Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I go out to buy rats and mice 'cause the kids are hungry again. No body in town has rats or mice but that's not the problem. I stroll in to the pet store and order a to-go box of mice (since they are out of rats) and a side of crickets. While I wait, I cruise the store for a "I don't know what I really have and am selling it for way under value" deal. Sometimes I find them at the smaller pet stores. Side question/ADD moment. What is a False Coral Snake? Looked an awful lot like a Sinaloan Milksnake. But that's another story.

Anyway, I get over to the reptiles and there is a dead Tokay in one tank and I don't know how many under fed, dehydrated, possibly a couple of dead Ball Pythons. Over all, the cages were clean and there was water for all of the animals, but the health was concerning. So I make my way to the counter to get the food items and let the lady know of the conditions. She responds with, "Oh, It finally died. He's been looking bad for a few days." What The...

So the question is, who regulates these people and is there a place to report this? Things die and they come in in poor condition, but to put it in a enclosure with stuff that will go to someones home. How can I help remedy this problem?

Sorry to be so long and thanks for any help.

If you have a local Humane Socity thats who I would get in contact with and if they are unable to do something Im guessing they would know who could. Thats my best guess. Its so awful to hear things like this. Why work in a pet store if you dont care about the animals? It makes me ill.

I have the same kinda store by me. My daughter recently bought a ball because it was in awfull shape.Some will say just dont shop there. When there is nowhere to go it is frustereating to see appalling conditions. Where I am thier is noone to go to. Thier is for dogs,cats,birds and even fish. Not for reptiles. I wish you luck maybe your state is better than mine..
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1.0 Het for pied
0.1 Het for Pied
1.5 normal balls
1.1 bearded dragons
0.1.0 Sulcata tort
1.3 kids
1.0 husband
To many little critters list

Today, I do believe that it is just as easy to not shop there. With all of the "feeder.com" sites out there that del. right to your door, I really don't see how you couldn't help yourself from shopping there.

Or, Start your own reptile store. Become the competition. Set the higher standard and run them out of town.

Or, start a petition against them and present it to your city town hall meeting as soon as you get enough names.

Or, see about renting ad space on the bus stop bench right next to thier store expressing your opinion.

Or, do like me and just complain on some forum lol...

Quinton

The local Petco in my town is actually pretty decent. One of the managers is an old friend of mine, so if I bring up a concern, he takes care of it.
One of the funny things is that if he does have issues with animals, he usually asks for my advice. Haha.
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

The Humane Society is a great idea. You might also call your local Animal Control - they work closely with the police, and if they can't look into the conditions of this pet shop themselves, they can probably refer you to the right department to voice your concerns.
We had a pet store like that in my town - it took alot of people complaining, but we got the proper authorities in, and it was shut down and the animals taken out and placed with rescues. And it had mostly reptiles.
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1.0.0 Mexican Kingsnake, Vincent Price
1.0.0 277 Graybanded Kingsnake, Boris Karloff
1.0.0 Crockett Graybanded Kingsnake, Julien Sands
1.1.0 Ball Pythons, Pete (Peter Cushing) and Kali
1.0.0 Pastel Ball Python, Claude Raines
2.2.0 Bearded Dragons, Bela Lugosi, Spook, Sid Vicious & Ember
1.0.0 Pet Rat, Punkin
1.0.0 Pushy Lovebird Baxter
0.1.0 Goth-Punk Teenager
1.0.0 Tolerant Husband

Congratulations to you to want to go forward and actually do something to help these poor animals. Too many folks just turn their backs, feeling there is nothing they can do, or
they feel they don't have time to track down the right people to report it to in order to get something done.
Folks like you who do go out of the way to do the right thing should be applauded.
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1.0.0 Mexican Kingsnake, Vincent Price
1.0.0 277 Graybanded Kingsnake, Boris Karloff
1.0.0 Crockett Graybanded Kingsnake, Julien Sands
1.1.0 Ball Pythons, Pete (Peter Cushing) and Kali
1.0.0 Pastel Ball Python, Claude Raines
2.2.0 Bearded Dragons, Bela Lugosi, Spook, Sid Vicious & Ember
1.0.0 Pet Rat, Punkin
1.0.0 Pushy Lovebird Baxter
0.1.0 Goth-Punk Teenager
1.0.0 Tolerant Husband

A follow up question.

Why is it so hard for petstores to care for reptiles? The dogs, cats, birds, ferrets, and even the hedgehog were all in good shape. Is it really so hard to care for them? I have had a lot of pets and the reptiles were the easiest. Not saying the don't take a lot of work, but it is easy work. Check humidity and heat. Feed and water. Clean when needed and thorough every two weeks or once a month. Have you ever had a bird?

Ah, but now I am preaching to the choir.

Everyone have a great weekend and I'll start making phone calls.

I know what you mean - they don't read any info on the animal they are selling, or seem to even check it to see whether it's okay in the environment where they place it. I have a sneaking suspicion that they think reptiles don't suffer from poor care the way mammals do.
I had to purchase a leopard gecko from our bad pet store because I couldn't stand watching it running from the corn snake the owner placed in the same tank with it. My concerns were dismissed, but I couldn't walk away knowing it would be eaten, so I got it. THEN I turned the pet store in to the proper authorities, who investigated and shut it down. Took awhile, and many more complaints than just mine, but it happened.
The gecko is now a friend's daughter's beloved pet.
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1.0.0 Mexican Kingsnake, Vincent Price
1.0.0 277 Graybanded Kingsnake, Boris Karloff
1.0.0 Crockett Graybanded Kingsnake, Julien Sands
1.1.0 Ball Pythons, Pete (Peter Cushing) and Kali
1.0.0 Pastel Ball Python, Claude Raines
2.2.0 Bearded Dragons, Bela Lugosi, Spook, Sid Vicious & Ember
1.0.0 Pet Rat, Punkin
1.0.0 Pushy Lovebird Baxter
0.1.0 Goth-Punk Teenager
1.0.0 Tolerant Husband

This is a little off subject, but I can't help myself . I notice your inclination for names of old monster flic movie stars to use for your critters. My question is, Where's Lon Chaney?

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

The Petco in my town isn't too terrible, but sometimes you wonder why these petstores will often charge something like $14.99 or less for an iguana that will grow 3 feet long and require a lot of care and not to mention room! The ball pythons there never look too bad, I only said something once when one of them was obviously having a really bad shed, and someone came and took him to be soaked in some water. There is a new Petco opening in the next town soon, and I applied for a job...probably not the best place to work, but I really want to make sure their reptiles will be taken care of (even with my limited experience)!