Being fair about PetSmart (and buying your ball python from them)

[m3gz]

There does seem to be a law....but it applies to ferrets, cats, dogs, and livestock. Your email idea may just work =D

[predatorkeeper87]

Has that worked before? Im willing to try it but im not usually a confrontational person o-o; So, list is, email corporate people, and check actual laws. oki ill have my bf write the email, hes really good at that o-o;; polite with just the right amount of threat ._.

I can tell you I love fighting corporate jerks lol. I emailed petsmarts offices after one of their "fish experts" told me I couldn't buy 10 danios because I wouldn't have a tank big enough...then I told her they were going into a 150 gallon and she still gave me lip about it. I had the store manager calling me every day for a week apologizing lol, then the district manager suddenly became really hard to get ahold of for that area hahaha. They cave over customer complaints 99.9% of the time, I mean look how stupid my complaint was haha.

[predatorkeeper87]

There does seem to be a law....but it applies to ferrets, cats, dogs, and livestock. Your email idea may just work =D

oh I have no doubt there are animal welfare laws in your state but I highly doubt petsmart has the authority to enforce anything of the sort...its more than likely a tactic to keep you from causing a big issue over their animal so they take it back as a "surrender" and cover themselves. The most they can do is refuse you service but again corporate hates seeing dollar bills walk out of the store instead of in.

If this does not work out in your favor, as craig said chalk it up as a learning experience, get your husbandry spot on and buy a beautiful snake from one of the many amazing breeders on here or morph market, you'll be so much happier with the purchase. I know you are attached to that snake but sometimes we may have to pick up and move on with things like this.

[m3gz]

I dont think thats stupid...if you have the resources there shouldnt be problem. But, yeaa ill have my bf do the email stuff, i dont like arguments =D hes better at it anyway. Given the lack of law applying to "exotic" animals, we should be able to get Hecate back =D Then just gotta figure out what vet will take her for that spot :/ Thank you!! i prolly wouldnt have thought to go past manager xD


If we cant though, i dont think my bf is gonna give up on a snake, so we will probably be looking at others. :/ Im still gonna hope this works lol.

[Craiga 01453]

I would also find the vet BEFORE having the animal.

[m3gz]

That probably would have been a good idea youre right >~< Honestly i wasn't thinking about what could go wrong i was focused on making sure things went right in the way of care, I am pretty sure theres an exotic pet vet among the ones i called that would take her on, Just out of town when i called v.v woulda been a lot simpler wouldnt it.

[Craiga 01453]

I'm just hoping you're not over-stressing at this point. You went through hell with your first experience. Maybe take a breather. Maybe Hecate wasn't meant to be your long-term snake? Maybe Hecate was a learning experience and you should pump the brakes, take a breath, get your husbandry and everything spot on, get an exotic vet lined up and ready for when you need him/her. Take some time, really think about things rather than acting on impulse. Maybe your next snake (if you decide to go that route) will have a better experience as well. It's not just about us, these are living animals.

[predatorkeeper87]

I dont think thats stupid...if you have the resources there shouldnt be problem. But, yeaa ill have my bf do the email stuff, i dont like arguments =D hes better at it anyway. Given the lack of law applying to "exotic" animals, we should be able to get Hecate back =D Then just gotta figure out what vet will take her for that spot :/ Thank you!! i prolly wouldnt have thought to go past manager xD


If we cant though, i dont think my bf is gonna give up on a snake, so we will probably be looking at others. :/ Im still gonna hope this works lol.

she still sold me the fish which made me even more mad haha because don't give me lip about how many .5" fish I want, then sell them anyways! haha.

the law may still apply but again petsmart as a corporation have no authority to apply laws in that manner or "seize" your animal through deception as I would absolutely say in my email. Even if an employee said something I would stand my ground on you not being told exactly what was happening, and they more or less took your animal through deception and gave you a refund without you even knowing what was happening.

And yes to finding a vet who understands ball pythons before you get another or get Hecate back. Talk to the vet beforehand, and I mean ask him/her how many ball pythons or boas they see, and just generally talk about BP's to them. I had that issue with an exotics vet not knowing what the req's were for a BP and arguing with me about my care of the animal so even though they say exotics, they may not be species specific.

[predatorkeeper87]

also DO NOT talk about legal issues or threaten them in any way, as they will be guaranteed to stop responding to you and give you their lawyer's info instead. Simply state you feel deceived and the employees took your animal without explaining what was going on.

[m3gz]

Well, thats part of why im trying to get her back, the conditions i had her in were almost exact give or take a bit, and she got hurt there and i dont want to see her get hurt worse D= There are 2 exotic pet vets in my city taking new patients, ill call them in the morning. If they dont work theres others not too far away. I didnt go into this on an impulse, me and my bf have talked about it for a long time. Im also not new to long term commitments, iv'e been with my bf for almost 10 years (and hes definitely more work than any animal ever could be lol) we even own our place. I know it sounds like im kinda rushed but its a rush to get things settled, not set up. I know i had (and have) a lot of questions, but i spent a good week doing nothing but going through page after page of python care guides, possible problems, temperature and humidity variances, and all of that is enough to make your head spin without the girl at petsmart selling you into a kit that wasnt what you had planned. Kit i was originally going to get and set up had almost everything. water bowl, heat lamp, aspen, 20gal tank, heat mat, a plastic hide thingie, etc.


Oki, noted, do not mention legal stuff o-o that could get bad