Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So last night my buddy and I were walking around Garden State Plaza (in Jersey, for those that aren't familiar), and we ended up wandering into this pet store. Much to my surprise, they actually had a 'reptile' section which is becoming increasingly rare in Jersey anyway. So I walk over so see what they've got, and what I saw nearly killed me. There were various lizards and geckos (and since I don't know much about them, I couldn't tell you if their setup was bad or good), and a few snakes. The setups for these poor snakes was appalling!! In one cage, which was roughly 8"x14", they had a tiny little BCI and a ball python (young adult). Both of them cramped in this cage, with [bleep] everywhere and no hides at all. And the ball (this almost killed me) had skin legions in 3 or 4 spots along it's spine. Their water was filthy. Next to them was a ball python in a similarly sized cage, again with no hide and a dirty water bowl... and several crickets! CRICKETS!! Now unless there is some other function for crickets that i'm not aware of, I think they were actually feeding a ball bython (and this was no neo-nate) crickets... I couldn't believe it. I've seen pet shops that weren't the greatest at taking care of their animals... but this was sickening. And what's worse is that when somebody finally buys one, they're going to get an animal that is absolutely out of its mind because of all the damn little kids tapping on the glass and stuff. I almost went on a killling spree. But that wouldn't get much done.

Then I had a thought. I wanted to post the story here and ask if anybody knows of an organization that I can call or write to about this to try and fix the situation. I know it's unlikely, but I should at least TRY to do something. I would just take them in myself, but I don't own my own place, so I don't have the room (or the budget for that matter) to care for 4 more snakes. Thanks for hearing me out!

Jord
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0.1 BCI- Pheobe

I find Pheobe to be the most agreeable female I have ever come across. Dinner is cheap, she never wants to eat out, she can't talk, she's deaf and she doesn't care if I see other women.

give him/her the chance to rectify the situation. If they are jerks about it, THEN call somebody on 'em (local animal control,Better Business Bureau,ect.)

Your local Humane Society and or The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be interested in stepping in. I once turned in a traveling snake show where the animals were in such poor health, they looked flat from not eating, as well as dirty cages(shed skins and just general untidiness....no feces, as I do not think the snakes had it in them) and no clean water. The show was closed down in my city, but who knows when the show moved on what happened. I figure the snakes would eventually die from not eating.....the owner seemed to reason...why feed a snake, then you just have to clean up after it.When they died, he would just purchase someone else's healthy pet to slowly die a horrible death. It surely seemed to be the attitude. In this case most people going through the exhibit only wanted to ohhh and ahhh at those gross snakes, so hardly anyone came along to make a complaint. At least he did not make any money in my town. Wish I could have done more.
In the case of a pet shop, the animals are usually conficated. Good Luck !

yea, i was really pissed. I think I'll go in and talk with a manager. In all fairness, it IS Christmas, and the store was packed, so it's possible that they didn't have time to clean the cages. However, the BCI/Ball combo and the lack of a hide (and probably correct temperatures, etc) is still no good. If nothing changes, I'll call The Man and have him step in.
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0.1 BCI- Pheobe

I find Pheobe to be the most agreeable female I have ever come across. Dinner is cheap, she never wants to eat out, she can't talk, she's deaf and she doesn't care if I see other women.

You probably should call "The Man" anyway. I am not as nice when I see that stuff. I don't give a HOOT if i step on their toes, or make life hard on them. It aint about THEM, it's about the animals in need of care.
I first offer to help them get there set up right, then depending on how they take it, I make calls. Local wildlife rescues, Animal Control, SPCA, etc. I recently had to do this actually, and have acted several other times in this town as well. Don't hesitate, we don't need that crap in our industry!

This guy was messed up last friday........

Just 8 days of PROPER care, raised temps, and some meds..........

Didn't mean to stomp your thread, my point is WE as a whole can stop this sort of stuff. But it takes more than just a few people willing to ACT! We all need to step up when we see this stuff, and we will see it less and less. I can assure you, WE have the power to stop it.
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Richard Carew
Sunset BCI
You laugh at me cuz I'm different! I laugh at you cuz you're all the same.
Stop Inhumane and Illegal Practices

Great Post !

I agree! It really is important that all 'Herpers' watch for instances like the ones we've described, because these are the things that will, over time, make it MORE difficult for us to keep the animals we love so much.

That's a great recovery example you posted there!
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0.1 BCI- Pheobe

I find Pheobe to be the most agreeable female I have ever come across. Dinner is cheap, she never wants to eat out, she can't talk, she's deaf and she doesn't care if I see other women.