Is it just me?

So I have to buy my BPs mice from petsmart, and every time I go in there I browse the snakes mainly BPs, they usually only have normals (I got mine from there and vowed I wasn't buying another from a pet store) but todsy they had 2 normals and a pastel, I held the one little normal and she was tiny. The pastel was in shed and very very defensive and looked horrible (maybe a previous stuck shed idk) but does anyone else feel bad for those snakes in pet stores? I can't help but want to buy them all when I'm there.

I feel like that when i go to my local Petco. They keep the corn snakes and geckos in horrible conditions, and they never clean it from the looks of the cages. They don't even follow basic husbandry for any of there reptiles.

Well it's a common thing but not much we can do about it. My point or view is this. Every time you "save" one. That just makes them get more stock. Saving them doesn't really make a difference to those stores. Each snake purchase rewards the bad business practice. So nothing changes. Most employees however do try their best, at least at the petsmart I am at.

The only healthy snake I have seen at a petsmart however was a lesser butrer that came in last week.

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I see that kind of problem every time when I stop by Petco to buy bedding for my feeder rodents.
Baby leos which lost their tails and horrible stuck shed on baby ball pythons. Actually, it`s so ironical. We keep animals in limited area and they don`t have freedom that they really want to have..but we think we`re offering best condition and best care for our animals....anyway, what I want to mention is most of petco and pet`s mart employees don`t even have enough knowledge about their animals for sale..so they leave crickets in baby corn snakes vivarium and don`t even know what kind of morph corn snake they are selling..

Big time breeders making money too...

At one pets art i was at, the one ball python they had was very skinny, and had retained skin, no water, and the humidity was way down. I went to my local petland, and that so far has been the only pet store that I know of that is good with there BPs (although it could be better), and they have a lot of ball pythons there.

I just feel so badly for them, I used my better judgment and moved on. I know I can't help "save" them all because they will continuously be getting them in, I just hope they get a lovely home with someone who can and will give them proper care.

If you see a herp at a pet store in unacceptable conditions, tell someone. Since animals can't talk, you have to be their voice. It's not that the pet store employees don't care, they just don't know any better. A few months ago I noticed the BPs at my local Petco were waaay too dry, covered in stuck shed and soaking in their bowl. I told one of the clerks and the next time I came in the humidity was spot-on and the snakes looked so much better. Your results may vary but really the worst they can do is nothing.

Now if only they could fix their mite problem...

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Originally Posted by laurelamo

If you see a herp at a pet store in unacceptable conditions, tell someone. Since animals can't talk, you have to be their voice. It's not that the pet store employees don't care, they just don't know any better. A few months ago I noticed the BPs at my local Petco were waaay too dry, covered in stuck shed and soaking in their bowl. I told one of the clerks and the next time I came in the humidity was spot-on and the snakes looked so much better. Your results may vary but really the worst they can do is nothing.

Now if only they could fix their mite problem...

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I will say something next time. I couldn't tell temps/humidity because they don't keep anything in with the snakes. And knock on wood I've never seen a mite there, my Lil beauty came from there and has had no problems with mites or anything else. The girl that I spoke with there said she knew nothing about the snakes and was even scared to get the one I did hold out.

I feel bad for them too. Growing up in a tiny tub were they can never stretch out and don't have a proper hide. Then they end up in a pet store with mediocre care and only with good luck do they end up in a good home. Wish it didn't happen but sadly that's the way it works. I've seen pet stores refuse to do anything about chameleons with MBD and one case was so bad I know the Cham would've died soon but they just got super defensive with me like I was in the wrong for questioning it's health. This sort of thing happens all over though with every species even humans so I just try to do my part.

I have written letters to the manager of the pet smart I use to go to and everything stayed the same. I just started going else where to get feeders. If possible search for mom and pop pet stores to get feeders from. I rather do it that way anyways cause I'm helping out a personal company and not a chain that could care less about their animals and all about the money.

