasn't done awake! I know your not supposed to buy from a store but that is my honest experience. We LOVE Thorn, he's a great addition to our family.


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## hedgehog3333 (Nov 7, 2010)

Did they happen to tell you where thye came from?


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## Dutchy (Jan 8, 2011)

hedgehog3333 said:


> Did they happen to tell you where thye came from?


Noooo sorry!! :-(


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## treehousepie (Oct 29, 2010)

Dutchy, i'm absolutely jealous of your hedgies cage. I wish i had the money and time to build an amazing cage like that!


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## Dutchy (Jan 8, 2011)

treehousepie said:


> Dutchy, i'm absolutely jealous of your hedgies cage. I wish i had the money and time to build an amazing cage like that!


Awe thanks sweets!! All it took was one 8ft by 4ft coroplast (got a lady in jerz to sell it to me for ten bucks) and two boxes of cubes ($25 each)! Really one box and a quarter of the other. Now the fabric.....that was allll WALMART! It was a Christmas present for my oldest, money was tight and I had to try to cut corners wherever possible. 

Thanks again for the compliment!


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## Hedgehog Grove (Jul 21, 2010)

No reputable breeder would sell to a pet store of any type because they want to make sure their babies go to good homes and that they can track any illnesses that could show up. 

Hedgehogs in pet stores come from breeding mills and are often inbred. The risk of illness and disease is high and most often hedgehogs from pet stores are anti-social (can be worked on but no guarantee it will become friendly), often don't know the true age of the hedgehog and they are feed horrible food. 

You might get lucky and get a baby hedgie that has just come in so it wouldn't be too anti social but these babies that come in are generally 4-5 weeks old which is too young to have been taken away from their moms. Their immune systems suffer from been taken away at an earlier age and you often end up with a sick hedgie later on in their life.

Your best off getting a baby from a reputable breeder and know that the hoglet is healthy, social and is not inbred than risk getting one from a pet store and have hundreds to thousands on dollars worth on medical bills later on and not to mention a hedgie that may never become social.


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

PapilionRu said:


> No reputable breeder would sell to a pet store of any type because they want to make sure their babies go to good homes and that they can track any illnesses that could show up.
> 
> Hedgehogs in pet stores come from breeding mills and are often inbred. The risk of illness and disease is high and most often hedgehogs from pet stores are anti-social (can be worked on but no guarantee it will become friendly), often don't know the true age of the hedgehog and they are feed horrible food.
> 
> ...


well you should do some research before you speak for anyone. fins feathers and furs uses very reputable breeders and we will never use mills. i would love to shut every mill down cause they hurt our business and sell sick animals and we are fully against that. read our reviews we are a 5 star pet shop and sell the best quality animals around and give a much better guarantee with our animals than any other breeder out there. we also breed some of our own and no never realted. we are a different type of pet shop i rather spend more money on a quality animal and have a peace of mind i put a great animal in a great home and we care about every animal that leaves our store and we actually turn people away from buying if we feel it is not going to a god home and we ask everyone if they ever get rid of the animal they purchase we will gladly take it back. and for your info a lot of so called reputable breeders do inbreed and crossbreed, where we do not ever tolerate that. and any of our customers will tell you as i think on here one already said our hedgies are very social and only fed the best diet we spare no expenses when it come to our animals maybe that is why we are the best and noone ever has had anything but 5 star coomments about fins feathers and furs pet shop


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Do you provide a warrenty against WHS? and also do your animals come with 4 or 5 generation pedigrees? Are all hedgehogs tracked after sale so that any WHS that shows up can be reported? Do you provide the name of the breeder so that new owners can go to them for help if needed? If a hedgehog sold by you comes down with WHS do you accept it back, and replace it with another hedgehog and then car for the hedgie with WHS? Do you provide 24/7 phone support, anytime day or night for the life of the animal?

These are all things that reputable breeders do.


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

hedgielover said:


> Most pet shops get their hedgehogs from breeding mills. The hedgehog will most likely be inbred, which can cause illness and a number of genetic disorders. They will not be socialized. Most people on this forum don't advocate getting hedgehogs from pet stores because of this. We don't want to encourage the pet store to continue to stock animals from unethical breeders like mills.
> 
> What made them seem knowledgeable to you? Remember that knowledge does not make them responsible pet care givers.


again as i wrote to another you should always speak in the "I" never for anyone else. fins feathers and furs pet shop only uses the best breeders and never mills. fyi most breeders that our against pet shops do inbreed and cross breed and we have come accross many breeders who should never breed anything cause thier knowledge is not what they think. all our animals are the best quality and no breeder gives the guarantees that we give and for as long as we give and we do this because we sell the best of everything. we are against mills and would never use them for any reason and when our customers come into the store we tell each one of them where thier pet came from which breeder. i can tell you there is not a breeder out there that compares to our breeder and we do breed our own also with the difference of we have an exceptional knowledge of everything we breed. and if you read our reviews we are rated 5 star never one thing bad said ever about us because we care more for our animals than most. our animals receive the best care attention and diet offered.


