Pets At Home

[Chickenandgravy]

This is my little pets at home reject having a nap today so far (he's only 2 years old) he has cost me close to £1500 in vets fees due to bad teeth and gas/stomach issues. Love him to death though and he will jump up on the sofa to watch TV with me of a night.
Definitely in bred with the amount of issues he has though!

Overheard staff when I was in one day getting food telling a young family that rabbits are perfect starter pet and very easy to look after

 

[under the ivy]

I agree, it is horrible. I hate how it’s shut down the local family owned pet shops (near me anyway). And the prices!!! I buy cat litter tray liners and it’s 3 for 2, £3.50 each for 12.. went to poundstretcher yesterday... 24 for £1!!!

 

[Mickey86]

We bought a hamster from their adoption area of the store, I asked the staff member helping us why he was at the adoption area and she told me because he had been in the store for longer than they’d like. Staff struggled to get the hamster out of the cage for us as he kept trying to bite them but they assured us he was friendly and handled often. They said the fee was optional and can be as much or as little as you like. Our hamster lived for 2 years but he was never really that friendly.

We also got some tropical fish from pets at home to introduce to our tank a few years later, 2 were pregnant and they all died within a few months of getting them.

It’s really sad because my children have been to their half term kids activities and the staff that run it are great and seem really interested in animals and are very knowledgeable.

 

[Merpedy]

I will say the one semi-good thing they seem to do is try and sell social animals in pairs. Sadly don’t think they’d refuse a person outright if they simply wanted one guinea pig or rabbit to keep alone.

Another thing that rubs me the wrong way is that they sell all those awfully small themed cages for hamsters and other small rodents. Their general enclosure sizes in the stores are small though, but you think with some of them they’d at least try and explain that the cage is unsuitable for the animals

 

[BigMavis]

Yes! I've got 3, all have their own rooms, no cages here (it's hard work bonding boys because they fight so bad even when neutered!) But hoping that eventually they will all bond together and can run about the full house. They are all litter trained and not destructive at all.

The one in the bedroom frequently enjoys jumping on your head at 3am which is....interesting to say the least this is why I'm so against tiny hutches ad they don't have the room to be rabbits!

Lovely. We had them when I was small, had an outdoor hutch and a long run, my youngest is breaking her heart for a bunny but we have cats and a dog so wouldn't be ideal. I've never known anyone to keep them in the house, interesting that they adapt so well. I love it

 

[Merpedy]

Experience with them seem very hit or miss when buying animals, but I would be very interested to know where the animals are bred.

I was going to buy a snake from them but the local one doesn't sell reptiles in their shops anymore so we ended up having a snake shipped from a breeders a bit further away. I have seen some other Pets At Home have ball pythons with tiny cages, I know it's a bit of a care standard for some snake owners still but it seems to be a very outdated one and one that is normally used by breeders. Plus the enclosures for the snakes were very very bare, I know you're meant to be able to see the animal but it's not like snakes want to be seen to begin with.
I found out a few years ago that a few shelters do have exotic pets, so I'd very likely adopt if I wanted another snake tbh.

But it is very questionable that they run an adoption charity and scheme (which may be a bit of a sham as sometimes they will be animals that were on the shop floor and no one wanted) but are, to some extent, directly contributing to the numbers of bunnies and other rodents that are in rescues

Price wise they're expensive. I only ever really go to get food for the snake (though I've had a time where the food was defrosted) and pick up a toy or a snack for the cat

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

When I got my cat I was looking at pets at home for all the stuff you need when you get a new pet. Their prices are extortionate! I don’t think I got a single thing from there in the end because I found everything cheaper elsewhere.

We used to have a bearded dragon and I’d get his live food from there as it was one of the few places I could get it from in my area, but you had to check the containers because some of them would be half full of dead locusts and beardy wouldn’t eat dead ones.

I don’t know how they’re allowed to sell animals as pets. Rabbits, rodents and particularly lizards, which require a lot of specific care and shouldn’t be sold like that and the conditions they keep their animals in aren’t great. Poor rabbits sitting on the shop floor all day in those tiny pens.

 

[BigMavis]

This is my little pets at home reject having a nap today so far (he's only 2 years old) he has cost me close to £1500 in vets fees due to bad teeth and gas/stomach issues. Love him to death though and he will jump up on the sofa to watch TV with me of a night.
Definitely in bred with the amount of issues he has though!

Overheard staff when I was in one day getting food telling a young family that rabbits are perfect starter pet and very easy to look after

Do you just have him running around the house? I'm so jealous to be honest he looks so comfy.

 

[SonicTheSpikeyThing]

We “rehomed” a hamster from pets at homes rehoming bit. Apparently hed been for sale too long so they transferred him to the rehoming bit.
he was apparently 13 weeks old when we got him. He died 6 months later.
same with a lone rat. I popped in to pick up treats for my dog and there was a lone rat, who I felt sorry for. Apparnetly no more rats were coming in (this was start fo the pandemic) Although she didn’t die super early, she was unhandled and it took around 6 months for her to trust us enough to be handled. Compared to my breeder bred rats so far she’s had 2 lump removals and a constant respiratory infection (none of my other 6 girls or 6 boys have ever had one. All bred from good breeders)
I also know many people in the rat community who’ve purchased two “females” from pets at home and ended up with a pregnant female due to one being actually a male.
I know in the rat community buying pet shop rats is very frowned upon due to the health problems and them 99% of the time coming form a rodent mill.

 

[Chickenandgravy]

Do you just have him running around the house? I'm so jealous to be honest he looks so comfy.

Yes! I've got 3, all have their own rooms, no cages here (it's hard work bonding boys because they fight so bad even when neutered!) But hoping that eventually they will all bond together and can run about the full house. They are all litter trained and not destructive at all.

