I know there have been a lot of these stories posted here, so many that we don't even want to read them but still do. But after going to several different petshops the last two days and seeing so many wrong things, one after another, I had to get this off my chest.
The "tame sav" was almost laughable. It would've been had it not actually been sad overall.
My wife and kids called me over to an area and said they had a "tame sav." I laughed & said, "I bet they do. Remember how tame ours was when we first got it?" (My sav was aprox. 2-ft long when we got it from a petshop. Definitely a fresh w/c.)
I go over to the setup & see a 20-gal. long tank with 18-inch sav, aspen bedding, 12-inch UVB, and 1/2-inch wire mesh top. The only heat source was a small, 6-inch or so, heatrock, no basking bulb. Sign on tank reads: "Savannah Monitor - Tame $79.99"
It was slightly underfed and appeared attentive, I assumed being on the lookout for something to eat. They said thy've had it since it was 6-inches long. I told them I'd like to see how tame it was.
When they opened the top the sav quickly faced their hand & then the owner said, "Oh, I'd better feed it first. That will settle it down." They whack a mouse against the tank and tossed it in. Gone in 60 seconds.
The owner again started to reach into the tank & the sav spun around lookin' for more food. "Whack" goes another mouse & into the tank it goes. "I haven't fed him in a couple of days so he's pretty hungry," the owner said.
Once again, when they reach into the tank the sav is glaring at their hand. They go get a towel to get it out with and it took everything I had to keep from laughing at this point.
Once they got it out of the cage it hissed a few times but did seem to be somewhat used to being handled and not like a fresh w/c acts, in "shut-down fear."
When we left I turned to my wife and said, "You reckon' someone oughta tell 'em that a "tame" sav doesn't need to be removed with a towel?"
Fortunately, there were only a few reptiles in this small, country, petshop that's also a feed store. Not a single setup had a basking bulb or major heat source.
My regular petshop was out of small crickets that I need for my baby beardies so I had to go to other petshops in search of some. That's what led me on this eye-opening journey. I've been to the other 3 shops a few times here & there but never on a 1, 2, 3, type shopping trip. The conditions I saw in 3 different stores, back-to-back, was an eye-opener for me.
All 3 of the shops didn't have any basking sites set up in any of their cages. One had UVB on their baby ball pythons but not on some lizard setps that needed it. I'm still scratching my head on that one. When I asked the man in his early 20s that was working there if they had one of those cheap thermostats he handed me a thermometer. I said, "No, a thermostat."
"What,... what's it used for?" he asked.
"Never mind. Thanks anyway." And I left.
Yeah, I've seen similar conditions in shops here & there, but when you see it in 3 different shops, one right after another, its quite a wakeup call.
I'm proud to say that the petstore I've been using regularly for the last 10 yrs does things right. Each cage is set up close, or fairly close, to proper, per species.
In fact, I had to take a rescued beardie to the only reptile vet in the area and he's 60 miles away. When I told him the petshop I use he stopped what he was doing and said, "You know, those are good people that really take care of their animals. One of a few anywhere around here."
Oh, well. I feel a lil' better now that I got that off my chest.
Ya'll take care!
HH
"Have you slapped a petshop employee today?"
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American
My personality is the same on these forums as it is in real-life, its hard for me to be rude unless provoked. Although, I have goofed a time or two and done so. I was nice to "thermometer boy" (just kidding, its a joke) and not short, blunt, hasty, or whatever, with him when I said, "Thanks anyway."