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

nikki said:


> Do you provide a warrenty against WHS? and also do your animals come with 4 or 5 generation pedigrees? Are all hedgehogs tracked after sale so that any WHS that shows up can be reported? Do you provide the name of the breeder so that new owners can go to them for help if needed? If a hedgehog sold by you comes down with WHS do you accept it back, and replace it with another hedgehog and then car for the hedgie with WHS? Do you provide 24/7 phone support, anytime day or night for the life of the animal?
> 
> These are all things that reputable breeders do.


yes and all my customers will tell you they receive 24 hour phone support the get the info on our breeder or if we bred our own we accept them back and replace for free and we track everything this is why we have all 5 star reviews cause we sell the best quality and back it up and fyi i bought once before owning a pet shop from a supposed great breeder with lineage and it was all false lineage they put what was best for the sale on the lineage not what was true. yea we may be a pet shop but we are also a breeder and never use mills i actually worked very hard to keep pocket pets out of new jersey cause they are a mill breeder and sell bad animals we are against that. but i made myself known because people like to talk without knowing and you should never speak without knowing facts. so if we are being put down we will stand up and let the truth be known


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## mel2626 (Sep 28, 2009)

finspetshop said:


> PapilionRu said:
> 
> 
> > No reputable breeder would sell to a pet store of any type because they want to make sure their babies go to good homes and that they can track any illnesses that could show up.
> ...


Hello Fins,
How many generations back are your hedgie lineages and what sort of guarantee do you give? I ask as a fellow New Jerseyan who's always looking to point people in the right direction when trying to purchase in NJ. You are also 100% correct that not all breeders are reputable. I personally do not think that all pet shops are bad but I do think that, sadly, most are. You are definitely in the minority if you are breeding your own hedgehogs and I find this very intriguing. I'd love to hear more.
Edit- Do you breed your own or you have one particular breeder that you use? I'm a bit confused by your posts.

PS~ As your first post, you come off as a bit defensive. No one spoke about your store directly and most people on this forum HAVE done their research and/or are speaking from years of experience with both breeders and pet stores. If you want others to flock to your business, please be aware of your audience. This forum (and the people on it) are probably far more influential than you realize. Far too often, we find hedgehogs with debilitating diseases or problems and many have the connection of being pet store hogs. People are only looking out for what's in the best interest of the hedgies.

edit- Nikki responded before me. 
~Melissa


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

if you read the part about no reputable breeder would sell to any typr of pet shop is where i got defensive because i do breed my own and i do buy from a very reputable breeder and we are a pet shop. and there was a lot of talk that all pet shops use mill which we do not. i am not just a pet shop owner, i am an animal lover and i opened this pet shop cause animals are my passion. i guarantee all my animals i provide lineage whether they were bred by us or from our breeder. we are a very reputable pet shop and we do sell a large aount of exotics including sugar gliders, hedgehogs, flying squirrels, degus and much more. we are very against mills and most other pet shops for the way they treat raise and care for thier animals. we run a very different type of shop and i thought i would make it known after what i read like i said earlier in another reply we are a 5 star rated pet shop and voted jersey's best so we do something different and right. i just don't want to be in the same catergory as other pet shops who do thier customers wrong or buy from mills. we care about our animals and where they are going.


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

mel2626 said:


> finspetshop said:
> 
> 
> > PapilionRu said:
> ...


normally between 4-6 generations and i give a 6 month guarantee, complete care guides, nutrition facts, health certs and a 24 hour hotline


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

PapilionRu is 100% correct to say that no reputable breeder will sell to a pet store of any type. Reputable breeders want to know the people who buy their babies. Prospective new owners have to fill out extensive questionnaires and be approved. They want to know where and who their babies are going to and when selling to a middle man/pet store, the breeder has no clue. Bottom line here is, a reputable caring breeder wants to know and have the choice in who the new owners of their babies are. 

If someone who purchased a hedgehog from you comes back 4 years later after hedgie has died from WHS or another congenital disease, will you replace it? 

Do you register your hedgehogs with the International Hedgehog Registry? If not, you have no way of knowing or keeping track if the hedgehogs you are breeding have WHS in their lines. 

There is no way any pet store can ever be as good as from a truly reputable breeder but I agree with you totally that not all pet stores are the same. Not all pet stores buy from mills. There are stores that do care about their animals and making sure they are healthy and happy. You are also right that not all breeders are reputable and there are ones that some people consider reputable that aren't. 

I'm glad you care about your hedgehogs and the people who buy.


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## suwanee (Nov 15, 2010)

to the Fins and Furs people:

If one were to buy an animal from you, would they be able to go to the breeders' locations to observe the methods of care/treatment of the animals?


