I have owned Ball Pythons for 10 years going on 11 now. I sold most of mine in 2006 before I went into the Marine Corps, although I kept a couple of them. I am now out and started up a collection again. I actually bought a Pinstripe from Petco today. Has no mites, proper girth for his length, ate well, and looks very healthy. He is also very alert I might add.
Is it easy to bash someone or a company if you don't go physically see it for yourself. Every location will be different. My petco actually has employees that care for the animals. The person I dealt with has a small collection of Ball Python morphs so I imagine that is why they are cared for so well. But, some locations have the employees that view it as "just a job" or "they are just animals". And with those individuals, they are causing you all to stereotype all of the stores.
That is pretty much like saying one Chiles' had bad food, so all of them must be terrible. Do everyone a favor with all of this pointless talk and go to your Petco and see the Spiders, Pinstripes, and Pastels for yourself, then you can make some judgements. That is all.