petco story...

[Kagez28]

well i have posted about me helping out my local petco a couple of times before. i talked with a manager and helped her fix the horrid husbandry they had going on. i checked back many times and she had kept things up, even giving her employees copies of the NERD care sheet (hope Kara and Kevin don't mind) that i had printed out for her. well fast forward to today i went in to get some stuff for my new crestie. i took a stroll past the reptiles as always...

first off i glance in on the little corns. i see a pink amel cruising around, and to the left of him/her a CRICKET?!?! i was a little confused. so i asked, and i was assured that crickets are eaten by all kinds of snakes. yea right.

then i look at the very over priced red tail boas. one was right up against the glass, so i was able to easily see the mite crawling all over him/her. the other boa was in the water bowl soaking, most likely to kill the mites on him/her. i ask for a manager and i get a 17 year old kid... who looks down and says he doesn't see anything. he says he will tell the "reptile specialist" when he comes in. i asked when he would be in only to get 3 people to tell me they don't know.

luckily there were no ball pythons because they just dropped the price to $30. i really shouldn't be saying luckily because they more then likely they went to someone that bought one as a spur of the moment thing with no research done.

i asked about debbie, the manager that i had helped learn about the reptiles they sold there, and they told me she was fired, get this... for not adhering to company policy?!?!? i was shocked when they told me. because i helped her tune the living conditions, to keep the animals healthier and happier, she gets fired. because they didn't follow the cost cutting, money saving shortcuts the company deemed allowable. i dropped the CGD and flexvine i was about to purchase and walked out of the store.

i know not all petco's are like this, but seriously this is ridiculous...

sorry about the book of a post but i needed to vent a little.
end rant.

[Argentra]

Yeah, I know that story well. Petsmart does similar things, which is why I left. They 'warned' me lots of times about not sticking to 'company policy' when I tried to improve life for the reptiles and small mammals. Just makes me sick that companies would keep policies like that when there's plenty of great husbandry info out there for them to follow.

[Sausage]

Yeah, the way PetCo conducts their business is horrible. I don't know what it would take to get them to listen to experienced herp keepers who know how to take care of the animals. It's criminal.

[Kagez28]

i have never bought a dog or anything but sometimes i get curious and look through adoption websites, and i constantly see "must have..." statements. like a fenced in yard... ect. if you don't show them you have all this stuff then you can't adopt the dog. i wish big chain stores would something like that. not just a checklist of things (they sell) that really don't help a snake. i realize this is an impossible feat since they would loose so much money and business. but i can dream can't i...

[kavmon]

imo, since herps is kind of a "minority" if you will pet. the big stores don't really care about them. i bet the dogs,cats and birds do way more business and $$. this doesn't make it right, but it is what it is.


i don't support breeders or stores that i don't agree with, i'll pay more somewhere else. i'd much rather support a small mom/pop type reptile store that takes good care of their reptiles.


vaughn

[frankykeno]

Kevin you should definitely write to PetCo Corporate and express your displeasure at this manager's firing and the backsliding of the care in this particular store. It may not do a whit of good but I firmly believe that telling corporate they lost your business and the business of anyone you know will remind them that they need paying customers more than stupid decisions. Remind them that you are speaking with your wallet and that generally gets someone's attention.

[Mickikay]

Opps. guess whose daughter just bought her brother a Baby Ball Python from guess where. I started searching for infomation about baby BP's because she said they told her that since it was a baby it needed to eat crickets. I knew that was way off but was unsure of exact feeding requirements for a baby so started searching. The Petco in my town is usually adaquate with care sheets that are basic. Yes you should write the main store. Also might try reporting them to the Humane society as they can go in and demand adaquate care.

[Kizerk]

that is horrible. I hope debbie finds a job soon.

i HATE it when people think boas and pythons eat crickets...CRICKETS?!!

[python.princess]

at least when i bought my babies from petco they told me to feed them pinkies... that's the only thing they told me right..... seriously... crickets??? have they noticed the crickets don't seem to disappear like they should?

[liam]

sorry for this bad language tht is about to happen *censorded version* 'F**king complete and utter idoits. and i hope everyone of them gets fired' ok my ranting is done.....

i think all the people on this site *and world* need to STOP using petco-petmart-ect so they loose all there business becasue it's just bloody wrong to keep animals in conditions that i heard about.

and comon. i know people that havent a clue about pythons but i bloody sure they could use this item called commen sense to deduct that pythons DO NOT eat crickets.

ps, havent u lot in america got some sort of pet police *like englands RSPCA* that you can contact and get shops shutdown if they are kept in good conditions.

all we have is a organization called 'feline freinds' that my mum runs *i seem to be a helper though* whitch has no govement backing and is completly self funded.

TO ALL SHOPS THAT WOULD RATHER SAVE A BIT OF CASH THEN HOUSE THE ANIMALS CORRECTLY.