The Waiting Game

Whelp.
Work has just...complicated things in a not nice way.

*exhales* I really hope this thing is just a precaution for the virus...though signs are pointing it to being permanent and I really really really don't like this particular change because it's going to be a nightmare to deal with during a time when we're selling animals like crazy because everyone suddenly decided they wanted a pet.

So.
Traditionally when we get animals in. Namely the Rodents and Birds. We don't put them on the floor right away.
No, we place them in a room away from people and other animals that have been in the store longer and monitor the New Arrivals for a set period of time to ensure that they came to us healthy before we put them on the floor to sell.
For the birds that's Five Days.
For the rodents -the hamsters, guinea pigs, and mice- it's Three Days that we wait before placing them on the floor to sell. (Chinchillas go straight to the floor when they come in.)

Well.
Today we got an email from...corporate? I guess.
Saying that there was a change in the isolating procedure for our rodents.
Namely the hamsters.

From my understanding, apparently they're discovering that hamsters to hide that they're sick a lot longer than originally thought. 
And so to ensure that we are selling healthy pets.
We're now required to keep the hamsters in the back for far longer than three days.

No. 
Now it's TWO. WEEKS.
We have to keep them in our New Arrivals Room.

TWO WEEKS.
14 FREAKING DAYS.

Like. Seriously?
I think in the long run this is gonna be more detrimental to us than helpful.
Namely because I don't think the hamsters will be happy being in such small spaces crowded together for two weeks.
As the cages they normally go in after three days are slightly more spacious and have like..a wheel to run on and such. 

But this has to drop at a time when we're selling out of animals.
Like literally we've been selling through hamsters and birds the past couple weeks to the point where half my cages were empty for a week because I didn't have any more animals to bring out onto the floor.

And now they're saying that the hamsters I'm expecting to get in in a couple of days....I won't be able to bring out for TWO more weeks instead of THREE days. 
Like WHYYYYYY. It's gonna be basically June before I can bring out any more hamsters. We're going to have two full weeks of no hamsters on the floor I can just see it now because of this.

And like...How am I ever gonna have room to hold all these animals in the back?
Because we get replenished for what we sell.
And if I have to hold like three weeks worth of animals in a room that only has TWELVE cages in it?
Ha.
It's not gonna work out.
Like It's utter madness.

Not to mention our ISO room has to under go the same requirements.
So if a customer returns a hamster to us. And he appears healthy....we can't put it back on the floor in three days times. No this hamster too has to wait TWO WEEKS in the back before we can put him back.

And oh.
If any of the hamsters in the New Arrivals get sick...we have to isolate that hamster...and then the hamsters that were with the sick hamster have to restart their two week quarantine period. 

And like. We can't put the sick hamster on the floor until TWO WEEKS after it gets healthy and a vet says it's healthy. 

do you know how quickly our sick room can fill up?
Really really quickly.
We can go from no animals to full capacity within a week. 

And again. I only have twelve cages back there.

So having to keep a hamster isolated back there for like three weeks minimum?

I honestly wonder what corporate is thinking.
Like if we have to isolate hamsters for so long...why not just get a different breeder?

Because I forsee this just being....bad.

Especially because I haven't noticed any issues with hamsters dying so quickly before.
Like we've been doing well hamster wise for a while now. 

At most we get a run on wet tail.

But like...I haven't seen anything to indicate that the hamsters have to be isolated for 2 weeks before we can sell them.
Like, yes, occasionally we get hamsters that die on pet parents within two weeks. 
But it's not a common occurence.

*exhales* 
I just...I really hope this is only Covid related and not permanent.
Because this is a nightmare.

I don't even know what we're supposed to do with hamsters that are returned by customers who want to buy them back.
Like...do we have to wait two weeks after the hamster is healthy before the pet parent can come get it?

Because I honestly doubt that a pet parent will be willing to wait three weeks to a month before they can see their pet again.

*exhales*
At least the D.M. is coming in tomorrow so I can ask that particular question.
Because keeping pet parents from their pets.....doesn't seem like a good idea in the long run. 

I just....
Gah.
I hope this isn't permanent.
Because I don't want to deal with the headache this is gonna induce. 

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi