worst pet store ever

went to a pet store tonight to get feeders and saw the most horrible looking ball python ever and had to leave. the thing was no more than a couple of months old. it appeared to have mouth rot, its eyes looked horrible and it had retained shed from not having enough humidity, it was beyond skinny (the skin was hanging off its sides), and to top it off, began to have spazms while we were watching it. the kicker to the story though was it had a on hold sticker on the cage. they honestly sold this snake to some one for 85 dollars. i asked them if they were going to take it to the vet to no response and left. it is amazing to me that people give them any money. how can local shops like this do business, especially when they call themselves exotic pet stores? :frustrate

wow i feel bad for that snake man that really does make me mad when pet stores dont know what there doing

i feel almost as bad for the person buying, because they are obviously a newb and have no idea what they are in for. although dont ask me why anyone would want this snake. even when i was a newb i cant imagine looking at that and saying i want that one.

I saw the same thing the other day at a local pet store aswell. They were using heat rocks as the heat source for all the BPs and the skins were hanging off everyone one of them. They were in really bad shape and it was obvious so I mentioned it to one of the pet shop associated and I was totally ignored. And even worse was that it wasn't just the BPs all the reptiles in there had problems/bad habitats. It's really unfair.

i dont really trust that many pet stores with anything. the store that i go to is "Zoo Creatures"...they have the store downstairs and breed the snakes and otehr various reptiles upstairs. they are awesome and all of the animals there are well fed and well taken care of. i went to petco last week and saw that they had a ball python and it was just so sad looking at it. it looked like it never got fed and just looked sick. i hate how all of the pet stores around here, minus Zoo Creatures, wont even take the snake out of the tank because they dont want to touch it unless youre going to pay the money to buy it. i think its really sad and i wish i could do something about it. i went to a petsmart and asked about a snake that they had and they knew nothing about it. if youre going to sell snakes, or any animals for that matter shouldnt you have some knowledge of what youre selling?? am i wrong here?? you cant just leave a snake, or any animal alone and never go near it or never feed it and expect it to be healthy and happy.

makes me really sad and angry :mad:

Your absolutely right. Petstores selling reptiles or "exotic" pets should provide at a minimum a caresheet for the animal. I mean really that's the LEAST they could do. Another problem with these places are that they give horrible advice quite often just to get you to buy stuff from them.

i totally agree with you guys. it is just insane that people believe what the people who work there tell them. they just lost somebody that bought feeders from them sometimes though. it just sucks that there isnt much more than that that can be done

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Originally Posted by Rusty

Your absolutely right. Petstores selling reptiles or "exotic" pets should provide at a minimum a caresheet for the animal. I mean really that's the LEAST they could do. Another problem with these places are that they give horrible advice quite often just to get you to buy stuff from them.

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the guy at my local pet store i bought my bp from said it would be fine to have more then one snake in a tank so i went ahead and bought another one.2 weeks later a find this forum :) and find out thats a bunch of BS.

More and more I'm of the opinion that pet stores should be supply and information centers, and put people in contact with breeders and shelters when they want an actual animal (feeders would count as supply tho, I think). I think that'd be doing a lot of herps and other critters a huge favor, and lead to more educated owners.

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Originally Posted by MedusasOwl

More and more I'm of the opinion that pet stores should be supply and information centers, and put people in contact with breeders and shelters when they want an actual animal (feeders would count as supply tho, I think). I think that'd be doing a lot of herps and other critters a huge favor, and lead to more educated owners.

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Isn't that how Petco and PetSmart started out? Back in the day, it was abuse against dogs and cats in petstores that was the outrage...so those giants made a line of petstores that would't sell dogs and cats and just be there for supplies and information...as you say. But it didn't take long at all for them to start getting into selling "small animals"....which they sell a LOT of nowadays. And of course where there are humans taking care of lots of animals, there are bound to be areas of neglect and abuse.

Anyhow...sounds nice on paper, but there are all sorts of pitfalls, such as: They don't have to sell dogs in order to sell dog-collars. But 99% of the reptile and other small-critter stuff they sell is because people come in and see the the cuteness of the animals and impulse-buy...and of course have to then buy the supplies to keep the animals and then return to the store periodically to buy more. If the animals themselves weren't in the store, MOST people would never even conisder buying any of that stuff.