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

Thank you and believe me I am not against breeders as they are against pet shop but my breeder does know where the hedgies go we keep careful track of eberything. When I opened I knew why I was doing it, I was sick of people going to pet stores and buying poor quality animals which it is never the animals fault for how they were bred or what pet shop they ended up in and the person buying most likely saved that animal from further hardship so I opened with a different view and vision. We do care about all our animals and our customers and believe me if I knew more breeders that I know were great I would refer customers there when I did not have an animal there for them.


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## mel2626 (Sep 28, 2009)

suwanee said:


> to the Fins and Furs people:
> 
> If one were to buy an animal from you, would they be able to go to the breeders' locations to observe the methods of care/treatment of the animals?


This goes along with my question. So if I understand correctly, you get your hedgies from one of two locations: 1) you breed your own or 2) you buy from a particular "reputable" breeder. 
For the ones you breed yourself, is the breeding done on site of the pet shop or at a satellite location. Are buyers able to visit that area?
Is it just one breeder and does the breeder sell directly to the public as well or just to you? 
One perk of buying from a breeder is that you get to see the whole operation. You get to meet the mother and father hog. You get to see the cages and conditions in which they are kept etc. So being able to visit the breeder is important to me when directing people where to buy.

I'm very happy that you're a pet shop that cares about it's animals. I'll be sure to check out your shop next time I'm in Brick. Sorry for all the questions but you have to understand that most pet shops don't have the care and devotion that you do. You're a rarity in your business, but I know you understand that. At the moment there is only one breeder listed as a reputable breeder in NJ. I got my first hedgie from them but my views have changed drastically since then and want to be able to steer potential buyers in the right direction.

Thank you,
Melissa, Miss Muffet, Dexter and Iggy


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

I DO NOT USE ANY BREEDERS IN NEW JERSEY AND WHEN I BREED MY OWN IT IA AT MY HOME. I DO NOT BREED ANYTHING IN MY STORE ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT A BAD THING TO BRED HERE BECAUSE WE KEEP EVERYTHING VERY CLEAN AND DISINFECTED. I KNOW OF A LOCAL PET SHOPS WHO BREEDES HIS HEDGIES IN HIS BASEMENT OF HIS STORE AND I DO NOT SEE WITH ALL THE MOISTURE, MILDEWS AND MOLD NORMALLY FOUND IN BASEMENTS HOW THIS IS IN ANYWAY A GOOD ENVIORNMENT TO BREED ANY ANIMAL. WE DO KNOW THAT WE ARE A RARITY AND YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO COME CHECK US OUT. I DONT KNOW IF YOU READ OUR REVIEWS BUT THEY TELL THE WHOLE STORY WE CARE VERY DEEPLY ABOUT OUR ANIMALS AND WHERE THEY END UP. AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE WE HAVE TURNED PEOPLE DOWN FROM PURCHASING A PET FROM US BECAUSE WE WERE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THE PET GOING WHERE IT WAS GOING AND WE ARE NOT JUST ABOUT THE PROFITS I EVEN DISCOUNT MY PRICES FOR DESERVING FAMILIES THAT JUST DONT HAVE THE FINANCES BUT CAN PROVIDE AND EXCELLENT HOME FOR THEM. WE ARE TRULY UNLIKE OTHER PET SHOPS


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Writing all in caps does nothing to help people understand what you are trying to get across. In fact it usually does the opposite. Many people, myself included, don't even bother to read posts all in caps because it is so annoying and consider it childish or to lazy to type properly.


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

Well Nancy, thank you for the smug remark it shows great maturity on your part. It was not done to get a point accross or to be childish, when my register program is running it stays on caps lock for the program cause everything entered has to be in caps and forgot it was on. As I no need to explain myself lets look at the real picture here, many breeders say never buy from pet shops and many pet shops say don't buy from breeders, there is an obvious war going on between the two, which is a war i stay out of, I myself don't care if they buy from me, a breeder or another pet shop. I cannot stop people from buying where they may, all I can do is make sure I sell a quality animal to my customers, but again let us be realistic many breeders and pet shops say they are the best, highly reputable and again another common denominator is people see dollar signs and profits and this is why most get into it. The true animal extremist and lovers honestly know the animals belong in the wild not sold as pets to any public. So maybe this is something to think about.


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## abrowndog (Nov 26, 2010)

I am totally a neutral party here as I am a new owner and fairly new to this board but I do feel the need to interject here.

Of all the boards I have been a member of (I own a few as well as moderate a few), this one is the most civil and warm-natured. I've rarely seen anyone get upset, and when they did, everyone jumped right in to right any "wrongs" and/or misunderstandings. I, in fact, was part of a disagreement and left feeling very good about the way things turned out.

