Do pet stores help or hurt the snake hobby?

Im wondering what you all think about pet stores and snakes. There are alot of great breeders out there that produce amazing and healthy animals but what about the pet stores who sell snakes but dont know anything about them? I got my normal male from some crappy little pet store and i didnt go in there to buy a bp i just needed change for a 10 and I saw they had a ball python.He was NOT in shed yet his skin was loose and wrinlky.The temperature according to the thermometer was 72 degrees. When i asked how often the snake ate the owner very confidently told me that he only NEEDED to eat about once a month. It broke my heart to hear this and i had to get him out of there. Since ive had him he has not refused a meal. I feed every saturday. Im not saying all pet stores are like this but ive been to several and they dont seem to know how to ideally care for a bp. Just wondering how other people felt on the subject.

Have yet to be in one that knows what they're doing. Even reptile speciality stores.

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Originally Posted by Bobbafett

Have yet to be in one that knows what they're doing. Even reptile speciality stores.

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Thats what im saying. They are in it for profit and dont really care about the animal enough to learn its basic needs

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Originally Posted by Bobbafett

Have yet to be in one that knows what they're doing. Even reptile speciality stores.

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I actually have found one! Right here in my town. They keep all their BPs in a rack with heattape and a thermostat. They havent had mites the 5 years I have known them and I was told that if they do all their snakes get taken off the shelves and everything gets cleaned and treated.

Their Tarantulas are spectacular, fish are perfect, small animals are A+ and all their other reptiles are great too.

Only down side is that I find them a tad pricey.

I am really impressed by these guys.

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Originally Posted by reptiliachnids

I actually have found one! Right here in my town. They keep all their BPs in a rack with heattape and a thermostat. They havent had mites the 5 years I have known them and I was told that if they do all their snakes get taken off the shelves and everything gets cleaned and treated.

Their Tarantulas are spectacular, fish are perfect, small animals are A+ and all their other reptiles are great too.

Only down side is that I find them a tad pricey.

I am really impressed by these guys.

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I wish there was a store like that around here

the pet stores hear are only pet smart and pet co ( pet co got shut down for not treating their animals well. they had like 20 snakes in the same cage when i went there ) Pet smart charged $80 for a normal ball. they had chameleon in tiny cages. :(

I got my female almost breeding size bumblebee from a reptile specialty store. Yes, I made sure she's a female.

When I picked her up she was freezing. She's finally filling out. They had her eating 2 adult mice once every two weeks. I haven't weighed her lately, but last time I did she was only about 20g away from being 1500g.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/02/vu6egybe.jpg

What gets me laughing is how they're selling HET CLOWNS. I don't know, but I wouldn't buy a het off of a pet store.

Unfortunately, in just about any retail situation, knowledge is not a requirement for employment. It's just a really sad situation when animals are involved.

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Originally Posted by Tfpets

Unfortunately, in just about any retail situation, knowledge is not a requirement for employment. It's just a really sad situation when animals are involved.

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Exactly. How are people going to ever get educated about snakes and reptiles in general if pet stores either dont have information for the public or worst when they give bad information.

Being a PetsMart employee I'm on the front lines of introducing new people to the reptile trade. In the last 4 months I've assisted nearly a dozen people into the world of ball pythons. I make sure they have everything they'll need, offer tips and advice, and write down this website for them to learn more. I also include info on our local reptile shows. I've even found some of my customers at the shows and they thank me for all my help. I know my store is going great things for the trade. If it weren't for high profile stores like mine people would never know about the joys of keeping reptiles. They would just go get their dog food from Wal-Mart and zombie on . . .