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Originally Posted by cyclops81

i dont really trust that many pet stores i went to petco last week and saw that they had a ball python and it was just so sad looking at it. it looked like it never got fed and just looked sick. i hate how all of the pet stores around here, minus Zoo Creatures, wont even take the snake out of the tank because they dont want to touch it unless youre going to pay the money to buy it. i think its really sad and i wish i could do something about it. :mad:

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I am not trying to defend any pet stores because I have seen many crappy ones myself, some Petcos included....I did however, work at a Petco for six years, and the first year I worked their the reptile guy totally sucked...he didn't personally own a single reptile or listen to a word I said....needless to say I cheered when the day came when he got canned..!!!:D The one they hired after was and STILL is awesome!!!! Takes awesome care of all the reptiles, and has all the BP's on a weekly f/t routine. And if you want to hold or play with any of the reptiles, he would gladly take it out for you....In fact he asks that you hold your potential new pet, to be sure if you really want it. So, if you happen to be in DE in Christiana, ask for Bill...he's the best.:D I think the case with most of your corporate chain stores (Petco and Petsmart) is that each store is individual....some good, and well, some not so good..I have seen both ends of the spectrum.

I saw something similar at one of the local Petco stores the other day. There were two balls in the enclosure, one of them had pieces of retained shed hanging all over its body. Only one hide, a cheap temperature strip on one side of the cage reading between 75 and 78. I guess that's why I almost never go there.

My petco isn't that great either. The about 75% of the fish always have ick, and the BPs humidity is never attained to. I put in an application there a few days ago, just in hopes that I can teach these people a thing or two, and turn it around a little.

I was in a Petco yesterday that had seven (yup I counted the heads) BP's all in one cage all draped over each other in one corner. The cage was not up to temp (using a dial) and had no hides whatsoever. I was so disgusted I bought my dog food elsewhere.

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Originally Posted by cyclops81

i dont really trust that many pet stores with anything. the store that i go to is "Zoo Creatures"...they have the store downstairs and breed the snakes and otehr various reptiles upstairs. they are awesome and all of the animals there are well fed and well taken care of. i went to petco last week and saw that they had a ball python and it was just so sad looking at it. it looked like it never got fed and just looked sick. i hate how all of the pet stores around here, minus Zoo Creatures, wont even take the snake out of the tank because they dont want to touch it unless youre going to pay the money to buy it. i think its really sad and i wish i could do something about it. i went to a petsmart and asked about a snake that they had and they knew nothing about it. if youre going to sell snakes, or any animals for that matter shouldnt you have some knowledge of what youre selling?? am i wrong here?? you cant just leave a snake, or any animal alone and never go near it or never feed it and expect it to be healthy and happy.

makes me really sad and angry :mad:

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haha, they'd better know what they are doing! "Zoo Creatures" is downstairs and upstairs would be NERD, home of some of the most excellent ball python morphs in the world. You do realize that, right?

The pet store I go to buy my feeder mice also doesn't know what they are doing. They had a very sad looking BP on Wednesday when I was in there and the girl said "well, he just won't eat for us". I said "I bet if you got his temps correct and offered him a few hides so that he can feel safe from all the predators that look at him, he might feel more comfortable to eat". She just shrugged and went on about her way.


And the owner of this store is very interested in my future breeding plans and wants to buy babies from me. Not on your life!!! The only way I'd let him sell my babies, is if I provided him with pictures that he can show potential buyers and they remain in my care until sold. I don't believe for a minute he'd change his set-ups to my requirements so that he could be able to buy from me. After all, he already knows it all - he's been keeping snakes for 30 years.

I think many stores intentionally provide no hides, or inadequate hides, because they want their customers to SEE the animals for sale. If a bp (or most other snakes) have the right kinds of hides, people wouldn't ever see them. It's just a logical business practice. (NOT that that makes it right.)


