Post your weird experiences with Petsmart/Petco!

[RestlessRobie]

Where to start with this one. I was buying rodent bedding in an emergency and as we all prolly do I went buy the Reptile area. Just in time to hear the employee talking about how Balls dont constrict thats Boa's then he went on to say how his Ball was almost 7 feet long and loved to hang out on his curtains above his windows. He was explaining how he would only ever feed live becuase Balls love the thrill of the hunt. BY this time my son and I were laughing pretty hard and the couple looking for a snake for thier son asked what was so funny we explained how the gentleman must be mistaken and gave them some info and asked them to check out this forum. I also told them a Ball would be a great gift for thier son but they really needed to check out a good caresheet and get an enclosure set up before they purchased a snake. I think the Petsmart employee wanted us to leave so he could jsut sell a snake

[Slim]

Holy Zombie tread, Batman...This thing seriously rose from the dead!

[Mike41793]

Holy Zombie tread, Batman...This thing seriously rose from the dead!

lol only 3 years old...
Everytime i got to a Petco is... an experience we'll all it.

[bamagecko76]

The worst thing I have seen in a chain petstore was in petco in Jackson TN, they had a 1 1/2 foot redtail boa that was severely malnourished, every one of that snakes ribs were showing and its skin was loose. Made me very mad, I about asked an employee if they knew of it's condition but decided to leave since I knew I would not be able to keep my cool.

And on a funny note:
I had a lady (costumer, not employee) in petco tell me one time that she used to own a thirteen foot BP and that she always slept with it. I just smiled and nodded....

Again at petco, I got into an argument with one of the employees that I made friends with about weather or not they used to sell day geckos (they did, unles they used to have some other green lizard with reddish spots labeled "Day Gecko! ). I think she thought they were green anoles!

[luvmyballs]

Well I have a few bad experiences with petco and one other huge but local pet store. First quite a few years ago I went into the store and fell in love with a uromastyx. Big boy. They told me he was only two years old. At this time I did not know anything about them but bought him anyways. Turns out he was a retired breeder full grown and close to the end on life. Don't regret buying him just was stupid for not independently researching him outside the pet store venue. Never made that mistake again. Then I impulse bought a corn snake. Tiny thing course it wouldn't eat and died after many many attempts even left in with my local herp expert but even they couldn't save it. And lastly was in looking at reptiles and saw a adult male Leo missing his tale getting the crap beat out of him. The were being kept on sand. He had multiple wounds all were impacted with sand and looked horrid. The lost tail and wounds were all fresh and needed care immediately . when questioned the girl told me they didn't have a tank they could put him in. And were gonna leave him in there. I asked the store manager to sell him to me discounted price which they took. Probably paid to much but couldn't let that little dude suffer in there. Maybe I am a sucker but ok. BTW he is doing awesome now after some intensive care.

[Kamille Kirkendoll]

My irritating (not weird) Petco experience was when we called in for the 15 day guarentee on our pet rats, which had respiratory infections. The manager told us to "bring them in a few days because the vet wouldn't be available until Monday." Having heard of this crap previously, I had my partner ask if we could accompany them to the vet. The manager stammered and said, "Well, we don't really know when they would be going...um um um um."

I was like, BS! and now I take my 13 pet's business elsewhere. They probably would have taken my babies, killed them, and said they couldn't do anything about it. My ratties are worth the $80 all their medication and visits cost. [Also, we found a great exotic pet vet. YEAYA!]

The rats at Petsmart might be sick too, but they have tubes, toys, and chews. Also, they never overcrowd. Better selection, too.

[apple2]

Well one thing I noticed at a Petco was THIS



Apparently the packaging designers couldn't spell "Rattlesnake" right

My only other story is pretty funny:

So... Wandered by the reptiles as always. There was an elderly couple there that were looking to buy a BP. They asked two things:

1. Can I keep it in the same cage with my hamsters? They'll get along, right? After all, snakes only like prepared meat.

YUM

It gets even weirder...

2. (Associate ENDORSED THIS )

Will Albert (Named before they bought it...) enjoy slithering through the tubes? We can make a maze with his food bowl at the other end so that he can get exercise before he eats the sausage. That way he won't get fat.

SAUSAGE??? Really?

At least the snake won't go hungry. It has all the tasty hamsters it would ever need

[Annarose15]

My last Petsmart visit made me very sad. I was checking out an emaciated hatchling BP with stuck shed from "his" neck to the tail tip, frantically trying to scrape the skin off along the edge of rocks. Humidity read 25%. I normally just walk out shaking my head, but this particular employee seemed nice, so I mentioned that his humidity should really be closer to 3x that during a shed cycle, and 2x on a normal day. Although she was willing to listen and even asked questions (I think I convinced her to bump him up from mouse pinkies, too), I learned that corporate policy forbids them from misting cages during the day. Apparently, making sure the glass isn't smudged is more important than the animal's health. The point of this long story is that, even though some employees are doofuses, some really do care but are prevented from treating the animals properly (or even getting good information) by the chain's corporate policy. When you run across one of the good ones, give the easiest version you can of tips to fix the biggest errors. A laundry list will be hard to remember, but most of them would be willing to cover part of the lid with press n' seal, run a BP with stuck shed through a damp towel, and feed bigger prey, if they are approached with the animal in mind instead of being attacked for being careless morons.

[Himitsu]

Mine wasn't at a Petco or Petsmart, but at a small, local pet store one of the employees was trying to convince me that you can feed a Ball Python a prey item twice the size of the largest part of the snake. I told her I always heard NO BIGGER THAN the largest part of the snake, but she was quiet adamant about it. I just internally shook my head and asked for a small feeder mouse, please (they don't carry young feeder rats so I have to get mice).

[MrLang]

I was downgrading my 2 crested geckos from sharing a 20g tall to individual critter keepers (they were 3-4 grams each) so they would be able to find their food and wouldn't nip each other's tails off. This know-it-all Petco employee asks me what they're for and when I say crested geckos her jaw just drops. Even after I explain it's to help them put on weight and be safe from one another she enters into a very rude tone and tells me that I shouldn't have pets if I keep them in such horribly small cages and terrible conditions. Then she reluctantly says that I should AT LEAST make sure that my heat source won't melt the keepers. Again, I informed her that crested geckos don't need a heat source and I keep them in my snake room at 76 degrees. I even let her know that the Petco should probably switch the heat bulb for a flourescent because temps as high as 85 degrees for even a short time can kill them. SHE TELLS ME THAT MY GECKOS ARE GOING TO DIE! and then she says she can't talk to me any more or she's going to get herself in trouble. Well, I definitely complained to the manager and got her in trouble. As for the cresteds, every time I go back they have different ones in there and I have a feeling it's not because they're the new hot selling pet

EDIT: The BP and feeding crickets thing is the most ridiculous nonsense.....