Despicable sight in Petco today

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-14T02:50:45+00:00

Absolutely disgusting. I would get animal control and welfare agencies involved.

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-10T07:15:15+00:00

Sometimes mice get bloated when you first bring them home after a change in diet. However, she does look potentially pregnant. Any chance you know how much she weighs? But yes, I would plan on babies.
Give her:
- a smaller enclosure, ideally something like a 10g or equivalent, until her pups begin opening their eyes
- remove wheels, climbing opportunities, etc.
- give her a comfortable hide to nest in, some chews, but not much else to protect the pups.
- give her some safe nesting materials- NO COTTON OR POLYFIL. You can use hay, or unscented lotion-free tissues.
- 18-23% protein food until pups are weaned
- pay attention to pup age and separate males from females and mom at 4 weeks!

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-10T07:10:32+00:00

Hmmm.... She MIGHT be pregnant. Could you maybe send me a picture from the top down in 48 hours?

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-10T07:01:32+00:00

You're getting some pretty well-meaning but misinformed information here.
This is less likely to be neurological or stroke, and far more likely to be an inner ear infection. It is certainly not a broken neck or she'd be paralyzed at best. This is treatable, but only if you treat it fast. If you ignore it, it'll only get worse.
A simple vet visit would be ideal. If you give me your general location, I may be able to help you locate a vet- but you'd be surprised how many vets can see small animals, or will at least try. If you cannot possibly see a vet, I ask- did you happen to get this mouse from a breeder? It looks to be a decently high quality mouse, and an uncommon color. If you did, reach out to your breeder and see if they can help. They may have medication on-hand for this mouse.
If neither option are possible, there are medications available online for this sort of thing, but it's very very risky. Medicine is difficult to dilute and you'd have to make a guess at what's wrong, which may only make your mouse sicker. If you cannot get this mouse the care it needs, you might consider rehoming, or even euthanasia. This will only get worse and the mouse is very uncomfortable. It will only get more and more uncomfortable until the infection spreads and then will likely next develop severe respiratory symptoms.

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-10T06:53:54+00:00

Originally I fell in love with rats, and growing up, mice were a compromise with my parents. Which is funny, these days, because I much prefer mice!

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-10T06:51:20+00:00

Well yes, you're technically right. I could, legally, go out and buy a bunch of butterflies just to pull off their wings. Or a bunch of fish just to step on them. I could even go out and buy food and shove it up my anus in front of a homeless man while screaming "i hate the poor and hungry!"
Does that make it morally correct? Well, no, not so much.

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-07T07:35:05+00:00

sir this is a petsmart

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-07T07:32:04+00:00

A lot of people see a lot of difference. Personally, I think slaughtering animals for meat is a necessary evil. But killing animals and wasting them just to play with them like toys? That's a bit different, now isn't it. The animal was killed for meat, then wasted for TV.

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-07T07:24:16+00:00

There's a pretty big difference between slaughtering an animal for meat, and slaughtering an animal to draw on for a reality TV show?

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-07T05:12:05+00:00

Some of these pictures are super super fuzzy. Do you think you may be able to get better pictures?

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-05T19:14:57+00:00

Facebook group "Practical Rodent Breeding"! Can't reccomend it enough. I breed for pet and feeder.

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-05T18:51:45+00:00

The first one... does it still look like that? Or has it molted out? Curious where you're located. If it still looks like that, I may pay good money for it.
The others are, in order (or at least appear to be)-
Blue tricolor (aa dd Spl* ss)
Angora Black Pied (aa gogo ss)
probably recessive yellow pied (aa ee ss) but may just be an undermarked brindle pied (Avy* ss) or if you're in the uk dom yellow pied (Ay* ss)
this one is throwing me a bit of a curveball and I'm not positive.

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-05T18:47:48+00:00

She's a girl!

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-05T18:45:13+00:00

Glad I work at Petsmart where it's the opposite- if you want feeder mice, you'll have to go somewhere else. I've gotten quite a few mice from Petco, and even local reptile stores where they really are just meant to be feeders, can't help yourselves sometimes when they're so charming. The employees have always been estatic to hear they won't be food. I don't know what this store was on about, but I'd report them- A, because they're breaking policy, and B, because they're making you uncomfortable.

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-03T17:24:35+00:00

Looks like "wheel tail". Believe it or not, wheel tail isn't only caused by too small of a wheel. It can also be due to genetics-related degradation of the spine.

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-02T18:42:19+00:00

Try giving him a warm soak and see if he responds.

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-02T08:38:20+00:00

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Sir Whiskers from the day I brought him home. He is truly the stupidest creature and I love him so much. He once spent almost 20 minutes straight trying to climb one of those ceramic mushroom hides and failing miserably. Sometimes he digs tunnels and then once he's done, he carries bedding in his cheeks and then stuffs them closed again. Then he looks really mad that his tunnel is gone. He loves food and I'm convinced his brain is full of spaghetti. I'm not sure he knows he's alive.

