Oops! Pet shop in Dun Laoighre

popecatapetal

A cautionary tale for those of you buying gerbils in the pet shop in Dun Laoighre - don't take the shop assistant's word as gospel!

Now I'm not saying this is a bad pet shop - in fact I think it's a truly awesome shop - loads of space in the cages, good selection, animals all seem to be very happy there. I got two gerbils there in September, and I had them for 6 weeks before my landlord decided he didn't like them. I then gave them to a trainee vet from UCD.

I contacted her (the vet) yesterday to see how they were getting on, and the "father and son" were in fact a father and daughter! They'd had babies a few weeks after I handed them over to their new owner, so they must have been pregnant when I gave them to her.

The "son", in fact a daughter, had been sick a few weeks after I got them - what I assumed to be a bladder infection, due to bloody pee. The vet that I brought them to agreed, after I had guaranteed him that the gerbil was male, as the girl in the pet shop had told me. I had an interesting week trying to feed him/her the antibiotics, which was quite stressful to the poor gerbil, and could well have been unnecessary - the blood could have been to do with her reproductive system.

I also noticed, when buying my gerbils, that the girl in the pet shop handled them in the exact way you are NEVER supposed to do - picking them up by their tails. Correct for rats, very VERY bad for gerbils - their tails can fall off.

I'm not saying that this pet shop are a bad shop, quite the contrary in fact. I'm just saying that their shop assistants are clearly not always right.

LuckyStar

That's not good at all,

Gerbils are actually fairly easy to sex as well, their bits are almost identical to cats.

Pye

This is why I don't like pet shops. Time and time again I hear of people taking home wrongly sexed animals. Anyone in the pet trade should be definite on knowing the sex before they sell any animal. Not to mention be capable of advising a new owner on the proper care.

I'm shocked they sold you a supposed "father" in any case to be honest. The breeders shouldn't be sold in my opinion, especially the mother. You have no way of knowing her age and how many litters she's had along with the possible health concerns that surround it. I'd like to see some kind of licence for people wishing to breed livestock as many doing so clearly haven't a clue what they're doing.

Also just about the tail thing. Rats should never be picked up by their tail alone. Young rats may be picked by the base of the tail and then their fronts supported. Serious injury can result when picking a fully grown rat up in this way. You're totally correct about gerbils tails. They should always be scooped up with both hands.

Our man in Havana

I have bred & kept gerbils for years & I have always picked them up by the base of the tail - quickly done then held in my hands. Any rodent should not be held by the tail alone due to the risk of inquires.

Sexing any animals is not always 100% I had a baby rat hold his testes in for over 5 months - only noticed when my fat females gave birth all 8 females that is. Gerbils are pretty easy, hamsters can be a nightmare, piggies are simple, bunnies can be tricky - when you are pushed for time mistakes can happen.

dellytots

I have a very large long haired female Rabbitthat was sold to me as a male, lion head dwarf rabbit in Wackers in Town.....

cichlid child

popecatapetal wrote: »

A cautionary tale for those of you buying gerbils in the pet shop in Dun Laoighre - don't take the shop assistant's word as gospel!

Now I'm not saying this is a bad pet shop - in fact I think it's a truly awesome shop - loads of space in the cages, good selection, animals all seem to be very happy there. I got two gerbils there in September, and I had them for 6 weeks before my landlord decided he didn't like them. I then gave them to a trainee vet from UCD.

I contacted her (the vet) yesterday to see how they were getting on, and the "father and son" were in fact a father and daughter! They'd had babies a few weeks after I handed them over to their new owner, so they must have been pregnant when I gave them to her.

The "son", in fact a daughter, had been sick a few weeks after I got them - what I assumed to be a bladder infection, due to bloody pee. The vet that I brought them to agreed, after I had guaranteed him that the gerbil was male, as the girl in the pet shop had told me. I had an interesting week trying to feed him/her the antibiotics, which was quite stressful to the poor gerbil, and could well have been unnecessary - the blood could have been to do with her reproductive system.

I also noticed, when buying my gerbils, that the girl in the pet shop handled them in the exact way you are NEVER supposed to do - picking them up by their tails. Correct for rats, very VERY bad for gerbils - their tails can fall off.

I'm not saying that this pet shop are a bad shop, quite the contrary in fact. I'm just saying that their shop assistants are clearly not always right.

You blame the person in the petshop for not knowing the sex and you and 2 vets albeit one a traniee vet could not tell the difference

popecatapetal

This was my first pair of gerbils, and though I had done research, I would not have been in any way confident in determining the sexes, especially after the pet shop assistant had been so confident in her judgement.

The trainee vet who took them was in third year, and had done almost no small animal husbandry so far - that was part of the reason she wanted to get some rodents, she didn't think the course had covered them in enough detail, and she wanted some practical experience.

The vet I brought them to when they were sick took my word that they were male, as I had no reason to doubt their sex up til then.

Would you be confident in sexing your first rodent? Would you bother, after the pet shop assistant assured you of their sex? I thought then that the girl in the pet shop knew what she was talking about. She seemed perfectly confident in her assessment.

I admit that once I realized that she wasn't handling the gerbils correctly, I should probably have taken her word with a pinch of salt - I shall know for next time.

Also, to Bond-007, I know that picking up rodents by the base of the tails is okay, as long as you support the rest of the body too, but she was picking themup in the middle of the tail. They both had kinks in the tails that seemed quite permenant...

Again, I'm not saying that everything the pet shop assistant says and does is wrong. I'm just saying that they CAN be wrong on occasion, and it might be a good idea to double check things like the sexes of your new pets.

Jules

Bond-007 wrote: »

Sexing any animals is not always 100% I had a baby rat hold his testes in for over 5 months - only noticed when my fat females gave birth all 8 females that is. Gerbils are pretty easy, hamsters can be a nightmare, piggies are simple, bunnies can be tricky - when you are pushed for time mistakes can happen.

QFT....

can be very difficult to sex small furries! especially given the fact that a lot of them can draw their testicles up into their bodies. I advise people never to take the word of people in pet shops, and to always bring them to a vet to get them checked out and properly sexed.

carwash_2006

I would advise that sexing small animals should where possible be done by consensus over several days. They can fool even the most experienced person at times.

Pye

Bond-007 wrote: »

I have bred & kept gerbils for years & I have always picked them up by the base of the tail - quickly done then held in my hands. Any rodent should not be held by the tail alone due to the risk of inquires.

Fair enough if you haven't had any problems with it, but you are clearly experienced with the animals. Most people aren't which is why I'd rather just advise them against it. Gerbils can easily bugger off without warning causing the handler to lose their grip and instinctively grip tighter at the middle or end of the tail causing it to come away when the animal bolts. I've seen this kind of thing happen many times when young children have been taught to pick them by the tails. Unhappy gerbil, freaked out kid. Not a nice situation.

Bainne2

I once had to teach a shop assistant in a petstore how to sex a piggie and I was only 12 I got a supposed female off them too who was sick and I ended up with a pregnant female and 4 dead babies as the diesiese passed ontot he little ones:(

uma10

How sad...I also got one piggie that died next day. The shop gave me another one and despite I took it to the vet as I saw signs of fight for breathing, he died as well 4 days after. I would be very interested on adopting or buying piggies from people despite of a shop, I live in Dublin. If anybody knows about somebody, please reply me.