petsmart

I too also work at Petsmart. I think most of the care of the animals is set by a vet who Petsmart hires to come up with a set guide on how to care for the animals. So that means tank set up, feeding and what not. I will say most of the reptiles are not cared for properly or are the associates knowledgeable enough to be instructing new owners on how to care for their pets. I dont think I can blame the people working there as they are trained on how to care for the animals Petsmart's way and if the people dont know any different then they cant be wrong. Once someone has figured out the right way of caring for the animals, most of us will tell people to ignore the careguides and do it this way. Like with the bearded dragons, we have someone who is very good with them and has cared for them a long time. She is the one who is our go to when someone is interested in them. Since I came across the ball python we have I joined here and learned how to care for them properly and now I see we werent housing them right or anything! I ahve shared my information with the manager but she is so stuck in her thinking she knows everything that it doesnt really matter what anyone tells her. If she thought the sky was green there is no telling her different! Snakes are force fed when the vet instructs them to do so. Of course the vets they take them to are never certified herp vets.

As far as the pet training.... I am a pet trainer at my store... it is all about money and sales. We are to ask anyone with a dog to sign up for classes. The training you go through is ridiculous and they dont fail people who just dont understand and people who think Schutzhund is a breed of dog. There are some good trainers out there who have had previous experience and ride the fine line to teach the classes better than what petsmart says. I ahve been looking for another job just because I cant put up with a lot of the stuff that goes on in that store. They are supposed to be all about the animals and they arent. I have seen way more than I have ever wished to see in my life but I know now and I just want to pass on the word and educate people who dont know.

its sad... just sad... oh and frustrating.....dumb.. that too

Man, it always sucks to hear about that kind of stuff. The petsmart by me sure doesn't do a great job of taking care of their animals. I think it is mostly just the lazy employees.

That does suck about your hard headed manager. If I ever worked at a pet store and my manager was less than knowledgeable, my higher ups would know it.

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Originally Posted by pitbulls4me

I too also work at Petsmart. I think most of the care of the animals is set by a vet who Petsmart hires to come up with a set guide on how to care for the animals. So that means tank set up, feeding and what not. I will say most of the reptiles are not cared for properly or are the associates knowledgeable enough to be instructing new owners on how to care for their pets. I dont think I can blame the people working there as they are trained on how to care for the animals Petsmart's way and if the people dont know any different then they cant be wrong. Once someone has figured out the right way of caring for the animals, most of us will tell people to ignore the careguides and do it this way. Like with the bearded dragons, we have someone who is very good with them and has cared for them a long time. She is the one who is our go to when someone is interested in them. Since I came across the ball python we have I joined here and learned how to care for them properly and now I see we werent housing them right or anything! I ahve shared my information with the manager but she is so stuck in her thinking she knows everything that it doesnt really matter what anyone tells her. If she thought the sky was green there is no telling her different! Snakes are force fed when the vet instructs them to do so. Of course the vets they take them to are never certified herp vets.

As far as the pet training.... I am a pet trainer at my store... it is all about money and sales. We are to ask anyone with a dog to sign up for classes. The training you go through is ridiculous and they dont fail people who just dont understand and people who think Schutzhund is a breed of dog. There are some good trainers out there who have had previous experience and ride the fine line to teach the classes better than what petsmart says. I ahve been looking for another job just because I cant put up with a lot of the stuff that goes on in that store. They are supposed to be all about the animals and they arent. I have seen way more than I have ever wished to see in my life but I know now and I just want to pass on the word and educate people who dont know.

its sad... just sad... oh and frustrating.....dumb.. that too

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I don't know what to say. I guess you have confirmed what some of us thought. I know that all petsmart employees are not to blame. But like you said your manager doesn't care enough to listen to someone who may have more knowledge than she does on a subject that is just bad for you to have to deal with I hope you can find a better job soon. It is very frustrating to know that a non herp vet has to make the decision on how to care for a herp but atleast it sound like they consult a vet at all is amazing. I do wonder how this vet earns a paycheck. Are they the same vets that are in the store I believe up here they are called banfield. But that on the vet if its a conflict of interest. All together its has to be hard to know the right answer and give a different one if you are one of the people who is afraid of losing there job by giving the right answer versus the corparate answer.

