Petstore encounter I had to share

So I went by my local petco to pick up a feeder for my one stubborn snake, and while I'm there I mosey over to see the Balls.

There were a couple of new babies, one of which was very light, so I decided to take a closer look.

The employee who unlocked the cage was afraid of getting bitten :O, so he let me get them out. Just a couple of nice little normal babies, so small and shy.

As I'm putting the last one back, a couple stops by and he comments how much he misses his RTB. So I tell him I like RTB's, and did he have any other snakes?

He tells me he used to have a couple of Boa's, and a ball as well. I smile and tell him I'm now up to nine BP's, with the new boy I picked up on Sunday. I laugh and say since most of mine are still babies, my new boy seems huge compared to them, he must be all of 3 feet.

At which point he tells me, completely straight faced, that HIS ball python was 8' long and weighed over 100 pounds, which is why he gave him to the St. Louis Zoo, and that I should go to the Zoo and see his snake. :rofl::rofl::rofl:

So I told him, the next time I went to the Zoo, I'd be sure to ask about the largest BP in the world, and find out when Ripley's was showing up and ask if Animal Planet knew about it yet. I walked away laughing.:D I could not believe that guy was so incompetent as to think he'd impress me with his imaginary giant BP. His girlfriend was heard to snicker as I left.

Gale

Ugh, things like that are just so sad/pathetic/stupid. I'll never understand the people that are stupid enough to either try to convince other people of completely outrageous claims of their snakes size, or don't actually even know what they really have/had and believe they did have a 10'+ 100 lb. ball or corn snake. -_-

BP owner win. Liar idiot fail.

:D

We have a customer with a "38 foot Egyptian Python" lol! Yea... The things people say. :rofl:

how funny would it be if he really did have a giant BP lol that would be so jokes! :P

lmao that is so awesome, i deal with people telling ridiculous stories about different things every day and i always walk awak laughing. Its even funnier when the person they are with knows that they just got caught making up stories.

lol this is too funny. I have a friend that always makes up dumb stuff like this also. He always says weird stuff.

For example - he will say that his pet rat gave birth to 80 babies without even having a male in the tank.

lol, some people man....

He could have been mistaken of the species and actually had a Burm:weirdface

And humans are the worst at guessing lengths, so this 8 foot snake could've been much larger, or even much smaller than he guessed.

lol :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

I have a 13 foot corn snake and a 10 foot ball. Lmao!!!!

my rose-hair is 18 pounds

i have a 10' 100 lb Ball python :weirdface

he probably had a burm and got the species confused. Surprisingly enough, many ingorant snake owners group many pythons together into one group they label as "regular pythons" , and commonly get them mixed up, regardless of the size each species reaches. Some also may automatically assume ALL pythons get big. And since burms do have similar colors to balls, he might have assumed he had a ball. When I worked for a retail pet store it happened quite often, that owners mistakenly identified their snakes...even ones they'd had for over 15 years! :O It's just plain ignorance is all. We must educate people who are willing to listen, instead of criticize them. It helps out all parties involved in the long run..;)

When I first bought my ball, my fiancee's father flipped out on me. He said something like "those things are dangerous, I did my research, they can reach 20 feet!" I told him to make sure and research BALL pythons next time.

My snake is huge.

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Originally Posted by 4theSNAKElady

he probably had a burm and got the species confused. Surprisingly enough, many ingorant snake owners group many pythons together into one group they label as "regular pythons" , and commonly get them mixed up, regardless of the size each species reaches. Some also may automatically assume ALL pythons get big. And since burms do have similar colors to balls, he might have assumed he had a ball. When I worked for a retail pet store it happened quite often, that owners mistakenly identified their snakes...even ones they'd had for over 15 years! :O It's just plain ignorance is all. We must educate people who are willing to listen, instead of criticize them. It helps out all parties involved in the long run..;)

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I probably would be inclined to agree, under certain circumstances. If for example, he had simply said he used to own a BP, but once it got to a certain size, he was forced to give it up, then when I asked how big it was, he had said 8' long and 100 pounds, I probably would have asked if he was sure it was a BP, since they don't get that big. I would have been polite and asked if perhaps it was actually a Burmese or some other type of python and he had just thought it was a Ball.

BUT, when he gets all upity and superior towards me, and kind of sneers contemptuously at my "huge" 3 foot Ball, and then proceeds to inform me that HIS Ball was more than twice the size of mine, and how his was so big the Zoo wanted it, I knew for a fact he was just being a jerk, and had no such snake. He thought he'd impress me with how much bigger his snake was, and therefore how much superior to me he was for handling a snake that big.

