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Petco Balls

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  • 08-24-2013, 05:55 AM
    Dawson101409
    Petco Balls
    I'm not getting a ball from petco but I just want to hear your guys opinions about balls that come from petco
  • 08-24-2013, 08:01 AM
    Archimedes
    Magnus is a pet store brat. He is quite healthy, if rather puny, but his clutch mate in the store was tiny and sickly. I have not yet found a Petco or pet smart that meets my husbandry standards. They also have countless numbers of charges against them for neglect and cruelty (among the entire corporation, not by individual store) that forbids them from building anywhere but in the US.

    Sent from my warm hide
  • 08-24-2013, 08:02 AM
    treeboa
    Well.. It depends. I've heard both Petco and Petsmart get their BPs from Gourmet Rodent. They usually arrive healthy, whether they stay healthy depends on the store and whether the snake will eat f/t. Both places have a policy to only feed (and recommend to feed) f/t. Not all BPs, especially hatchlings, will accept f/t. If they don't, they don't eat, thus the skinny ones you sometimes see. Not all stores provide well for them either, i.e. no hides, just a bare cage with a water bowl and substrate and, at Petco, a bunch of babies stacked in one cage . They stop eating and don't shed well under these conditions too. If they look healthy and have no shedding problems, they are probably OK. Buying from a Herp show, if you can, is a better option. Cheaper and, if from a good breeder, individually housed and less stressed (which equals a better chance of no problems).
  • 08-24-2013, 08:09 AM
    Neal
    Somebody made a very good point on here awhile back about this. The stores are give guidelines on how to take care of the snake, but it's the fact that they aren't always followed. I remember a post on here from a member who stated that his petsmart or petco took good care of snakes and the proper husbandry and it was due partially to the manager who enforced the care.

    I personally wouldn't get any snake from there because they overprice them, but that's just me. I prefer to help out local breeders.
  • 08-24-2013, 08:09 AM
    TheSnakeGuy
    Re: Petco Balls
    Petsmart's reptiles come from REPTILE INDUSTRIES, the largest reptile producer in the country,
  • 08-24-2013, 12:21 PM
    MsMissy
    I frequent both Petco and Petsmart <mainly for sales as I have a large amount of various animals> and I have to say, my Petsmart is a bit better than Petco. I try to not go into Petco too often since every time I do, I get the urge to lecture them on snake care. The girl at my Petsmart irritates me, says she owns a BP yet I look in the display <better suited for them but def lacking nonetheless> and see some quite thin hatchlings. If I was to work there, I would likely be fired quickly as I know I would sneak in live and feed the little buggers.

    My Nagini came from Petsmart and is wonderful and healthy but had only been there for 3 days so they didn't have a chance to starve her. <she wouldn't touch f/t, I had to go with live after 11 days of not eating for me.>
  • 08-24-2013, 03:24 PM
    Crazymonkee
    Re: Petco Balls
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MsMissy View Post
    I frequent both Petco and Petsmart <mainly for sales as I have a large amount of various animals> and I have to say, my Petsmart is a bit better than Petco. I try to not go into Petco too often since every time I do, I get the urge to lecture them on snake care. The girl at my Petsmart irritates me, says she owns a BP yet I look in the display <better suited for them but def lacking nonetheless> and see some quite thin hatchlings. If I was to work there, I would likely be fired quickly as I know I would sneak in live and feed the little buggers.

    My Nagini came from Petsmart and is wonderful and healthy but had only been there for 3 days so they didn't have a chance to starve her. <she wouldn't touch f/t, I had to go with live after 11 days of not eating for me.>


    I'm with you lol. I'm sure I wouldn't be employed long either!!

    Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4
  • 08-24-2013, 03:25 PM
    Neal
    I interrupted one of the petsmart employee's that was giving the wrong information for housing a ball pythons. She had this look on her face, lol.
  • 08-24-2013, 03:29 PM
    MootWorm
    My petsmart is surprisingly good with their balls. Super cluttered enclosure, hides, no stuck sheds or sickly animals. Now their chameleons on the other hand... That's another story
  • 08-24-2013, 03:31 PM
    steve_r34
    chain pet stores shouldnt be allowed to sell reptiles .. none of the people there have any idea what they are doing
  • 08-24-2013, 04:47 PM
    sunshinenorcas
    Tali was a Petsmart brat as well. The only issue I had with husbandry at their store was they were co-habbing the ball pythons, but it was only two of them- not like petco where I've seen 10+ snakes in one 20L :/ She eats like a pig and is sweet and curious. She was a bit underweight, but they had been feeding the balls mouse fuzzies instead of hoppers or adults. The employee who had been helping me was not a 'reptile guy' and ended up asking me a bunch of questions and making sure that the reptiles looked ok and if they were doing the right thing. I told him what I knew about cohabbing (although, I don't think they can change that) and that fuzzies were too small for the balls. (I also got her on sale, so she ended up being about 40 dollars, so yay). I felt comfortable going to that store but for the next one, I plan on going to a breeder :)
  • 08-24-2013, 10:38 PM
    MsMissy
    *grumbles* Needed a heater for my new Betta tank <meanest betta EVER so had to get him his own home> and Petco was easiest so in I went. I really don't get it... They had a beautiful <yet pissy> Columbian red tail boa and his enclosure was decent; repti bark, good hide placement even if it was the wrong type of hide. The iguana enclosure is always nice and situated, but then to the Bp's. The only snakes in the store stuck on aspen shavings <I'm on the outskirts of the Mojave where it tends to be bone dry.>, one substandard half log hide. They have a beautiful spider right now but it's overpriced and def not in the greatest shape. *sighs* If I didn't have fake finger nails, I probably wouldn't have nails at all after having to hold my darn tongue. Not an easy thing for me, one of these days I'll snap while in there.

    Ok, end rant... I really need to boycott that place. Would save me some stress.
  • 08-24-2013, 10:47 PM
    Trackstrong83
    Never been to a Petco, but I work at a Pet Pupplies Plus, and take pride in what I do. I have convinced my boss to order our BPs from a good friend of mine who just needs to get rid of his normals, so I can guarantee that the snakes we get our 100% healthy. Because some snakes we have received from "large" reptile distributors have had RI.
    I take pride in what I do because I feel like I have extensive reptile knowledge, and if I am stumped on a question a customer has about a reptile, I instantly come to this website, or other credible ones to educate myself.
    I do laugh at some main chain pet store employees that tell me that feeding my baby ball pythons every 5 days is "power feeding" :rolleyes:

    So I recommend that what people hear from pet stores they take with a grain of salt, and do research for themselves. After all, before I fell in love with this site, I looked a tons of different websites for snake information.
  • 08-24-2013, 11:42 PM
    crepers86
    Re: Petco Balls
    my first ball came from petsmart, the girl that sold it to me didn't give me a pamplet she told me what I needed to know because she keeps several different types of snakes including balls. She was also the one that recommended I use sterilight tubs over a tank because the keep husbandry easier and cheaper in the long run. at the petsmart all the employs that worked in petcare had a lot of good knowledge, however the petco across the street was a different story. there Red Tail Boas where in great shap and better housing. the balls looked like a word I can't say here. Stuck on shed 8 in one 10 gal tank poop everywhere and When I asked if I could get a discount for how bad they looked I was only offered a 10% discount off of $80. now 3 weeks after I bought my first snake and a lot of research I found that my friend bought two balls from that same petco. one died a week later. they told him he needed a hotrock and a heat lamp. his cage had no hide how ever it was the right size. and whats worse they sold it to him as a Boa. the snake stayed with stuck on shed for 5 weeks thinking he was going to do some research after I told him to. nothing changed. I had found a local petshop that we went to where I bought my second ball that was an adult. I picked up proper equipment for my friend (heat pad, hides, and the right size feeders since petco told him to feed a pinky once a month [you could see light shinning through this snake for how skenny this snake was] took my 10 gal fish tank over to his house let the snake soak for about 3 mins all the stuck on shed came off. His dad was like wow that thing has been shedding for more then a month. Luckly there was no eye caps even after the stressful bath and getting the stuck shed off the snake pounded a hopper in less then 2 seconds of sticking it in the cage, took the heat rock cut the cord off re set up the cage explaind things on how to keep humidty and the snake is now thriving very good and is on medium rats now...

