# how to help chipmunk in petshop.



## CaptainGodzilla (Aug 9, 2009)

hi, ive not posted much, but ive been lurking around for while.

anyway, i was in my local petshop, and they have a gorrrrgeous albino chipmunk advertised for 70pounds.

its cooped up in a hamster cage - very similar to this one










except it dosent have any tubes or a wheel, in fact, the cage dosent have anything in it but the two shelves, a waer bottle and what looks like hamster or rat mix scatterd round. 

the cage absolutly stinks, i dont know if thats just what chipmunks smell like or what, but it was awful, and the poor things furr looked really dull. 
it was boucing from one side of the cage to the other, completely nonestop the entire time i was in there. 
i asked the lady about it and she said it was just a bit frightend from the kittens meowing 
(which where in a wire cage NEXT to where the chipmunk was being kept) 

so i want to know what exactly i can do to help this little guy? 

any help really apprciated  thanks


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## Cleo27 (Jan 9, 2010)

*-*

Aw thats such a shame 
There's nothing really you can do. It's a kind of akward situation when you find animals like that in the pet shop. You can either leave it, report it - though I'm not really sure where you would go to do so. Or, you can buy it, if you have the money, and then give this horrible pet shop space and money to bring another poor little chipmunk or other creature in to their care- and the cycle starts all over again.
I'm sorry but I don't really know anything about chipmunks or anything, but I am positive they need lots of stimulation and enviromental enrichment. I'm sure somebody thats more experienced will come and reply soon.
Good Luck and let us know what happens, Brooke xx


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## CaptainGodzilla (Aug 9, 2009)

i really really did want to buy it  

yeah, i had a look about and they need avierys :/

i will keep updated


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## africa (Sep 12, 2008)

Be brave and tell the shop owner that the County Council Trading Standards animal welfare dept who have ultimate responsibility for petshops would not be impressed. Chipmunks should never be kept in hamster cages. Or phone the RSPCA who have a duty to investigate ( they are fairly useless but they will know that this is wrong!)


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Or ring the council and ask to speak to the petshop licensing people.
I hate seeing chippies in small cages, an aviary is the right place for these active critters


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## Loderuna (Mar 9, 2010)

I'd go for phone council and rspca and give the pet shop owner a lesson in how to properly house and provide for a chipmunk! You could perhaps show her to their books section, if they have a chipmunk book....:bash::bash::bash:

At the risk of upsetting the mods - what is this petshop called??


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## CaptainGodzilla (Aug 9, 2009)

right, ill get on it 

loderuna, ill pm you


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## Loderuna (Mar 9, 2010)

Ta. I just sent a message to them from their website advising on chipmunk housing and how they could be setting a better example to the general public etc.


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## Loderuna (Mar 9, 2010)

The response:

"We or aware that the chipmunk is in a very small cage, But we have had 
a larger cage on order for over 2 weeks now and we or just awaiting 
arrival of it. Any one who asks about the chipmunk for sale should 
have been told that it would need a much bigger cage. 

The cage that it is in now the cage that was supplied with the 
chipmunk when it was brought to us. 

I can assure you that animal welfare is one of or bigger priorities in 
this store and we hold the health of all animals very very high, But 
at times we or stuck because of suppliers. You can rest assure that 
we or on top of this situation and will have a larger cage for him as 
soon as we possibly can,"

They should a) get better suppliers - they now have a chipmunk doing stereotypic behaviour, which it will probably do for the rest of its life, regardless of cage size.
b) Get their act together and not take in animals that they cannot house properly.

Grrrr.


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## CaptainGodzilla (Aug 9, 2009)

hmm... it makes you wonder what they mean by larger cage though? cos i really doybt they have an aivery on order :/ (ive been looking into chips!)

ill pop in sometime this week and see whats happeing.


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## snoopyfrench87 (Apr 27, 2009)

Loderuna said:


> The response:
> 
> "We or aware that the chipmunk is in a very small cage, But we have had
> a larger cage on order for over 2 weeks now and we or just awaiting
> ...


