I hate that places like Petco and Petsmart obviously don't seem to know how to take care of reptiles. My husband and I went to Petco today to buy some more food for our dogs, and decided to swing by the reptile section. I was a bit alarmed at the humidity levels inside the enclosures (though the temperatures seemed OK). The ball python was in a tank with only 20% humidity! Poor thing. Then they had a red tail boa that was in blue, humidity was only at 40%. I know boas have to have higher humidity than our ball pythons, and I also know that if I had my bp's humidity at 40% when she was in shed, she would have a TERRIBLE shed!! Luckily the red tail boa was just hanging out in the water dish, so hopefully that will help him, but overall I know that humidity that low can be really detrimental to a boa's health! I really wanted to say something to one of the staff, but unfortunately I could not find anyone in the reptile section, and when I mentioned it to the cashier she was like "oh, ok, I'll mention it to someone." I doubt she will, because she was swamped with customers (and plus it's not really her job), but why don't they take better care of their reptiles at these stores?? I feel that I don't really have to make a huge effort to keep my ball python's humidity and temperatures where they need to be - out of all my pets, my ball python is the EASIEST to care for (and we have two dogs and two cats). I don't understand why the stores can't train their employees to monitor those things better and ensure the temps and humidities are where they need to be. I know they are just trying to make money, but these are live animals they are dealing with. Just makes me a little sick inside.
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