The one in the bedroom frequently enjoys jumping on your head at 3am which is....interesting to say the least this is why I'm so against tiny hutches that pets at home recommend as they don't have the room to be rabbits!

 

[BigMavis]

Friends bought a guinea pig for their kids, no research done beforehand, just on a whim after a days shopping. Got home did some research realised they should have got two, went back 3 days later and pets at home refused to sell them one unless they bought another enclosure, because they would fight. They were the same guineas that had been kept with their original.
Maybe that was responsible
I get my dog groomed in store, sometimes I look at the pets up for adoption and feel so sad, maybe they wouldn't be there if people did proper research before buying.

 

[Clojo92]

I bought Rats from them. Started off with 3, and kept adding until we had 7 female rats. Kept getting them as I felt like I needed to rescue them! They always looked unwell/lonely. Unsurprisingly they had lots of issues. Lots of lump removals and resp infections but they lived until they were 2 1/2 - 3 years old.

Will never buy from them again for anything though.

 

[CosmicCreepers]

Bought 3 Syrian hamsters (not together of course 1 after the other passed) and 2 died within a year of getting them, the third lived for 3 years. I used to joke to my mum that's because the last one was female and she was a strong woman but really I think it was because we left the last one alone a lot, I did handle the first 2 quite a lot which probably stressed them out more than I realised (although they never got aggressive or bit me).

Looking back if and when I get small animals again I'll be getting them from a rescue center or a small business. My Mum has fish and got her last lot from there and they all died in 2 weeks...she did nothing different than what she did with the ones before from a small family business and they lived for a year. Very strange.

 

[Scorpihoe]

I bought a Russian dwarf hamster from pets at home and she actually lasted about 3 years, which was surprising because I know they don’t live for long...

Ffs I miss her now

 

[Chickenandgravy]

I agree, it is horrible. I hate how it’s shut down the local family owned pet shops (near me anyway). And the prices!!! I buy cat litter tray liners and it’s 3 for 2, £3.50 each for 12.. went to poundstretcher yesterday... 24 for £1!!!

Yeah totally agree, I went in for litter trays and they were £9 for the exact same ones in poundstretcher for £3!!
I think people think because it's a big name it's trustworthy and it's just so not

 

[mochibean]

I got 2 Syrian hamsters from Pets at Home. One died after 3 months and the other lasted around a year. Sad. I also have had many fish from them and they've come with many diseases unfortunately and never lasted long. Won a fish at the fair as a kid that lasted longer despite the sad conditions.

I'm not a fan. Expensive and as another user above mentioned they've put the smaller pet shops out of business.

 

[BigMavis]

Here's an interesting discussion

I honestly only know of the whole adoption thing because we were discussing how pet stores work and the teacher touched on the fact that there is legislation

Essentially, accommodation at pet stores is considered 'temporary' so they can be under the recommended size compared to a permanent enclosure. It's why they move them every now and then because, according to another source, the guidance allows less than minimum recommendations if the animal is going to be kept in the enclosure for less than a week (adoptions are good for this because it grabs at people's heartstrings and it feels like you're doing something good - I'd argue you are but at the end of the day, you're not exactly picking up an animal who got dumped by an owner).
Page 13 on this - I thought it was 30 days yesterday but it seems to be up to three months, and according to the forums some of the time is because they have a new group of animals they can move in

Interesting, i must take a proper look at that later. I had looked into adoption and a ball park figure i was given by the store was well over £100, I remember being quite surprised. That included hutch etc though, I'm not sure if its just my store but they really pressure you into buying enclosures from them. Other pet retailers don't meet the requirements apparently.

 

[TwooTwooTwitTwitTwoo]

We bought our rats from there. Pre- pandemic and they are all still well. One does have a fatty lump but rats are prone to those anyway. We took her to the vet and the advice is just to keep an eye on it.
The bond our children have with them is beautiful. They have certainly enriched our lives.

The lady who served us was very knowledgeable and you could tell she genuinely cared about the animals. I think we were lucky though based on the experiences people have described on here.

 

[Chickenandgravy]

Following on from a thread about buying cats and dogs I thought I would start one about pets at home since a few people on that thread had also mentioned in particular rabbits bought from there having genetic issues and the general terrible conditions they live in.

I have 3 (rescue) house rabbits, one was an Easter present that the child got bored of soon after. He's from Pets at home and he's the best wee bun but he's very odd looking aswell as being horrendously prone to gas and gi issues, I have my suspicions he's very in bred

Never had hamsters etc out there but assuming it's the same for small rodents/fish too. Horrible place!

 

[Merpedy]

I know many animal rescues charge an adoption fee but at least they do home checks etc. Pets at home adoption fee is quite high, if I remember correctly it was possibly the same as the other animals on the shop floor. I have read before that these animals were just the regular animals who got a bit too old.
I wonder what would happen if you rang pets at home and said you wanted to surrender your animal

Here's an interesting discussion

I honestly only know of the whole adoption thing because we were discussing how pet stores work and the teacher touched on the fact that there is legislation

Essentially, accommodation at pet stores is considered 'temporary' so they can be under the recommended size compared to a permanent enclosure. It's why they move them every now and then because, according to another source, the guidance allows less than minimum recommendations if the animal is going to be kept in the enclosure for less than a week (adoptions are good for this because it grabs at people's heartstrings and it feels like you're doing something good - I'd argue you are but at the end of the day, you're not exactly picking up an animal who got dumped by an owner).
Page 13 on this - I thought it was 30 days yesterday but it seems to be up to three months, and according to the forums some of the time is because they have a new group of animals they can move in