Purchased From Petsmart

I got my 2 ball pythons from petco. The adult i got came from there someone droped him off and new nothing about him nor has anyone handled him until i came in. I adopted him and yet to have any problems out of him (which from my understanding he wasnt there long) And that very day they had baby bp's on sale for 15 bucks. Well i picked up one because i just moved my baby rtb into a bigger enclosure. I have had problems with feeding and with mites. But the baby bp has picked up on her feeding would i regret it no. shes still under isolation but no more mites and shes picking up on her eating been eating 4 weeks straight now. the petco around here seem to try and make a effort to keep up there animals but i know its rare you see it

I've bought three ball pythons from pet stores, two from Petco and one from Petsmart. I still have two of them. They were all fairly thin when I got them, but with eating the proper sized meals, they gained their weight back in no time. Other than that, they were fairly healthy, maybe a little stuck shed, but again, no major problems.

Normally I avoid chains like Petsmart and Petco, but the Petsmart by me is great. Their people actually know what they're talking about (at least with reptiles, haven't asked about other things). In fact one of them graduated from my high school, which is a specialized marine biology academy where the students voluntarily sacrifice their lunch periods to care for fish, turtles, and lizards. So i know she knows her stuff. Any other petsmart I generally wouldn't trust.

My ball python is from there, my rat snake was from a breeder, and every other non-dog pet I've had was from an LPS.

A lot of people don't like that they don't know the animal's background and whatnot. But they don't realize, it's called PETsmart and PETco. Not Breedersmart and Breederco. A 12-year-old kid getting his first corn snake doesn't care if his parents were pure-blood Okeetee from the Loves.

I got my striped cali king from Petsmart and he's a great little snake, but that was back in April when I was still working there and I was personally taking care of him :) The pet care manager there was also a big reptile person and she always made sure they were really well cared for. But if it was a store where I had no knowledge of how the animals were treated, I would definitely be more hesitant to buy one.

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

There is an easy explanation for this.

Easy to care for animals at these stores are healthy. Corns are bulletproof, you could keep them for months on end with no heat and they would be fine.

Anything that requires humidity, specific heat temperatures, and possibly might be picky eaters will generally be less healthy at these places because they just don't do everything to provide proper husbandry.

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I dont mean to sound rude, but you do realize that corn snakes need ZERO heat if provided with a proper ambient room temp?

They thrive at 75 - 80F and anything higher than 85 - 87 is actually BAD for them.

Im just saying, you cant say that the store in question had healthy corns because they are hardy (and YES, they are VERY hardy snakes), to me from what you said it seems like the store was properly housing their corns, unless the store was freezing or if it was above 85 - 90F which is improbable

just thought id throw that out there, like i said im not trying to be rude, im just saying that from the sound of it those corn snakes were well taken care of :)

My boyfriend got his ball python from Petco 10 years ago and while he used to be a picky eater [live white mice only] he's slowly starting to take rats now and we don't attribute that to coming from Petco, even though they did feed him live and it took a while to get him on f/t, we attribute it more to the fact that he was in a gigantic tank until about a year ago. He rarely missed a meal unless it wasn't a live white mouse, but the pet stores around where he lived always had live white mice, they were just expensive.

The Petsmart near us is very good with their reptiles and I know at least one of people working in the reptile section keeps multiple types of snakes and various other reptiles, because we had a long talk when I was smitten with a Crestie they had but sold before I could get the money for a tank and him. Also other people that work in the reptile department are willing to learn. Just the other day I went in there and looked at the corn snakes and the BP while getting crickets and the girl working the reptile department asked me a few questions about BP's after she found out we have two of them. BUT the closest Petco to my apartment doesn't take good care of their reptiles at all. Dirty tanks, sick snakes, etc. Again, BUT, my friend works at a Petco by my mom's house and they take excellent care of their reptiles mostly because everyone they hired for the reptile department all keep various kinds of reptiles. Just depends on who the managers choose to hire or if people that apply have enough experience, sometimes they might need a reptile person but no one that applied has herp experience.

I think each store would be different. I am a dog trainer at petsmart, and we have a couple of people who know a little about snakes, but care a whole lot and will come running to me with questions or problems. I always check on the snakes and make sure they are doing ok.
I'm sure there are stores who have people who just don't know anything, or are just there for the paycheck. I would take it on a store-by-store basis.

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Originally Posted by Mallory

I think each store would be different. I am a dog trainer at petsmart, and we have a couple of people who know a little about snakes, but care a whole lot and will come running to me with questions or problems. I always check on the snakes and make sure they are doing ok.
I'm sure there are stores who have people who just don't know anything, or are just there for the paycheck. I would take it on a store-by-store basis.

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I agree completely!! Also which store do you work at??

Every store is different and it seems as if most of the people on this forum realize that. My store is pretty good, i complain a lot about our breeders, but my managers always agree, even my store manager. Just make sure YOU know what your talking about, then you can make a sound purchase on a healthy animal.

I hate it when customers come in with no prior knowledge of an animal and trust the employee to tell them everything they need to know. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!!! We can't trust every employee to know everything there is to know about a Emperor Scorpion, so take it all with a grain of salt.

I have got all my fish from petsmart and not a single death. I've got hamsters from petsmart that were great and no issues. Now the ball python i rescued from our store is a different story, that's just because Banfield is a bunch of idiots and don't know how to treat anything that isn't a dog or cat.

Void, your photos are gorgeous! Those animals are beautiful :)

Anyway, my only BP is a normal, and because I adopted him from a reptile rescue, I have no idea whatsoever where he came from originally... but I'd be willing to bet a lot that the original owners got him from either a Petco or Petsmart. They weren't too responsible, my BP has burns because they used a heat lamp, so, I'm... just very convinced that whoever originally owned him got him from a pet store without proper husbandry instructions.

But, anyway, he seems pretty good these days!

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Have you ever purchased any reptiles or amphibians from Petsmart? If yes, what have you purchased, do you still own it, and did you have any problems with it?

People say Petsmart doesn't take that good of care of their reptiles and amphibians. They same the same about Petco, too, which I completely agree on (the Petco part).

I purchased three reptiles from Peysmart, and really, I couldn't be any happier with them. They are as healthy as can be and I haven't had any problems with them. Ever.

I purchased a Corn snake, Ball python, and a Giant Leopard gecko. I no longer have the Corn snake, but that Corn snake was in great health when I got it and when I sold it. The Ball python, my female, hasn't had any problems at all. Never has she refused a meal or has had any problems so far (hopefully none at all). I've had her for over a year now (bought her in June of '08 at 4 months old) and she hit 3 feet in length the last time I measured her. The Giant Leopard gecko I purchased is beautiful and eats great (refused at one time, but I heard that they will sometimes do this).

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i bought my ball python from petsmart a yr and a half ago...after tons of researching and going to ALL the pet stores...petsmart was where they seemed to have the nicer reptiles. she was a baby and i have had no problems. the vet says she is very healthy. i also just purchased 2 bearded dragons from there and so far so good. when i was searching for my python.... i noticed the 3 different petcos i went to, they were all aggressive. there were a ton in one cage together and the employess let me know they werent very tame. the one at petsmart was super sweet. what did you get?? good luck...im sure they are just fine. do you take them to an exoctic vet?