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Where to Buy Supplies
| Since you shouldn't be shopping for anything at any pet store that sells animals, where are you going to buy your pet supplies? Make a statement with your pocketbook and support some of the many businesses out there that have chosen a responsible business model! These local stores are for San Francisco Bay Area people. Below are some links to other national sources. |  | General Supply Stores - Local | |
|  | For Other Living Things
1261 S Mary Ave
Sunnyvale CA, 94087
(408)739-6785
"We strive to offer as many products as possible that we can rate CPE. Products that are good for your pet, easily maintained and good for the environment. Look for products carrying the CPE rating: C (critter friendly) P (people friendly) E (earth friendly)."
This is a great store offering many hard-to-find items for guinea pigs. To name a few: The Timber Hide-Aways, Oxbow Hay, Oxbow Cavy Cuisine and Cavy Performance Pellets, glass water bottles, grassy hutches and more!
|  | Deans Animal Feeds
403 Quarry Road
San Carlos, CA 94070
(800) 675-1425 or (650) 593-1425
This is a bedding and feed wholesaler. They will also sell retail. This is NOT a store; it is a warehouse. You tell them what you want and they'll bring it out to you. They are only open during the week from 8 to 4:30. They are NOT open on weekends. However, you can get 50 liter bags (packaged in paper) of CareFresh for $9.95 and big 9 cubic feet bags of aspen shavings for $8.85! The next cheapest source of CareFresh is at Pet Club for $14, but Pet Club is NOT an animal-free store. Other pet stores sell if for up to $20 a bag! So, do yourself a favor and stock up at Deans.
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| Pet Food Express
Multiple Bay Area locations. They are a regional chain of pet supply stores that do NOT sell animals. Please see their online catalog for products related to guinea pigs. Also, Pet Food Express is very rescue friendly and sponsors Virtual Pet Adoptions! | (no website) | Pet's Delight
390 State Street
Los Altos, CA
(650) 917-1300
Basic guinea pig and pet supplies
| (no website) | San Mateo Feed and Supply
346 El Camino Real
Redwood City, CA
(650) 365-6738
Bulk guinea pig pellets, bedding, hay, hiding houses and pet supplies
| (no website) | The Pet Place
777 Santa Cruz Ave
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 326-7387
Basic guinea pig and pet supplies
| (no website) | Bow Wow Meow
737 Laurel St
San Carlos, CA
650-802-2845
They carry Oxbow guinea pig pellets and hay
| (no website) | Pet Food Depot
3127 El Camino Real
(just south of Page Mill/
Oregon Expressway)
Palo Alto, CA
650-852-1277 | | |  | An-Jan Feed and Pet Supply
Five South Bay locations:
 1633 Monterey Road,
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 293-6232
7128 Santa Teresa Blvd
San Jose, CA 95139
(408) 578-7790
1109 Branham Lane
San Jose, CA
(408) 269-5551
1129 S. De Anza Blvd, Cupertino, CA
(408) 446-3932
111 S. Main
Milpitas, CA
(408) 263-1774
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| | Links to Other Sources | |
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For Hay, please see the hay page on Guinea Pig Cages.
We have plans to add an international database of pet stores that do not sell animals. However, that is a future project! A thread has been started on a forum to that effect. Please feel free to add to it: Pet Stores That Just Sell Supplies. You will need to register to post to it.
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| | Other COOL STUFF | |
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Basket Carriers
We were given these as a gift a long time ago and until recently have had a hard time finding them, but love them:
 These make great carriers for taking guinea pigs to the vet and what not. You can get them at the Ferret Store for $40 or you can get them at this Valley Vet site for $20. At the Valley Vet site, any order over $50 is also free shipping.
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|  |  | What you NEED! |  | | | Just starting out? These are your first two guinea pigs? Here is our version of what your shopping list should look like. First get everything ready, THEN get the guinea pigs!
Cage
 1 sheet of Coroplast
1 box of grids
1 bag of cable ties
1 folding work table
(to hold the cage, if you don't already have one) See Guinea Pig Cages for more cage-making info.
Accessories
2 16 oz. water bottles (we prefer the clear plastic kind, as it's much easier to see the water level)
1 heavy ceramic food bowl (not too large)
2 wooden hidey houses
1 'pigloo' with the opening cut larger
2 cat pads to make into cavy cozies--one at a time in the cage--the other used to alternate during laundering
1 large fiddle sticks for a play/hidey area
Not all of these will fit in one 2x4 grid cage, but this allows you to change the interior around a bit as well as have some floor-time options or items for an optional second level.
Bedding
2 50-liter bags of CareFresh (pre-buy more if possible and the price is good)
1 bag of Aspen shavings (or kiln-dried pine) IF you must cut the cost of the CareFresh
Hay
1 25-pound box of Timothy 2nd Cut hay from either APD or Oxbow. If you have to buy hay in a store, look for the 40-oz bags of Oxbow hay that some stores carry.
1 bag of Alfalfa hay only IF you have guinea pigs under 4 months old or a pregnant or nursing mother.
Grooming Items
Pair of cat nail clippers (we like the small, gray-handled variety)
1 small container of Kwik-Stop for dipping paws into when you accidentally cut the quick of the nail
Pellets
1 bag of PLAIN good quality, guinea pig pellets. Preferably packaged in paper (vitamin C degrades in light) and date stamped (do not buy pellets older than 6 months from date of packaging). No nuts or seeds.
Fresh Food
This is not a complete list, but just what we usually buy here at Cavy Spirit. These are the food items that our cavies get pretty much every day. They are fed fresh food twice a day (morning and evening):
Romaine Lettuce
Italian parsley
Carrot
Apple
Provide a variety of fresh, dark greens and some other veggies, high in Vitamin C, low in calcium and oxalic acid. One small piece of fruit of day, maximum.
In addition, these foods are either added or substituted frequently:
Dandelion greens*
Red chard
Swiss chard
Kale
Cilantro
Grapes (seedless)
Cantaloupe
Cherry tomatoes
(*Dandelion greens are a huge favorite of every guinea pig and can be found in the greens section of your grocery store)
In addition to those regular foods, the following foods are also substituted or added for variety:
Escarole
Collard greens
Spinach (occasionally)
Green beans
Corn (inner husks and the cob)
Celery
Cucumber
Watermelon (including and especially the rinds)
Beet greens
Orange wedges
Strawberries
Blueberries
Red bell pepper (although good for them, many of our guinea pigs don't care for it. The red variety has a much higher vitamin C content than the green)
Experiment with what your cavy likes. Just because they turn their nose up at something one day, doesn't mean they won't find it tasty the next. You have to keep trying with new foods. We believe variety is important. What NOT to buy
Hay Racks. If you've made a C&C cage, you'll have extra grids available. They make great hay racks.
Yogurt Drops. These 'treats' are just too sugar-laden.
Seed & Nut Treats. Too fattening as well as choking hazards.
Vitamin Drops for the water. That is not the way to provide vitamin C for your guinea pigs. See the Care page on why.
Exercise Balls & Wheels. See the Care page on why.
Toys. Most of them are a waste of money. See the toy page on Guinea Pig Cages. | | 
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hits since 9/2001