Got a job at Petsmart. Really worried about one of their BP's

[cmack91]

also, im happy that someone fro here got a job at petsmart, maybe you can teach them a thing or two

[AK907]

Ah yes, I too had a job at a Pet(not so)Smart at one time. Like your store, no one got the balls to eat and they would only offer f/t, even if it meant they starved to death refusing them. I couldn't tell you how many died from lack of nutrition and improper husbandry. We were told to mark in our feeding charts that they ate even when they did not. I did sneak some live rats pups in a couple times from our breeding colony when I could and got them to eat.

Our managers weren't as understanding as yours when it came to refusing live sales, either. I got written up many times for it and I talked my way out of one firing. I ended up getting fired partly because of refusing a sale (as well chewing out a co-worker for being a word I cannot say on BP.net). The times I did refuse a sale they usually wanted to speak to a manager and the managers ALWAYS ended up making the sale and usually told the customers things such as, "He's new" or "He doesn't know what he is talking about" and "He cannot refuse to sell to you, only a manager can" when talking about me.

Man I'm glad I'm out of that place. I tried educating them and doing the right thing, but it was a lost cause. The only thing that mattered was the almighty dollar.

Hopefully you have a better experience than I had and can turn that place around. We're here to help you too if you have any questions.

[ShockBunny]

Do you have a Banfield in your Petsmart? Maybe the vet there could have a look at him. I worked at the BF down here, and they were always very good about bringing the sick animals to us pretty quickly, even if it was something small.

I'm glad you're being proactive in your job! Our petsmart seems to be an even 50/50 mix of competent people and complete morons in animal care. XD Of course, 99% of the customers down here are idiots. That's how I ended up with my frilled dragon. They were on sale at Petco, and a family with a bunch of kids were banging on the glass, trying to get him to frill. They wanted to buy him (and probably shove him in a 10 gallon like people do to iguanas), but I found an employee first and snatched him up. Said employee also told me "they're pretty much the same as bearded dragons," so I bought a 40 gallon breeder. XD He also had the beginnings of MBD when I got him, totally freaked me out. He's doing great now, and is in a really nice, tall arboreal setup. Lesson learned, don't impulse buy animals no matter how sad they look, and certainly don't take Petco advice without a grain of salt.

tl;dr, most big box pet shop employees seem to be morons, I'm glad you're taking care of business at yours. XD

[Hydrolicious]

I was at various pet stores the other day, shopping for a new digital thermometer. Among them, they had terrible conditions - Petsmart included. There's a place called Petland in the Sunray shopping mall near where I live, and they don't have heaters on their reptile enclosures, only lights(not heat producing as far as I could tell). Not only that, but they didn't have thermometers. Ugh. The Petsmart in Woodbury has the humidity at 30%(set at "desert") in their ball python enclosures, which sounds terrible. Then there's a Petco around the same area that has unknowledgeable staff. I asked them about BP's when I was first interested in owning one months ago, and I look back on the answers with disgust. The only pet store in my area that had a decent idea of how to care for reptiles was a place called Twin Cities Reptiles in St. Paul, which is where I bought my BP. They had great service, proper setups, and devoid of just about anything you could be concerned about. Here's their website if you live in the area and are interested: http://twincitiesreptiles.net/

[tress29]

Ah yes, I too had a job at a PetSmart at one time.

I worked at Petsmart many years ago. When I first started, we didn't even have mice and hamsters!

[Riv]

I mean, I totally get why they would feed F/T. Less danger to the snakes(not that rat pups could do anything, but as a principle) I did find and go over their feeding chart as soon as I got the oppertunity. They really did attempt to feed, the were just unsuccessful something like eight times in a row at one week intervals. I couldnt find anything before that point, but I know they had him longer than that and there was not a single successful feeding.

I guess the way I see it, if im there long enough I can work my way into a position that I can make the necessary changes. Until then I just have to do what I can whether its the right thing to do or not. In order to change the system you have to work within the systems rules.

