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Giga Pet
Health Page |
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We have received a huge number of letters asking for help in improving the health of giga pets. Many giga pet owners are trying very hard to take good care of their giga pets, but they continue to decrease in health. This page reproduces some of the letters we have received, discusses the health issue, makes a recommendation to not purchase Giga Pets as your "first pet", and provides some suggestions for improving the health of your giga pets.
The Giga Pet product line is built by Tiger Electronics. Their original line has been extended to include many different pets (dogs, cats, aliens, mermaids, monkeys, koala bears, frogs, and others.) They are well built, widely available, and economical pets. Recently they have brought out another related product line called "giga friends" that do not require as much care. The comments below are addressed to "original line", as we have heard no complaints about the "friends" line.
We have received hundreds of comments about Giga Pet health problems. Samples of them are reproduced on our Giga Pet Health Complaints Letters Page. You can see the letters are from both children and adults. Many of the children try very hard to keep their pets alive and are very frustrated when they do everything possible and their pet still loses its health. We have not received a single letter about similar problems with any other pet.
I visited with Public Relations Dept. at Tiger Electronics a few times. They have been very cordial and helpful. They supplied us with quite a bit of information on their products. When I pressed the issue of Giga Pet health, they said the pets need good care and have a randomness in them. They may die and come back stronger the next time. I could not get them to understand the magnitude I felt the problem was. I have tried the various Giga Pet "response lines" and never been able to contact a human. If someone at Tiger Electronics would like to make a response to this problem, I would happily post it.
If you already have a Giga Pet and are having problems with its health, be sure you have the clock set correctly and that you turn the light out when you pet is sleeping. For some additional ideas, see our Giga Pet Health Suggestions Page. Be sure to read the Digital Doggie Care Sheet. The ideas there can be used with most Giga Pets. If you try the suggestions and they don't work for your Giga Pet, we suggest you get a different brand of pet. See our FAQ for tips on selecting a virtual pet.
Koala Bear Instructions Error ?
Additionally we have heard of a problem specific to the Koala Bear Instructions. The printed instructions say to use the "leaves" and the main food and the "milk" as a treat. The Giga Pet web site says to use the "milk" as the main food and the "leaves" as a treat. Using the "treat"as the "main food" can cause major health problems. We are not sure which is right. We are just raising the awareness of the issue here.
One of our readers sent us this note in relation to the instructions.
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998
From: Joanna
To: Gary Polson
Subject: Re: Komputer Koala instructions
I can tell you definitively that the milk is the healthy (main) food and
the leaves are the treat (which should only be fed once or twice a day). I
have a healthy, happy koala who is 32 years old (will be 33 today). The
printed instructions are incorrect.
Joanna
With the continuing flood of complaints, we strongly recommend not purchasing Giga Pets as your "first pet". We do not think they provide a enough opportunity for "success" to "first pet" owners. Once you get some experience (and success) with other pets, Giga Pets can provide many interesting experiences. Their wide variety of pets and low cost make them excellent choices for intermediate pet enthusiasts.
Many may disagree with our recommendation. Everybody has a right to their own opinion. We just feel that "starting out" with one of the other pets will provide a much better experience for a beginner. If you wish to learn more about how to select a pet for a beginner, see our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Page.
Additional Comments Added January 8, 1997
Due to the increasing flood of Letters from users with Giga Pet health problems, we recommend that anybody (not just first time users) considering purchasing a Giga Pet read several of them before investing in a Giga Pet.
this page was created 29 December 1997
