Here's why you shouldn't EVER buy snakes from PetCo

[Reed12321]

I went to my local PetCo (The one in Waterford, CT for any of you CT folks) to get a collar for my cat and while I was there I decided to check out their BP's. When I went up to the tank, I noticed a multitude of things that were not okay;

1. One snake had a wound on it's head so bad that you could see it's skull
2. I counted at least 7 snakes in a tank the size of a 20L tank
3. They were infested with mites
4. There was no water in the water dish
5. The PetCo workers were obviously not following their promise of checking on animals once every hour.
6. One snake was really emaciated and obviously underfed

I called and spoke to the manager afterwards and listed my complaints, and he told me that not one, but TWO snakes were injured in the same way. He claimed that they were seen by a vet and that time is what they need to heal. I told the guy that if snakes were injured like that, they needed to be quarantined and not put into a tank for sale.

Here are the pictures:

[BallPythonGuy007]

Thats horrible and that is why I hate pet stores

[Reed12321]

Thats horrible and that is why I hate pet stores

I almost bought the little guy because I can obviously provide better care for him than PetCo could, but I don't have the money to properly outfit him with a tank, hides, heat mat, thermostat, heat lamp, and space heater. Plus, I'd have to quarantine him for a while and treat him for mites and I'd be afraid that the mite treatment I use would have irritated his wound and made him aggressive.

[BallPythonGuy007]

I almost bought the little guy because I can obviously provide better care for him than PetCo could, but I don't have the money to properly outfit him with a tank, hides, heat mat, thermostat, heat lamp, and space heater. Plus, I'd have to quarantine him for a while and treat him for mites and I'd be afraid that the mite treatment I use would have irritated his wound and made him aggressive.

Yes it would be a lot of work and I understand your position

[dr del]

Looks like he rubbed it pretty badly - probably on something in the enclosure.

It is a very hard thing to resist taking the snakes out of less than perfect keeping conditions but my doing so you are just rewarding the shops poor care and allowing them to do it to the next set of snakes they buy in.

There is no realy good answer to the problem I'm afraid.

[Reed12321]

Looks like he rubbed it pretty badly - probably on something in the enclosure.

It is a very hard thing to resist taking the snakes out of less than perfect keeping conditions but my doing so you are just rewarding the shops poor care and allowing them to do it to the next set of snakes they buy in.

There is no realy good answer to the problem I'm afraid.

This is why I support breeders (and hope to do some breeding of my own in the future). I think PetCo feeds live mice/rats and that hole on his head looks like it might be a bite/scratch from a live mouse/rat. That or like you said, he scratched himself on something in the enclosure...although, there isn't much in the way of hides in that enclosure.

[PitOnTheProwl]

I doubt that is a rodent bite, there should be a matching hole from the other set of teeth that I am not seeing in your picture.
Don't forget what chain pet stores are for and that they are what got most people into the hobby.
Do I agree with their care, no BUT they are there for a profit and everything revolves around the dollar.

[Sir Hognose]

You really put the brutal in brutal truth.
I still ain't seen nothin have I?

[Eazyyyb]

thats awful, but it definitely depends on the pet store, because the petco by me is fine

[PitOnTheProwl]

You really put the brutal in brutal truth.
I still ain't seen nothin have I?

LoL, I don't see a point in sugar coating anything.
There is always going to be something that someone doesn't like but its not always about what one of us likes or doesn't like.
I have people that ask me what s wrong with my snakes because I sell them so cheap and the pet stores want $80 for them.
My response is always, these are normal and don't fit into my breeding plans. I also don't have the same overhead that pet stores do.
Think about when you were a young child, other than the zoo where did you get to go to see all the freaky creepy animals/pets?