Pet Store Pythons - need to vent

[Emily Hubbard]

Hey all. I just got back from PetCo, and I feel the need to vent.

I got my ball from a breeder. She is captive bred, which was extremely important to me. I hate pet stores and would much prefer if they only sold pet supplies and not pets. I wouldn't shop at PetCo and Pets Mart at all except there really isn't much choice when you need substrates and moss, new bulbs, and all of the other things that comes with reptile ownership. I was there today getting a bigger water dish and another piece of driftwood for my ball since she seems to really enjoy climbing on the one she has. But just because I love looking at reptiles, I went to stare at the ball pythons on sale in the store. It made me so sad.

There were three for sale, all in the same tank. They were under bright fluorescent lighting and all three were huddled together, obviously competing for the one warm spot. There were no hides in the tank, so the animals are always visible to prospective buyers. Just some astroturf, a water dish, and a single plant, all with the price tags on them, for reference. All of the snakes were malnourished. They were long and slender, and looked almost exactly like corn snakes in python print, not thick like ball should be. All three were captive hatched, from eggs harvested in Africa.

As an animal lover, I wanted to buy all three and nurse them back to health and give them long and happy lives. This is a budgetary impossibility, but even if it wasn't, I thought about it, and doing so would just perpetuate what is such a huge problem. I am sure some of you got your snakes from pet stores, and I mean absolutely no offense, but I think the importation of these animals, even as eggs, and the poor treatment they receive is a huge cause for concern.

Again, I mean no offense to the people who have acquired their balls differently, but I just want to explain my logic in being sure my snake was captive bred from a reputable breeder. I think importing snakes of any age, egg, neonate, or adult, is foolish and irresponsible. There are huge breeding stocks of ball pythons domestically, bred by people who know and love these snakes and know how to give them the best care possible. We have to remember that balls are exotic animals who play a vital part in the ecosystem in central Africa. Taking just one ball from the wild is going to have a negative environmental impact, not to mention the thousands taken every year to stock pet store shelves with sick animals.

So I urge you, if you have a friend who wants to join the ball python community, direct them to a breeder. My girl is a normal, her selling pice was $40, her shipping was $50. PetCo sells malnourished normals for $79.99. $10 more for a healthy, well cared for, captive bred snake. Thats a no brainer to me. No to mention all of the beautiful morphs offered by breeders for those willing to spend a little more for a cooler paint job. But most importantly, whether its the snake costs $40 or $4,000 you know it has been bred and cared for by someone who knows how to care for it.

For those of us that want desperately to buy pet store animals to "save" them, remember that for every pet store animal you buy, another will be imported to replace it. It breaks my heart and brings tears to my eyes thinking that the three snakes I saw today at PetCo are spending yet another night in appalling conditions. But what is even more sad is the thought that as soon as they are bought, three more will replace them. Stop buying sick snakes from pet stores. If the stores can't sell them, they won't stock them, and more wild caught and bred snakes will stay in the wild where they belong.

[geeko]

I have seen the same thing, and it really is awful.
The chain pet stores seem to have deplorable conditions for all their reptiles. If mammals were in similar situations they would probably have long ago been in trouble for animal cruelty.

[Daybreaker]

I've seen my share of skinny, almost sickly looking petstore snakes as well, though I have to say I got my first ever ball from a Petco (overpaid of course) but she's been wonderful and I have yet to have any health problems with her in having her for a good year now (and when I got her she was actually really plump and healthy looking!). I lucked out though I think and would also advise anyone wanting to get into balls/snakes/any other reptile to check out breeders first: better chance of them eating, being healthy, and at a better price to boot.

[Jessica Loesch]

Remember, not all are the same. It's unfair to group them all together. YOUR petsmart and petco are bad. My Petco actually isn't that bad. Most petstores group them together either way.

[zeion97]

I agree with You. I do.disagree with one thing. Our petsmart uses snakes from local breeders, and the person who tends to them was a retic and Burmese breeder in Flordia, Maybe we got the lucky shop, lol. But I understand completely our local pet shop is horrible. The snake we bought local Is doing worse then the pertsmart snake which is extremely healthy and very docile. Please don't gut me alive, I understand this and know that animals shouldn't be treated like this, I also agree It should stop. Very good post none the less. And I would shar e more about my personal experience, but it's more important the way most people treat them, to the one jewel in local pet trading.

[Emily Hubbard]

Daybreaker, I am so glad that you got a healthy ball from a pet store! Good to know that they are not all bad. Maybe she lucked out and there was an employee at that store who really knew and cared about snakes. I know if I worked at a pet store, I would be setting up gorgeous snake habitats and volunteering to do all of the care and maintenance! It sounds like your ball is in great hands now, and that is really all that matters, making sure whatever snakes we adopt that they are happy and healthy.

[Emily Hubbard]

I agree with You. I do.disagree with one thing. Our petsmart uses snakes from local breeders, and the person who tends to them was a retic and Burmese breeder in Flordia, Maybe we got the lucky shop, lol. But I understand completely our local pet shop is horrible. The snake we bought local Is doing worse then the pertsmart snake which is extremely healthy and very docile. Please don't gut me alive, I understand this and know that animals shouldn't be treated like this, I also agree It should stop. Very good post none the less. And I would shar e more about my personal experience, but it's more important the way most people treat them, to the one jewel in local pet trading.

I am so glad to hear that you know of a shop that knows how to treat their snakes. That is really encouraging, and if they have a snake specialist on hand, all the better for new snake owners who need a knowledgeable resource. I have been to a PetCo, PetsMart and local pet shop in my area and that is just not the case. I am sure there are great pet shops out there, I just haven't personally found one, so I am so glad to hear that you have!

[evan385]

I hate Petsmart and Petco...they are very uneducated when it comes to reptiles...

[evan385]

Remember, not all are the same. It's unfair to group them all together. YOUR petsmart and petco are bad. My Petco actually isn't that bad. Most petstores group them together either way.

Yours must be the exception because i've heard a lot of bad things from several different people in several different cities about Petsmart and Petco being extremely uneducated to the point of stupidity when it comes to reptiles.

[xFenrir]

There are always exceptions to every stereotype; the unfortunate thing is that usually you see the stereotype. I'm sure there are pet stores that treat their animals well/correctly (there's a store called Today's Pet that actually hires people specialized to each group of animals, I worked for them and they really showed love and proper care for all their animals. They didn't just hire anybody and tell them "here, take care of these animals you really don't know much about.") but most people will only come across the terrible pet stores. It's sad.