midnightem wrote:The guinea pig I just got from petco died, lovely. Guess I am not shopping at local petstores for animals in the near future.
I got both of my rabbits from a pet store (PetKraze), and I'm so glad I did BECAUSE one of the rabbits is sickly. My little Minnie is very sickly and has major intestinal problems. I believe (although have no medical evidence because my vet sucks) that she has megacolon, which is often fatal in rabbits. I think the breeders who bred her parents knew that the offspring would be sickly, but they bred them anyway because the coat pattern is really cute and more likely to be adopted. (Basically megacolon has a much higher chance of appearing in rabbits who look similar to Minnie.) But I'm glad I did this because, if Minnie had been adopted by anyone else, they most likely wouldn't have had the funds to pay for her many, many vet bills (I also lack the money, but my parents don't, and they know that my fur babies are the only grandchildren they will ever have). If Minnie had been adopted by someone else, she probably would have died a slow, painful death, but with me, she's really enjoying her life. I'm not sure how long she'll live compared to other, healthier rabbits (she's 3.5 years old right now), but I'm looking forward to giving her the best life she can have.
My other rabbit, Pearl, came from the same pet store and has zero health problems. Maybe she came from a different breeder? Either way, I love both of my babies!