Petco = pathetic

[PurplePython]

Bluntly put, a handful of people boycotting a national chain isn't going to do much good.

continuing to buy from places like this and not speak up and let people know how they treat their animals won't do much good either.... matter of fact it will only help this bad treatment continue to their animals if they continue to have tons of costumers. They will just assume that they are doing everything right and they can continue to treat their animals like crap and never suffer consequences.

if you guys dont agree with me and you think this thread was pointless then dont even post here. I don't see why your basically defending the place.

[SquamishSerpents]

I'd have to agree. A few stores I've visited don't know how to take care of their reptiles. Or the people they hire just don't give a crap. Like you, my roommate and I always alert one of the employees to the status of bad looking reptiles (and small animals).

I hit up one Petco, where I got Sabbath, and the guy in charge of the reptiles definitely knew what he was doing. He was very knowledgeable about feeding, morphs, care and the like.

However, when it comes to getting an animal in the future, I will stick with a breeder

Kudos to ya for alerting one of the workers, though!

yes, some of the employees just don't give a crap at all. and why would they; i'm sure petco doesn't pay very nicely. probably just like any other chain store getting away with VERY minimum wage. not everybody is as compassionate about animals as us snake lovers, and that's the sad truth. they SHOULD give a crap, but they don't.

[Jay_Bunny]

Well as someone who keeps reptiles/small mammals/birds/lizards/etc AND is hopefully getting a job at Petsmart, I hope to bring that knowledge with me and inform people correctly. What those stores need are to hire people that actually know what they are doing and KNOW about the animals they sell. I would not boycott an entire company because of the practices of a few stores. All the Petsmarts and Petcos around here do very well and keep their animals clean and cared for. (Clean bedding, reptiles have hides, correct humidity/temps, etc)

[king216]

Some of these pet shops treat the reptiles like crap

[Tikall]

I hope someday this lady gets kidnapped and forced to live without water for 48 hours so she can feel what its like.

Wow... She didn't know (for all you know, that snake was a return from earlier that day), and she corrected the situation immediately. Yeah, she definitely deserves to be kidnapped and deprived of water.

[PurplePython]

Wow... She didn't know (for all you know, that snake was a return from earlier that day), and she corrected the situation immediately. Yeah, she definitely deserves to be kidnapped and deprived of water.

yeah i was totally being serious too

and even if it was a return, do returned animals not drink water anymore?

[Tikall]

Even as a joke, you were still faulting her for the situation. If it was a return from earlier that day, it is possible she was not even over at the reptiles yet to notice meaning it is in no way her fault. It could be someone else's mistake for being distracted (with enough customers, being distracted can be easy for young kids being paid minimum wage), but it is still a mistake. I doubt they flat out don't care about the snake; it was just temporarily forgotten by the employee who received it in indeed it was a return. There are a million scenarios that could have happened, but what is known is that it was a mistake and it was promptly corrected. Therefore I think you're being too harsh.

[PurplePython]

Even as a joke, you were still faulting her for the situation. If it was a return from earlier that day, it is possible she was not even over at the reptiles yet to notice meaning it is in no way her fault. It could be someone else's mistake for being distracted (with enough customers, being distracted can be easy for young kids being paid minimum wage), but it is still a mistake. I doubt they flat out don't care about the snake; it was just temporarily forgotten by the employee who received it in indeed it was a return. There are a million scenarios that could have happened, but what is known is that it was a mistake and it was promptly corrected. Therefore I think you're being too harsh.

I wasn't putting her solely at fault for the situation. Honestly I was putting the entire company at fault. It doesnt matter what the reason was that the snake didnt have water, the FACT IS the snake didnt have water.

If the company dosn't pay enough, then why is she working there? If she has no options of other places to work then she should sitll do her job correctly (or whatever employee it was that took the water away from the snake).

And lets say the day it was forgotten was a very busy day, THERES LIKE 8 PEOPLE WORKING. No one noticed a corn snake in a 10 gallon tank slithering aorund without a water dish? How stupid is that?

I don't care what the reason was for the snake not having water, the bottom line is they are a petshop and they are supposed to be professional and know how to care for animals more than your average joe, and one of their animals for sale didnt even have water.

And thats not the only reason why I say dont go to these big stores like petco and petsmart. Want to know what their ball python setup is like?

Their ball python tank is about a 20 gallon L tank, with 10 ball pythons crammed into it. There are NO HIDES, and 1 small water dish.... REAL SMART people they have working there. REAL HAPPY animals are being sold also. I am sure some kid is going to buy a ball python and go home and throw it in a 10 gallon with a tiny water dish and no hide and think thats all it needs because of this pathetic place.

I once went in there and they had a redtail boa in a tank and the thermometer was reading 71 degrees.....

Its just a whole list of reasons why I absolutely hate that place. This last event with the corn snake not having water was the straw that broke the camels back. I am never going there again and I have already contacted the people that I needed to bring all of this garbage to their attention.

I always loved supporting small business more than big places like this anyways. Its too bad the only good breeder around me has a shop 30 minutes away. I guess I will be forced to drive that far just to get people that know more than DINK.

[Tikall]

I agree with not supporting them~. Those are terrible conditions for those poor animals, and I was really only defending the one girl. It is also unlikely all 8 people were working in pet care, though. Those not in pet care likely can't even open the reptile enclosures, and they're probably too busy with their own departments to be baby sitting pet care. There was likely only 1-3 people working pet care, dealing with the animals and customers. You posted this on a Saturday, and if it happened that same day the weekends can be pretty insane.

[ajsnoopy]

Well as someone who keeps reptiles/small mammals/birds/lizards/etc AND is hopefully getting a job at Petsmart, I hope to bring that knowledge with me and inform people correctly. What those stores need are to hire people that actually know what they are doing and KNOW about the animals they sell. I would not boycott an entire company because of the practices of a few stores. All the Petsmarts and Petcos around here do very well and keep their animals clean and cared for. (Clean bedding, reptiles have hides, correct humidity/temps, etc)

That's the exact reason why I would like to apply to the Petsmart here in Flagstaff . They do a pretty decent job with taking care of their herps, but I've noticed they've recently hired someone new for the herps/fish (when the fish guy isn't working). So! I would love to do my part to educate those searching for a new friend and also provide proper care for the animals.

My roommate has run into people on small animal forums that are attempting the same; getting hired on at Petsmart so they can apply their knowledge to the care of the animals.

I must admit, though...I'm not a fan of the Petco here in Flag :S we've alerted them to spoiled food being on the shelves and bad living conditions for reps and hammies alike. u.u I really wish they would hire people who cared about the animals at that store.