pet stores: friend or foe?

I don't use big box stores just because they really don't care one bit for the well being of their animals. But there are 2 mom and pop stores near me that take great care of their animals and give correct information. One their reptile guy is the head of the local herp society and the other is a reptile specialty store that just opened and the owner has been keeping and breeding reptiles for several years now. So for me it all depends on the store whether or not I'll shop there or recommend ppl to go there. I do believe that pet stores are vital to the hobby growing cause most ppl that get interested in reptiles don't know any breeders and they either don't know about or don't want to wait til an expo is near by.


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A reptile department is only as good as its staff. I had a petsmart close to my place growing up, and I could almost always tell when they had a staff changeover. For a few years the department would be really well kept, with great husbandry and a cool selection of reptiles. Then there would be a year or two where the animals didn't look so great.

Where I live now there are two petlands that are quite close to me. At one store the reptile department is kept really well, and I occasionally by rats from them. I went to the other one last week, and their ball python enclosure had three snakes in it with absolutely no hide. Alot of the other animals were in poor condition, so I just left without buying my rats.

Personally I prefer to get my supplies from smaller local business owners, and avoid supporting the chain stores. But again, any reptile department is only as good as its staff.

I bought my bp at PetSmart. He was at one time housed with another bp there, and was a little skittish when I got him. I think one of the other problems with big box stores is how frequently the herps are test-handled by people who don't wash their hands, or by kids who lack respect for them. As it happens, he's still a bit shy (often goes into ball-reflex almost a month later), but is a terrific eater. I consider him a rescue, and I've put a lot of time and attention (including a thorough health-check at a reputable exotics vet and long reads on this forum) making sure he's properly cared for. From some of the other stories I've read here, he could have been in a lot worse shape.

You have to keep in mind that most pet store jobs are not careers. I doubt most of those people work there for more than a couple of years. How much knowledge should we expect them to have?
When you buy a shirt at the Gap does the cashier rattle off the care instructions as you're checking out? No. But when you buy a pair of raw denim jeans from a manufacturer who specializes in raw denim, they do give you more information about denim than you want to hear.

I know its not the same because I'm comparing clothing to animals but in the business world (which is what pet stores are, whether you like it or not) it's the exact same. You buy from a big box store with under educated employees just trying to make their half of the rent and you're going to get their brand of service. You buy from someone who's made a career of something they're passionate about and you're going to get the best service.

I see people mocking stores all the time for selling a normal for $90. How much do you think a normal would cost if everyone on staff had a degree in zoology?

Ultimately you are responsible for what you buy. If a whiny 9 year old walks out of petco with a snake or a parrot he knows nothing about, is that the salesperson's fault or is it the parents' fault?

Further, all of the employees at my local petco seem to love what they do. I doubt most of the low quality of care we hear about here is intentional. Maybe they believe they're doing it right. Maybe they did research on their own and ended up on a site that wasn't BP.net. You aren't going to change someone's way of doing things by walking in as a customer and saying, "I know you've been doing it this way for two years, but you're wrong. THIS is how you do it. I know because I have two ball pythons."

If you read these forums, you know how hard it is to convince someone to change if they believe they're doing it right.



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I dont have experience getting snakes from pet stores, but I bought my old leopard gecko from a certain chain that rhymes with Mets-Part and she had MAJOR problems. The poor thing was crammed in with 40 other geckos in a minuscule container, and ended up having costly and painful health problems likely caused by bad care in her early years :( I know If/when I get a BP I will be going to a breeder, and staying away from chain pet stores.