Petco = pathetic

[Jay_Bunny]

I think it may have been a case of, one employee was cleaning tanks and was in the process of finishing the corn snake's tank but had to leave (shift ended, sudden emergency in the store, etc) and did not get a chance to tell the next person on shift. Who knows, BUT she did sound like she was concerned and promptly fixed the error. With the ball pythons, while I don't agree with that practice, I can understand why so many would be in the same tank. These ball pythons are not meant to stay there for weeks and months. They are meant to be in for a few days at most and sold. Though I do think they should have hides and temperatures need to be checked several times a day.

If you want to see change in that store, go above them. Get in touch with someone higher than the store manager (district manager or even the top CEO if you can) and let them know about the conditions in the store. Let them know they will be losing you as a customer and you will be going to another local store for your pet needs and will be bringing several of your friends and family along with you. Tell them if they'd look into it and conditions in the store improve, then you will come back as a customer. I know that when I worked in retail, if someone went above us with a complaint you bet the store would have it fixed soon.

[4theSNAKElady]

I'm not in Petco's favor, but I have been to many small independent stores, who took just as terrible care of (or even worse ) care of their reptiles than any Petco or PetSmart than I've ever been in. I think it depends on the individual store. I've been in big chain stores (like Petsmart) where the employee(s) in charge of the reptiles took excellent care of the animals, and knew exactly what they were doing, and I've been in small independent shops whose animal care was absolutely atrocious; the reptiles looked sickly, the small pets looked dirty and thin, and they didn't care when I mentioned it. So, not ALL chain stores are bad IMO.....it's not completley fair to the good emlployees who actually do care for and about the animals....even if they do got crappy pay.

[jfreels]

I know I'm new here, and I may be biased, but my wife has worked for Petco for over 6 years. While she and I both will admit that buying from a reputable breeder is your best bet, Petco does try and give the animals what they need. Every Petco region has a specialized vet for reptiles. They do sometimes hire a dumb employee, but they are trained to know the information about the animals they carry, just sometimes the employee isn't enept enough to soak in that information. They do suffer from high prices, so I'm kind of baffled why you would go to Petco for fake plants where there is a much more abundant selection at most all hobby/art/craft stores as well as Wal-Mart.

Anyway, I unfortunately have experienced the same thing, at my wifes Petco. It was a Dumpy frog though. I walked up to the associate and asked him when they would get more in since they were out. He said "but we're not out" to which I replied, "but the hides are upside down and no water is in the cage." He opened the cage and we found one hiding in the corner. I did not even see it at first when looking in the enclosure. He appologised for the misshap and "re-opened" the enclosure.

Also, if you didn't know, most Petco's allow you to bring in your unwanted LARGE snakes in on weekends for adoption. It's an un-advertised thing, but the two Petco's in my area both do it. They had just recently stopped allowing people to bring in snakes over 6' to be dropped off for adoption. This is kind of their solution to that so people won't take them to the pound.

[Rorschach]

If you don't like it, don't go there.

Spending money at that place only keeps the doors open, and more animals in danger under poor management.

There are many local shops here that I refuse to even set foot into because of rude employees and mistreatment of animals.

In fact,

Last night I went to Petco to buy some feeders ( My regular was closed ) and I saw like 10 leopard geckos in a small tank, one of them was so starved. You could see it's joints sticking almost poking out of its poor little skin. He was think like a pencil!

I made a commitment to not shop at places where animals are mistreated under ANY circumstance. Even buying feeders at said shops is no longer an option.

[Jaydizzl05]

My girlfriend and I saw a dead baby corn with a couple of crickets chewing on it in a tank with 5 other live corns, pretty sad.

[Jeremy78]

Sometimes my balls tip over there water. I won't fins it until the next day. Then my snake drinks. I'm a hero two. I have saved numerous lives by doing this! Thanks for making people aware :-)

[Moofins07]

Honestly, to end this silliness, there should be government action and some regulations put in place when it comes to being employed at ANY pet store, pet supply retailers, or any such places.

It should be mandatory to take either a course of some sort (with a subliminal fee of about $20-$30 bucks, and you would be given a certificate upon passing) or a written test that the company or business (giants and mom & pops alike) are required to compile (this would ensure the person had some knowledge of the species they carry) if an employee is to be eligible to work there. It may slow the process down, but it would at least SHOW that the people applying actually have the knowledge, or took the time to learn and better themselves for the job.

I'm sure this idea will have tons of loopholes and whatnot (the course being the more sensible of the two) but this is the best I can come up with. Some kind of steps have to be taken to prevent animal cruelty, neglect AND false information given in these stores. I'm not naming or pinning ANY store in particular - this method should be applied to EVERY store. Yes, some DO take proper care and it is rare to hear of such extreme neglect, but the bottom line is, it still exists. It still happens. And that's a good enough reason.

In my opinion, pet retailers need to be kept on a "tighter leash" as to animal care and those they employ.

[Skiploder]

Honestly, to end this silliness, there should be government action and some regulations put in place when it comes to being employed at ANY pet store, pet supply retailers, or any such places.

It should be mandatory to take either a course of some sort (with a subliminal fee of about $20-$30 bucks, and you would be given a certificate upon passing) or a written test that the company or business (giants and mom & pops alike) are required to compile (this would ensure the person had some knowledge of the species they carry) if an employee is to be eligible to work there. It may slow the process down, but it would at least SHOW that the people applying actually have the knowledge, or took the time to learn and better themselves for the job.

I'm sure this idea will have tons of loopholes and whatnot (the course being the more sensible of the two) but this is the best I can come up with. Some kind of steps have to be taken to prevent animal cruelty, neglect AND false information given in these stores. I'm not naming or pinning ANY store in particular - this method should be applied to EVERY store. Yes, some DO take proper care and it is rare to hear of such extreme neglect, but the bottom line is, it still exists. It still happens. And that's a good enough reason.

In my opinion, pet retailers need to be kept on a "tighter leash" as to animal care and those they employ.

What's a subliminal fee?

[PurplePython]

Sometimes my balls tip over there water. I won't fins it until the next day. Then my snake drinks. I'm a hero two. I have saved numerous lives by doing this! Thanks for making people aware :-)

A baby corn snake couldnt possibly have knocked over this water dish. It was one of those really thick hard dishes that has the fake rock look to it. And it wasn't "knocked over" it was turned upide down like there was not any animals in the tank. I enjoyed the sarcasm though. It was completely necessary, and it made you look reeaal cool.

[Paysons Bps]

I "HATE" Petco! I went to the back once to see the ball pythons, the ball pythons encloser didnt have humidity what so ever! all of the baby baby ball pythons had stuck sheds and were rubbing on eachother to get it off, the hides were to small and they were wondering the cages as if they havent been fed in months. Words of advice.... "DO NOT BUY FROM PETCO!"

-Payson