At 02:29 PM 1/24/00 -0800, a gangi wrote:
>
>In a way though, Im also pleased at the greater interest and higher prices
>(not for any profit ones, I still end up spendign monre $ on food/cages
>etc)... But because when peopel start realizing that soemoen paid $50 for a
>critter, they are rather serious about that critter as a pet- I kinda hope
>that more vets and general public will start seeing them as having "worth"
>as a pet and not "disposable" pets as so many still do (absolutely
disgusting
>IMHO that a vet
>would say "Why spend $30 ona vet visit for a $3 rat??? but they sadly do!
>:( well maybe that will change....).
I just got my first gerbil pair in years this past November, from a pet
shop. I had never seen white spotting on them before (I got a black with a
bit of white and a black pied.) I looked on the web for more info - all the
best fish info is on the web - and was ecstatic to find that gerbils come
in siamese! Whoa! What I found most suprising, though, was how cheaply
people were selling their gerbils. At pet shops, people pay ~6.99 for a
pair of black & white or black or agouti gerbils, but people on the web
were charging $3 each & $5 per pair. Shipping, of course, is a significant
addition to that. I would have paid $20 + shipping for a pair of siamese
gerbils without a second thought.
I contrast gerbils with people who raise killifish, which don't lend
themselves to being bred on fish farms, and are therefore usually only
obtainable from hobby breeders. Killie keepers sell their fish for
~$5-10/pair to individuals, and shipping is $4.50 for the first pair, .50
cents for each additional pair. However, killifish sold in stores are
$16.99 and up, even for the more common types, like Aphyosemions or
Nothobrachius (those are genus names.)
I realize that gerbs have babies every month (killifish spawn
continuously), and they grow up quickly, but I think y'all should charge
more for your gerbils, whether you ship them or not. I think people will
value them more if they pay more for them. It's a sad fact, but that's the
way capitalism works. I realize that there are lots of them in this
country, but not at my local pet shops (not that I usually spend time in
stores that sell anything but fish and pet supplies, but I've been getting
out more lately in search of aspen.)
My favorite pet shop in town won't even stock them, and they sell all kinds
of animals, including poison dart frogs & sugar gliders, because their
experience with gerbils is that they have seizures and try to kill each
other. They have a bunch of glass enclosed areas next to the front window
that people can reach into from inside the store to pick up the animals,
and I imagine they got gerbils that were strangers to each other and put
them together. They have offered to give my card to anyone who wants
gerbils (I need to get a business card made up to give them - Meg has a
great one that I'd like to make up something like =).) [I'm not into
gerbils for money, but I have 6 pairs, and expect 2 more pairs next
weekend, so I imagine I will have a few spare babies now and again.]
Anyway, I'm not suggesting a price hike so that I can make more money from
gerbils -- from breeding cats, I know that between food and vet bills and
cat litter and cat shows, you're extremely lucky if you break even: it's
called a hobby because it's something you pour money into. =) I am
suggesting a price increase so that people realize these are valuable
animals, and not snake food.
Any thoughts on that?
Rebecca...
The important things are always simple. The simple things are always hard.