I would love to get mine from a mom and pop store, but unfortunately there are none around me. There were several until petsmart came in and pretty much put them out of business. Closest is a good 2 hour drive from me :/

I worked at a Petco for years and did everything I could to help the reptiles stay healthy. However, the companies priority is to sell supplies, not reptiles. They conditions in most stores are horrible and there is no real knowledge among most employees of the needs of these creatures. It frustrated me to the point that I could not longer work there. I have seen employees mix kingsnakes and cornsnakes, which led to some happy kingsnakes when they ate the poor little corns. I have also seem weeks go by where they were not offered food and have been told not too feed them due to time restraints. I brought up many suggestions on increasing humidity to help with all the stuck sheds but no one would listen. I have personally seen so many snakes die there or come in dead and it gets no response from upper management who are more concerned with profit and loss reports than the well being of the animals. I urge everyone to avoid buying reptiles from most Petco locations because that is the only way to put a stop to their animal cruelty and unless you want a sickly mite infested animal then you are much better going elsewhere.
I know that not all Petcos operate this way but from my experience a vast majority do and its a shame that these stores have killed off many of the local pet stores that did have knowledgeable employees. This is by no means an attack on Petco employees. I know that some employees care and do everything in their power to help animals but in my opinion it is a losing battle working for a company with such poor standards.

It is tough to see sometimes. The bad thing is, you buying the snake supports them keeping and selling them in poor condition. The best thing you can do is offer to take a sick/near death animal from them to attempt to save it, but they rarely agree to that. Some pet stores have great looking reptiles, some don't. All depends on how knowledgeable the staff are at the store.

My boy is from a petsmart, normally I only rescue or buy from breeders but I fell in love with my guy. My local petsmart has snake owners run their reptile section and the animals seem to be healthy overall, though the humidity is off in almost all of the tanks, but my local one only has a small stock. If it wasn't for the fact that I love Nazeer so much I would regret buying him from a pet store instead of a breeder, but really I wouldn't give him up for anything.

I buy all mine from breeders, and also my feeder rodents, so I seldom go into a pet store.

Look around for feeder breeders locally post on Facebook in the reptile classifieds and even see if there is a page in your area if not i would say start 1 you can get ppl within reasonable driving distance that sell them thats how i found my source for feeder rats and fyi the price is usually alot better from breeders

If you work at the store you have problems with your best option is to volunteer your time to correcting the situation. If you don't work there, fill out an application and be the difference. Otherwise theres not much you can do about it.

I work at a Petco and I just gotta say not ALL pet stores treat their snakes and reptiles this way. Our fish manager Adrienne was also the reptile expert. She LOVED our snakes. She baby talked to them and made sure they all ate. She was very knowledgeable about their care and husbandry. The enclosures in my store are always clean and had plenty of hiding spots. It's a shame that most big stores don't care about their animals. I had a bad experience as a kid getting a rat from a pet store. We bought one and ended up with 13 -_-

I went to my local Petco recently and they had a Brazilian Rainbow in stock. I know that it should be the responsibility of the customer to know what they're getting into with an animal, but you have to think about the demographic that Petco and other big chain stores cater to, that family that comes in knowing that they want a pet but not really knowing much about each animal in question. A kid sees a Brazilian Rainbow and thinks it looks cool, the mother sees a hatchling and thinks it won't get that much bigger. They ask the clerk that may or may not know much about them and then you have poor husbandry and a whole mess a few years down the road when the snake gets too big for the family.

I mean I know as far as boas go, Brazilian Rainbows don't get that big, but they're certainly not a corn snake.

I got my Leo from there and the poor girl was so tiny:( her tail was the same width has a pencil... I like PetSmart and I get all my pet supplies there but it would be nice if they paid someone to come and clean everyone's cages and feed them make sure they are well cared for


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I think we all know how bad pet stores typically are, but people keep buying them, whether out of sympathy, or whatever reason, and the pet stores just get in more animals, all kept under the same lousy conditions. I only buy from breeders, and yeah with shipping they may cost a bit more than what they go for in pet stores, but you are getting a 100% better animal, with top notch care..BUY FROM BREEDERS :gj::gj:

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Originally Posted by ElizaJ

I like PetSmart and I get all my pet supplies there but it would be nice if they paid someone to come and clean everyone's cages and feed them make sure they are well cared for

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I'm confused by this statement. What do you think they pay their employees to do?

