Small animals

angelfishguy

Hi guys,
Dont know if anyone can help but we are planing on opening a pet shop and have done alot of research but cant find anyone to supply small animals such as hamsters, rabbits, gerbils etc. Does anyone know anywhere that supply them?
Thanks
Jay

Cherry Blossom

Can't speak for anywhere else but where I used to work generally they didn't have to look for a 'supply' they literally walked in the door. These would generally be sources that no-one would touch with a barge pole if they were to go looking to buy a pet privately.

Have you considered hooking up with a small animal rescue? I've seen this done before, animals are displayed in the shop where they are looked after but you contact the rescue to rehome them or fill in forms in the shop. This puts the animal in the public's view and sends business your way when people go looking down the rescue route. You could have a notice board up as well the profiles of cats and dogs available.

Tranceypoo

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Can't speak for anywhere else but where I used to work generally they didn't have to look for a 'supply' they literally walked in the door. These would generally be sources that no-one would touch with a barge pole if they were to go looking to buy a pet privately.

Have you considered hooking up with a small animal rescue? I've seen this done before, animals are displayed in the shop where they are looked after but you contact the rescue to rehome them or fill in forms in the shop. This puts the animal in the public's view and sends business your way when people go looking down the rescue route. You could have a notice board up as well the profiles of cats and dogs available.

Now that, is a wonderful idea.

angelfishguy

That idea was something we had considered we have arranged to keep books in the shop with animals needing rehoming and we will direct them to the appropiate people. But we are also looking for small animals to sell, not everybody will go through hassle dealing with people to pay for a rescue pet when the can get one just down the road probably for less and without paperwork to fill in. At the end of the day its a business and needs to be turning over to stay open. We are determined to pride ourselves on the animals welfare.

toadfly

Where are you gonna be based?

scottie pippen

Pm inbound

Cherry Blossom

angelfishguy wrote: »

That idea was something we had considered we have arranged to keep books in the shop with animals needing rehoming and we will direct them to the appropiate people. But we are also looking for small animals to sell, not everybody will go through hassle dealing with people to pay for a rescue pet when the can get one just down the road probably for less and without paperwork to fill in. At the end of the day its a business and needs to be turning over to stay open. We are determined to pride ourselves on the animals welfare.

No, they don't pay for them, they are animals that have been surrendered to the local animal shelter, that's idea I understand where you are comming from though. A shop near me does it, their prices generally are a bit more than the place down the road from it but they still do a lot more business because of the 'adoption centre'.

The place I used to work never had to source small animals due to the amount being brought in by people (for sale, it's a different place that does the adoption). The small animal sales will always run at a loss in pet shops, the money is made in the sale of cages, hutches and accessories. The majority of any pets shop's sales is cat and dog food, and having rescue animals in store where people can see them in the flesh attracts an awful lot of people who are just comming in to pick up supplies/toys and accessories etc.

Zapperzy

angelfishguy wrote: »

That idea was something we had considered we have arranged to keep books in the shop with animals needing rehoming and we will direct them to the appropiate people. But we are also looking for small animals to sell, not everybody will go through hassle dealing with people to pay for a rescue pet when the can get one just down the road probably for less and without paperwork to fill in. At the end of the day its a business and needs to be turning over to stay open. We are determined to pride ourselves on the animals welfare.

Congratulations on your new business!

From a buyers point of view I would be careful where you source your small animals from, personally and Im sure others are the same I would prefer to pay that little bit extra if I knew I was getting a healthy and friendly animal. It may take a while for business to pick up as higher prices may put people off but word will get around eventually and you will (hopefully!) reap the rewards in the end when ye get a good name for yourselves.

I am very picky about where I buy my small animals from, I thought one shop was good because they had excellent conditions, cages always clean, animals always looked healthy etc. but then found out what sort of conditions they were being bought from and transported in. Bought a hamster there that that I found out had never been handled and was aggressive. Another shop I have bought from in the past had poor conditions, small cages etc. but they source their animals from small time 'pet' breeders, any animal I have bought form there has always been very tame and obviously well handled from when they are young.

Sorry for the long reply, Im just trying to give you advice.

Whispered

angelfishguy wrote: »

We are determined to pride ourselves on the animals welfare.

Where will the shop be?

Sigma Force

It's difficult to find breeders that know what they are doing, so many smallies are over bred and in bred. Have you studied or read up the husbandry of small animals, do you know how to sex them all correctly, and what they need diet wise and bedding wise? Rabbits can be difficult to sex even vets get it wrong they also require vaccinations which pet shops won't do and usually new owners don't bother to do and only a handful will spay/neuter their rabbits.

I've been to pet shops where they haven't a clue where the animals come from, unless you can research and follow up breeders it can be a slippery slope to ill, dying and already pregnant or wrongly sexed critters.

Perhaps concentrate on bedding, humane cages (no round cages for birds), some more unusual pet items and practical stuff like food, collars, leads, chew toys etc.
Then if possible develope a relationship with a local rescue and have once a week or once a month an adoption day where the rescue comes in with some animals looking for homes and people can sign up there and then to be home checked and the rescue do the rest.

Birds suffer the most in pet shops from bad breeding and scaly face/legs and respiratory problems sadly budgies and small birds like tiels seem to get the brunt of it. So be careful with birds if one bird or any smallie is ill it can soon pass on to others.
An air filter is a good idea to have in a pet shop, never seen a pet shop with one but can improve the health of birds and smallies alike.

Lizard Queen

good luck, i worked in a pet shop were the sick animals were feed to the bigger ones and the sick hamsters were put in the bin. I know its a horrible thought but do the research i didn't release but the hamsters were all kept together and often turned cannibalistic. I hope it goes well
If you need an experienced part time staff also im a vet nurse pm,