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Local Pet Store Visit!

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  • 02-12-2010, 03:43 AM
    cweimer4
    Local Pet Store Visit!
    Sooo I buy my mice for my BP at the local pet store. My sister and I went there today for a mouse cause it was feeding day! This will be my LAST TIME buying from this particular store. My sister is a vet tech so she knows her stuff fairly well. In one cage there were two Hamsters. BOTH with wet tail. (chronic diarrhea) So needless to say one of these hamsters was dead laying in the corner. And the other half dead. Breathing slowly with little to no movement. My sister took the dead one out and walked out to the counter with it in her hand, the woman there simply stated "Man, these things drop like flies!" My sister was very angry at this. Sooo I went to the reptiles since I love them! The chameleon tank was the best one! Lots of things to climb on, plenty of fresh water and all that good stuff. Bearded dragon was alright had a hide and water and stuff. Then comes the ball python tank.... This I was very P _ _ _ ed off about. It was obviously a baby ball python. Very smal, very thin little guy. So his tank a 10 gallon.. IF THAT.. there was a water bowl... The water bowl had moss or whatever you call it growing in green stuff haha. So obviously the water was NOT fresh. There was NO hide at all. the snake was just right by the window sitting there not even balled up! Seemed very unhealthy. No branches to climb on. the only thing in this poor guys tank was that unfresh water. Oh.. and crickets. there were 2 dead crickets and one live one.. Do snakes even eat crickets? I know they eat frogs and stuff in the wild but shouldnt they be eating pinkies???? I was sooo mad at this set up, if thats what you can call it. I already had my mouse and he was more lively then I was so I immediiately left after that very angry. Next time im going somewhere else!
  • 02-12-2010, 03:48 AM
    Reptile King
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    Pet stores, like every business, is all about the bottom dollar. They want to move their merchandise as fast as they can while only spending the minumum amount to care for their animals. Thus making more money. It is my understanding that some pet stores will have wild caught ball pythons therefore creating a headache for the new owner. Just a fact of life.
  • 02-12-2010, 04:07 AM
    cweimer4
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    Ive seen a lot of posts about bad pet store experiences but this is quite horrific..
  • 02-12-2010, 04:38 AM
    bman123
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    if you dont mind what petstore and where? I am in Akron Ohio and we have 1 good petstore the rest are like your experience
  • 02-12-2010, 05:09 PM
    RockyTop
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    Well, technically....


    I would say the size (10g) is big enough for one baby ball python.

    And they don't really need branches to climb on.

    :gj::gj::gj:


    But yeah, everything else was pretty horrific :tears:. Poor guy. I would have been very tempted to "rescue" him from the pet store.
  • 02-12-2010, 05:18 PM
    Jay_Bunny
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    It is this kind of stuff that makes me want to open up my own pet store. You can always try to educate the employees and the manager, but most of the time, they do not listen. :mad:
  • 02-12-2010, 05:23 PM
    cinderbird
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    that sounds terrible :(

    but, they might not have been trying to feed the bp crickets.. crix escape from almost everything, and get into whatever they can find. its not uncommon to see crickets in enclosures where they have no business being there (like in a ball python enclosure).

    make a complaint to the manager and tell them exactly WHY you will not shop there. they only care when you will impact their bottom line.
  • 02-12-2010, 05:32 PM
    hoax
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    Call you local animal authority, if they have to have a permit contact their permit holder. There isn't much you can do but tell them how you feel and not do business there. If you contact the owner of the establishment and let them know they have lost a customer and you will be letting your friends know about them they might change, but I doubt it.

    Mike
  • 02-12-2010, 07:15 PM
    ed4281
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    Most large chains have wild caught ball pythons. They get them imported, buy them for ten dollars and sell them for $65. Most of these animals are full of parisites and have RI's. Unfortunatly the animal hospital I work for has contracts with these large chains and I see this all the time it is heart breaking.
  • 02-12-2010, 09:24 PM
    cweimer4
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bman123 View Post
    if you dont mind what petstore and where? I am in Akron Ohio and we have 1 good petstore the rest are like your experience

    It was in Austintown Ohio its not neccessarily a large chain. Its called complete petmart. By Coldstone Rulli Brothers restaurant.
  • 02-12-2010, 10:20 PM
    monty's dad
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    I have been to that store as well. You are right they have very poor conditions there! I am now out in Streetsboro and the Pet Supplies Plus out there is alot better. Not great but better!!!!

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cweimer4 View Post
    It was in Austintown Ohio its not neccessarily a large chain. Its called complete petmart. By Coldstone Rulli Brothers restaurant.

  • 02-13-2010, 03:15 AM
    cweimer4
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    Yeah, the only thing I got there was 3 adult mice... Im going to a larger pet store next time. Im sure theyll have better conditions. Id feel too bad if I went in there again.
  • 02-13-2010, 03:53 AM
    NatelovesBPs
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    If theres a case of animal cruelty/negligence going on at a local store, treat it like you would if a person wasnt taking care of their pet. Report the store to your local animal authority!!!
  • 02-13-2010, 04:05 AM
    Moofins07
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    The pet store I have to go to for feeders sometimes (I say "sometimes" because I have a local supplier who will give me sub-adults/adults at 0.50 cents each, as opposed to friggin' $4.99 at the pet store) has a pretty pitiful ball python. They've held onto this little guy for a couple months now - hasn't grown a bit or gained ANY weight. It's still eating hoppers. SMALL ones, at that. He looks like a long triangle with a head. Fortunately, his water bowl is in a better state than the one you described, and he has a hide. Poor thing just isn't getting enough sustenance. :mad:
  • 02-13-2010, 01:13 PM
    WingedWolfPsion
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    Put your words out there for more than herpers to read--find their listings on Google and Yahoo, and yellow pages, and review them. Tell the world what you saw, and why it's bad. In this day and age, any business not paying attention to its reviews isn't likely to be around very long. Most people look up addresses online now--when they do, they'll see the place's rating.
  • 02-13-2010, 08:21 PM
    zantedeschia
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    Petsmart and Petco will correct a problem if you go over their heads and complain to corporate. I've done it 3 times now. I hate having to go to such an extreme to get them to correct a simple husbandry issue but I get so frustrated with the people who work there refusing to listen to me.
  • 02-14-2010, 02:28 AM
    chago11
    Re: Local Pet Store Visit!
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Reptile King View Post
    Pet stores, like every business, is all about the bottom dollar. They want to move their merchandise as fast as they can while only spending the minumum amount to care for their animals. Thus making more money. It is my understanding that some pet stores will have wild caught ball pythons therefore creating a headache for the new owner. Just a fact of life.

    not all pet stores are about the dollars. i work in one and trust me our reptiles get all they need. the only bad thing about the pet store i work at is that there is no quarentine tanks but when we get any new animals in we immediatly make an appointment with the vet to get checked and to make sure there is no parasites. we dont sell our reptiles to anybody that comes in with money we make sure that they know how to take care of the reptile. i have refused to sell snakes to people that i feel wont provide a good home. the owner does not mind if he does not sell a snake to some one who probably would end up harming the snake.
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