Purchased From Petsmart

[CoolioTiffany]

Have you ever purchased any reptiles or amphibians from Petsmart? If yes, what have you purchased, do you still own it, and did you have any problems with it?

People say Petsmart doesn't take that good of care of their reptiles and amphibians. They same the same about Petco, too, which I completely agree on (the Petco part).

I purchased three reptiles from Peysmart, and really, I couldn't be any happier with them. They are as healthy as can be and I haven't had any problems with them. Ever.

I purchased a Corn snake, Ball python, and a Giant Leopard gecko. I no longer have the Corn snake, but that Corn snake was in great health when I got it and when I sold it. The Ball python, my female, hasn't had any problems at all. Never has she refused a meal or has had any problems so far (hopefully none at all). I've had her for over a year now (bought her in June of '08 at 4 months old) and she hit 3 feet in length the last time I measured her. The Giant Leopard gecko I purchased is beautiful and eats great (refused at one time, but I heard that they will sometimes do this).

[mainbutter]

The one and only crested gecko I bought from Petco was a non-eater. Feeding him by hand was a huge pain but was required for a few months. I had to work hard to finally get him to eat CGD from his food dish, and he absolutely refuses crickets.

I don't regret the purchase though, he's absolutely beautiful

Petsmart, all I've ever bought from them is supplies.

The fact is that their quality of care isn't as good as if it was in a good home. They bank on the fact that their animals will sell fast enough that they don't need to provide the best care. You see animals at both petsmart and petco having health problems generally because they haven't sold for an extended period of time and begin to suffer from less than optimum conditions.

Also, it's not exactly challenging to keep a corn snake healthy, I'd say that their corn snakes are just fine to purchase for the most part simply because of how hardy they are.

[mainbutter]

In addition, there is a ton of variation from store to store.

I have seen Petcos/Petsmarts that obviously have someone who cares about the reptiles in the store, and takes care of them as best they can without breaking petco's own rules.

I have also seen sick and dying animals at other stores, and obviously I wouldn't consider buying a sick or dying animal from a petsmart/petco.

[Tek48]

I got my second cal king from a petsmart and I've never had any problems with him. Excluding the tiny emaciated ball pythons with stuck sheds, their herps seem to be pretty healthy.
I've never seen a healthy looking herp (except for the occasional cornsnake) at petco though.

[CoolioTiffany]

The problem I've had with Petco is that every single reptile I've purchased from there has died, besides one, but he was aggressive. I no longer have him, but he was a pretty snake. He tagged me 3 times when I owned him, LOL.

I purchased 2 Corns from Petco, 1 Milk snake, 1 Leopard gecko, and 1 Kingsnake. Their Ball pythons never really looked that healthy though.

[mainbutter]

Their Ball pythons never really looked that healthy though.

There is an easy explanation for this.

Easy to care for animals at these stores are healthy. Corns are bulletproof, you could keep them for months on end with no heat and they would be fine.

Anything that requires humidity, specific heat temperatures, and possibly might be picky eaters will generally be less healthy at these places because they just don't do everything to provide proper husbandry.

[CoolioTiffany]

There is an easy explanation for this.

Easy to care for animals at these stores are healthy. Corns are bulletproof, you could keep them for months on end with no heat and they would be fine.

Anything that requires humidity, specific heat temperatures, and possibly might be picky eaters will generally be less healthy at these places because they just don't do everything to provide proper husbandry.

The funny thing is, I don't think Petco really had healthy Corns (Petsmart always did, though). When I bought my second Corn from Petco, I noticed after a while it was INFESTED with mites. They've told me that one has escaped a few times and also got burnt on some wires it got tangled up in, but the burn marks went away. I took the snake back and they treated it, so when I got it back it had no mites anymore. They treated it for free, too xD

I always remember though, each time I saw Ball pythons at Petco, their cage didn't even look close to a healthy environment for a Ball python. When I bought my Ball python at Petsmart, it had a stuck shed on top of her head, but she actually let me help her take it off, and after that she hasn't been head shy. I can't remember when she was ever head shy really.

[Dalishar]

My normal female came from Petsmart. She's very healthy, the "friendliest" of all of them (never even gave me that "I'm hungry and you're close enough to a mouse that I will eat your fingers despite no rodents having been anywhere near you or me for a week" look. Or bite. Ow.), and one of my most reliable feeders.

I've been grossly tempted to get more - I take the dog there weekly, so get pretty familiar with the poor guys who end up staying there for months. I can't risk my other critters for a bleeding heart though, so just have to settle myself by nagging the crap out of all the poor "pet experts".

I make it a point to avoid Petco however. Petsmart (around here) may not have perfect care, but at least they don't leave rotting bodies in the enclosure with the rest of their barely-hanging-in-there stock. ... Then have the nerve to tell you that the eyeless, visible-bones water dragon there is just sleeping. Sigh.

[nicktreb]

I purchased my first ball (baby male pastel) from a Petco store up here in Canada. Sure enough 2 weeks later I had a serious mite problem. You live you learn. At least I now know tons of info on mites now, and am actually happy it happened when I only had one snake. Now I know ways of preventing it. but yeah... Petco sucks in Canada too!!

[CoolioTiffany]

Man Petco is just making people angry on purpose now, LOL. I haven't been to Petco in over a year, and glad of it. I go to Petsmart to buy things like hides, water dishes, UTHs, and things like that. I know a couple people there that even agree that the snakes and reptiles don't have the best care.