I have fallen in love...

I went to my local petsmart (yea I know great place ain't it) to get some crickets and I stopped by the reptiles. They had this poor ball python that was huge compared to the ones they normally have who had been there for 7 months :( She was in a cage no bigger than a 5 gallon tank with a hide that was way too small. her temps were about 88 through the whole tank. I didn't get a chance to hold her but she looked fine and I saw her papers that said she was eating fine. There was no stuck shed or anything. Idk I love all my snakes but there is something about this one that is just drawing me in, I am debating about getting her. I am headed back up there to see if they will let me handle her to see if I really want her. I have to discuss it with my boyfriend first so I can't jump the gun and just buy her.

After my last experience with getting snakes from petsmart I really didn't want to get another from them but there is something about her...

I just needed to get this off my chest since none of my friends are into reptiles like I am lol

Do it...and then post pictures. :D

Oh what's one more :), get her as a surpise gift for the bf ;)

You know you want to, and she deserves better than what she'll get from Petsmart...............and yes pics :P

If you are like me, you will hate yourself later if you don't go back and get her.

For instance, my beloved beagle mix was from a puppy mill I got suckered into driving 4 hours to get to. Lord knows I didn't want to give the woman any of my money after I saw what the place was, but I would never have forgiven myself if I left him there. I justified it by calling the cops on her when I got home with my new puppy.

So I'll be expecting pictures later tonight. ;)

Gale

That's how I ended up with my little female bp.
She was in a small display with the substrate all soaked from a spilled water dish and a hide so small she lifted it completely off the substrate by balling up inside it.

"You don't purchase from a chain petstore, you rescue from a chain pet store"

I "rescued" my BP from PetSmart. It was sharing a 5-10 gallon tank with a 9 month old. They were "sharing" a half-log hide. They were also feeding him pinkies.:colbert:

"You don't purchase from a chain petstore, you rescue from a chain pet store"

x2 go get it he will be fine with it and some pictures

I agree...better you then not

like stated................one more never hurts:gj::gj:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by thedarkwolf25

You know you want to, and she deserves better than what she'll get from Petsmart...............and yes pics :P

---

This.

I'm seriously thinking about it! They wouldn't let me handle her because she had just eaten. Though the lady kind of made me mad because she immediately started talking down to me about why I couldn't hold her. I felt like telling her off but I didn't I was nice. lol But they did get her a bigger hide thank God! I just need to get my hands on a tank for her then i'll probably pick her up. (I keep saying her but idk if it is a male or female, they don't even know how to sex them there) The boyfriend told me if i got a tank he would buy her for me. I was going to take pictures of her to show him (and y'all) today but since they didn't let me hold her I and she was hiding i couldn't get one.

I knew y'all would understand lol

Do they have freecycle in your area, I picked up quite a few tanks through there
freecycle.com

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by llovelace

Do they have freecycle in your area, I picked up quite a few tanks through there

---

OMG I didn't even think about freecycle, I'm going to look now! thanks!!!!


sadly I can't seem to find any tanks on there :( I have a friend of mine who breeds Retics asking some of his buddies if they have any just sitting around since thats how I ended up with most of mine now lol

The big problem with "rescuing" an animal from a pet store is that you are not rescuing the pet. You are buying it. When you pay the pet store for the animal you are telling them with your money that everything they are doing is working just fine and they should go out and get another animal to fill that cage and treat the same way. This isn't craig's list where the person hopefully learns there lesson and thinks twice before getting another animal they can't care for. I know that it seams cruel but the best thing you can do when you see an animal not being cared for is, ask to see a manager. Explain in 1 to 3 sentences clearly and calmly whats wrong with the animals care. Tell the manager that you will stop by to see how the animals are doing but that you will not be spending money at the store until the animals care is corrected. Tell the manager what store you will be spending your money instead. Finally tell the manager that you will be telling everyone who will listen about your experience with the store. By doing this you explain the problem, threaten the manager with one of the only things he cares about, loss of sales, you make it a real threat by telling him where your money will go instead, and you finally threaten the only other thing he cares about, the stores community image.

I vote you take the money you would have spent, find a good online breeder and buy a morph for the same or slightly more money. Lets reward the good guys and not the bad guys.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by angllady2

If you are like me, you will hate yourself later if you don't go back and get her.

For instance, my beloved beagle mix was from a puppy mill I got suckered into driving 4 hours to get to. Lord knows I didn't want to give the woman any of my money after I saw what the place was, but I would never have forgiven myself if I left him there. I justified it by calling the cops on her when I got home with my new puppy.

So I'll be expecting pictures later tonight. ;)

Gale

---

im so happy you called the police

if you lived closer i would give you a 20 gallon tank of a 55 gallon tank lol i love rescuing snakes but i havent bought from a pet store yet ive had some babies handed to me since they were all chewed up :( but i encourage rescuers :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Maixx

That's how I ended up with my little female bp.
She was in a small display with the substrate all soaked from a spilled water dish and a hide so small she lifted it completely off the substrate by balling up inside it.

"You don't purchase from a chain petstore, you rescue from a chain pet store"

---

EXCEPT that you aren't rescuing. You're encouraging the continued sale of them. You may THINK you're rescuing one, but what you've really done is create a demand and an open spot for another one.

