Pet Stores

[jtipton]

I was bored today so I decided to go and check out some pet stores just to see what they had to offer. I went to 2 different pet stores a Petsmart and one mom and pop's store whose name escapes my mind at the moment. When I started looking at the selections I realized immediately why there are so many "What morph is this" and "Is this a morph" threads on every reptile forum. At the mom and pop's store they had about 8 BPs with at least 3 of them mislabeled. 1 "super pastel" that was clearly not a super, 1 enchi that was obviously not an enchi, and a third that I can't remember what they called it but it was definitely a normal. These were just the BPs not to mention their "Hypo" Peruvian Redtail Boas that were not Peruvians. Then I moved on to Petsmart where I noticed a really nice Mojave that I asked the price of and was told that it was a "Butter Ball BP". While I'm on the subject of pet stores I might as well tell the story of me going into a hole in the wall store about a year ago. I was looking at his animals and saw a small part of a BP with a really nice pattern. I asked the owner if I could check it out and after getting it out, while it did have a really nice light colored pattern it was way to skinny and dehydrated looking. I told the owner she had a really nice light pattern and a different look about her but I would have to pass (he was asking $99 for it). So I go back a week later and he has the very same snake marked up to $269 and has her labeled as "Pastel Congo". What a joke. I guess the point to all this rambling is what ever happened to the days when people actually had knowledge of what they were selling and didn't try to rip people off by putting false names on things. And with so many uninformed and greedy people selling mislabeled snakes it's no wonder that newbies to this hobby are so confused about what morph they have.

[Trackstrong83]

Hey we aren't all the same! Haha
I work at a pet store now and I am extremely educated on reptile husbandry, care, etc. But the reason I was hired as the "animal care specialist" was because of my reptile knowledge. But yes I agree most pet store employees have NO idea what they are talking about. I was at a pet smart one day and the guy was hell bent on telling me that a cinny x pastel made a bumblebee. I just had to bite my tongue. Lol my pet peeve is when people have/care for an animal and don't have the slightest clue of how to care for it.

[Pythonfriend]

buy only from pet stores that get their crap (i wanted to say **** but couldnt) together or buy directly from breeders or at reptile expos.

[Himitsu]

A local mom and pop store near me actually has several people working there that own reptiles and thus are more knowledgeable on it. Also, oddly enough, I saw both a pastel and spider morph properly labeled at the local Petco. Not in the best shape, of course, and their prices were high, but they were properly labeled. As for that "pastel congo," you get *bleep*s in EVERY breeding hobby. One of my mom's pet peeves when she was breeding Chihuahuas was when people labeled the runt as a Tea Cup Chihuahua, and on top of that didn't inform people of the complications such small dogs have. Those type of people are in every hobby...

[Amberlove]

Yeah you have to be careful with pet stores. The store I got my spider bp from sold her to me as a male and the sales person kept trying to tell me she was a woma ball python. Atleast I have a knowledge of what morphs look like, I just feel sorry for the people who don't and would just take his word on it. I'm lucky enough that I have a friend that can sex them for me because I'm still afraid to do that part so I know for sure that she is a girl and not a male.
I also have a greek tortoise that I got from a breeder that was well started and told me everything I need to know about proper care. However, I have went into the local petsmart and they have tortoises and they try to tell you that they are 2 month old captive bred babies (the last tortoise I saw in there was a red foot and it was atleast 8 inches) and that they only eat these colored pellets. I tell people to please do your research and try to get from a breeder if at all possible or a trusted store.

[jtipton]

Hey we aren't all the same! Haha
I work at a pet store now and I am extremely educated on reptile husbandry, care, etc. But the reason I was hired as the "animal care specialist" was because of my reptile knowledge. But yes I agree most pet store employees have NO idea what they are talking about. I was at a pet smart one day and the guy was hell bent on telling me that a cinny x pastel made a bumblebee. I just had to bite my tongue. Lol my pet peeve is when people have/care for an animal and don't have the slightest clue of how to care for it.

I wasn't including everyone in the pet store business. LOL. Yeah I've had those people who want to argue about things that they obviously don't have a clue about. I can be kind of a hot head in situations like that so I just let them keep their animals and hope someone who doesn't know better doesn't fall into their scam.

buy only from pet stores that get their crap (i wanted to say **** but couldnt) together or buy directly from breeders or at reptile expos.

All of my BPs have come from breeders except my first one which was just a normal for a pet before I even thought about breeding. I have to drive at least an hour to get to a pet store that sells reptiles and all the ones within that range are crap and I never buy their reptiles but I do like to go see what they have every now and then although I usually get upset when I'm there, thinking about how many people they rip off.

A local mom and pop store near me actually has several people working there that own reptiles and thus are more knowledgeable on it. Also, oddly enough, I saw both a pastel and spider morph properly labeled at the local Petco. Not in the best shape, of course, and their prices were high, but they were properly labeled. As for that "pastel congo," you get *bleep*s in EVERY breeding hobby. One of my mom's pet peeves when she was breeding Chihuahuas was when people labeled the runt as a Tea Cup Chihuahua, and on top of that didn't inform people of the complications such small dogs have. Those type of people are in every hobby...

I wish that I had a good pet store somewhere close by that had knowledgeable people, but I have a pretty decent understanding of what I'm looking at.

I just feel sorry for the people who don't and would just take his word on it.

That is exactly what I'm talking about.

[Neal]

It just really depends how much the people that work there like reptiles because if nobody likes them then who's to take care of them but very basic needs, water and food?

Also it depends on how much time they let the employees spend with the reptiles. It all goes into play so not two stores will be the same.

[4theSNAKElady]

Hey we aren't all the same! Haha
I work at a pet store now and I am extremely educated on reptile husbandry, care, etc. But the reason I was hired as the "animal care specialist" was because of my reptile knowledge. But yes I agree most pet store employees have NO idea what they are talking about. I was at a pet smart one day and the guy was hell bent on telling me that a cinny x pastel made a bumblebee. I just had to bite my tongue. Lol my pet peeve is when people have/care for an animal and don't have the slightest clue of how to care for it.

Me too! Me too! I recently got promoted to a mgmt position at my store, and unless i got the animal from a breeder or produced it myself, all of our snakes are nothing more thanNORMALS. I try my best to educate the "uninformed" new snake owner as well, so that they will less likely be scammed into paying $$$$ for a mislabeled snake. They really do appreciate it!

sent from my incubator