Help! Dying Red Tail at Petco- Not Sure What I Should Do?

Hey guys,
So I have an interesting predicament. I walked into my local Petco the other day and was approached by one of the employees who knows me as a snake person. He told me that the baby red tail they have in stock isn't doing well. I went over to look at it with him and he's right- it looks terrible. Very thin with sagging skin. Apparently it hasn't eaten in two months (according to the reptile specialist in the store), which is how long the poor thing has been there. It has been to the vet but the vet didn't do much to give it a boost. I personally believe it needs live food which is against Petco's policy to feed.

I want to buy the red tail and nurse it back to health but Petco red tails are extremely expensive ($170 - I can get it for $85 because a friend who works there is going to mark him down 50% if I want him) and I'm not exactly swimming in money, I don't have currently room for an adult red tail so I would have to rehome it before it go bigger (or move before it got bigger which is a possibility), and I can't afford to take the poor thing to the vet if something else is wrong with it. I breed mice so I have the ability to feed it live- trying to feed it and returning it if it works or doesn't work is an option- but I really don't want this poor thing to die.

Petco's policies for reptiles are awful if they are going to just sit around and let an animal die because they won't give it live food. :(

What would you recommend doing?

We really need some kind of crowd fund for rescues.

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This is a horrible situation.

Do not give them money for almost killing a snake - they will just see an empty cage and buy in another and start the cycle all over again.

If they are willing to surrender the animal to you for nothing then by all means take it and try and save the little fellah.

Any guilt in this belongs squarely on their shoulders - it sounds harsh and uncaring for the snake but, long term, it might save more lives making them learn. :(


dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

This is a horrible situation.

Do not give them money for almost killing a snake - they will just see an empty cage and buy in another and start the cycle all over again.

If they are willing to surrender the animal to you for nothing then by all means take it and try and save the little fellah.

Any guilt in this belongs squarely on their shoulders - it sounds harsh and uncaring for the snake but, long term, it might save more lives making them learn. :(


dr del

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I know this is a factor :( It is an option to buy the animal, feed it live, then return it.

This is the first red tail boa they've had in almost a year. This particular store stopped carrying them for awhile because they were having trouble selling them. (I used to work there and know all the employees so I know what is happening behind the scenes).

I wonder what the result of complaining to corporate about the snake's situation would be. In my experience, Petco corporate at the highest level is very animal savvy. It's the lower downs that make it difficult for the stores to give animals the treatment they need.

Sadly Del is right. It is very hard to do I personally caved when in the same situation a while back. I would ask for them to surrender it, failing that report it to scpa in my area they are quite good with dealing with such things. Usually reptiles come my way from them anyway. DNR some times will get involved. A while back one of the chains in my area were told to stop selling cats and dogs because of neglect.

I don't like feeding live. It makes me feel terrible, but it's one of the things that I accepted when I decided to start keeping Balls. If the company has a policy against feeding live then they have no business selling animals that might require it at some point.

Sounds like we need a petition, too.

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Originally Posted by doganddisc

Hey guys,
I'm not exactly swimming in money, I don't have currently room for an adult red tail so I would have to rehome it before it go bigger (or move before it got bigger which is a possibility), and I can't afford to take the poor thing to the vet if something else is wrong with it.

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You think this poor animal isn't eating because it prefers live over f/t food, but if it's not eating because it's sick, what then? I'm sorry, but if funds are so tight that a vet visit isn't in the cards, your first priority is to your current animals.

If you think a letter to the corporate offices would help, by all means do it. I also think that if the company implements a "no live feeder" policy then it needs to purchase only animals that have a history of eating f/t, and the ones that won't either get returned to the distributor or breeder, or they get wholesaled to independent stores without such policies.

Dr Del is correct - an empty space at any big box store will be quickly filled with something else to sell. Empty shelf space doesn't make money, flipping product does.

I had a similar situation with a gtp and Petco. I walked in and noticed it looking terrible laying in a very strange way. I told them about it and believe if I didn't actually tell them to open the cage and check it they would have gone about their business. I offered to adopt it and give it care but they decided to take it to a vet, which was great. While they were dragging their feet deciding who and how it would get there it died in my hands. I doubt I or a vet could have saved that one but they should have noticed days before it was not right.

Do not pay money for it. Try to adopt it and if that doesn't work report them. Its a sad situation but you just can not save every animal in need.

As some one else already stated you are going off a hunch that the snake wants live food. It could be mouth rot, parasites, or a number of other things that could effect the rest of your collection.

Having a parasite could explain the sagging skin,and the lack of appetite.

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Originally Posted by doganddisc

I know this is a factor :( It is an option to buy the animal, feed it live, then return it.

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Ummm so buy it feed it (assuming that it just wants a live snack) an then return it back to the same situation you want to save if from at the moment? No don't do it either hope someone with the space, and money buys it. Or hope petco pulls it and realizes that store can't handle boas, if they can't handle stocking boas petco higher ups should know so they stop stocking boas at that store