Hi! Well I'm almost twelveand my guinea pig died (so sad! may he rest in peace)

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   animalluv99posted 13 years ago

   Hi! Well I'm almost twelveand my guinea pig died (so sad! may he rest in peace) so my parents...
   
   are letting me get a bunny. My mom was a little hesitant to say yes even though i did my homework on the subject. My mom said that, years ago, my cousin had a bunny and after two weeks it died. She bought it from a pet store, so could that have been the reason it died? I got my guinea pig from a pet store and not even a year passed when he, sadly, died. I don't want to make the same mistake twice so should I get my furry little friend from a breeder, a pet store, or an adoption agency?

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   IdeaMorphistposted 13 years ago

   I personally prefer rescue pets. There seems to be a higher chance of pet store or rescue pets passing away, but my idea is to save the ones who are suffering.

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3. 66

   Amy Bechererposted 13 years ago

   Dear animalluv99, My adult daughter rescues guinea pigs.  She has 16 of the adorable little critters.  They are all "special needs" guinea pigs, each adorable in his/her own way.  Most she was given by Petco as she could see they were not well when she saw them in the pet store.  The employees got to know Megan and would 'give' the little ones to her.  Under her expert and loving care, the vet calls them "giant mutant pigs".  The rabbit we had seemed to be ill often despite the best of care.  They also can acquire zoonomic illnesses, meaning they can pass their illness on to you!  We also had a chinchilla in a separate cage next to the bunny's cage.  The bunny died from some type of neurological viral illness despite our best efforts and within 2 weeks our little black chinchilla died.  Just some things to consider.  Good luck.  You are doing a great thing in considering your options in giving a little friend a good home.

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   kariannrposted 11 years ago

   One of the biggest things to consider is how healthy the animals look at the pet store.  If you're not sure, watch the animals at the pet store, and make an appointment with your other sources that you might adopt a pet from.  Even if the pet you want to buy does not look sick or hurt, if the other ones do, it's not a good idea to buy from that source.  I watch when I buy fish.  I watch for fish that are dead in any of the tanks at the pet store.  I watch for sick fish.  If the person or store you are purchasing from is not removing any sick or dead animals from the rest of the animals, it is a problem.  You watch the animal really close those first few days, and if it looks like it might be getting sick, you take it back.  Don't purchase an animal from a source that won't give you an exchange within a reasonable amount of time.  I know it's hard, but try not to get too attached at first.

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