PetCo strikes again...

So I went to the local Pet Co. (guess who switched substrates yet again! This time to Eco-Earth) anyways I was picking up that eco-earth when I decided to browse through the reptile section. My local petco has never carried snakes so it's usually a fun browse as they take pretty darn good care of the Russian Tortises and various geckos.. today however was different I saw a cage with TWO Ball Pythons housed together with TWO Red-Tailed Boas. The coloring was great but there were bits of shed stuck on the BP's I immediately asked to speak to the reptile manager or person... they don't have one... so I asked to speak to a manager in general and clued them in about IBD and how it was terrible to house snakes that way and if they get a call in a few weeks saying- my python acted strangely became paralyzed and died not to be too surprised. GRRRR!! I'm going in tomorrow to check on them and every day after. This infuriates me. I'm no longer buying anything at PetCo ( I noticed after I had purchased the substrate). Oh and also you can get a cute and cuddly baby savannah monitor there now too... joy!

That place should just have all of its stores exploded!! Those people infuriate me to no end! If you don't know what you are doing with the animal, you should not be allowed to keep it. I feel it should pretty much be that plain & simple for pet stores! The thing that really upsets me is that the basic information is SO easy to find! Why can people not just do a little bit of research!!??

thats dumb...it doesnt take much common sense to know not to house a BP with a boa

The things people will do to make an extra buck!

My store was given the option to start carrying snakes and we turned it down on the advice of our own snake expert (he's got like a boa, a burm, a corn, a hognose, a black rat, a bp, and a few others I can't remember). I don't know of any other PetsMart stores who took up the option either. We just can't take the risk of escapes or temperamental eaters-- I don't think any of the chain stores should, particularly Petco. Just my two cents.

The local petco in Fayetteville seems to know what they are doing with their BP's. For one thing, they house their Boas and BP's in seperate enclosures. There are plenty of hides and the humidity stays around 50 to 55%. This was after the new reptile specialist took over :)

Eddie, not all the Petcos are that way. My local Petco is far superior to the nearest reptile specialty store in its reptile husbandry, sad though that is to say. The reptiles manager is a woman with more than 4 dozen herps at home, who breeds bearded dragons and guinea pigs. There are never more than two baby balls to a cage, no direct lights on any of the reptiles except UV as needed, and they stopped carrying iguanas altogether. The reptile store, on the other hand, piles a dozen or more in a single tank with no hides or supplemental heat and has been known to put a lizard in a critter keeper in the middle of the tank as well. Anyway, point is that specialty stores may not be so special and chain stores may be ok. It's just on a case by case basis.

My first bp Monty was housed in the pet store with a couple of young boas. Being the snake idiot I was at the time, I didn't know this was bad. I thought it was wierd, but I didn't know about IBD. Anyways, Monty died about a month or so after I got him. And this was a reptile store! I called the pet store, and suggested IBD, and they said "Oh we know we don't have IBD." :roll:

I have seen the same thing at a local pet store near me. Its such a shame. It bothers me to no end that people do not learn about animals before buyine and selling them. Anything to make a buck eh?

From the Associated Press:
Petco to Pay $900,000 to Settle California Lawsuits
May 28 --------------- Petco Animal Supplies Inc., the No. 2
U.S. pet-supply chain, will pay more than $900,000 to settle two
California lawsuits that claimed the company mistreated animals
and overcharged customers, the Associated Press reported.
Petco didn't admit wrongdoing. It agreed to pay $600,000 in
fines, $200,000 to install equipment at its California stores to
ensure pricing accuracy and $101,000 to cover investigation
costs. The settlement resolves suits filed by the district
attorneys of Los Angeles, Marin, San Mateo and San Diego counties
and one by the San Francisco city attorney, AP said.
San Francisco's investigation of Petco found sick and dying
animals kept in freezers, untreated animals with contagious
diseases and animals in unclean enclosures with no water, San
Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera told AP. The counties
alleged that San Diego-based Petco kept animals in unclean cages
without proper care and overcharged customers by $1.19 on average.
``We are pleased to have resolved these matters on terms
that are consistent with comprehensive policies and practices
already utilized by Petco to serve the best interests of our
customers and companion animals in our care,'' Darragh Davis, a
Petco vice president and corporate counsel, told AP.

