DO NOT SHOP HERE AND DO NOT BUY BUNNIES OR OTHER ANIMALS HERE. We purchased a bunny on Sunday (two days ago) along with an extra large cage, "bedding", hay, pellets, a toy and a bowl. Today, two days later, we just paid a $200 vet bill to save our bunny's life.
At the store there were three bunnies, two with fuzzy longer hair and one with shorter hair and spots which would become our bunny. The cage is relatively spacious and definitely on full display for shoppers but lined with what we have learned is TOXIC pine shavings. Bunnies are NOT rodents, the are Leporidae and should never be treated as rodents but this is something pet stores (we have learned) notoriously do.
On top of toxic bedding, the baby bunnies which are estimated at 3 months old are fed Timothy Hay and Pellets containing a mix of hays and soy. First off, Timothy Hay should never be fed to bunnies under 6 months of age as they are still growing and developing and need alfalfa hay. Secondly, the poor/cheap blend in the pellets and specifically the soy, especially mixed with the wood shaving bedding sets the bunnies up for a fatal condition called gastric stasis. This is a condition which causes their digestive system to basically fail and kills them rapidly.
They also only have bottle feeders which are terrible for bunnies and prone to bacteria which we will get to later...
When we noticed that our new bunny was not eating or pooping we reached out to the store for help. They had us exchange the good food we had purchased for the Timothy hay and the bad pellets they had been feeding as a fix which we naively went along with. I cannot explain the amount of knowledge we have gained in under 48 hours! This food would make out bunny worse IF she was even interested in eating it.
We had to do emergency critical care feeding to try and get food into our bunny which involves feeding pureed food in essence with a syringe. NOT an easy task with a baby bunny.
After the critical care still produced no poop it was time to go to the vet. A $200 bill later we have come to find that aside from the gastric stasis our bunny was severely dehydrated and positive for intestinal parasites. Had we not acted fast and had the help of some AMAZING people with ORCA (Orlando Rabbit Care and Adoptions) our bunny would have died. Someone generously came to our home last night to assess our bunny and help us with a home treatment plan and they got us to a vet who could help. They also informed us that bunnies from Pet Supermarket and similar stores typically die within a week which is why they send you home with a refund coupon when you buy them. They come from a warehouse in Georgia that has been red flagged by PETA for their cruelty to animals. I will spare the details of what I have learned about them but will share the other response from this store.
When I informed Pet Supermarket that our bunny would likely die as that is the information I had at the time and frankly we are still not in the clear as of this writing, I was told they were so sorry and would offer me a full refund but I would be required to BRING THE BODY to them! Can you imagine! This is a horrifying and gut-wrenching ordeal and they expect you to bring them the body for a $70 refund! I will NEVER shop at a Pet Supermarket again and will do all I can to help get the word out about pet store bunnies.
***UPDATE POST RETURN***
We just returned all of the products we purchased at Pet Supermarket to them and even got a refund on Bun once we showed the vet bill. We got lucky because the checker raised bunnies with her dad and still has them along with several other animals. The store manager was very kind and expressed her distain for corporate and the other assistant manager who has been written up for his adoption/pet purchase processes before (whatever that means). Regardless, they were so kind individually and said that they have been trying to source from rescues but corporate will not allow it. Who knows but we got a win with the ladies we met today at least being true lovers of animals. The one in particular said she would have the other babies tested for the parasites that Bun has and see if they can treat. I told her I would be checking back on that and if they do treat and clear them we will take at least one home. We will follow up with them for sure.
Please, if you want a bunny do your research and contact a rescue. Feel free to message me directly for any more feedback. read more