    every petco I have been into since the balls look bad but the few petsmarts I have been to the balls are always only two to a tank and everything is spot on
  • 08-24-2013, 11:46 PM
    Mephibosheth1
    Even Petco mice look worse than Petsmart....and it's hard to make mice look bad :p
  • 08-25-2013, 12:03 AM
    Crazymonkee
    I was in a Petsmart once right after I got Lex... I went to get frozen mice pinkies cuz I was told that's what I should feed her from a friend that said she was highly knowledgeable, anyhow...
    The girl that was working in the section asked me what type of snake I was feeding.. I told her a hatchling bp. She then told me that was way to small, that the only thing they sell close to size I need is the adult mice!
    (Didn't really matter... she won't eat f/t as yet.. although I did try!)
    She then went on to tell me that ordering them online would be more cost effective and have more sizes (including rats). I was thrilled with her knowledge but I also know it's few and far between!!


    Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4
  • 08-25-2013, 01:10 AM
    LooptyLoo
    Our local Petco is deplorable, I won't even go in there anymore. The reptiles are right up front and it just killed me to see the conditions they were living in (and that was before I knew anything about BP care, so that should tell you something.) The Petsmart here is definitely the better of the two, though still not as great as it could/should be.
  • 08-25-2013, 02:17 AM
    Mrl249
    Petco Balls
  • 08-25-2013, 02:20 AM
    Neal
    Hey Mrl, clean out your inbox.
  • 08-25-2013, 02:35 AM
    DestinyLynette
    I'll be trying to get a job at the local PetSmart here and then, if that fails, PetCo [this is the first place I've ever lived that has one- I'll pop my head in there and look... depends on how bad it is, in my experience PetSmart isn't bad]. I'll be requesting to be put over the reptile section [a rarity, I'm sure] and my goal is to do what I can to improve reptile care and customer knowledge of the animal they're taking home. I'll be out and about tomorrow and may swing by one or both of them, I'll update here as I learn more about their procedures and whatnot if that helps. That does really trouble me about the f/t business; if I have snakes that are repeat refusers of *properly* prepared f/t, I don't know that I can let them become malnourished... Well, if I get fired early, you know why. :P I'm definitely gunning for the PetSmart job though; I'm almost afraid to go into the PetCo since I've NEVER heard ANYTHING good about them... and if I get hired, I don't know how much power I have to do anything to fix things, I'll just do what I can.
  • 08-25-2013, 03:21 AM
    I-KandyReptiles
    Petco Balls
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dawson101409 View Post
    I'm not getting a ball from petco but I just want to hear your guys opinions about balls that come from petco

    It all depends on the store.

    Keep in mind that pet store employees aren't typically trained in pet care, but given a care sheet to regurge to customers.