There are herptological (sp?) societies in each state that would be more than happy to investigate any businesses that mistreats the animals that they sell. Just do some internet work and find a phone number. One call is all it may take, some of these people are really gung-ho about it.

We used to have a Petland in the local mall years ago. An article in the paper stated that customers had reported animal mistreatment to a local humane society and the store was completely shut down.

All it takes is one person to make a stand.

(stepping down from soapbox...)

Yeah petco sucks o_O They want 80$ for their BP's

And my petco had about 5 Red Tail Boas in like a 10 gallon terrarium.

PLUS, every single cage had a hot rock for heat >_<

Went in today and their "reptile specialist" is on vacation for a week so I'm going in tomorrow morning to talk to the store manager... there is also no hides though there is lots of stuff to climb on and decent substrate and decor these boas and pythons are like laying under eachother to hide it's terrible.. more updates as I work my way up the chain or just annoy them until they change their policy or stop carrying snakes.

The PetCo here also has heat rocks, no hides, and multiple animals in all the snake enclosures....it disgusts me. I don't even like going into any pet store these days. They are all horrible it seems. More and more frequently, I order supplies online. I think I'm even going to start ordering my dog and cat food online........so frustrating!! :x

Every pet store has the potential to really suck... unfortunately. Granted I work for PetsMart, but if it were up to me I'd leave the sale of all animals to specialized breeders. Too many things can go wrong and the animals are always on the receiving end. I try my best to keep our animals out of the wrong hands. And nothing feels better than to refuse to sell an animal to a unqualified and pissed off customer... ;)

I used to shop @ PetsMart all the time. Actually used to take my dogs/cats to Banfield (f/k/a VetSmart).....haven't been there in awhile though.....glad that we have some educated pet store employees on 'our side'!! :D

Banfield is a great accessory to our stores. Whenever something goes wrong with a critter we only have to walk 100 feet to get them checked out. They have great wellness plans for your pets too: you pay a certain fee for a whole year that includes shots, check-ups, etc. and it covers any visit that you might need so you're not paying a 30 or 40 dollar appointment fee every time your pet needs to be looked at.

The animals are my #1 priority. I've always been on the good side :D

Went in again today but just missed the store manager (i don't get home from work until like seven and I leave for work before they open.) I'm thinking Saturday is going to be best. One of those BP's looks thin... I don't want to yell at them I just want to sit down and open a dialogue so that we can get this thing resolved!!! MJ I gotta tell you I am thankful for the work that you do because there are WAY too many employees of animal shops that don't care much for animals. I even tried to get a job at this paticular Pet Co so that I could fix things up a bit... If I can get ahold of the "Reptile Specialist" I am going to ask if I can work there part time one - three nights a week.. the extra cash couldn't hurt and I would LOVE to re arrange that whole reptile section and recommend that they stop carrying some of those reptiles... i.e. monitors.

Word to the wise, though, Jonah: they probably won't take too kindly to the "new guy" trying to step in and run the show. People hate being told that they're wrong, especially when they think what they're doing is right. If I were you I'd try to snag a part time management position so you'll at least have some authority. And if that doesn't work or isn't possible, I'd bring in some books that prove their conditions are wrong so that there's no way around it.

Rearranging and cleaning the reptiles cages is one of my favorite things to do. I take so much stuff off the shelves and redo everything, haha. If I weren't the Specialty department veteran (3.5 years and counting!) I'd probably get in trouble... but the cages always look fantastic when I get done with them and they know it. Who can argue with results?

Good luck with your Petco quest!

thanks yeah they don't need anyone to work there and I'm sure you are right.. I would try to be as tactful as possible about it... still have yet to speak to someone of any REAL authority or anyone willing to make some changes.. I'm trying again tomorrow.. somebody has GOT to be in on saturday that can do something... sorry for the elipsis abuse. :)

My petco sucks. I went there one time, and went to the reptile section, and asked a person if I could get some crickets (their little cart that they're kept in for selling was out where it always is), and the lady says "No, I'm sorry. They're for our reptiles in the back." and I'm just sitting there thinking, "Then why do you have the cart out here for the public to veiw with a FRIGGIN PRICE ON IT, MA'AM!? Don't you realize people are going to obviously ask you to buy some?". What idiots. Good thing my friends opened up a reliable pet store downtown now. They're the best at taking care of pets, of any sort. My brother also got a job there, and he's a reptile expert, which makes the store even better.