I truly understand your need, fin, to protect your reputation as a store owner/employee. That said, you need to understand that the members of this board care passionately about hedgies and are very knowledgeable about this wonderful little critter. They have experienced (and heard of experiences) from people all over. 

I believe there are great breeders and not so great breeders. I also believe there are great pet stores and horrific stores. Just as each hedgie is unique, so is every pet store and pet breeder. 

In reading this thread, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and is obviously passionate in expressing it. The only hostility I see is coming from you and that's a shame. I do believe that you care very much for your animals, but unfortunately your tone and obvious anger regarding this thread is coming through a lot louder than your actual words. I dare say if I was a buyer trying to make a decision as is the OP, I would shy away from buying an animal from someone that is harboring such anger in what is an extremely friendly board. 

Please take the love and passion for hedgies the members and moderators of this board into account when you post. It seems to me that both sides are on the same side -- that of the hedgehog. A civil discussion would go a lot farther in proving your point, fin, instead of this one that is spiraling downhill fast. I also notice that you have very few posts here, so that also makes it hard for people to really get a feel for you other than what is seen here, does that make sense?

Sorry if my two cents weren't warranted, just felt the need to throw that out there.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

@abrowndog-I agree with you 100% and feel exactly the same way.

@fins- I might have missed it but I didn't see what the answer was to whether the customer was able to see the breeding site. I understand that you said some are from another breeder out of state but you also said some are bred in your home. Are they able to come over and see the breeding site and meet the parents?


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

I feel as you do about all animals and i have no anger towards anyone, i will not be call childish or lazy because I forgot to take the caps off when I posted. I was never the one to stand for anyone putting me or my businees down. I work very hard to be the best that i can be as a person and a business owner. To answer all questions yes you can come to my house i live right down the road from my store and meet the parents and see my operation, and I never had any desire to be on any forums until I read that all pet shops use mills, which my store does not use mills and I had the right to clarify things because people speak without knowing which is wrong on every level. I don't really need to post in many places due to the fact that my shop is well known, very highly rated and i sell around 60 hedgies a month and 100 sugar gliders every month, so regardless I will do my business and my only responsibility is to my customers to make sure i sell them a healthy animal and to stick behind my words and guarantees.


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## Xyloart (Dec 6, 2010)

I have never been to a pet store where I was totally satisfied with the conditions... so I will definitely being stopping by the next time I'm in Brick to see what's what. I would love to buy from a store that puts the animals first. Do you have a website for your store that I could check out?


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## mel2626 (Sep 28, 2009)

Xyloart said:


> I have never been to a pet store where I was totally satisfied with the conditions... so I will definitely being stopping by the next time I'm in Brick to see what's what. I would love to buy from a store that puts the animals first. Do you have a website for your store that I could check out?


This is their website, though I see nothing even mentioning hedgehogs. http://finsfeathersandfurspetshop.com/index.htm The site was down for maintenance the last few days though but appears to be up and running again. They also have a Facebook page. Xyloart, please let me know what you think because it may be a little while before I'm up that way.

Hedgieonboard, I think I missed that part too about visiting the breeder but I did notice he mentioned that the hedgehogs were bred outside the state of NJ which is probably why no one is able to visit the breeder. So it seems that the owner breeds some hedgies at his house and has the rest shipped in.

The explanations we're getting on here aren't exactly answering all questions we ask thoroughly so I guess that's why we still have so many things to ask! lol

Fins,
Selling 60 hedgies a month is quite a bit so if you are able to provide ongoing help to all 60 new owners each month, then more power to you. That being said, I cannot possibly imagine (though I'm not saying it can't be done) that you are getting 60 hedgies from just your own breeding and one other breeder. Surely there must be mulitple breeders that you deal with unless your breeder runs a very large operation. Do you mind mentioning what state they are located? I just also noticed that your FB page says that you now breed 90% of your own hedgehogs, so that seems like a tall order to fill to breed almost 60 hedgies a month on your own. I'm sorry, I know the website says that you have 20 years of experience but what year did this shop open? I know most people are probably more familiar with 88 Pet World of which I've heard horror stories of how things were run in the past and that you strive to set yourself apart from them.

I think because you are a pet store that you have a lot going against you. If you want to be viewed as a positive change within your community, it might be good practice to familiarize yourself with some more of the hedgehog community. This should include the Hedgehog Welfare Society and Hedgehog Breeders Alliance and any others that the more seasoned breeders here will know. 
****Also, some of the people who you are giving attitude to are the most respected people on this forum and within the entire hedgehog community in the US, Canada and the world! Owning a pet store (or even more so breeding your own animals), I'd think that you'd want guidance from people with more experience than yourself. 
Oh and btw, TYPING LIKE THIS IS CONSIDERED YELLING AND IS _EXTREMELY_ RUDE. I've noticed that you type in CAPS on your FB page as well. Just wanted to give you this little tidbit of info since you seemed to be so snippy about it. Familiarize yourself with internet etiquette~ it goes a long way...