That is a tad presumptuous - the chipmunk was brought into them in that cage - it is likely a member of the public gave it to them - seeing as the RSPCA wont take in un wanted pets anymore! Seeing as it was the cage the chipmunk arrived in then the chipmunk is likely to have been performing stereotypical behaviours before its arrival!

stop getting on the band wagon to hate pet shops - yes some are awful but atleast this one is admitting it is at fault and is trying to amend the situation rather then ignoring advice or avoiding the subject! give them a break!

ALSO i have 4 chipmunks all rescued when they were 5 years old - they all performed extreme forms of stereotypical behaviour yet they had been kept in an aviary! After living with me for 3 months I had managed to make all stereotypical behaviours obselete! Just because this chipmunk is currently displaying abnormal behaviours does not mean that it will do so forever!

as for enriching its environment - there is not a lot the pet shop can provide for the chipmunk whilst it is in such a small enclosure without limiting its actual living space!

I understand how frustrating it can be when you see something that isnt quite right and you want to help out - but atleast this chipmunk is in a pet shop which clearly is trying to help rather then simply make a profit!


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## Exotic Mad (Jul 11, 2009)

also they can't be expected to get a huge avairy for tempory housing. that is most definatley too small but i would imagine they are waiting on a large chinchilla cage or something similar for tempory housing until sold. you wouldn't expect any animal to be in something the size it'll live its life out in whilst its in the shop waiting to be sold


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## Loderuna (Mar 9, 2010)

Exotic Mad said:


> you wouldn't expect any animal to be in something the size it'll live its life out in whilst its in the shop waiting to be sold


 
Why not? Maybe that's what we SHOULD expect in the interests of animal welfare and educating people about animal care. If a pet shop cannot house an animal in the way it should be housed, maybe they should sell pet accessories and not animals, or at least, not animals that need more space than they can cater for.


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## Exotic Mad (Jul 11, 2009)

Loderuna said:


> Why not? Maybe that's what we SHOULD expect in the interests of animal welfare and educating people about animal care. If a pet shop cannot house an animal in the way it should be housed, maybe they should sell pet accessories and not animals, or at least, not animals that need more space than they can cater for.


so you think something like a skunk that needs free roam should have free raom. its not likely to happen really is it. i would expect animals to be kept comfortably the same as if i had to put my dog in kennels i would expect it to be comfortable and clean with regular exercise but i wouldn't expect the kennel to be the same size as my house


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## polexprincess (Jul 14, 2010)

id like to add to this post, i was in my local pet shop the other day, and they now have meercats, and im am looking into reporting it this right now, 
i dont know what the rspca can do about it but its not good, the poor little guy was a baby and on his one, which for one is not good as i know they live in colonys, 
secondly it looked as if they had no room for him so they had put him in one of those pen things they keep rabbits in, it was clearly a rabbit hutch in there with him, and the floor was sawdust, which i know for a fact meercats do not live in, the like to dig in mud and have some rocks to look out for preditors on, and he had no rocks just a food bowl. i asked the women how much he was and she said £600 which i can totally nt afford or i would of bought him, 
also i asked why he was on his own and living in sawdust and she says they sold his mum yesterday which i was so distraught about!!!! and as for the sawdust she just said sawdust is what we use for most or our pets here, :/ 
im not impressed at all its not fair and the whole time i was there the poor little guy was just trying to dig, and he looked very scatty and distressed, the saw dust was only about half an inch thick. any numbers people have to help, although i am ringing my local rspca now x


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## Loderuna (Mar 9, 2010)

An animal that has its welfare needs met does not (in most cases) display stereotypic behaviour. The issue here is that the chipmunk in question is in a cage that is too small and the pet shop has acknowledged that. The shop should not have taken on the animal without having appropriate accommodation for it. The shop was also advertising the sale of that chipmunk in that cage as an item (chipmunk with cage £70). There are a lot of good petshops who put animals in appropriate housing and spend time handling the animals and providing species-specific enrichment to meet their needs. This chipmunk had nothing to keep it occupied in order to mitigate the small cage size it was in. However you look at it, this particular pet shop is failing in the care needs of that chipmunk.