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Originally Posted by ElizaJ

I got my Leo from there and the poor girl was so tiny:( her tail was the same width has a pencil... I like PetSmart and I get all my pet supplies there but it would be nice if they paid someone to come and clean everyone's cages and feed them make sure they are well cared for


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Yeah I'd like them and Petco too if they paid someone to keep proper husbandry and knowledge of their animals ;)

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Originally Posted by CreatureFeature

Yeah I'd like them and Petco too if they paid someone to keep proper husbandry and knowledge of their animals ;)

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If they did that prices would go up and the average intro customer would go to the next store because its prices would be cheaper. At the end of the day it is a business for them.

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Originally Posted by dek593

I see that kind of problem every time when I stop by Petco to buy bedding for my feeder rodents.
Baby leos which lost their tails and horrible stuck shed on baby ball pythons. Actually, it`s so ironical. We keep animals in limited area and they don`t have freedom that they really want to have..but we think we`re offering best condition and best care for our animals....anyway, what I want to mention is most of petco and pet`s mart employees don`t even have enough knowledge about their animals for sale..so they leave crickets in baby corn snakes vivarium and don`t even know what kind of morph corn snake they are selling..

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Yes because we all know that a snake is more concerned with having room to move around (because its looking for food) than to have its food brought to it in regular intervals. Ironic I know. They don't know what morph they are selling...almost sounds like someone got mad when they asked what type of corn snake it was because they did not know, then got mad when the near minimum wage employee did not know everything about the particular snake the store was selling. Anyway end of rant

Oddly enough, the pet stores in the town I grew up in aren't allowed to sell constrictors, so they don't offer ball pythons, but corns, kings, and milks are all up for grabs. The Petco reptile "expert" didn't understand what was wrong with that and kept asking if the ratsnakes I was trying to get rid of at the time were constrictors or venomous or not. This particular Petco also kept their baby bearded dragons on sand, were trying to sell a blue tongue skink that was missing at least half of it's toes and didn't seem able to use it's back legs at all, and insisted to my husband and myself that the clearly dead baby beardie was actually alive and had just eaten that morning. On this opposite side of the coin, the Petsmart in the same area has very knowledgeable reptile staff, even if their small animal department is completely lacking in common sense. (volunteered for the cat adoptions there for a while, and we couldn't figure out why the kittens kept getting ringworm. Come to find out the guinea pigs had it pretty bad, and the girl that took care of them kept coming to play with the cats on her breaks without washing her hands -.-)

I wouldn't say that all big chain pet stores are terrible, and I've seen a few mom and pop stores that weren't great either. I think it's all really just a matter of the buyer being able to identify which is which. Never buy an animal without asking questions.

The truth is, we could debate the merits of various pet stores until doomsday and never get anywhere. By and large, big chain pet stores care more about the bottom line than any animal. They only do adoptions instead of sales because it's a PR thing and it makes them look good. If they could get away with selling, they would.

As for local stores, don't be afraid to speak up. Do be as polite as you can, but at least make an effort to educate. Sometimes it does no good, but sometimes it does. I myself stopped the feeding of crickets to the ball pythons at my local petco, because I wasn't afraid to speak up. Put things in terms they can understand. If you notice a big lack of humidity and stuck sheds, do point it out, but also add, "You know, I bet if those snakes looked better they'd sell faster." This is something they can get behind. The faster they sell, the better profits are for the store. You have to be sneaky sometimes, but you might actually be surprised at how often that works.

Unfortunately, roughly half of the time it will get you nowhere. And that can be tough to swallow. The best you can do in that situation is to turn up the bad vibe a notch. Let a manager know you are not pleased with the condition of the animals and why. Let them know you have tried to be polite about it and get them to change, but if the situation continues to be ignored, you might be forced to involve the media. Sometimes that is enough to change the mind of a reluctant manager, since they don't want any bad publicity. Sadly, often it does no good, and there isn't much else you can do. newspapers and TV stations have little interest in the welfare of a pet that isn't cute and furry, so they are unlikely to help. Sometimes small local papers will help, but since their reading base is small, they can't always do much.

