I think the problem is actually fairly common and is rooted in a difference in the way the two look at the animals.



The herp society members are mostly people who keep herps either as a hobby or as an occupation. They may be a person who keeps a couple of kingsnakes, a large scale breeder, a biology student, a professional herpetologist, a keeper in a zoo, etc. They tend to be very passionate about the animals and their well being and have a sharp focus on good husbandry techniques and learning more about the natural history and biology of the animals. They are usually very picky about who their animals go to if they give one away or sell it, except maybe in the case of the large scale breeder. However, even the large scale breeders are usually sticklers about husbandry practices, feeding schedules, etc.



Most pet store operators, on the other hand, view the animals as simply a commodity, the sale of which will net them a profit. They are in business to make the most profit they can from each sale. Therefore, they tend to take the most economical approach to husbandry, many times barely meeting or not meeting the minimum requirements for sustaining the animal. The less they spend on taking care of the animal, the more money they make when they sell it. They tend not to care at all who the animal goes to or what happens to it after it leaves the store as long as it outlives the "health guarantee" they provide. They also tend toward charging exorbitant prices for the animals because they know that the clientele they serve, for the most part, won't know what a fair price is for a particular animal. They usually have no idea of the history of the animal, if it was captive born, wild caught or whatever and no idea of the conditions in which it was previously kept. They order from discount wholesalers from a price list, sight unseen. Many times these animals have been warehoused for some time, may have not been feeding and may be loaded with parasites and on death's door when it arrives at the pet store to be put in a display cage with minimal or no security (it's difficult to sell a hiding snake). I have actually sold to pet stores in the past, and went to the trouble of making cards to display on the cages with information about care, requirements and information about adult size, general temperament and even rating care from easy for a beginner to difficult and for experienced keepers. I also provided a care sheet for each of the animals to be provided to the new owner upon sale. I can't count the times that I received a phone call from the NEW OWNER because the pet store gave them my phone number months after the sale. When they told me the snake wasn't eating, was stuck in shed or whatever, I would ask them what the care sheet told them to do. They without fail said "what care sheet?". I actually ended up taking most of these animals and nursing them back to health and returning them to the owners along with a care sheet. It was almost always some aspect of husbandry that was the root cause of the problem. I DO NOT SELL my captive born animals to pet stores any more. Period.



And they have the nerve to wonder why Herp Society members have a problem with them?

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