Your analogy about a dog in kennels not having the same room as in your house is incorrect. The correct analogy in this case would be if your dog was placed in a dog cage 24 hours a day. Go away on holiday for a week or two with your dog in a crate - there would be problems. Again with the skunks - a skunk does not need free roam to have it's needs met, any more than a dog does. Saying this though, I would personally be unhappy to see skunks in small enclosures in a petshop, in the same way that I do not think it is good welfare to have animals such as chinchillas and chipmunks held for sale in small cages. Skunks and chinchillas would be less affected by being in a display cage during the day, as they are mostly active in the evening and at night. I would expect a petshop to have alternative accommodation and enrichment for those animals after hours. A chipmunk, being diurnal needs a large cage/enclosure and enrichment during the day - a petshp should be at least trying to meet those needs.

There is nothing wrong in having higher expectations when it comes to animals in pet shops.


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## polexprincess (Jul 14, 2010)

i have rang the rspca about the lil meercat, and they are going to let me know about the outcome  i feel so proud of myself i hope he gets help, and hope they sort out mr chipmunk an aviary x


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## Loderuna (Mar 9, 2010)

polexprincess said:


> i have rang the rspca about the lil meercat, and they are going to let me know about the outcome  i feel so proud of myself i hope he gets help, and hope they sort out mr chipmunk an aviary x


 
Good for you!


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## mythicdawn07 (Jun 18, 2009)

CaptainGodzilla said:


> hi, ive not posted much, but ive been lurking around for while.
> 
> anyway, i was in my local petshop, and they have a gorrrrgeous albino chipmunk advertised for 70pounds.
> 
> ...


buy it......


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## Cranwelli (Mar 24, 2009)

mythicdawn07 said:


> buy it......


Why buy it?


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## Cranwelli (Mar 24, 2009)

polexprincess said:


> id like to add to this post, i was in my local pet shop the other day, and they now have meercats, and im am looking into reporting it this right now,
> i dont know what the rspca can do about it but its not good, the poor little guy was a baby and on his one, which for one is not good as i know they live in colonys,
> secondly it looked as if they had no room for him so they had put him in one of those pen things they keep rabbits in, it was clearly a rabbit hutch in there with him, and the floor was sawdust, which i know for a fact meercats do not live in, the like to dig in mud and have some rocks to look out for preditors on, and he had no rocks just a food bowl. i asked the women how much he was and she said £600 which i can totally nt afford or i would of bought him,
> also i asked why he was on his own and living in sawdust and she says they sold his mum yesterday which i was so distraught about!!!! and as for the sawdust she just said sawdust is what we use for most or our pets here, :/
> im not impressed at all its not fair and the whole time i was there the poor little guy was just trying to dig, and he looked very scatty and distressed, the saw dust was only about half an inch thick. any numbers people have to help, although i am ringing my local rspca now x


They probably only have meerkats because of that stupid CompareTheMarket advert. :bash: All of a sudden everyone wants 'one'.


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## polexprincess (Jul 14, 2010)

i know thats what my mum says, its still not fair  x


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## cookie monster (Aug 15, 2010)

CaptainGodzilla said:


> i really really did want to buy it
> 
> yeah, i had a look about and they need avierys :/
> 
> i will keep updated


hi at the min ive got 5 chipmunks and there are kept in side in a 6 foot chinchilla cage and doing well the best thing u can do for that chipmunk is to report the shop to the RSPCA or summet as it wont be getting enought exersice even thou we have a 6 foot cage the chipmunks still have a run in the front room twice a week


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## samurai (Sep 9, 2009)

A pet shop near me frequently has single budgies displayed in tiny round cages in a corner by themselves  they are always on edge and posed ready to fly if the chance ever prevented itself and you can just see them wanting to get to the parrots they can hear in another part of the shop. The parrots are in more spacious cages, seems to just be budgies and sometimes the odd finch or canary in these horrible cages! Theres another shop that has about 7 reptile/amphibian species all together in one big tank including tomato frogs, fbt and various geckos and anoles. Seems theres always going to be things going on in shops that are not good unfortunately. Maybe i should report them, what do u think?


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