Sounds great Hibi.

I'm lucky to have a pet store near that's great with herps. It used to be that most of their staff were reptile breeders. Their animals are always really well kept. Almost all of their herps are captive bred locally except for anoles and tree frogs (that a breeder imports for them) which they thoroughly quarantine and treat for parasites before they offer them for sale. They also refuse to sell to anyone they feel won't provide a good home for their animals. Also, their frozen mice are all euthanized with carbon dioxide. I always try to buy from them before anyone else. I could have bought my ball python somewhere else cheaper, but this way I can support them while getting the peace of mind that I received a very healthy, thriving snake. Ippo is doing very well by the way. He just ate his 3rd meal with me on Thursday (his 2nd F/T), and had a perfect shed the day before, so I'm more than happy with what I got.

If you do have a good pet store near you, I would recommend you shop there as much as possible and get as many other people to as well. The best thing that we can do short of being activists is to vote for better pet stores with our dollars.

By the way, here is a review of the pet store I go to (although from an aquarist's perspective).
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/...olk_VAS_V.html

You do have to loves this sales policy though:
http://www.aquarticles.com/images/Fi...s%20policy.jpg

Sounds like a good policy, in theory. But I'd imagine it would be hard to interview every customer on a busy day, even if they were just buying some feeder fish.

That is a good policy and goal. I hope they are able to live up to it.

Hello,
My PETCO is horrible, I don't have time now, but I wil go to another forum and get a story i typed, it's pretty long, but it's all about Stafoord county's PETCO and all it's evilness.
I'll find it soon.
Bye.

-collin

Hey,
I found my post from www.LeoLand.com.
Here it is:

Hello,
The other day I saw a columbian red tail boa with mites all over it a PETCO.
And the PETCO here has a 14" tokay gecko loose in it's wall.
It's been there for 1 year and a half.
The wall is a fake, plastic divider wall, why don't they just take it down?
And other geckos keep escaping, the cages are so dumb.
The other day I saw three house geckos in the plastic wall.
And we know the tokay has to eat to survive right?
You know what the PETCO guy said he eats?
The escaped geckos.
And I saw an iguana hatchling in what must have been a -10 gallon tank.
And there were 5 columbian red tail boas in one cage.
Although the cage was rather large, that's way to many unsexed boas in one cage.
PETCO is dumb, my cousin (who is going to Mary Washington for a vet or something like that is gonna get a job at PETCO, she just turned 18 on Thursday the 17th.
She's gonna straighten them out a bit.
This girl is not afraid of any reptile, the PETCO poeple are probably afraid of the tokay, she'll probably just walk up to it and grab it it.
By the way, they're not mean.
Bye.

There it was, our PETCO is evil.
Bye.

-collin

hhw, that's an awesome sales policy-- you're lucky to have such a good store nearby. It's like everything I stand for and try to uphold.

And Hibi, I've gotten that response before from customers about crickets (we put signs on our bins though). When there's several dozen animals counting on a constant supply of bugs we have to refuse to sell until the next shipment because our animals come first. Customers can always go to another pet store.

Awesome policy there hhw.
Although, if that were the policy for the place where I got my geckos when I was eight, I would never have gotten them, and I'm glad I got them, I just wish I had gottewn them when I was older.
So they would be in better shape now-a-days.

Hey, not to be off topic, but why is my icon so giant?

It was 640x480 - resized it for ya. Welcome aboard!

Thanks!

Quote:

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They have great wellness plans for your pets too: you pay a certain fee for a whole year that includes shots, check-ups, etc. and it covers any visit that you might need so you're not paying a 30 or 40 dollar appointment fee every time your pet needs to be looked at.

---

I had all my pets on the plan, but let it expire earlier this year. Their wellness plan is great, but we moved and I wasn't happy w/the Vets @ the location close to us (the location we used to take them too is about 15-20 miles away and it's hard to get them out there).