Very Bad Petstore Enclosures?!

I went into the pet store today to get my mouse every week like I always do, same store, I've noticed this before but never said anything about it.

The BP's there have no hides, they just have a water bowl and repti bark. and I don't even think they are heated, I don't know about that cause I didn't see the bottom of the tank though. Isn't this a no-no though? :colbert:

How do the snakes live like this? :confused:

they are prolly VERY stressed out

Even worse I went to my local pet-store in the middle of this summer....smelled something & there was a dead ball-python in one of the tanks with the water bowl Bone-Dry.

I told the only clerk their (a kid) as I left that one of the ball-pythons needed some water . At that point there was nothing I could of done. Just terrible. It was a smaller pet store chain & i really did not want to get into arguments so I let it rest that day.

luckily at my petco they a actually have an employee that knows what they are doing with their reptiles

Petco's are very hit and miss. The one I usually go to does a pretty good job with their reptiles. The enclosure are clean and temps and humidity are within parameters. Some of them are really horrible though. Their is a small pet store near me that is just terrible with their reptiles. Enclosures and water bowls are filthy. The people their have refused to take a snake out of a tank because they didnt like snakes. If they won't take them out then how are they cleaning and feeding and such. It's a shame when that happens. Unfortunately if you buy an animal to get it out of there it just gives them money to buy more.

you have to keep in mind pet stores are trying to sell these animals.if they put hides that most of us call proper,the customer would never see the animals.i went to a tropical fish pet store and they had the best idea ive seen.they have a hide that is pushed up against the front of the glass where they can hide in a dark spot but on the customers side of the glass there is the second hide attatched so if someone wants to see all they have to do is remove the hide from the outside.i wish i could better explain wat they had but i thought it was a excellent idea

It's a good argument as to why pet stores shouldn't be allowed to sell most pets.... or even exist for that matter.

So, pet stores shouldn't exist, so then the average consumer would never be exposed to anything so the hobby wouldn't exist? Great idea.

ball pythons in pet stores can be a learning experience. the temps. are always different, poor humidity and poor feeding schedules. But most pythons make it. Snakes have been on this earth for a long time due to their ability to adapt.

look at the ones at the pet stores as "adapting" till they meet their special owner and hopefully he/she will have more time for them.

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Originally Posted by stormwulf133

So, pet stores shouldn't exist, so then the average consumer would never be exposed to anything so the hobby wouldn't exist? Great idea.

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I have never been in a pet store that kept their animals in any conditions that even resembled something proper. They keep their $400 mixed-breed puppies crammed into tiny kennels, their $60+ kittens in small cages, etc.... everything they keep is overcrowded.

I understand that they can't keep them under optimum terms, but people see 3 red-eared sliders in a ten gallon tank, then think that's adequate housing for a turtle.

Pet stores encourage impulse buys, which is NEVER a good idea with a pet. I can also safely say that pet stores had pretty much nothing to do with my decision to get into snakes, and I bet the same can be said for most of the folks here.