Post by tomm on Apr 25, 2011 21:49:41 GMT
I have just returned from a petshop (petwise) that were holding 2 male and 3 female degus and i am quite disgusted at the situation. I thought the local pets at home were bad. Email has been sent and i hope that something is done about it. I won't rant too much the copy of the email below says it all.
How on earth are places like this not inspected regularly. The people running it clearly had no idea about degus. I can only assume the other exotics they were keeping were mistreated too.
I visited the store earlier today and was somewhat distressed at the size of the cages the degus were being held in and the food they were being given.
Both the cages with 2 males and 3 females were far too small and the bowl containing food seemed to be full of hamster food or something containing large amounts of vegetable/fruit pieces or molasses.
I am sure you are aware of this but degus can become diabetic incredibly easy and need a diet completely free of sugar (Including a high carb diet). The degus you were holding looked severely overweight and unhappy and i think that a wheel should be introduced to the cages as regular exercise is 100% required.
Degu food (Hard feed and timothy hay in a rack) is quite readily available and i cannot understand why it is not being used. Also there are plenty of much larger cages on display and i think it would only be fair to use one of these instead. (Cages with wire flooring is not acceptable due to it causing a condition called "bumblefoot").
I would like a hasty reply as i believe your degus are not being treated fairly in the slightest.
Ps: The chipmunks are the front were adorable.
How on earth are places like this not inspected regularly. The people running it clearly had no idea about degus. I can only assume the other exotics they were keeping were mistreated too.
