Wait'll you hear what the pet lady said.

I had a good pet store experience yesterday. Went to the store of the only guy in this state licensed to have certain venomous reptiles, and every critter in there looked healthy. The baby ball python looked good, as did the gtp's, dragons, geckos, rattlers, cobras, gators, monitors, skinks, reticulated, anaconda, burmese, even the fish. We watched one of the pythons (I don't remember what kind but it was dull red and orange) shed while we were there. The employee went along the rows misting the cages too, so I know they were watching humidity. Oh, and it was truly a pet store -- there was one tiny section of thermometers, hides, lizard supplements, and such, about 4'x6'.

Marla, I'm glad that you have a "good" pet store in your area. All of the ones I have been to around here, simply put, suck! When I had gotten my cage for my bp, I was at a local pet store, and the girl at the register asked what I was going to put in the cage. I told her a captive bred bp. She said, "what, a captain bred?" I then reitterated what I had said. She was like, "oh, the one's we have are captive bred." I then proceeded to the door. I do understand the whole high school kid thing. It is hard to go to a pet store and actually find someone who has an incling as to what is going on.

Well, it's not exactly in my area. It took about an hour to get there 30 minutes before closing time. Most of the pet stores I tend to think of as places to buy supplies, because they're not good sources of animals. This store is very good though, and there's another I plan to visit about an hour in a different direction because a local herper told me he thinks it's the best in the area.

forget ever asking help from a pet shop employee. It's disgusting how many of them are so poorly trained. There needs to be a test that they need to pass, seriously. You figure, over the period of a day they probly sell 5 animals per employee, and give awful advice to at least 15 more. Then they go home and care for their pets poorly all because they'd never second guess an "expert" pet sho employee.

Forget pet shops, come to bp.net for all your questions :)