is this actually true?

[Snakeman]

i know BP's(or any other snakes) arent supposed to be housed together,but is it true that if the BP's are 1+ yrs older they can be housed together as long as they're housed in a large tank, is that actually?

long story short:

yesterday this customer at petco was gonna buy 2 BP's,so the employees told me to give him "tips" for the new BP owner.so i told him the basics which took a few mins (and i accidently held up the line while doing so),first thing i told him is that BP's cannot be housed together. afterwards my team leader came up to me and said that she called the petco "certified reptile specialist" and he said that BP's can be housed together as long as they're 1+ yrs older and that they're housed in a large tank.at the same time she scolded me because im not their certified reptile specialist therefore im not allowed to give info to customers( then why the heck did she tell me to give them tips?).obviously i kept saying it wasnt true but the only excuse she was using is that he's the reptile specialist and im not so basically he's right and im wrong. ok so it wasnt so short but thats the mina portion of the story.

[AzureN1ght]

i know BP's(or any other snakes) arent supposed to be housed together,but is it true that if the BP's are 1+ yrs older they can be housed together as long as they're housed in a large tank, is that actually?

long story short:

yesterday this customer at petco was gonna buy 2 BP's,so the employees told me to give him "tips" for the new BP owner.so i told him the basics which took a few mins (and i accidently held up the line while doing so),first thing i told him is that BP's cannot be housed together. afterwards my team leader came up to me and said that she called the petco "certified reptile specialist" and he said that BP's can be housed together as long as they're 1+ yrs older and that they're housed in a large tank.at the same time she scolded me because im not their certified reptile specialist therefore im not allowed to give info to customers( then why the heck did she tell me to give them tips?).obviously i kept saying it wasnt true but the only excuse she was using is that he's the reptile specialist and im not so basically he's right and im wrong. ok so it wasnt so short but thats the mina portion of the story.

Pretty sure the answer's gonna be: absolutely NOT true. It's a corporate "let's sell two snakes to a customer who would only be willing to shell out enough cash to house one" kinda thing, I think...

Unfortunately, from other posters here who've worked in corporate pet stores' posts, it sounds like you're just getting a taste of what working there is gonna be like. Doing anything contrary to "company policy" (even if it's wrong) is a big no-no.

[Snakeman]

yeah im starting to see that their policies are obviously more important than the snake's health.

[minotaur]

Looks like its time to give the 2 weeks notice and start a breeding program of your own

Sorry to hear about that story, maybe next time tell them its fine to house two together in a huge tank if they buy a cheap tank divider

[lord jackel]

Why don't you call the "certified reptile specialist" and ask why he is saying it is OK. Where did the info come from. and Why is he considered certified?


You cannot fight the system till you understand it.

[AzureN1ght]

I've actually been in a petco recently, where there was a little sticky thing on the BP's cage with info--like how old they live, how long they get...and on it, it said that 2 or more BPs can be housed together if they're taken out to be fed seperately.

I know from reading this site that it's absolutely wrong...but Petco felt it was okay enough to get a professional-looking thing printed up for their tanks *shrug*

[Snakeman]

in order for me to become their reptile specialist i have to take a reptile test and pass it.in the meantime i cant do anything about giving info unless im a "reptile specialist" from petco.so for now whatever he says is right and whatever i say is wrong.

[Phreak]

Study up and take and pass the test. Based on the info the "specialist" gives apparently it's not that hard.

[lord jackel]

Yea...I just read the "care sheet" for Balls on Petco.com and it is clearly written from a sell more stuff point of view.


Just a few of the big errors:
No mention of humidity concerns
Says Balls require a photo period - so you need both a daytime and nightime heat lamp
UTH is secondary
Need a branch for the Ball to climb on

I did note it does NOT say anything about housing more than one Ball in the same tank...so again I would try and find out where the "expert" got his info from.

[Snakeman]

im able to take the test once i've been working there i believe its like amonth and then im allowed to take it.