    If the employee has knowledge, and cares, it's more likely that the animals will be cared for and healthy.
  • 08-25-2013, 04:29 AM
    TheSnakeGeek
    Petco Balls
    i actually have two friends that work at the petco in my town. they're halfway knowledgable.. but i would still be cautious and aware of wherever i bought my pet, regardless of whether it be a mainstream pet store or a very reputable breeder. just do your research. knowledge is a beautiful thing.
  • 08-25-2013, 06:25 AM
    Yaaeee
    That's so unfortunate hearing everyone's responses. I work at a local PetSmart & I can honestly say we have one girl in our pet care department who dedicates her life to learning proper husbandry and care for all of our animals. Customers come in specifically requesting her for knowledge & she properly sets up our customers for lifetime care. Our petcare manager, as well as our other petcare employees, also care a great deal about the animals. The animals in our new arrival room have perfect set ups. Proper UVB, temps, humidity, & husbandry for all of our reptiles. We share information in our spare time to better assist our customers. Of course we aren't perfect, but we honestly do try! We also understand that other stores don't have the knowledge or care that we do. Unfortunately that's how big businesses are. Independent management is what makes the difference once cooperate decides on their policy's. each store is individually managed & there are good stores out there. Just my $0.02.

    & FYI - not every store will let snakes die if they refuse f/t
  • 08-25-2013, 07:58 AM
    Alexiel03
    back when i had my first bp, which i bought from a breeder rather than the only dang petstore in my small town (Petco) i went there to get a couple rats cuz i used to buy them from there before i found out about ordering the food online. i know the manager there is pretty smart about reptiles but omg most of the employees are dumb as rocks -_- especially with snakes/reptiles. i asked one lady if a certain size rat would be too big for my bp, i showed her how big around my snake was and told her his length. and i swear she gave me the most redicuals answer ever, she said the rat is too large for him and if i feed a snake too big of a meal it could choke and that i shouldnt feed them food bigger than their head........seriously!??? i tried so hard not to laugh at her for that response and bought the rat anyway, it was the perfect size too. shes been there for years too, the least she could do is educate herself about the animals they sell....i never buy my snakes from there or any store. breeders are the way to go
  • 08-25-2013, 10:05 AM
    zach_24_90
    I worked at petco in college for a few months. Lets just say the reptiles had never looked better. When I got there the balls were way underfed, and pacman frogs were drying out, and a whole mess of other dumb obvious things. I actually force fed 3 of the baby balls for two months because they wouldn't eat (and shhhh yes i snuck in live feeders to try lol) I honestly didnt give a crap about petco policy because I figured nobody cares enough to look up proper care so why should I care enough to follow their rules. Not like I would h w anyways though haha but yeah I even left a protégé and have gone back a couple times to check. And on topic. Every now and then a few good snakes come through. I got a really nice Dinker female from there.
  • 08-25-2013, 10:16 AM
    crepers86
    Re: Petco Balls
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Yaaeee View Post
    That's so unfortunate hearing everyone's responses. I work at a local PetSmart & I can honestly say we have one girl in our pet care department who dedicates her life to learning proper husbandry and care for all of our animals. Customers come in specifically requesting her for knowledge & she properly sets up our customers for lifetime care. Our petcare manager, as well as our other petcare employees, also care a great deal about the animals. The animals in our new arrival room have perfect set ups. Proper UVB, temps, humidity, & husbandry for all of our reptiles. We share information in our spare time to better assist our customers. Of course we aren't perfect, but we honestly do try! We also understand that other stores don't have the knowledge or care that we do. Unfortunately that's how big businesses are. Independent management is what makes the difference once cooperate decides on their policy's. each store is individually managed & there are good stores out there. Just my $0.02.

    & FYI - not every store will let snakes die if they refuse f/t

    I think most of the bashing went to petco. I seen videos on youtube where petco has thrown away live animals. The main thing I don't care about petsmart is that everyone I have seen there BPs are captive hatched and not captive bred...
  • 08-25-2013, 10:29 AM
    CaitJaye
    Ultimately I think it comes down to whos working at what store. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like theres much training going on at every store or department. The PetsMarts around my way are pretty decent and the reptile care actually isn't that bad. I've seen so much worse at other pet stores. The one down the street from my house had crickets in the BP enclosure. She didn't know that they ate mice....so she had been trying to feed them crickets. And she wondered why they weren't eating.....to top this off the babies were covered in mites. Which of course when I tried to tell them that's why all the babies were constantly soaking she said that she didn't know what mites were and that the babies didn't get them at the pet store. Horrible pet care there if it's anything besides dogs.
  • 08-25-2013, 10:31 AM
    Mrl249
    Petco Balls
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Neal View Post
    Hey Mrl, clean out your inbox.

