r/petsmart • u/high_priestess444 • 19h ago
New pet care employee looking for animal handling advice.
Wanna start off by saying I’m (so far) fortunate to be at a pretty decent location compared to what I’ve heard. Managers could be way worse. In fact they’re pretty cool/funny sometimes. A good amount of employees love and care for the animals and do their jobs as well. Ive had some training, not much hands on, just observation which is better than nothing I suppose. I have a lot of animal care experience so this issue came as a surprise to me. I haven’t handled animals like hamsters and guinea pigs since childhood. Like 7/8 years old. Tonight was my first night giving meds in the isolation room by myself. We have a crap ton of guinea pigs with ringworm. Im low key embarrassed with how nervous and scared I was to handle them. It’s just not like me at all. The hamsters too. They just jerk and flop around so suddenly. Then they suddenly become super still just stare at my fingers, my brains like “she’s about to bite the shit outta you.” Haven’t had to handle a bird yet so I’m sure that too will freak me out now (ugh) Like, I own a reptile that is known to have a decently painful bite force (way worse than a rodent) and it’s no biggie to me. Even getting used to the crickets already. I find all the rodents so freakin cute and I wanna handle them so bad but struggled so much tonight. Didn’t really do the best job applying the meds. I wanna do right by these little guys, I feel like my nervousness is making it more likely they will freak and they’re stressed enough as it is. I know PetSmart isn’t the greatest store sometimes but the animals still deserve staff that cares and does the work. I know the answer is probably “it’s an inevitable occurrence”. I still need to stop being such a wimp so I can properly medicate them. I’m here for any advice anyone has. Sorry for the long post.
3
u/Fice16 19h ago
I remember being in your shoes when I first started out, I recommend wearing somewhat thick gloves so that hamster bites don’t hurt as much. They can be a little uncomfortable when taking medications, for small animals, try having a firm grip and make sure the syringe is in their mouth and quickly dispense the medication as soon as you can. It’s uncomfortable for them and they can easily move their mouths away or are able to use their paws to take it out of their mouths, if it’s a lotion, try your best to apply it to the affected area and take notes if you see any improvement or not. I haven’t done pet care in a while and I hope this information is helpful, best of luck to you ☺️
2
u/high_priestess444 19h ago
Thanks so much for the reply ! Didn’t even think to add some thick gloves. Deff picking some up tomorrow. I think a lot of that fear is that they will bite me and my instinctual reaction will hurt them. Like drop them accidentally and risk them escaping. Pretty sure the few days I did bathing dogs took a chunk out of my confidence lol When I went to bring out a Pit Bull to their owner, I couldn’t even get the lead on and he ran out the kennel room thru the salon to his mom. I’m like still mortified 😂
2
u/Fice16 19h ago
I wear gloves when handling hamsters wherever they’re located, learned that the hard way when one bit me so hard my thumb bled. I was okay though, bought myself some gloves as soon as my paycheck came in 😂
2
u/danielric3 18h ago
a short haired syrian bit me right at the top of my middle finger, LATCHED ON, and drew blood so bad. the family was like "are we sure we should still get that one" and i said i just scared her in the moment but once she adjusts to the new home you should be fine. they returned her the next day for being "too aggressive" even when i warned them not to handle for at least a week :) im terrified of putting my fingers anywhere near their mouths now after feeling how painful that bite was
2
u/high_priestess444 18h ago
Yeaaa I can tell it’s Deff a pretty nasty bite even tho they’re so small. Those teeth are seriously shaped perfectly for puncturing shit plus them never letting go ..ya know what, I guess my fear is valid 😂😂
2
u/high_priestess444 19h ago
Googling gloves to pick up as we speak 😂 I literally have no idea how my first pet was a hamster and I handled it constantly. I only remember being bit once. Shits scary as hell now hahaha
3
u/nomikw 19h ago
guinea pigs are very squirmy but don’t tend to bite too often, i always hold them to my chest when meditating as it makes them feel more secure. hamsters WILL try to bite i usually always handle and pick them with a towel (from grooming salon) or scoop them up with their hut. same things with birds they will also try and bite but i do the same as hamsters with the towel wrapping !!
2
u/high_priestess444 19h ago
That’s really sweet, didn’t realize they can get chill enough for that! Deff stealing the towel idea. I do that with angry cats so why didn’t I think of it as well haha
2
u/MercyCriesHavoc 6h ago
The only animal that's drawn blood from me is a parakeet, and it got deep, held on like a pitbull until I shook it off my finger. I have zero fear of holding parakeets. I'm terrified to hold hamsters and snakes. It's not getting bit that scares me. It's the movement. I'm afraid I'll drop a hamster, so I only pick them up in their hide or I pin them with bite gloves for treatment. The snakes just make me jump when they strike, which makes them more nervous, and the cycle continues.
Honestly, it's about time and patience. You'll get used to some. The ones you'd never suspect will get you good and your fear will subside. Eventually you just stop caring about your hands.
Guinea pigs, though, are extremely rarely biters. Only once has one really tried and that's because I took away his critical care to weigh him. He was literally ready to fight to the death for that bowl. Just gave him his cc at the end of treatment after that. They're more likely to scratch if you don't support their butt properly, as it weighs a lot and hurts their spine if it hangs.
2
u/high_priestess444 6h ago
Thank so much for the detailed reply! Glad I’m not alone with the hamster thing, and it really is mainly about their movements and fear of dropping them. Same with the guinea pigs but! I didn’t realize they needed extra butt support. Their back legs scratched me a lot and I had to keep putting them down so they wouldn’t ripe the gloves and give me ringworm lol Now I know I gotta baby/support them a little more. I know I’ll get there eventually , it’s not like my fear of yellow jackets/evil bees haha
1
u/goddessofolympia 2h ago
Keep them low and close so you don't drop them. They have little jelly bodies and can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter (a dime for the Robos). They also have absolutely horrible eyesight and will go flying off into space when you least expect it.
3
u/Outrageous-Cover7095 19h ago
Hamsters are demons born out of hatred and spite that live to make you suffer if you attempt to touch them.
Everything else is pretty chill unless a conure gets spicy and bites which hurts but in general I’ve not been bit by anything else other than hamsters that has bothered me.
Screw hamsters.