Pet Store Chins - Paw Talk

***Jade*** · #1 03-25-2003, 12:04 AM

What was I thinking??

I went into the pet store tonight to get some toys for Praline (she's in quarantine and needed some play things!!), and had to see their chin. ($179 for a standard. LOL! as if!)

They got him out for me, and gave him to me. The poor thing was just trembling uncontrollably. They were all stunned he even let me hold him - said he isn't sociable.

I brought him to my chest and right underneath my chin and whispered to him until he stopped trembling. Then did the under-the-chin scratch - he tilted his head and his paw came up!! The two guys working there were astounded! He proceeded to climb on me and warmed right up! I SO didn't want to leave him (he was HUGE and very pretty) but I had to ... *sigh*

At least he had a hidey house and was pretty isolated from the prying hands of people (up on a top level - have to ask to even see him.). He gets better treatment than most pet store chinnies I've seen ...

Sassy · #2 03-25-2003, 07:39 AM

$179.00 for a standard

pet stores think that they can over charge for these guys because the price is so high they end up sitting in pet stores forever. Ughhhh

**Scarlette** · #3 03-25-2003, 09:25 AM

My first chinnie was from a pet shop. I must say, they took really good care of him. He was kept away from birds, but the only thing that I didn't like was that he was kept by the front door....first thing that youngsters would run for. Other than that, the employees let him out after hours and handled him.

I really didn't know much about chins at the time, so I came home and hopped online, learned what they needed for food, cage, and excercise, thought about it for 2 days and went and got him. I paid $129 for him. I didn't know about colors and assumed he was a standard, come to find out he was a hetero beige, so I guess I wasn't ripped off too badly (still ripped off though). Hindsight is always 20/20. Oddly enough, he is the tamest, most laid back chinnie out of my 4, so I guess he wasn't too traumatized.

Jade, maybe you can talk them down in the price. At that price, he'll probably be there for awhile.

DirtySouthChins · #4 03-25-2003, 09:41 AM

WOW $179 for a standard, Jade have you thought about maybe talking them down in price and bringing this little guy home for yourself

I agree that at that price he will probably be there for quite sometime, that is ashame

Sassy · #5 03-25-2003, 09:43 AM

Scarlette, $129.00 for a hetero beige is right around what some breeders charge, I sell hetero beiges for around $125.00 depends on the quality of the chin.

Jade you know you will go back and try to talk them down on the price.

**Scarlette** · #6 03-25-2003, 09:57 AM

Hmm, must be a location thing Sassy. Two of the breeders that I know in my state sell Hetero Beiges for 80-90, but if I remember correctly, that was for adults. I think babies went for a little more. I wouldn't hesitate buying one for 129 from a breeder. With what I know now, I probably wouldn't pay that much to a pet shop again.

***Jade*** · #7 03-25-2003, 11:51 AM

NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!

NO more chinnies! NO pet store chinnies either!!

#1 - I can't afford it right now
#2 - No cage to put him in
#3 - he'd need a male buddy and then ... well we all know how it goes!!

NO!!

#8 03-25-2003, 12:34 PM

the chin's in the petstore here looks bad most of the time. The tank they have it in is about a 10-20 gallon aquarium with a huge house in it. I don't ever see dust in there for it. One time it's eyes were pretty yucky looking.

They are always really huge too. They sell chins and hedgies for $130(chins are always the grey ones, standard I'd guess). Then they sell degus for $25. Rip off.

To top it off, they've now started selling bald guinea pigs. Mind you these are not supposed to be bald pigs, they just have mites so darn bad.

PokeyPokey · #9 03-25-2003, 12:43 PM

The pet store near hear has degus, sugar gliders, and a chin. The chin would check me out whenever I visited and one day the owner was there. As we walked in he said what would you liek today? I said a chin. So he let me hold the chin. He was soooooo friendly. Now I know I can stick my fingers in his cage cause he's so cute. Next time I will say I want a degus and maybe he'll let me pull it out. Or a sugar glider. (They had a little joey) I promised I wouldn't take him home tho...They'd most likely give me a good deal on him but I am tring to get breeder chins now.

Pet stores are expensive. One at the mall tries to sell them really hard and they're just kits! And (I guess when they're shipped) they're whiskers looked all chewed up! Like someone cut them down so they could fit in a tiny box. I dunno what was wrong with their whiskers but i felt bad for them.

#10 03-25-2003, 01:53 PM

There is a few pet stores around my place. 1 that has chins keeps them in a nice large cage with shelves and a dust bath with a small litter pan, the cage itself is with the cats/kittens behind a glass barrier in an air condioned room. Very good store.

pinkie1205 · #11 01-31-2006, 11:08 PM

I got my chin at a petstore. I paid $150 for the whole set up. I'm pretty sure the chin was an adult. She was so sweet though

. Kinda skiddish when being held, no matter how I tried I couldn't get her over it. The cage they gave me sucked, and I had one that I actually found in my basement that was perfect. It had 3 different levels. One day I was in anothe pet store and splurged and bought a male that was older. He was sweet too. He couldn't really be held, but he did warm up. Oh yea I paid $200 for him and like a 4 foot tall cage that was PERFECT. So my female went in with him and my rattie went into the chin cage.

dragonmaster · #12 02-01-2006, 11:15 AM

I really wish that pet stores wouldn't keep animals like that. They always take forever and a day to sell and meanwhile the poor animal is usually suffering. I find that so many pet stores take poor care of their animals. The pet store near me has 1 chinnie right now and I always look at him while I'm in there getting supplies for the hammies. (By look at him I mean I peek in at him, I've never held him.) He always looks so sad.

He's on the bottom row of cages in a wall of cages where the hamsters, mice, etc. are. He's all alone and he just seems to hide in one of those big plastic igloos and look depressed. Then again, if I was a full-sized chinnie in a cage the same size as the ones they house the hamsters and mice in (which are also too small for the number of hamsters in them anyway), I'd be depressed too. I doubt he could move more than 2 or 3 steps if he came out of the igloo.

kandy · #13 02-01-2006, 10:21 PM

I got all 4 of my chinnies from the pet shop. They charged $100 (canadian) each for my standards and Casper (white mosiac i believe) was $200. The pet shop here takes alright care of the chinnies, however my first chinnie was alone in the pet shop for 4 months

It took her a while to warm up to us, but she finally accepts us as one of her own

Rocheal · #14 02-28-2006, 05:23 PM

I saw two chinchillas at our local pet store. A while ago they tried to get us to sell to them when we were breeding but it only made me mad that she'd keep asking.

They were in an itty bitty cage in the same room as all the rodents and loud birds. Plus it was probably 75 degrees in there. Not too bad but it's not comfortable!

I just can't believe that people buy chinnies for so much money, not knowing a thing about them.

ratty_ratkins · #15 02-28-2006, 06:33 PM

all this talk of poor chinnies makes me want to get the two that has been at the petstore for about 6 months now.....
(wonders if chinnies and rabbits could be play mates)