    Just did sorry bout that
  • 08-25-2013, 10:43 AM
    MsMissy
    Re: Petco Balls
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Yaaeee View Post
    That's so unfortunate hearing everyone's responses. I work at a local PetSmart & I can honestly say we have one girl in our pet care department who dedicates her life to learning proper husbandry and care for all of our animals. Customers come in specifically requesting her for knowledge & she properly sets up our customers for lifetime care. Our petcare manager, as well as our other petcare employees, also care a great deal about the animals. The animals in our new arrival room have perfect set ups. Proper UVB, temps, humidity, & husbandry for all of our reptiles. We share information in our spare time to better assist our customers. Of course we aren't perfect, but we honestly do try! We also understand that other stores don't have the knowledge or care that we do. Unfortunately that's how big businesses are. Independent management is what makes the difference once cooperate decides on their policy's. each store is individually managed & there are good stores out there. Just my $0.02.

    & FYI - not every store will let snakes die if they refuse f/t

    Which Petsmart do you work at? I frequent the one in Palmdale <its right down the street from my shop so its an easy in and out.> and there is a girl who works there that owns Bp's and I've spent a bit of time talking to her. She knows something's but lacks a LOT concerning their care in regards to thermostats which in my opinion, is the most important thing for them. <of course short of proper prey.> I also think she enjoyed lecturing me about feeding my hatchling live prey as apposed to f/t which irritated the hell out of me.
  • 08-25-2013, 11:03 AM
    Diamond Serpents
    Re: Petco Balls
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by steve_r34 View Post
    chain pet stores shouldnt be allowed to sell reptiles .. none of the people there have any idea what they are doing

    This is only half true and shouldn't be stated about all chain stores.

    My local Petco is awesome due to the person who use to work with the reptiles. Alex was working there for 2-3 years very knowledgable about all reptiles.

    He's a hobbyist him self and I see him at all the local reptile shows. He also breeds his own RTBs and Balls he actually turned the reptile department around at this petco.

    Now my petsmart on the other hand Lmfao, they ain't nothing but bumbs and tree huggers. I got into a arguement with 3 people at petsmart over a mouse. 2 employees and a manager... I was buying a mouse as a feeder then at the last second they told me that there mice wasn't for feeding but for pets. They told me I was cruel and that they have frozen mice to feed. I said he doesn't eat frozen they said to bad I said ok. So I guess I just starve my snake ha?

    Went outside, my wife was waiting in the car had her go in and buy it they hassled her any how she got it. She Was walking to my car they chased her when they seen her trying to get to my car...she got in we drive off.
  • 08-25-2013, 11:08 AM
    Diamond Serpents
    Re: Petco Balls
    Double post due to fat fingers on iPhone.
  • 08-25-2013, 11:12 AM
    MsMissy
    Re: Petco Balls
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Diamond Serpents View Post
    Went outside, my wife was waiting in the car had her go in and buy it. They hassled her with questions...any how she got it. She was walking to my car they bolted out the door and chased her when they seen her trying to walk to my car, she got in and we drive off.

    Omgoodness Brian, that made me giggle... I can just see them chasing after the evil amoral snake lover with torches and whips trying to save their little mouse. Probably said a prayer for its soul for after your snake had its nice healthy meal.
  • 08-25-2013, 11:16 AM
    LooptyLoo
    Re: Petco Balls
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Alexiel03 View Post
    i asked one lady if a certain size rat would be too big for my bp, i showed her how big around my snake was and told her his length. and i swear she gave me the most redicuals answer ever, she said the rat is too large for him and if i feed a snake too big of a meal it could choke and that i shouldnt feed them food bigger than their head.......

