Pecto Stepping up there games for BPs

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Originally Posted by garweft

I'm amazed anyone would consider buying a snake from Petco..... :weirdface

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Actually, I bought my first snake from there. Didn't know about this forum, and wasn't aware of a few things. My experience wasn't all that bad. I paid ~$100 for snake, tank, bedding, water bowl, and heating pad. Went and got a acurite and table lamp dimmer for another $30 and I was set. So I spent $130 for everything, and I have a nice looking normal female. In the end, it's not all that bad.

We are a select group of people and 95% of the general public only knows that reptiles need heat and water and food. They usually don't know how much heat, or how much food, or the right humidity for that matter. You know more because of this forum I bet then you ever did before.

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Originally Posted by Orlandoflor

I know petco sucks way to pricy for me man with that money I can get me two decent morphs from a breeder

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Then go do that. No one is telling you to buy from Petco, they are just saying that Petco is having morphs now for sale. Which is what I assumed would eventually happen. Why be stuck with spiders that you can't sell as a private breeder when you can sell them to petco for 200 bucks and petco will charge 400 to a person who doesn't know any better? See what I'm saying?

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Originally Posted by BuckeyeBalls

People just wanna save a few bucks if petco is letting em go cheaper? Amazing!

Id never do it...

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Then don't. Again, see above.

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Originally Posted by Kymberli

I'd rather see petco step up their care as opposed to their game..

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Me too, but I can tell you exactly why they don't. They get people who aren't knowledgeable about reptiles, and train them on corporate standards and that's it. They don't want the guy in there who sets everything like it should be with heating pads and such because of one reason.

COST.

Not only would it cost Petco tons of money to make every single animal have the standards needed for perfect husbandry, but it would cost Petco tons of money training each employee and then paying the employee for the reptile position even more because of all the extra work that would be needed.

Sorry ladies and Gentleman, but that's the way it works. At the end of the day, Petco is a business, and their goal is to make as much money as possible while spending as little as possible.

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Originally Posted by MarkieJ

Cue the bad sheds, mites, and emaciated morphs...

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See above please.

So much hate in this thread. I'm not "Defending" Petco, but if you don't like them, don't go to them. If you know how to take better care of the animals they house, then you go work for them for $7.50 an hour. I'm content with my job, and even though it sucks, that's life, and I know that I'm not going to go in there with the intention of buying any snakes or trying to correct their husbandry.

Sorry for the rant, but I just don't like seeing people bashing a place because they are a business and are trying to make money. :colbert:

Also, while I'm on the subject, take a look at their care sheet for example:

http://www.petco.com/caresheets/snak...ython_Ball.pdf

I mean, seriously, how many things can ALL of us point out that are so wrong with that "Care sheet"?

See what I'm saying about their training? This is what they give their employees, and tell them, "Hand this out to anyone who wants a snake." Education and cost are the problem.

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Originally Posted by The Hedgehog

Me too, but I can tell you exactly why they don't. They get people who aren't knowledgeable about reptiles, and train them on corporate standards and that's it. They don't want the guy in there who sets everything like it should be with heating pads and such because of one reason.

COST.

Not only would it cost Petco tons of money to make every single animal have the standards needed for perfect husbandry, but it would cost Petco tons of money training each employee and then paying the employee for the reptile position even more because of all the extra work that would be needed.

Sorry ladies and Gentleman, but that's the way it works. At the end of the day, Petco is a business, and their goal is to make as much money as possible while spending as little as possible.

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Oh I know, I understand completely. And I actually don't "hate" petco or petsmart. Petsmart's Banfield hospital pointed me in the direction of an exotic vet I would not have been able to find on my own. Plus, their workers are some of e nicest people I've met, most do really care about their animals.

And the cost of proper care would mean they'd have to hike up the price for the pet and ultimately have less sales. But, with that said, there are cost efficient as well as cost-free ways they could improve their care.

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Originally Posted by The Hedgehog

Then go do that. No one is telling you to buy from Petco, they are just saying that Petco is having morphs now for sale. Which is what I assumed would eventually happen. Why be stuck with spiders that you can't sell as a private breeder when you can sell them to petco for 200 bucks and petco will charge 400 to a person who doesn't know any better? See what I'm saying?

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Number one, go try to sell a spider ball to Petco for $200, I bet they will laugh and offer you $75 or less. Plus, I'm pretty sure they have certain people that they are REQUIRED to get their animals from.

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Originally Posted by The Hedgehog

Not only would it cost Petco tons of money to make every single animal have the standards needed for perfect husbandry, but it would cost Petco tons of money training each employee and then paying the employee for the reptile position even more because of all the extra work that would be needed.

Sorry ladies and Gentleman, but that's the way it works. At the end of the day, Petco is a business, and their goal is to make as much money as possible while spending as little as possible.

So much hate in this thread. I'm not "Defending" Petco, but if you don't like them, don't go to them. If you know how to take better care of the animals they house, then you go work for them for $7.50 an hour. I'm content with my job, and even though it sucks, that's life, and I know that I'm not going to go in there with the intention of buying any snakes or trying to correct their husbandry.

Sorry for the rant, but I just don't like seeing people bashing a place because they are a business and are trying to make money. :colbert:

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So you are telling me that because they are a business trying to make money, that it's a satisfactory excuse for poor husbandry? Last I checked Petco in the business of selling ANIMALS which would mean husbandry of their ANIMALS would be one of the most important things.