If I had been prepared, I would have shown him the picture of myself holding a 15 foot Yellowhead Retic at the last show, but I don't make it a habit to carry my camera everywhere.

Gale

I had a 10 minute argument with the guy at petco who kept trying to tell me that a heating rock is the "absolute best" way to keep snakes warm and that all snakes need one to "keep them happy".

According to this obvious expert BP's are not nocturnal either..... I hate people that think they know everything.

Some guys Lie about their fast cars, others lie about their snake size LOL it's all just a pissing contest :)

I'll bet angllady2's friend at the pet store also drives one of those HUGE trucks with the big tires, but is only 4'9" .... Also has a small penis. :P

Ok, not trying to be a pain here, but since you are name calling, I might as well put my two sense in with my first post. If he is the incompetent ex owner of a 8' ball, maybe you are just a conceded owner that thinks strangers have to try and impress him. Just saying. I don't know stuff about snakes, and if I tell you a story about my uncles Python, I may be wrong on the exact kind of snake. Ok, feel free to jump down my throat now...

holy, piss and vinegar. oh, i mean cody96ss

nice first post. i don't believe i've witnessed any name calling as of yet...

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Originally Posted by cody96ss

Ok, not trying to be a pain here, but since you are name calling, I might as well put my two sense in with my first post. If he is the incompetent ex owner of a 8' ball, maybe you are just a conceded owner that thinks strangers have to try and impress him. Just saying. I don't know stuff about snakes, and if I tell you a story about my uncles Python, I may be wrong on the exact kind of snake. Ok, feel free to jump down my throat now...

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I'd suggest you take a few minutes and reread the previous posts dude. There was no name calling, Obviously the MORONIC (theres your name calling) strangers were trying to impress us, or trying to prove there better then us, how ever you'd like to put it.

Also, incase I Didnt make this clear, my irritation with people with like that
(such as the petco guy) isn't that they don't know about snakes. Its hardly fair for me to judge someone based on what they do or don't know. What drives me up a wall is people that are completely unwilling to learn or listen to what other people might say or know.

The fact that the fellow thought he had an 8 foot ball python is only sad because if he didn't know what kind of snake he had its very very very likely that it was not receiving proper care. If for instance he did have a burm as 4theSNAKElady suggested they get quite a bit bigger, 18 to 20 feet from what I've read. so they need larger cages then bp's, they also aren't nocturnal, and require a slightly higher cage temp, (and this is from a snake noob). If your not going to take the time to learn about your pet so that it can be happy and comfortable then you shouldn't have it in the first place!

These are just my thoughts on your 2 cents.

I would be more interested in finding out that a zoo actually took a burmese or whatever else he claimed to have had... call your local zoo and ask them if they want a burm.

They will politely decline and hang up on you after giving you a list of animal resources and vets.

Bruce

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Originally Posted by David802

I had a 10 minute argument with the guy at petco who kept trying to tell me that a heating rock is the "absolute best" way to keep snakes warm and that all snakes need one to "keep them happy".

According to this obvious expert BP's are not nocturnal either..... I hate people that think they know everything.

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So wouldn't you be acting like the "know it all"? Just saying. If you "hate people that think they know everything." then you are probably on the wrong forum to begin with. lol. Most people here think they know everything when in fact all they know is what they've been told or taught. That's all any of us know. So why would you waste your time arguing with someone that you KNOW doesn't have a clue what they are talking about? Who cares if the dude thinks his heating rock is the best? Honestly? Is it your business? If you don't wanna hear it, then say your goodbyes and walk away. It pays to be the bigger person.

As goes for this entire post, I was taught if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Instead of telling everyone your story, maybe you should have educated the person at the pet store. If he persisted to think he was right, then just leave it at that. Call him a moron on the ride home. Personally I think it's pretty shallow to post up on the forums about how stupid/ignorant/moronic, etc you think someone is. Instead kill them with kindness, make him know he's a moron. Prove to him he's wrong. Then, walk away.

My 2 cents.

LOL :rofl::rofl:

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Originally Posted by sirhiss06

So wouldn't you be acting like the "know it all"? Just saying. If you "hate people that think they know everything." then you are probably on the wrong forum to begin with. lol. Most people here think they know everything when in fact all they know is what they've been told or taught. That's all any of us know. So why would you waste your time arguing with someone that you KNOW doesn't have a clue what they are talking about? Who cares if the dude thinks his heating rock is the best? Honestly? Is it your business? If you don't wanna hear it, then say your goodbyes and walk away. It pays to be the bigger person.