    Yes! I went to the pet store just this past week, and I was told the exact same thing! I was so thankful that I had been given proper guidance here on this site, as I politely turned her down and went with the size I was given here.
  • 08-25-2013, 11:55 AM
    Diamond Serpents
    Re: Petco Balls
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MsMissy View Post
    Omgoodness Brian, that made me giggle... I can just see them chasing after the evil amoral snake lover with torches and whips trying to save their little mouse. Probably said a prayer for its soul for after your snake had its nice healthy meal.

    Lol yeah, they was acting like she just stole or something the way they was running. Petco and petsmart are in two different directions for me. I'm in the country and to my east petco is 35 miles away and to my west petsmart is 30 miles away. There was no way I was going to back track and waste gas. We both was determined to get that mouse.
  • 08-25-2013, 08:39 PM
    Zuma22
    Re: Petco Balls
    I happen to work at one of these pet stores (I don't think I'm able to say which one, but I believe I may have mentioned it before :P), but I will say that many of the animals that come to our store come to us in awful condition. At that point, they are beyond saving and there is nothing we can do in the store to improve their care. My store actually has a great department manager who is quite attentive to every animals' well being, so all of our reptiles and small animals go to the vet whenever needed. We also have several reptile experts working who know exactly what we're talking about. However, not every store is like ours. One of my balls is a rescue from my company, different store, who was horribly skinny, malnourished, the whole deal.

    Many of the leopard geckos we get also come to us with parasites because they send us bottom of the barrel sickly individuals and we're expected to nurse them back to health. Most don't make it because they get to us too late. It really comes down to corporate, and they just don't care enough. Each store operates differently, but there are some good stores out there with well-cared for animals. That's my two cents anyway!

    I'm ashamed to say that the company I work for has animals in deplorable condition across the country, but I rest easy at night knowing that, at the very least, I do what I can for the animals in my care.
  • 08-27-2013, 12:01 AM
    PythonIVXX
    Re: Petco Balls
    My ball is from Petco and she is doin just fine. Healthy, I do agree that their husbandry standards are not up to par. But when buyin I made sure I got the best looking one in the tank that was not aggressive an ate every time. Wonderful reduced pattern. A lil bit shy at the beginning, but that was due to the fact she was small(112g) and in a 40 gallon tank without much foliage.
  • 08-27-2013, 12:35 AM
    SnowShredder
    My very first ball python is from petco

    Here is her immediately after bringing home. I picked her out because she was GOLD while the others were brown. Stuck shed but otherside seemingly fine. Not mites, ate immediately, no health issues. I've seen many bad off snakes though, I think it just depends on the employees and specific store.

    http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/a...1126001511.jpg

    Here is her a little bit later

    http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/DSC01643.jpg
    About a week ago

    http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/...ps070b0507.jpg
  • 08-27-2013, 01:38 AM
    steve_r34
    i went in to petco toay to pick up some things and like always 1st spot i got to is the reptile isle 1st hut i look into is the bp's theres 2 in there with no hides of course and one is in the back trying to shed looks bad i hope he gets it off i will be going back friday to pick up some mice and rats n i will check .. where i live tho people arent so bright .. they do have a couple of people in there that got stuff together but not on reptiles .. i tryed to get a job there just cause i didnt want to see the reps like that when i walk in .. i had to go online to fill out the app and theres the most rediculous test u have to take its timed 10 min they ask u nothing about animals or anything to do with life i feel like .. anyways i was at my job when i took the test and had to deal with a student while i was taking it so i forgot about and i guess i failed so they wouldnt hire me off of this test witch is crazy cause i talk to some of the employees in there n i swear they didnt make out of middle school lol .. anyway i even talked to the manager ne gave him my whole run down on the many animals i know how to care for and been around growing up he look at me and said if i could hire u on the spot i would just cause of ur knowledge of animals but u need to fill out the online app .. i laughed and kept it pushing .. i think they need to hire people that know what htere doing and it would be a better place for all
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