If you go buy a car from Ted's Honda shop, and the car that you decided to buy had been test driven alot because it had sat on the lot forever, and Mr Ted decided that because the car had been there forever he just wasn't going to change the oil because that was going to cut in to his profit. Well when the engine begins to have problems because of it, are you going to say to yourself "well Ted is in business to make money, so I guess its ok..."

Or with BP's oil spill. they are a business trying to make money, but does that give them an excuse for skimping on safety and preventative measures just so they can make a little more profit?

Plus, the husbandry issues that petco has wouldn't be that expensive. All the tank materials they get in bulk, and a manager giving verbal instructions like changing bedding/ water, turns temps to certain degrees... words are free!

Just saying man, think about what you are saying before you try to call people out by making excuses for these large corperations.

I still think you can get better prices with a reputable breeder.
However, This would be a good alternative for someone who didn't have a reputable breeder in their area.

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Originally Posted by PweEzy

Number one, go try to sell a spider ball to Petco for $200, I bet they will laugh and offer you $75 or less. Plus, I'm pretty sure they have certain people that they are REQUIRED to get their animals from.

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Reading Comprehension > You

I was making a point for the sake of the argument. Nice job taking that out of context though.

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Originally Posted by PweEzy

So you are telling me that because they are a business trying to make money, that it's a satisfactory excuse for poor husbandry? Last I checked Petco in the business of selling ANIMALS which would mean husbandry of their ANIMALS would be one of the most important things.

If you go buy a car from Ted's Honda shop, and the car that you decided to buy had been test driven alot because it had sat on the lot forever, and Mr Ted decided that because the car had been there forever he just wasn't going to change the oil because that was going to cut in to his profit. Well when the engine begins to have problems because of it, are you going to say to yourself "well Ted is in business to make money, so I guess its ok..."

Or with BP's oil spill. they are a business trying to make money, but does that give them an excuse for skimping on safety and preventative measures just so they can make a little more profit?

Plus, the husbandry issues that petco has wouldn't be that expensive. All the tank materials they get in bulk, and a manager giving verbal instructions like changing bedding/ water, turns temps to certain degrees... words are free!

Just saying man, think about what you are saying before you try to call people out by making excuses for these large corperations.

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Once again Reading Comprehension > You

I never said it was a satisfactory excuse for poor husbandry. DO NOT put words in my mouth. I said that it would cost them a ton of money to keep each of the species of reptiles up to their true standards in each store across the US. It would also cost them a ton of money to train each person who works in the reptile department to properly care for these animals. With any large corporation there has to be a uniform set of guidelines that employees have to follow. So they would have to all be trained the same way in each store. Which means new training classes would have to be created, which would me new videos and employee handbooks, which in turn would cost.............You guessed it, more money!

Again, look at the spreadsheet I posted of how they are supposed to care for the animals. That's what the employees go off of. Unless that person has worked with reptiles before, they would have no idea that nearly all the information on that care sheet is incorrect.

Your two analogies with "Teds Honda Shop" and "BP" are miserable. If you actually worked in the automotive business, you would know that's exactly what goes on. Trust me, I worked in the Auction business for years. The dealers do in fact skimp on working on the car if they know they're about to sell it. (Just pointing that out)

BP was trying to save money so they cut a corner. Look what happened. I am in no way trying to "Defend" Petco, so stop putting words in my mouth. I'm just saying that as a large corporation, don't expect things to change because people complain about it on a forum. If YOU don't like it, start writing letters to Petco and see how far that gets you. They aren't going to change anything if it requires spending a lot of money. Whether they buy in bulk or not, it still costs the company money.

For example, lets say they get heating pads for all the snakes and the correct lighting for all the lizards. Now you need a thermostat for all the snakes heating pads and you also need an easy way to access all the lighting. Which would mean changing their display setups. (Again spending more money). Changing bedding regularly would require more money. I'm pretty sure they don't get bedding for free. I'm also sure that having the employees do more work would require.......You guessed it! More money.

Don't kid yourself either. They make a KILLING on the animals they sell. As you said, they buy in bulk. They do the same for the animals. They buy them in bulk, ship them to the stores, and make a killing on the markup they charge. Why do you think people on craigslist need $200 for a rehoming fee for a normal ball python? Usually because they paid more than $75 for just the snake alone.

And once again, just in case I didn't make myself clear, I'm NOT defending Petco, but I understand why they don't change. It's a business model, and it's working, and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Just saying man, think about what you are saying before you try to call people out on something they might have a ton of knowledge about. ;)

That sounds interesting, but those prices are definitely higher up there compared to others. Just hope that Petco takes care of these BP's.

I'd also like to throw out, that I am ALL FOR GETTING THEIR STANDARDS UP. I'm also just a realist though. ;)

Go to youtube and look up petco, petsmart it's so Grrr i can't say it but you will understand what I'm getting at........ They buy all there animals from one company. My opion none of them have any business carrying any sort of reptiles. :tears:

My exact words were "making excuses for these large corperations." B/c all I read in that post were excuses... but I guess thats neither here nor there. I won't argue with you on a public forum.

In regards to the OP, it actually may be a nice touch for the industry because people will see the eye poppers like a spider or pinstripe and will be more interested in all the morph which could be pretty good "free" advertising for the industry. And when people don't want to pay $400 for a spider, they will be able to research a breeder to get one from. So it might actually be benificial and is a good piece of info to know, thanks OP!