I went to Petsmart and talked with one of the women in the fish department, because I wanted to get a few tank buddies for my now lonesome danio, Tiger. She started talking about the new Petco and how awsome it is. I thought, "Hm, maybe I'll pop over there and check it out."

I've heard bad things about Petco, especially when it comes to reptiles, and I'd never been in a Petco before, so I wanted to check it out for myself. The store looked really neat when I stepped inside. There is one problem I had with Petco the moment I stepped in. They overcrowd thier cages and tanks. Many of thier tanks were more than full, but saltwater fish and the koi were not overcrowded. There were a few things I did like about the store.

The bettas were kept in larger cups than Petsmart keeps them in. THEY ACTUALLY HAVE ROOM TO SWIM. And there is a sticker on the outside of the cup saying that the cup is only temporary housing for the betta and to ask one of the employees about appropriate and permanent housing. Also, there was not a single dirty betta cup in the bunch. They may have just changed the water, but it was nice to walk in and see clean cups. Also all the bettas had great fins and looked healthy. Not a single obviously sick one in the bunch. They get points there.

They also got points in thier bird section. All of the birds were kept in appropriatly sized cages and all the cages but one were clean of feces. All the birds seemed to be in good health and none of the bird cages were overcrowded.

Where they lost points were in the reptile and small mammal sections. In the small mammal section, the cages were a bit overcrowded. In a tank that would equal a 10-12 gallon, they had at least 7-9 mice. In a similar sized tank, they housed 3 rats. Other than that, the cages were clean and food and water were provided.

In the reptile section, they only lost points for overcrowding and small tank size. First, the overcrowding. I have no clue about ribbon snakes, but they were housing at least 3 in a tank that would equal possibly a 6-8 gallon. They had one hide and a full water dish. I didn't check thier humidity and temps, but they looked healthy. Thier leos were kept 2-3 to a tank, juvies, so they didn't require a large amount of space. I wouldn't consider their leo tanks overcrowded. They were kept on very fine sand that I think might have been calcium sand. They had three ball python juvies in the same tank. It equaled maybe a 20-30g tank. They were provided with a water dish and at the least 2 hides.

Overall I liked the store, but I wish more attention was paid to the reptiles and small animals. I will admit, I did buy some fish for my 10g from the store. I plan on going back at least once a week to watch the progress of the store. I might even try and get a job there, so I can let customers know what the animals REALLY need in order to be happy.