Hey guys,

I'm gonna rant a little bit.

I go to a place called Char's Reptile Store (Houstonians, don't EVER go there) to maybe pick up some cypress mulch (I obviously decided not to).

First thing I spot is a few Ball Pythons in cages with half logs... lovely, they're all in the middle of the enclosure, not hiding.

Next I come across a beautiful JCP. The animal is super skinny and has some stuck shed. The worst part is, the back end of the snake is swollen and red, and still has shed on it. It looks like a bad infection along with scale rot.

I walk by a Leucistic Texas Rat snake which is chilling in his water bowl. Oh, you guessed it, there's a nice little tick on him. I mention it to the store owner, who says "That's not a tick. We don't have mites or ticks in our place. It's even offensive that you ask."

I assure them that it is a tick, but no, it's just a bug in the substrate (liar liar pants on fire).

Next she starts telling me that aspen is bad for snakes, and then goes on to tell me that racks are horrible.

For those of you that have racks, you guys are "puppy-mill breeders", according the the store owner and the "herp community."

I mention all of you that successfully keep your snakes in racks, along with Brian Barczyk, BHB.

But no, she's right, I'm wrong. Racks are bad.

She's right because her snakes have horrible enclosures (including burned flexwatt), ticks, nasty infections, poop, and stuck sheds. Brian Barczyk is wrong because he has breeding, feeding, and shedding snakes in CLEAN enclosures.

I hate pet stores.

Join me?