As goes for this entire post, I was taught if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Instead of telling everyone your story, maybe you should have educated the person at the pet store. If he persisted to think he was right, then just leave it at that. Call him a moron on the ride home. Personally I think it's pretty shallow to post up on the forums about how stupid/ignorant/moronic, etc you think someone is. Instead kill them with kindness, make him know he's a moron. Prove to him he's wrong. Then, walk away.

My 2 cents.

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I'll explain. :P

The guy worked at petco and I was having trouble finding the uth's so I asked him where they were, he asked me what I had and when I told him I was waiting for a bp he proceeded to tell me how heating rocks were the best thing for them. When I Told him that everything I'd read and seen said that they got to hot and could burn the snakes, he proceeded to tell me that he breeds geckos (cant remember what kind) and used them for all of his reptiles and then started lecturing me about proper care of a pet.When I Asked him if had ever had a bp and he said no but all reptiles were the same in needing a heat rock to bask on and that its even more important for snakes then other reptiles.. So I told him that I didn't think I'd need one but if I needed one I'd be back and walked away. That's not the complete conversation or argument as I Called it earlier I didn't even go into the nocturnal bit and the heat lamp , but its more in depth then my previous post. :P

You're right and wrong in my opinion about this forum. Every forum is full of 3 kinds of people it seems (there are exceptions to this rule, and remember this is just my experience.) New people, people that know what they are talking about and people that think they know what they are talking about. Its been that way on every forum I've ever been on, and it drives me nuts, eventually I leave all of them because of that. How ever, I never leave until I've learned everything I can from said forum, they are great places to learn. So yes this probably isn't the right forum for me but I'll stick around until Medusa has a great cage and I'm sure I've learned as much as I Can and feel comfortable in what I know an then this will get added into the list of forums In my bookmarks archive in case I ever need to ask another question or come across something I didn't learn.

Also how is it any less shallow to call him a moron on the ride home then on a forum were I'm talking to a bunch of people I've never met before? As for killing the person with kindness, that may be all well and good for you, a part of me wishes I could do that. It would definitely save me a ton of aggravation over people that were rude/irritating to me over my life, but when someone is rude to me I am rude back, I was taught to treat people the way I want to be treated, so I'll always be nice until someone is rude to me, and then when they are rude I can assume that they don't want to be treated nicely anymore and I'll start treating them the way I Feel I am being treated.

If we keep up with 2 cents a peace soon we can pool are funds and buy a soda. :P

Whether it was the fact that he might have mistaken his snake for a Burmese instead of a Python, good thing he ended up giving that "huge snake" to the zoo! Somebody who can't tell a Burmese apart from a Python shouldn't be handling huge snakes like that anyways! LOL! Funny story, great read!

Ok a few things,

In the first place, I didn't come here to call anybody anything. My original post was simply to share how some people can act so unreasonable when they feel a need to impress a perfect stranger. I was nothing but polite and interested in what this person had to say, right up until HE felt the need to make me feel inferior.

Now, if he had told me he once had a 15 foot retic or something similar and he had donated it to the local Zoo, I certainly would not have been rude or condescending to him. But to try and convince someone he does not know, someone who just announced she owned 9 { nine } Ball Pythons, that he owned the same snake and how large it got was just plain stupid on his part. Maybe he makes it a habit to own numerous snakes he knows nothing about, but I don't.

Furthermore, it would be a physical impossibility for an 8' Ball to weigh 100 pounds. That in and of itself is absurd. So even if his Ball was 8' long, and perhaps it was, based on some things I've read here, there is no way it weighed that much.

On top of that, If he didn't want to be treated in such a manner, he should have had more class than to act the way he did. I don't go out of my way to make fun of inexperienced owners, up until a few months ago I WAS one of them. BUT when someone I don't know turns a friendly conversation into a ***sing contest, you better believe I can dish out my fair share. The fact that his girlfriend laughed at him when I left proves he was lying and KNEW he was lying, and she thought it was funny he'd just been called out. My guess is he has a habit of things like that, and she was glad for once someone put him in his place.

Now, if I was kind enough to try and explain to the kid who opened the snake cage that a kitten can do more damage than a Ball, and that he didn't need to be scared of them. As well as showing him how to tell if they were going to shed or were dehydrated { which they were }. Why would I then deliberately be nasty to someone I didn't know?

If he had been civil, I would have been. He was a jerk, and I saw no reason to continue to be polite when he so clearly had no intention of doing the same.
So don't lecture me on being polite to people. I am one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, but if you treat me uncivilly, I have no qualms about returning the favor.

Mods, feel free to move this thread to Quarentine if you need to, since it's getting kind of ugly. I'd do it myself if I could.

Gale