FluffBall, what was the name of the petstore that is not housing the chinchillas properly? And is leaving that one female in with all those males?
Most pet stores (especially the national ones) are given instructions as to how to house each animal, according to what category/family they fall in. Chinchillas are in the rodent family, so they are housed just like the mice being sold to feed to snakes. They will tell you they have to follow the instructions of the home office (which has probably never even seen a chinchilla).
OR they just look at you as if you have no idea what you are talking about, that they are the experts and how dare you try to tell them what to do! (Some even have tha gall to say it.)
I was having a 'discussion' with one store manager and Bill, my husband, got tired of his mouth ... went to the magazine rack and picked-up a copy of Critters, opened it to an article on chinchillas (one of the ones Jamie & I were interviewed in) and said ... "See that name?" The manager said, "What does she have to do with this?" He said, "That is her." (As I pulled out my driver's license and handed it to him.) Red-faced, the manager ask me if I would show him what the chins needed. I did, and he set them up properly.
Of course the next year (new manager) had it back the old way.
It's a loosing battle!
Like Jamie said:
And yet people still keep going back and buying them and so the pet stores stock more and more chinchillas.
It's a vicious cycle.....
Jo Ann [/i]