However, I really don't see why they can't/won't/don't provide the right temps and humidity levels, with acurate measuring devices. I guess they wouldn't sell their crummy little stick-on dials if they didn't use them themselves. But even so...yes, it would take more effort on their part to maintain proper environments...but I think they would actually sell MORE animals if people could see them healthy and thriving.

meh...what do I know? :rolleyes:

the pet store i frequent (and i mean frequent!) doesn't worry about your seeing what's in the cage... they give everyone exactly what they need to feel safe and if you are interested they bring whatever it is out for you to see (or in the case of frogs they move the greenery around so you can view them)

they provide waterfalls for the critters that need them, vines and branches and hides and clean water... that's why i have no problem picking stuff up from them. all the staff are addicts as well and have tanks/snakes/frogs/spiders etc etc in their homes as well so they know the care for these guys and if they don't... they find out!

i picked up my two corn snakes from them... both had a thick layer of aspen (yes you read that right... ASPEN not bulk pine) to burrow under. larger snakes... they keep covered in the back in large tanks and they use 'word of mouth' to let people know they have it for sale. actually there have been times when they've said to me "nope, that won't work in your setup, don't buy it" - so they aren't in it for the $$ (although let's face it... they need the $$ to stay in business) so anyone who knows anything about critters KNOWS they can get quality stuff from them!

oh by the way... it's hidden reef in abbotsford bc canada 604-856-1433 ;)

there's another place in abbotsford in a mall (i won't give the name) - and they had 14 snakes in a small tank... 14!!! assorted snakes some 18" and some 3' all in one big pile. it was disgusting... absolutely disgusting. the manager told me not to ever buy from them... that she is attempting to 'clean up the store's quality' but the owner won't let her. :( i don't know how she can work there... very sad (she's a breeder with excellent quality critters... i've purchased a few things from her home)

it sure is nice when you can find a good quality place near your home eh?

Yes, there are certainly exceptions to the "logical business practice" rules....and it's great when you can find them! Whenever I do, I make a point to offer my business as much as I possibly can.

yup. they get ALL my $$ (and i mean all waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)

LOL

We have 3 pet stores in town that sell balls.

The PetCo is new, clean and pretty nice. While the general staff don't like messing with the snakes they have an "expert", a little old lady that does care about the reptiles and snakes. Her knowledge is pretty wide with less specific "ball" knowledge and more general all reptiles and snakes knowledge. Their reptiles looks good and we have no problem with them. This is where we got Cleo, who is an amazing ball python.

The second is a general pet store, more fish than anything. They have a tank of balls that range from okay to poorish. The main problem they have is the substrate (coconut stuff?) which gets all over the snakes and makes them look messy. Some with less than stellar sheds. I wouldn't buy a ball there, but we do get our feeders there as they have a great feeder deli.

The third is a specific reptiles store downtown. They have a LOT of snakes and reptiles, I don't much care for their husbandry much. The balls are generally kept without hides, and a single heat lamp. Recently they are taking better care of them, in a newer enclosure etc. But we don't go there anymore mainly because the owner is a ****, way annoying personality and we just don't like dealing with him, rather than his store in general.

Within a couple of hours drive there are lots of reptile stores, and I mean a LOT. The best we have found is LLL Reptiles, they are about two hours from here and we think the drive is worth it, as there is really nothing to complain about with them, and lots to see and learn there. A+++!!++!++ Would do business with again!!!!+++111 (sorry got an attack of ebay feedbackitus) This is where we got Carmen.

Now live in a fairly good Area for Petco and I got 2 wonderful pets there but one time I asked two hold a corn snake his shockingly rude reply "ya want ta hold it buy it kid now i've more important stuff ta do" hmm more important than your job :cens0r: Not only did this person insult me but later went into the ferret cage to change the water and Left the thing/top/cover open :O:O

I don't shop at big big box stores. I mainly shop at Petland co. Surprisingly everyone that works at their stores have Snakes, Reptiles, or one kind of another.
And they know what they are talking about. Their snakes are properly cared for. They don't have 2-3 snakes to 1 cage.

I would highly recommend going to em. I haven't had a bad experience with em yet.

Whhhoah. This is by far the OLDEST thread I have ever seen reanimated.

Zombie alert!

In agreeance with Newbie: PetLand is an amazing store, I have one right by me. Very helpful and knowledgeable staff who genuinely enjoy the animals. Great care of reptiles and amphibians. They have a couple of baby ballies (same size) share an enclosure but they're well tended to.

Print off a care sheet.
Take the sheet to the store and ask to speak to a manager.

Inform the manager that their husbandry is lacking and they will create unhappy customers and lose animals and money due to this ignorance.
Now that they have the information they could also be liable for animal neglect charges depending on your jurisdiction.
You will quickly find out if it is merely ignorance or greed as well creating this situation.