You come to a point where you realize that you CAN'T save them all, and that by doing so, you're doing a dis-service to another animal who has to fill that demand.

However, with that said, the description of how she was kept doesn't sound awful to me. You'd be surprised just how tight ball pythons want their hides. The temp isn't bad, and the small enclosure is TEMPORARY display housing. It was never intended to be a permanent home for the snake. So of course it won't be how you would keep it.

I am very friendly with the folks at my Petsmart. I have no objection to how they are keeping theirs. They even ask me if I'll sex them for them, so that they can tell potential buyers the gender of the snake. And if they have an interested customer and I'm shopping, they hunt me down to talk to the person about proper housing and care.

If you LOVE her, then get her, but it's really not a rescue. It's a purchase of an animal that was displayed in a manner to draw in the consumer - and it worked. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lidjamay

OMG I didn't even think about freecycle, I'm going to look now! thanks!!!!


sadly I can't seem to find any tanks on there :( I have a friend of mine who breeds Retics asking some of his buddies if they have any just sitting around since thats how I ended up with most of mine now lol

---

Have you considered a tub? Inexpensive and easy to set up, and probably will help the little one settle better than a display type enclosure.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Egapal

The big problem with "rescuing" an animal from a pet store is that you are not rescuing the pet. You are buying it. When you pay the pet store for the animal you are telling them with your money that everything they are doing is working just fine and they should go out and get another animal to fill that cage and treat the same way. This isn't craig's list where the person hopefully learns there lesson and thinks twice before getting another animal they can't care for. I know that it seams cruel but the best thing you can do when you see an animal not being cared for is, ask to see a manager. Explain in 1 to 3 sentences clearly and calmly whats wrong with the animals care. Tell the manager that you will stop by to see how the animals are doing but that you will not be spending money at the store until the animals care is corrected. Tell the manager what store you will be spending your money instead. Finally tell the manager that you will be telling everyone who will listen about your experience with the store. By doing this you explain the problem, threaten the manager with one of the only things he cares about, loss of sales, you make it a real threat by telling him where your money will go instead, and you finally threaten the only other thing he cares about, the stores community image.

I vote you take the money you would have spent, find a good online breeder and buy a morph for the same or slightly more money. Lets reward the good guys and not the bad guys.

---

I agree with everything that you wrote, except for the fact that I didn't read anything that led me to believe the Petsmart that she went to was "bad".

They certainly don't crowd their enclosures with more than 2 animals (at least at my location), unlike Petco who will have multiple animals, too dry, stuck sheds, feces all around.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Egapal

The big problem with "rescuing" an animal from a pet store is that you are not rescuing the pet. You are buying it. When you pay the pet store for the animal you are telling them with your money that everything they are doing is working just fine and they should go out and get another animal to fill that cage and treat the same way. This isn't craig's list where the person hopefully learns there lesson and thinks twice before getting another animal they can't care for.

I vote you take the money you would have spent, find a good online breeder and buy a morph for the same or slightly more money. Lets reward the good guys and not the bad guys.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rabernet

EXCEPT that you aren't rescuing. You're encouraging the continued sale of them. You may THINK you're rescuing one, but what you've really done is create a demand and an open spot for another one.

You come to a point where you realize that you CAN'T save them all, and that by doing so, you're doing a dis-service to another animal who has to fill that demand.

---

Thank you for making this point, it really frustrates me that there are so many people who will talk about how they 'rescue' an animal from a pet store, but in reality they are just supporting the store and encouraging more animals to be put in the position. As much as it makes me sad to see bp's in less than ideal conditions (and on sale too... how can you put a living creature on clearance???), I won't allow myself to get it no matter how good the deal.

If an animal's condition at a pet store tugs on your heartstrings, by all means, go ahead and get it if you've fallen in love with it. BUT unless they give it to you for free, it is not a rescue no matter how bad of shape that its in.

Well, my thoughts were this really wasn't so much of a rescue as just that the OP really wants to get the snake, and hesitates because it's from a pet shop.

The OP says that snakes seems in good condition, they claim to have feeding records to show it eats. The OP has already had one bad experience from a pet shop, and so is naturally cautious about the possibility of having another bad experience.

I repeat my advise to get the snake if the OP really wants it. The fact that it is being neglected at the pet shop never came up from the OP, they merely mentioned the too small cage and hide.


Gale

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by angllady2

Well, my thoughts were this really wasn't so much of a rescue as just that the OP really wants to get the snake, and hesitates because it's from a pet shop.

The OP says that snakes seems in good condition, they claim to have feeding records to show it eats. The OP has already had one bad experience from a pet shop, and so is naturally cautious about the possibility of having another bad experience.

I repeat my advise to get the snake if the OP really wants it. The fact that it is being neglected at the pet shop never came up from the OP, they merely mentioned the too small cage and hide.


Gale

---

I didn't mean it insinuate anything about the pet store. I just really have a problem with the idea that you are rescuing an animal from a pet store by buying it. Anyone who thinks that needs to know that they are perpetuating the problem. Now if there is no problem, then you aren't rescuing it. You are buying it.