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## Xyloart (Dec 6, 2010)

Many people are not aware that caps is the equivalent of yelling on the internet. I would be a little 'snippy' too if I did not know that rule and someone insinuated I were being childish or lazy for typing that way, even if they were a respected member of the community.  This is not to condemn anyone, but just to say that I would prefer a gentler way of being informed myself; something to the effect of "Hey, just so you know, typing in all caps is the internet equivalent of yelling. I know you probably didn't mean to come accross that way so I wanted to let you know.  "

Hmm I can't make it this weekend, but maybe next weekend I'll be able to check the place out. I'd go on an evening after work but it's only open until 8pm and that would leave me around half an hour of shopping and that's no where near enough for me in a pet store.


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

Xyloart said:


> Many people are not aware that caps is the equivalent of yelling on the internet. I would be a little 'snippy' too if I did not know that rule and someone insinuated I were being childish or lazy for typing that way, even if they were a respected member of the community.  This is not to condemn anyone, but just to say that I would prefer a gentler way of being informed myself; something to the effect of "Hey, just so you know, typing in all caps is the internet equivalent of yelling. I know you probably didn't mean to come accross that way so I wanted to let you know.  "
> 
> Hmm I can't make it this weekend, but maybe next weekend I'll be able to check the place out. I'd go on an evening after work but it's only open until 8pm and that would leave me around half an hour of shopping and that's no where near enough for me in a pet store.


Thank you for what you wrote. No I do not equivalate it as yelling at someone and many do not understand that I am not angry at anyone for any reason and frankly I don't care if they are respected or not, you do not put everyone in the same catergory and say for any reason when you surely do not know that all oet shops use mills. I do not use mills and i will make that known. I truly don't care about internet etiquite and yes i use caps on facebook and we are starting to breed a lot of our own hedgies and yes they may visit our home and yes they may visit our wholesaler if they are willing to travel. I have answered this question many times on here and like I have said in the past my only responsiblity is to my customers to make sure i sell them a healthy animal and stick by my guarantees. I have no responsibility to any other breeder and i have many uears experience and when i need advice, I do have people to turn to, but being the knowledge I have I do not normally need advice.


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

Now as many of you may have seen, I have all 5 star reviews so I am doing something right. I understand a pet shop takes money away from your pockets, cause lets face the truth, breeders breed for profit. And how many people out there consider anyone breeding to be a mill breeder, some people talk without considering that everyone is wrong for not leaving the wild animals in the wild, but again more truth, people will breed, people will buy and for the buyer I will make sure i am selling a non millbred animal. Yes I do a large number of animals out of my store and yes my breeder has 5 very highly reputable breeders breeding for them as well as they breed thier own. Yes I breed my own also. Now I'm getting sick and tired of the know it all community with thier lol's and smug remarks and defending myself on here. This forum does not matter to me, my customers being happy matters to me. I don't care about 88 pet world cause believe me I know the horror stories, I hear it everyday from a mulititude of customers and i have had many problems with them in the past. Our store is formally known as fish tails here in brick only one bldg over from my store and it does not matter how long I have been in business, I have wanted to do this for 20 years now and never did it until i researched and learned everything i could to make sure when i did open that I would never be like 88 pet world and all the horror stories. Our store is always neat and clean, no smell of animals, even with all the animals we have. We take very good care of all our livestock and our store gets disinfected everyday. I could be like 88 pet wprld and breed my hedgies in a damp and dark basement with mold and mildew, but no i do it out of my house which is always immaculate and disinfected. You never heard me once ask any of you where you breed or what you do or where your website are, you know why I DON'T CARE! I WILL SAY THIS ONE LAST TIME MY ONLY RESPONSIBILITY IS TO MY CUSTOMERS AND MY ANIMALS! NOT TO ANYONE ON HERE. I DON'T CARE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT PET SHOPS AND YES MANY PET SHOP OWNERS DO NOT LIKE BREEDERS AS WELL AS BREEDERS DO NOT LIKE PET SHOPS. AS FOR ME I DON'T CARE WHO LIKES WHO, I ONLY CARE ABOUT MY BUSINESS, CUSTOMERS AND ANIMALS..


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## abrowndog (Nov 26, 2010)

Obviously you do care, or you wouldn't come back here and continue with this argumentative attitude. I truly understand your need to defend yourself, I know I would do the same, but I would also remember that tone speaks volumes and yours is not a friendly one.

My major concern with what you said above is that you breed out of your home and that you only use one breeder. But if your breeder utilizes many other breeders and you obtain those hedgies, you are, in actuality using may breeders, even if you are only paying money to one. 

Perhaps I am thoroughly confused? 