Do your best to avoid bad stores of any kind when you can. I know some of us have no choice, but it is important to do what you can. If you can find a private source for feeders, use it. Shop reptile shows and markets for supplies when you can. You may not feel like your $5 a week purchase makes much of a difference, but it does. If enough people get the word out, and enough people take their $5 purchase elsewhere, you can and do affect even a big chain store.

Gale

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Originally Posted by angllady2

The truth is, we could debate the merits of various pet stores until doomsday and never get anywhere. By and large, big chain pet stores care more about the bottom line than any animal. They only do adoptions instead of sales because it's a PR thing and it makes them look good. If they could get away with selling, they would.

As for local stores, don't be afraid to speak up. Do be as polite as you can, but at least make an effort to educate. Sometimes it does no good, but sometimes it does. I myself stopped the feeding of crickets to the ball pythons at my local petco, because I wasn't afraid to speak up. Put things in terms they can understand. If you notice a big lack of humidity and stuck sheds, do point it out, but also add, "You know, I bet if those snakes looked better they'd sell faster." This is something they can get behind. The faster they sell, the better profits are for the store. You have to be sneaky sometimes, but you might actually be surprised at how often that works.

Unfortunately, roughly half of the time it will get you nowhere. And that can be tough to swallow. The best you can do in that situation is to turn up the bad vibe a notch. Let a manager know you are not pleased with the condition of the animals and why. Let them know you have tried to be polite about it and get them to change, but if the situation continues to be ignored, you might be forced to involve the media. Sometimes that is enough to change the mind of a reluctant manager, since they don't want any bad publicity. Sadly, often it does no good, and there isn't much else you can do. newspapers and TV stations have little interest in the welfare of a pet that isn't cute and furry, so they are unlikely to help. Sometimes small local papers will help, but since their reading base is small, they can't always do much.

Do your best to avoid bad stores of any kind when you can. I know some of us have no choice, but it is important to do what you can. If you can find a private source for feeders, use it. Shop reptile shows and markets for supplies when you can. You may not feel like your $5 a week purchase makes much of a difference, but it does. If enough people get the word out, and enough people take their $5 purchase elsewhere, you can and do affect even a big chain store.

Gale

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I'd like to emphasize the being polite about it. If you're a jerk to the employee, they'll just go "yea yea" and talk crap about you when you leave. Ask for the GM, or the highest ranking manager available. Be very polite, but if they're giving you the run around, THEN be firm about it. But make sure to ALWAYS take the high road!

I feel the same regarding the treatment of the poor things at big pet stores…

I wonder if we could start a peaceful “Save the Balls” movement of education or whatnot; maybe by putting caresheets by the enclosures at the big chain pet stores to educate the employees… it would have to be done in a non-threatening way. I know that at least some employees work at pet stores because they care about animals; I don’t think they would knowingly hurt them if they had the choice.

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Originally Posted by Eric Alan

I'm confused by this statement. What do you think they pay their employees to do?

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I mean that a single person make Absolutely Sure all animals are healthy and perfectly cared for and ready for their new homes[emoji252]


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I used to work in a Petsmart and I tried my best to keep the reptiles (especially the snakes) healthy. Unfortunately, Petsmart has a few policies in place that make it hard for them to be cared for. They use the dial type temp gauges and those are very unreliable. We did our best with what we had though. There were several times where I broke company policy to save a snake. Sometimes (not always, but sometimes) the employees are very knowledgeable but the company policies won't let them care for the animals properly.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Sometimes (not always, but sometimes) the employees are very knowledgeable but the company policies won't let them care for the animals properly.

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Is it safe to assume you mean "...the company policies are in place to provide the animals with adequate short-term homes, but not long-term quality living situations."?

Personally, that is how I view all pet stores. I do not expect them to provide the same husbandry I would provide once the animal came home with me (or went home with anyone, hopefully). They are simply not meant to live in a store for a long period of time. The care provided for them when there are knowledgeable employees, or at least caring employees, is typically suited for this purpose - being the "middle man" between the breeder and the customer. I do expect basic husbandry practices to be in place, and agree that some do better than others, but I do not expect to see much more than this (and certainly can not fault a retail business for this decision).

Just my :2cent:...

Best regards,
Eric