PetCo strikes again...

So I went to the local Pet Co. (guess who switched substrates yet again! This time to Eco-Earth) anyways I was picking up that eco-earth when I decided to browse through the reptile section. My local petco has never carried snakes so it's usually a fun browse as they take pretty darn good care of the Russian Tortises and various geckos.. today however was different I saw a cage with TWO Ball Pythons housed together with TWO Red-Tailed Boas. The coloring was great but there were bits of shed stuck on the BP's I immediately asked to speak to the reptile manager or person... they don't have one... so I asked to speak to a manager in general and clued them in about IBD and how it was terrible to house snakes that way and if they get a call in a few weeks saying- my python acted strangely became paralyzed and died not to be too surprised. GRRRR!! I'm going in tomorrow to check on them and every day after. This infuriates me. I'm no longer buying anything at PetCo ( I noticed after I had purchased the substrate). Oh and also you can get a cute and cuddly baby savannah monitor there now too... joy!

That place should just have all of its stores exploded!! Those people infuriate me to no end! If you don't know what you are doing with the animal, you should not be allowed to keep it. I feel it should pretty much be that plain & simple for pet stores! The thing that really upsets me is that the basic information is SO easy to find! Why can people not just do a little bit of research!!??

thats dumb...it doesnt take much common sense to know not to house a BP with a boa

The things people will do to make an extra buck!

My store was given the option to start carrying snakes and we turned it down on the advice of our own snake expert (he's got like a boa, a burm, a corn, a hognose, a black rat, a bp, and a few others I can't remember). I don't know of any other PetsMart stores who took up the option either. We just can't take the risk of escapes or temperamental eaters-- I don't think any of the chain stores should, particularly Petco. Just my two cents.

The local petco in Fayetteville seems to know what they are doing with their BP's. For one thing, they house their Boas and BP's in seperate enclosures. There are plenty of hides and the humidity stays around 50 to 55%. This was after the new reptile specialist took over :)

Eddie, not all the Petcos are that way. My local Petco is far superior to the nearest reptile specialty store in its reptile husbandry, sad though that is to say. The reptiles manager is a woman with more than 4 dozen herps at home, who breeds bearded dragons and guinea pigs. There are never more than two baby balls to a cage, no direct lights on any of the reptiles except UV as needed, and they stopped carrying iguanas altogether. The reptile store, on the other hand, piles a dozen or more in a single tank with no hides or supplemental heat and has been known to put a lizard in a critter keeper in the middle of the tank as well. Anyway, point is that specialty stores may not be so special and chain stores may be ok. It's just on a case by case basis.

My first bp Monty was housed in the pet store with a couple of young boas. Being the snake idiot I was at the time, I didn't know this was bad. I thought it was wierd, but I didn't know about IBD. Anyways, Monty died about a month or so after I got him. And this was a reptile store! I called the pet store, and suggested IBD, and they said "Oh we know we don't have IBD." :roll:

I have seen the same thing at a local pet store near me. Its such a shame. It bothers me to no end that people do not learn about animals before buyine and selling them. Anything to make a buck eh?

From the Associated Press:
Petco to Pay $900,000 to Settle California Lawsuits
May 28 --------------- Petco Animal Supplies Inc., the No. 2
U.S. pet-supply chain, will pay more than $900,000 to settle two
California lawsuits that claimed the company mistreated animals
and overcharged customers, the Associated Press reported.
Petco didn't admit wrongdoing. It agreed to pay $600,000 in
fines, $200,000 to install equipment at its California stores to
ensure pricing accuracy and $101,000 to cover investigation
costs. The settlement resolves suits filed by the district
attorneys of Los Angeles, Marin, San Mateo and San Diego counties
and one by the San Francisco city attorney, AP said.
San Francisco's investigation of Petco found sick and dying
animals kept in freezers, untreated animals with contagious
diseases and animals in unclean enclosures with no water, San
Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera told AP. The counties
alleged that San Diego-based Petco kept animals in unclean cages
without proper care and overcharged customers by $1.19 on average.
``We are pleased to have resolved these matters on terms
that are consistent with comprehensive policies and practices
already utilized by Petco to serve the best interests of our
customers and companion animals in our care,'' Darragh Davis, a
Petco vice president and corporate counsel, told AP.