On the ratings... I, too, own my own business and have reviews on the internet on the same sites as you. I know for a fact that it is very easy to eliminate the bad ratings so only the good show. I am NOT saying you have bad ratings, but I did notice that you went on to your own ratings, gave yourself 5 stars (and there were only a couple of other reviews), and the one bad review that you referenced in your review of yourself was no longer showing. 

Or again, perhaps I am missing something here?


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## Xyloart (Dec 6, 2010)

The purpose of the forum is for people to share and discuss information about domestic hedgehogs (these are not wild hedgehogs so there's nothing to 'leave in the wild'). Part of that is sharing information about breeders and pet stores. This thread was started because someone was wondering if anyone had experiences with your specific store. Wanting to know about a store's breeding practices and looking for more sources of information about the store is completely appropriate and the mark of a responsible owner. If you don't care about what the people here think of your store that is your perogative! Perhaps you should cease checking the forum to avoid stressing out about it more.


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## E-Che & Tonja (Jun 30, 2010)

Ok I was going to stay out of this but I cant any more. I LOVE pet stores they provide better food for my animals than the grocery store, and they also provide all the necessities that I need for my animals. But I would NEVER get my animals from them. and you have just proven to me yet again why I wont do that. You first stated that you get them from one other breeder and now that one breeder is five. have you gone and seen all of the breeding sights that they come from? my guess is no. And what you are buying from is not a breeder but a broker, and they really don't care about wear there babies go just the $$$. And how in the world could you keep track of all 60 hedges, 100 surge gliders or have time to speak to all the potential owners?!?! I do believe that you take the best of care of them that you can. But be honest on where you get them!! and saying that you only get from one breeder and than change it is NOT being honest. Oh and my computer is always in caps lock I have to change it and I do because I don't want to offend anyone, and that does seem to be your goal.

Megan


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## abrowndog (Nov 26, 2010)

It's really weird that this store went from shipping in animals 6 days ago to saying that they will no longer do this as of yesterday. I wonder why the change of heart? If the breeders were reputable, why change?

Edited to add...

And of the three reviews I saw, one gave this store one star. Hmmmmm....


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## Ophelia (Dec 10, 2010)

I think everyone needs to realize that not everyone does everything the same way, but it is still done with a good will and heart of love. It sounds like this person knows how to take care of their hedgehogs. I mean, how many pet store owners do you really think are on here? =/ And if she's taking good care of them, then good for her. She might have a high turn over rate, but that's good for business because that's what a pet sore is, a business. So uh, chill out plz.


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## mel2626 (Sep 28, 2009)

Wow, from the get-go this got ugly. There are far too many contradictions for me to take this store owner seriously.

Quotes from Fins:
"read our reviews we are a 5 star pet shop and sell the best quality animals around and give a much better guarantee with our animals than any other breeder out there."
"noone ever has had anything but 5 star coomments about fins feathers and furs pet shop"

Okay so these 5 start reviews you keep speaking of...where are they??? If I'm not mistaken (and I think someone above me also stated) these review sites allow you to tweak them to get what you want. You could have everyone you know create a fake review. Sorry that doesn't mean much. The Facebook one has 3 reviews and one is a 1 star! So how are ALL of your reviews 5 stars?! lol

"fyi most breeders that our against pet shops do inbreed and cross breed "

Really?! I don't think this one needs a response.

"The true animal extremist and lovers honestly know the animals belong in the wild not sold as pets to any public. So maybe this is something to think about."

So you must be referring to PETA~good ole PETA... You are correct, animal extremists do not want animals kept as pets. BUT stating that "true animal lovers" think animals belong in the wild is untrue. I'm an animal lover but I don't think that way at all. In fact, if you knew anything about the African Pygmy (pet) hedgehogs that you sell, you'd know that they don't even exist in the wild!! They are a mix of hedgehog breeds bred purely to be kept as pet, so they have no place in the wild.

"I don't care if they are respected or not"

Well, we do! These people are respected because they've dedicated their lives to these animals and their well-being. A few have even been breeding for almost 20 years. They've seen the changes with laws, diseases, breeding practices etc. They've seen it all and they are THE go-to people in this community. Your ignorance and disrespect is duly noted. No one said anything negatively about your shop. You brought this on yourself. You could have taken the high road and come on to explain how your shop is a cut above the rest, but you've only made yourself look bad. You could have taken the time to answer people's questions in a manner that actually made sense.

"Yes I do a large number of animals out of my store and yes my breeder has 5 very highly reputable breeders breeding for them as well as they breed thier own. Yes I breed my own also."

So your breeder has their own breeders? I'm confused? How does a breeder breed for another breeder?
Again, if you will be breeding 90% of your own hedgehogs, that means that you will have to have about 54 babies ready every month...on your own. You say you are doing this out of your home, but wow. I just can't imagine the large operation it would take to breed AND SOCIALIZE that many hedgehogs on a monthly basis out of my house!