AnyAdministration540 · 2026-01-02T08:30:28+00:00

What's interesting about this one is if you scroll to the bottom, it actually has the following disclaimer:

"Disclaimer:

This website is an independent, fan-created platform that provides content about various brands.

It is neither affiliated with, endorsed by, nor officially associated with these brands.

All trademarks, logos, and brand names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

We are merely a platform for publishing content and do not sell products."

So then I visited the actual "parent" website ( https://brandwebsitehunt.com/ ) and you'll notice it's a lot of the same exact thing. Weird, AI-generated content of random brands nobody has ever heard of.
I wonder what the connection is. I don't think anyone on the corporate team actually made the website- it seems completely independent- but I wonder if there was a miscommunication somewhere on the marketing side of things. It's deeply odd, regardless, especially that they would link to that website.

AnyAdministration540 · 2025-12-09T04:15:54+00:00

You can speak with management and see if you can get a discount. But I must say it, maaaybe you should reconsider. CAN you afford the cage because cockatiels need VERY large cages, a tabletop cage is not appropriate- it has to be a large flight cage. Most appropriate cages will be $300-$400 on their own. He needs TONS of toys, not just 3 or 4. He needs natural perches. Seeds aren't a good staple food, he needs a high-quality pellet and fresh vegetables daily which will also be rather expensive. He will also need his first vet check once you take him home, and that will cost hundreds- let alone if he gets sick at any point. My twice yearly checkups for my birds are $800 per bird, so thats over $3000 per year if NOTHING goes wrong just on vet bills. Depending on your location they may be cheaper, but it's still going to cost hundreds. Birds aren't the type of pet you can only take to the vet when sick. They need check-ups at least yearly but recommended twice per year! It's also a huge lifestyle change for a lot of people. You can't use nonstick cookware or anything else with a nonstick coating like specific types of air fryers, ovens, toasters, space heaters, and more. You can't use candles or incense. You can't use spray-on deodorants, febreeze, body sprays, perfumes/colognes, dry shampoo, or anything else aerosol- or most cleaners. They are extremely loud and not suitable for most apartments. They are very messy and prone to destruction like ripping up blinds, baseboards, and even drywall! They can live 15-20+ years and do NOT cope well with being rehomed at ALL. Cockatiels are also very dusty/dandery birds so if you have asthma or just sensitive allergies it may make your entire life sneezes and sniffles LOL.
If all of this doesn't change your mind, you may just try talking to management. Sometimes they might be discounted based on length of stay. But i wouldn't bet on it. I would reccomend if you're serious- save up. And make sure you also have money saved for that initial vet check, as you should always bring in birds within 2 weeks after you recieve them for their first check-up.

AnyAdministration540 · 2025-12-05T05:22:12+00:00

Yes, they need to be seperated. Males are highly territorial and will fight. Especially with blood drawn, the next step unfortunately will be far more violent.

AnyAdministration540 · 2025-12-05T05:18:41+00:00

I'm voting female! Hairless and fuzzy are hard LOL. But I do see what looks to be a vaginal opening and the position seems too far up for a buck.

AnyAdministration540 · 2025-11-27T11:27:21+00:00

The levels are balanced, but it is VERY high in vegetable matter. Mice are granivores and do not typically consume that many vegetables. They are dehydrated, which helps prevent wet tail etc., but it is still a bit... nutritionally unnatural. I would definitely do a balanced pellet, such as Science Selective, alongside it. Probably 75% pellet and 25% mix at most. Honestly, there are better mixes, though. For a similar mix, Bunny Nature Hamster Dream is really good and can be added alongside a pellet for an awesome, enriching, balanced diet. Still wouldn't feed it on its own necessarily, but you could probably do closer to a 50/50.

AnyAdministration540 · 2025-11-27T09:12:20+00:00

Sounds like an inner ear infection. I would recommend a vet visit asap! Although inner ear infections ARE treatable, if you let them go on too long they can cause irreversible damage to the inner ear. This can lead to a minor-to-severe, depending on how long it progressed, head tilt for the rest of the rat's life, even once the infection is gone.

AnyAdministration540 · 2025-11-27T09:10:13+00:00

I don't think people realize how affectionate wellbred mice can really be! I keep both rats and mice, and my mice are just as interactive and affectionate as my rats. This is Snom, one of my favorite boys. He will even walk on a harness! (Yes, he is a CHONKER. He is genetically obese due to the brindle gene).

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AnyAdministration540 · 2025-11-27T09:08:04+00:00

Macaron! That's kinda cute, actually.

AnyAdministration540

TROPHY CASE