I do have a bandfield in my store actually! I didnt think to take him there because he isnt really sick. Just extremely malnourished. I can agree with the 50/50 awesome idiot statement. Just from what Ive seen so far, But my manager ssos far seem like they legitimitely care. I imagine its hard to get the numbers and animal health 100% right with so many priorities to juggle and without a reptile specialist who works there to pass on knowledge and tips. The fact that Im good with snakes was one of my biggest reasons for being hired.

And youre right. If I buy every sad or unhealthy animal I see because I think I could give it a good life id very quickly turn into a horder XDD

[crepers86]

Petsmart seems to be better at having more knowledge then petco. Petco seems to refuse to hire ppl with knowledge because they would lose sells

[snake lab]

Reptiles and dogs. 2 things that shouldnt be allowed to be sold at pet stores

[AK907]

I mean, I totally get why they would feed F/T. Less danger to the snakes(not that rat pups could do anything, but as a principle) I did find and go over their feeding chart as soon as I got the oppertunity. They really did attempt to feed, the were just unsuccessful something like eight times in a row at one week intervals. I couldnt find anything before that point, but I know they had him longer than that and there was not a single successful feeding.

I do have a bandfield in my store actually! I didnt think to take him there because he isnt really sick. Just extremely malnourished.

I can understand f/t for convenience and safety, but these animals were designed to eat live prey and with proper supervision during feedings the risk of injury is fairly low. Anyone who has ever owned any number of ball pythons knows that they can be some of the hardest snakes to get switched to f/t. Not all balls are going to take to f/t right out of the egg, especially farm raised balls from overseas (which is where PetSmart gets them). I've never seen anything but baby balls at PetSmart and 8 weeks is a long time for them to go without food, especially since they usually arrive underweight and dehydrated. In my opinion it is far more crucial to get them established feeding with a little weight on them before forcing f/t on them (unless you luck up and they accept f/t without any issues). I'd be willing to bet money if they are not too far gone already and you put a live rat pup in there and leave it overnight it would be gone by morning, if not sooner.

I would think malnourishment would be perfect reason to go to the vet. It might not be as simple as a picky eater. It could have parasites or a host of other problems.

To me this is nothing but neglect on their part and it sickens me to no end!

[Riv]

You know Ill agree with you on the vet thing. Youre absolutely right. I cant really say I blame the employees themselves because they werent taught any better. But I can blame the people that oversee training and decide what is and isnt taught. We should not be selling reptiles if people arent being taught how to properly care for them.

In their defense(as little defense as there is) They hired me specificly because they were aware that I knew a good bit about snakes(ball pythons inparticular) and they were aware they didnt have anyone with a sufficient level of experience. Experience that they themselves did not have. In corporations its really hard to make changes like that quickly, and if someone higher up doesnt care enough it will not happen at all. In the areas of birds fish and small mammals I found them to be very knowledgable. But these things are all very straightforward as far as pet care goes. Snakes and lizards are a bit harder. And a good amount of people didnt know any better no mater how much they cared whether the animal lived or died.

The fact that they 100% supported me when I asked to step up and try to feed the snake that just "wouldnt eat" and that they were all very happy when he did says to me that they care enough to learn and make the appropriate changes. They just lacked the opportunity until now. After all, with the majority of people in the reptile community having such a stimga against pet stores, naturally none of them would apply to such a place, and their cycle of ignorance naturally continues. With any luck I'll be able to talk to the district manager about communicating the necessary information for ball pythons to thrive in the stores environment, and the reptile area will lose some of its bad rap because it will finally be providing people with quality animals, and spot on information.

After all. Quality animals = more animals sold = more customers coming for quality animals = more money.

But change takes time. So taking it step by step, im going to read up on the rest of the reptiles in the area, do my best to keep them as healthy as I can, spread the knowledge, and eventually change will come.