I'm glad the Petsmart I work at doesn't fall into any of these bad stories.
I'd be pretty upset too if I had those experiences.

But I guess it all depends on which store you go to.
I shop around other pet stores in the area and i could have equally bad experiences with them to write posts about.

Well i can tell you stories about every pet store out there. I know every store has its problems. But I think this thread has gotten way out of hand. Our only point in the original post was to point out the irony in the fact that a store sells snakes and it won't sell you a live feeder. Even if its due to PETA. I think that live is live weather its insect, fish, or mammal. I think that anyone who knows snakes know that its built in to eat live food. Im so happy that some stores never have a problem eater i just can't actually grasp that concept being a small hobbiest breeder and i don't get all my animals to eat. Several of our friends have the same issue so how is it a store that is nationwide never has this problem i don't get but i guess i did get my answer a few hours ago when another employee posted. If done under a vets care who is trained to help animals then I can't say anything seeing how i am not a vet.

we go to petco petsmart dont have 4 snakes *edit*

Lots of complaints have been put up against this manager. And I think because of her the employees slack so things arent cared for properly nor are the associates being informed correctly on things. Its like the woman's pride is more important than animals lives. I tell the petcare associates they cannot slack even a little bit... its different if they were a cashier or something but they have animals' lives in their hands. People dont realize how important and serious that truely is. I am working on a big letter to corporate on the manager and situations there that could have been prevented. I would like to do it after I get a new job so I dont get fired for some of the things I will say.

I think it is a good thing for Petsmart not to sell live food. I personally own snakes but could not feed live because of my love of animals. If I had to feed live because thats all my snake would eat that would be my boyfriends job then on out. I would feel so bad boxing up a mouse knowing that it will be dinner. Thats just me and a lot of people that work at Petsmart are the same. Now in the same breath I understand why a lot of you get frustrated that we dont sell the mice as feeders. Snakes need to eat too.I see things from both lights.

I worked at Petsmart, and depending on the store, they really aren't a BAD place to shop.

The reason they DON'T sell live rats and or mice is because people DO see them as pets. The company wants to promote "healthy" feeding. I wouldn't buy live rats from a pet store just because there is no telling what kind of gunk they carry on them :(

Frozen rats and mice are available and it's what is recommended by the company and the little guys that work there to feed.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Man, it always sucks to hear about that kind of stuff. The petsmart by me sure doesn't do a great job of taking care of their animals. I think it is mostly just the lazy employees.

That does suck about your hard headed manager. If I ever worked at a pet store and my manager was less than knowledgeable, my higher ups would know it.

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If you were to walk into that store and tell the store manager it's not up to standards and that adequate care is clearly being ignored, I'm relatively sure they would change it up. Petsmart is a really good company to work for. I thoroughly enjoyed my job, and I was hired because I knew the most about reptiles and have lots of experience :D

i know it off track. the point we were hoping to make is why is it that if you know i choose to feed live animals to my snake can i not buy a mouse for a breeder. To say its not health to feed live rodents that were typically breed at facilities that also freeze rodents to sell is in my opinion not necessarily true. feeding frozen rodents should be more about the safety of your snake than the possiblity of "gunk" on the live rodent. I know theres no "gunk" on my rodents in my house. but not everyone has that ability. theres also the fact that most balls tend to prefer live over frozen. There arent many that will go for frozen, most with big collections know this. i was avoiding this thread do to the fact it got off topic. But i am still trying to get it back on the general point. This wasn't about bashing petsmart. Just trying to understand the policy of not allowing me to buy rodents for any reason because i own snakes and i might feed them.