"Our store is formally known as fish tails here in brick only one bldg over from my store and it does not matter how long I have been in business, I have wanted to do this for 20 years now and never did it until i researched and learned everything i could to make sure when i did open that I would never be like 88 pet world and all the horror stories "

So you are technically new to hedgehogs. That's all. Just be honest. There's nothing wrong with trying a new business venture but when you try to come off as someone who has 20 years of experience with hedgehogs, when you've only just started to deal with them, that is kind of bending the truth.

"You never heard me once ask any of you where you breed or what you do or where your website are, you know why I DON'T CARE! I WILL SAY THIS ONE LAST TIME MY ONLY RESPONSIBILITY IS TO MY CUSTOMERS AND MY ANIMALS! NOT TO ANYONE ON HERE. I DON'T CARE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT PET SHOPS AND YES MANY PET SHOP OWNERS DO NOT LIKE BREEDERS AS WELL AS BREEDERS DO NOT LIKE PET SHOPS. AS FOR ME I DON'T CARE WHO LIKES WHO, I ONLY CARE ABOUT MY BUSINESS, CUSTOMERS AND ANIMALS.."

Sorry, but not everyone here is a breeder. Some of us rescue. Some even do both! The breeders here would be more than happy to show you their websites and their facilities. You didn't ask because you don't care. Well, that sure says a lot about your business. As I stated before, these are people you could be learning from but you choose to be combative. It really is a shame because you had such a great opportunity to prove people wrong...


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

abrowndog said:


> Obviously you do care, or you wouldn't come back here and continue with this argumentative attitude. I truly understand your need to defend yourself, I know I would do the same, but I would also remember that tone speaks volumes and yours is not a friendly one.
> 
> My major concern with what you said above is that you breed out of your home and that you only use one breeder. But if your breeder utilizes many other breeders and you obtain those hedgies, you are, in actuality using may breeders, even if you are only paying money to one.
> 
> ...


yes i do stick up for myself and my bad review was put up by 88 pet world not a real customer and i never rated myself and all reviews are actual customers who have bought and been happy. you all say you are so smart but miss so much like the part i have had many problems with 88 pet world. you can say what you want and everyonne along with you i know i run a great shop and that is all that matters to me. you do not see me researching any of you cause i do not care what don't you understand about that.


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

Xyloart said:


> The purpose of the forum is for people to share and discuss information about domestic hedgehogs (these are not wild hedgehogs so there's nothing to 'leave in the wild'). Part of that is sharing information about breeders and pet stores. This thread was started because someone was wondering if anyone had experiences with your specific store. Wanting to know about a store's breeding practices and looking for more sources of information about the store is completely appropriate and the mark of a responsible owner. If you don't care about what the people here think of your store that is your perogative! Perhaps you should cease checking the forum to avoid stressing out about it more.


what i cared about is someone saying all pet shops use mills, but not all pet shops do not use mills. I swear you all think you are so smart i did not mind someone asking if anyone knew about us it was that i use mills.


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## hedgehog3333 (Nov 7, 2010)

I would like to apoligize. I did not know my simple question would turn into an all out brawl.


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

mel2626 said:


> Wow, from the get-go this got ugly. There are far too many contradictions for me to take this store owner seriously.
> let see 5 star reviews well one wrote on here how happy they are, yahoo and yellowbook and the 1 star person meant to be 5 star he messed up. but think what you want and the 90% breeding was about sugar gliders not hedgies and i know where my breeder gets hers from with the other companies and they are reputable and i know i always get healthy hedgehogs, but let's now talk about breeders who give doctored lineages and doctored health certs and a whole lot of other wrongs. it is always about pet shops because we hurt your pockets that is why you all breed right for money or do you breed and give them away for free now here is my lol it is all about profit and i wonder how many of you really care about the animal and how many care about the money. this all started from 1 big mouth saying we all use mills to a bunch of know it all big mouths who want to put down pet shops and for the people who have defended me on here thank you very much. none of my reviews are written by friends or myself they are all real customers like the one that responded on here oh and that reminds me thier hedgie is very social but pet shops do not sell social animals, the problem is here that the majority of you speak bs without really knowing. you should only speak in the "I" form and never for another especially when you have no idea. no matter what you say i will keep selling animals, i will keep all my customers happy and i will keep standing by all my words. you can pick apart what i say but what i say is true and i stick firmly behind that and yes my breeder may get from other sources but i only get from my one breeder and myself. and here is the best part i talked to my breeder and all her breeders that breed for her are all on here this site lol so beiong you are all so perfect i guess they are too.
> Quotes from Fins:
> "read our reviews we are a 5 star pet shop and sell the best quality animals around and give a much better guarantee with our animals than any other breeder out there."
> ...


