Bah! Bad Decision!

Made the mistake of just taking a look at the BP's at PetCo in town. Poor little guys. They had a little tiny emaciated pastel, a spider, a pinstripe and like ten normals. One of the normals looked like he was trying to drag himself with his chin until I realized that he just had shed stuck all over his head and bottom jaw. Humidity levels were terrible as was the temperatures. Wish I could steal them all but I know my wife would kill me. The spider had a Chaplin/Hitler stache mark though.
Maybe I'll go snag one at least, that poor guy with the shed was adorable and I just wanted to help him/her.
Sorry for venting!

D: I've never seen a really poor looking snake at any pet stores around where I'm from... but the behaviour of some and how the store employees handled them were appalling. They had a king snake that would strike as soon as anyone would try and go near them and all the girls who worked there were too scared to do anything with the aggressive snake or any of the other ones. (It was the pet centre in the Home Hardware...) They knew nothing about them and if they handled any of them at all, I'd be really surprised. It's pretty heart breaking that the animals just pass through these store as merchandise and nothing more.

Yeah it was sad. Never really looked much before, but now I just feel bad for seeing it and not doing anything. Might pick one up this week and at least give one a good life.

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Originally Posted by ratchet

D: I've never seen a really poor looking snake at any pet stores around where I'm from... but the behaviour of some and how the store employees handled them were appalling. They had a king snake that would strike as soon as anyone would try and go near them and all the girls who worked there were too scared to do anything with the aggressive snake or any of the other ones. (It was the pet centre in the Home Hardware...) They knew nothing about them and if they handled any of them at all, I'd be really surprised. It's pretty heart breaking that the animals just pass through these store as merchandise and nothing more.

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Threads like this are like a broken record. Visiting the reptile area of most pet stores is rarely conducive to thinking good thoughts. Picking up a malnourished animal from a chain store will only enable the cycle. If they are selling unhealthy snakes, they will continue to do so. In the long run they're more likely to change if they dont make money from them. Best bet is to try and educate some of the employees.

The Petsmart here isn't to bad, the reptile area is staffed with people who are reptile fanciers, but occasionally they get in something that the employees are not familiar with, such as the scorpion they have for sale; not a pet I personally would want.

The petsmarts close to me are quite serious about their snake care, luckily. But if I ever got the urge to buy a snake from a pet store I'd be off to Big Al's. They take fantastic care. But there are some smaller chains that are finally phasing out snakes because no one will purchase their pathetic stock of sickly looking animals. I feel horrible for the little guys but I can't condone them making money off them. One place has them priced at a steal and they're still not selling, I hope to go in and ask to take them off their hands for free and do a bit of finger wagging myself.

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Originally Posted by Oregonism

Made the mistake of just taking a look at the BP's at PetCo in town. Poor little guys. They had a little tiny emaciated pastel, a spider, a pinstripe and like ten normals. One of the normals looked like he was trying to drag himself with his chin until I realized that he just had shed stuck all over his head and bottom jaw. Humidity levels were terrible as was the temperatures. Wish I could steal them all but I know my wife would kill me. The spider had a Chaplin/Hitler stache mark though.
Maybe I'll go snag one at least, that poor guy with the shed was adorable and I just wanted to help him/her.
Sorry for venting!

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Sadly I have to agree that supporting the business by buying a snake which is in poor condition just perpetuates the problem... Report it to animal control, go in and talk to managers, to employees, be a pain in the butt! It's hard sometimes, I know... I have a heart for animals and I would be crying if you had posted pics. Got to fight the fight for the animals man... :salute:

I won't end up getting one from them, I already have a baby in an egg waiting from a breeder nearby. I will go back and talk to them though.

Typical pet shops. Things like this are what you can expect to happen since reptiles aren't protected under animal cruelty and neglect laws...

Maybe I just got lucky. The Petsmart where I picked up Tucker 10 days ago was well staffed and they knew their snakes. They had two regular BPs in a larger enclosure and a pastel by himself. The pastel was a bit testy and did strike, but still tolerated being handled for 10 minutes or so. Tucker just climbed right into my hands. The staff provided me with his feeding chart, weight when he came in to when I purchased him, and the vet notes from the check in. I know there are far less desirable experiences out there, but mine was quite the opposite.

Dave