Great Pet Supply Stores
We recommend pet stores that don't sell animals. Way too often, the big chain pet stores sell guinea pigs who are pregnant, mis-sexed, ill, have mites or have compromised health overall. I hear many adopters tell me about all heartache and the vet visits and bills they incurred the first few months or year, only to lose their piggy anyway.
The large chains sell things that aren't in the best interest of the animals. What some chains consider an "Extra-Large" cage, is really too small for the happiness of the guinea pigs. Many promote products that aren't even good for your guinea pig, such as guinea pig food that has lots of seeds, dried fruits and nuts in it, multi-vitamins (Vitamin C is better), etc.
There are a few pet supply stores that we highly recommend. They sell products that are good for your pets, along with supporting rescue through having repeated Rescue Adoption Fairs or other events at their stores.
Andy’s Pet Shop - Very supportive of rescues. They also have rescued guinea pigs for adoptions. You can buy great quality orchard grass and alfalfa hay from them for $1.00/pound - which is much better than normal pet store prices. Also sells Oxbow products - top of the line products for piggies. You can buy everything that you need for C&C cages here in a big variety of colors. Coroplast is $25 for a 4’ x 8’ sheet. Grids are $2 each. Connectors and cable ties available too. They sell the Midwest Guinea Habitat, one of the two cages we recommend. You can get 15% off your purchase there if you bring your adoption papers from us plus the Andy’s Coupon we have.
In 2010, Andy’s Pet Shop opened their doors to 1,500 rats rescued from the rat hoarding cased featured on A&E Hoarders. North Star Rescue has rats, hamsters, mice and piggies available for adoption at Andy’s.
Rabbitears Pet Supply Store and Services - located at 377 Colusa Avenue, Kensington CA (510) 525 - 6155 . They have great products and support rescue. They carry the Oxbow brand of guinea pig food and hay (highly recommended).
Half Moon Feed and Fuel - You can also buy kiln dried pine shavings in the horse size and save a lot of money on bedding. You can buy 12.0 cubic feet ( 340 liters) for around $6.00 (can't remember the exact price) or spend the same amount at a chain pet store for a very small bag that may not even be big enough for one large cage. They have hay available in both the retail small bags and also in the much more economical bales of hay or partial bales that have been bagged. Also sells Oxbow products.
An-Jan Feed and Pet Supply -located in San Jose, Cupertino, Milpitas. You can buy the bedding in bulk here also. They carry the Oxbow brand of guinea pig feed and hay (many people highly recommend Oxbow).
Sam’s Downtown Feeds -Has great orchard grass!. For roughly $29 for a roughly 100 pound bale, you can get good quality hay for cheap. If you don’t have room for a whole bale, consider sharing with other guinea pig/rabbit owners or buy the same great hay by the flake at Andy’s Pet Shop. Also sells Oxbow products.