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## E-Che & Tonja (Jun 30, 2010)

Do you know EACH of the "breeders" that your "breeder" uses? if so may we please have know there name's and a way to contac tham? If they are as reputabel as you think you should have no problem with providing the info. Most of us are way out of the area and you wouldnot have to worrie about us trying to get one of there hedges, we would just like to make sure that they are well takin care of and not have another tumbalweed.

Megan


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## abrowndog (Nov 26, 2010)

[/quote]
yes i do stick up for myself and my bad review was put up by 88 pet world not a real customer and i never rated myself and all reviews are actual customers who have bought and been happy. you all say you are so smart but miss so much like the part i have had many problems with 88 pet world. you can say what you want and everyonne along with you i know i run a great shop and that is all that matters to me. you do not see me researching any of you cause i do not care what don't you understand about that.[/quote]

Actually, your bad review was NOT from that pet store you keep mentioning. And feel free to research me. I am a SAHM, a small business owner, a teacher of autistic children and am on the board of an abused womens' shelter. I am a new hedgie owner and I was only trying to help you see what impression you are giving here.

Best of luck to you.


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## finspetshop (Jan 21, 2011)

yes i do stick up for myself and my bad review was put up by 88 pet world not a real customer and i never rated myself and all reviews are actual customers who have bought and been happy. you all say you are so smart but miss so much like the part i have had many problems with 88 pet world. you can say what you want and everyonne along with you i know i run a great shop and that is all that matters to me. you do not see me researching any of you cause i do not care what don't you understand about that.[/quote]

Actually, your bad review was NOT from that pet store you keep mentioning. And feel free to research me. I am a SAHM, a small business owner, a teacher of autistic children and am on the board of an abused womens' shelter. I am a new hedgie owner and I was only trying to help you see what impression you are giving here.

Best of luck to you.
Here is another case of someone not knowing where did hou see this review because the owner of the pet shop sent the same email from himself to my vet and like my vet told him my store is immaculate and very healthy animals. And frankly I don't need to research you and I don't care who or what you work with not impressed not even a lil. And no im not new to hedgies for the other know it all been doing this and researching, schooling and much more for 20 yrs so all the 20 yr people been there and for the others I don't need help, guidance or support, my store comes highly recommended I don't tweak my reviews but you can all try to make me look bad but reality is if you breed your a mill. But call it what u want it to fool more people into buying your animals doctor more certs and lineages I don't care I don't do that I do good and honest business have no reason to lie and I always said and it never changed I buy from 1 breeder so what if the use other breeders due to the amount they sell, but bottom line I buy from the, and breed some of my own and the 90% thing was for the gliders I still ship them in and im breeding so I don't have to ship them in as much and waste time driving to the airport every week twice a week. It gets tiring and old. I am done with this and a shot was taken at my store cause I have a pet shop and stated was we all use mills so that includes my store. Wow you people are really not brite at all. I feel bad for your animals cause people who think they know it all normally know nothing at all. Now say what you want about me and my store I don't care and the formally known as fish tails 23 years in business they were. Now goodbye to all god bless and please only talk about what you know oh wait then most wont do much talking at all and again to the people who have defended me you are the breeders with class, knowledge and im sure the very few that have defended me take the best care of your animals.hate me, like me makes no difference to me and no you don't need to know megan where my animals come from, my breeders are my business never once have I asked any of you where yours come from or if they are taking care of that is your business not mine. My hedgies don't come from a mill and that's all you ever need to know and you don't need to research my breeder or their breeders. They are healthy, social and happy and someone who bought from me already stated that on here so there is your proof that pet shops sell good healthy and social animals or at least mine does
[/quote]


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## amber.vroman (Nov 2, 2010)

finspetshop said:


> my store comes highly recommended I don't tweak my reviews but you can all try to make me look bad but reality is if you breed your a mill. But call it what u want it to fool more people into buying your animals doctor more certs and lineages I don't care I don't do that I do good and honest business have no reason to lie and I always said and it never changed I buy from 1 breeder


It is funny how you say that you don't buy from a mill, but you turn around and call ALL people who breed mills. So by your logic you are obviously buying from a mill. I don't think it is too much to ask where your Hedgehogs come from. Any customer would want to know that, and I believe that was why this thread was started. It puts any good pet owners mind at ease to know that their pet won't have some sort of disease. You have shown "wonderful" customer service and professionalism. I seriously doubt you have as much knowledge as the people here whom have dedicated themselves to hedgehogs expecting very little profit in return. You have made it very clear that profit is the reason that you do your job.


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## Ophelia (Dec 10, 2010)

Maybe profit is her job because you know, she owns a PET STORE. -.- Seriously people, live and let live. Sheesh.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Ophelia said:


> Maybe profit is her job because you know, she owns a PET STORE. -.- Seriously people, live and let live. Sheesh.


I agree and wish this thread would just go away.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I'm closing this as it is going nowhere. As has been pointed out numerous times, the holes in the pet store owners storey are obvious and it's beating a dead horse to continue to argue.


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