I have a few animals from big chain pet stores. My local Petco is really amazing. The people that work there are passionate about animals. I have purchased 2 fuzzy ferrets from them a year apart and they are in perfect health and are adorable little psychos. I have purchased another ferret that was very ill and I took him to the vet within 2 days of getting him, the vet told me he did not feel that he would recover well if at all and that I should just let the pet store take care of his vet bills. Which at the time I decided that was best. My Petco kept me informed of his condition and how well he was progressing and that he eventually went to a nice forever home. The employees do try to educate customers about the animals they are interested in. They do try to tell people that are captivated by the super adorable animals that they can't be tossed in a cage and forgotten about like a hamster and they need hours of work, a proper cage for them is going to cost 200 plus dollars, their food is expensive unless you feed raw, ect. But people just think they are cute and I see lots of them on CL or returned to the store.

As for the reptiles I purchased my first ball python from them. He is normal, he was held rather frequently, I was told to purchase my supplies before, read, read, read as much as I could before I made my decision. I had 3 different Petco workers spent 30 minutes talking to me about the animals and their needs, handling, ect. My boyfriend does fish and live aquatic plants as his hobby, every time we go there one employee in particular spends a half hour min. talking him and sharing information.

I'm not defending in any way, just stating that, at least in my area all the animals look very healthy, the staff seem to really care about them and have a passion for them. Even the little mice and rats that are bred for feeding get played with and handled by the staff. And even the employees will point out when the set ups and displays aren't the best in the store and will show you which product is better for the animal in the end.

My boyfriend went in today actually, and the girl that helped me pick out my snake even asked how he was adjusting, and how his behavior has been, ect.

As I learn more about 'exotic' pets big chains aren't going to be my go to for animals but the staff is top notch. And any problems with a sick animal was resolved and the animal was taken care of and it was proven to me that they were. Which I respect and I totally appreciate.