pet stores: friend or foe?

[Gerardo]

What do you think about pet stores and their impact on the reptile world? Should snakes and other reptiles be so easily available for people to buy?

[PitOnTheProwl]

How do you think most people get started in this hobby??

[Gerardo]

I understand that most of us started off with a petstore snake but i have always loved snakes and would have got a snake one way or another. Im talking about an impulse buy from a nagging 12 year old that bugs his parents at the store until they get him one. Then 2 weeks later he is bored of it. Also ALOT of pet stores have no clue how to care for a snake.

[Gerardo]

Breeders sell snakes because that is something they love working with and if a new owner has questions they can give CORRECT answers. I have heard so much garbage come out of pet store employees when they are telling a new owner how to care for their snake.

[OctagonGecko729]

Easily available? Yes.

Living in terrible conditions? No.

I have never left a pet store without feeling disgusted about something.

[OctagonGecko729]

Also, plenty of breeders are garbage and don't care about their animals one bit. It seems like some just have a hobby where they peddle disease to the masses for $15 a hit.

[Gerardo]

Thats true. Not all breeders are good either. But i think there are more quality breeders than quality pet stores

[Rob]

Not the biggest fan of the big box stores. There are still a few mom and pop pet stores that I'd rather give my business to.

sent via something from somewhere

[bcr229]

Especially for the big-box stores where husbandry practices range from less-than-ideal to criminally negligent, I would be more inclined to shop at them if they were a pet supply store, and not a pet store. Southern States and Tractor Supply don't seem to be hurting for business, and they don't sell cows, horses, pigs, sheep...

If they needed something to sell instead, consumables like F10, mite spray, bulk aspen or cypress mulch, decent spray bottles, tub liners, etc. would probably generate more revenue for the store anyway.

[zookeeper]

I hate that the big box stores get away with husbandry that is completely wrong , and send away new buyers with completely wrong instructions.

I just rescued mine from a coworker. His son bought it at a big store , without permission. He had her with hardly no heat her tank was 70 degrees on the warm side, a HEAT ROCK . She was was being fed a pinkie mouse per week and there were -wait for it - crickets in her cage. Which was one of those huge furniture piece salt water tanks that are like 6 feet long . It had a crack in it. Not cool. Now I am worried she is pregnant too young , because he gt her from a box store where she was jammed with a "bunch" of other snakes in a half log.

It is the same way I feel about dogs. Zero problem with real reputable breeders though I lean towards rescue. No problem with the good breeders , bug problem with back yard breeders whose husbandry and sale practices are questionable , who sell blind to pet stores and what not.

When I was researching my new rescued BP , I saw "add to cart" sites where I coud have one shipped to me for 30 bucks plus shipping without any verification that I knew the first thing about what to do when I opened the box.

Just because a snake is not a pet that responds to its name or outwardly gives affection it does not mean that owners should be at least somewhat checked out , even over the phone and quizzed to make sure the don't think you feed it crickets and stick it in a fish tank with a hot rock and some sand. Just saying!