Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So, two months ago I rescued a baby ball from a Petco and she (i think)is the best snake I have. She's super calm, ate frozen thawed rat pinks/fuzzies from the start with gusto and has beautiful blushing on her head. To bad I'm not experienced with sexing cause the only thing missing is what sex he/she is.

If you paid $ to a petstore its NOT a rescue!
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If you plan for 1 year, plant rice.
If you plan for 10 years, plant trees.
If you plan for 100 years, educate mankind.

If the snake is at petco and in the condition most snakes at petco end up being in and you pay to get it out of those conditions. I consider that rescuing the snake! How about everyone else? I wouldn't necessarily suggest this but if they like the snake feel bad for the snake and want the snake because they know they can take better care of it better then the store in then yes I would consider that as a rescued snake!

Sorry but I agree if its from a pet store it is a purchase not a rescue.
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Tosha
JET Pythons
The Blog
nihil facimus sed id bene facimus

I consider it a purchase and not a rescue because the funds just go toward assisting the pet store in purchasing MORE pythons and still not taking very good care of them. If the animal needs to be "rescued", then an accredited agency that can seize the animal (or demand better care for it) should be notified so the store will be hopefully reprimanded for the snake's poor care.
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma (hidden gene?), 0.1 Yellowbelly
2.0 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

"I consider it a purchase and not a rescue because the funds just go toward assisting the pet store in purchasing MORE pythons and still not taking very good care of them. If the animal needs to be "rescued", then an accredited agency that can seize the animal (or demand better care for it) should be notified so the store will be hopefully reprimanded for the snake's poor care"

I agree...

Technically it's a purchase. Theoretically it's a rescue! And I'm sure the snake was happy in either case! Now drop it like it's hot!
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Reptiles:
2.2 Leopard Gecko Morphs
1.0 Bearded Dragon Morph
0.1 Box Turtle (Rescue)
0.1 Albino Ball Python (BHB line)

Amphibian:
0.1 Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Bird:
0.1 Jenday Conure

Pups:
1.0 Black Lab/Pit Bull
1.0 Maltipoo

and lots of tropical fish!

-Patrick

looks like the "rescue police" have already weighed in on this - too funny!

.....in any event, if the snake has been given a better home, and it's a rescue in your eyes - then feel free to call it a rescue! Good luck with him/her.
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Jon F

with all due respect, by rescuing the snake, you are purchasing it. And by purchasing it you provide the store with monetary incentive to go out and get more for people to rescue.
That being said, i'm glad you are happy with your new purchase/rescue. As with any rescue you take in, a good vet check is in order, or at least a fecal.

Like I said......"The Rescue Police"
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Jon F

not nessiserily tho because in some case petstores will give you the snake and say if theres somthing wrong with it they are not reliable so sometimes i can be rescueing it because they will give it away at the pet smart i just started working at they gave away a snake because it wouldnt stop striking so no one would buy it so it could be a rescue "unless you buy it"
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2.0 blue tick beagels
1.1 wtfs
0.0.2 ball pythons

sorry i ment liable
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2.0 blue tick beagels
1.1 wtfs
0.0.2 ball pythons

Not to bust anyone's bubble, but it doesn't matter if he “rescued” it or purchased it. When you rescue an animal from a humane society or shelter there is still some sort of fee involved for the animal. Therefore it would have been a purchase either way.

Wow, I didn't mean to stir up any mixed emotions on the topic. I probably should not have phrased it as a rescue, since it indeed was a purchase. I quess I am not an overly big fan of these large chain pet stores due to the conditions some subject the animals too. I mainly just wanted to post to share my enthusiasm for getting such a nice snake in a place I would normally avoid.

Thanks for the opinions
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Don't get us wrong, we are all very glad the little guy/gal has a better home. It is just concerning when people feel they are "rescuing" a pet from a pet store by purchasing it (especially for full price) because this tends to send a message to the store that they can give little or no care to the animal, make it look sick and sad, and someone will come along and buy it.

This doesn't mean you should stand aside and let poor care continue, however. I would highly recommend contacting your local rescue agencies the next time you see any animal in the store that needs help. Or, if you feel comfortable doing it, talk to the store manager. Some of those stores have a lot of animals and honestly don't know they should be doing more (not an excuse, but still...).

In any case, I'm glad the little one has found a better home where his /her temp, humidity, and feeding needs will be more properly met.
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma (hidden gene?), 0.1 Yellowbelly
2.0 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

Same here. I am glad it is ok and in good hands. I was just respondind to what people were arguing about. Good luck.

Well im glad you like your new pet and rescued it from petco. Im sure if you didn't purchase it petco would have ended up killing it! I hope you did speak to management at the store about the poor conditions!

agree'd! If the snake was in poor conditions and you possibly saved it's life it is a rescue in my eyes. A few years ago I seen a albino burm at a pet shop. The snake was covered in mites, looked like a paradox it had so many on it. He was skinny, they claimed he was mean and would bite anyone. He ws housed infront of a tank that had about 25 or so rats infront of it. All day he could see food, smell food, and was starving and being sucked dry to death. I bought him for 60 dollars...I may have "purchased" this snake but in my eyes I very much so rescued him from the horrible conditions he was in. He would have died if it wasn't from me. He ended up being an amazing snake and was by far the best snake I have EVER owned. (: He is now happily doing reptile education shows with a dear friend of mine and he loves him to. Just because you pay for an animal in my eyes doesn't mean it can' tbe a rescue. No reason to argue about the wording. It is all about taking the snake out of a bad sitituation and making it's life a whole lot better!

Thanks for reading!
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0.10 normal balls
0.1 100% Het Albino
1.1 Butter
0.3 Pinstripe
0.1 Spider
0.1 Black Pastel
0.3 Pastels
1.0 Yellowbelly
0.1 Ghost
0.0.1 Sulcata Tortoise

Most importantly
1.0 hubby that shares my hobby

If the pet store did not change how it took care of the reptiles they could be served with papers from the local police department or ASPCA and possibly lose their business license correct?

It's almost impossible to nail a chain store though.
The cops will come in...say something...
they'll clean up their act for a week or month or whatever, and go right back to crappy care.
You can't talk to a manager because they have no real power. Petco the corporation dictates how the animals are kept (caging, lighting etc) and that's that.
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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)

It would seem as if they got warned enough times there would actually be something done about it. It's BS that the store can be warned several times and nothing be done about it. If it were you or me we would have our animals seized from our house or building that we keep our collection in, be fined and not allowed to have any animals for a certain amount of time. If they can't take care of them the way they are suppose to then they don't need to have them at their stores.

We don't have corporate lawyers and funding.
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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)

Sadly, I think you're overly optimistic thinking the cops would even bother coming in. Or if they came in, think they'd actually know if there was something wrong? I've worked for both of the big box stores, and both times they had some reptile "Expert" working there, who was the token "expert" because he had purchased a leopard gecko once...maybe. I'm sorry but keeping a leopard gecko alive long enough to get bored with it, does not qualify someone to maintain multiple species at once, especially when they're all crammed into one multi-habitat, that has no real way of maintaining proper temps and humidity. And when corporate thinks that their habitat is the end all be all of herp habitats, they really don't want to listen to someone saying it's not. In my opinion both places, as a general rule, suck. If you're lucky, you might come across someone who actually knows what they're talking about, but in my experience they'll still be overruled by some idiot higher up.

The problem with Petco reptiles enclosures is that they are meant to stop theft and escape. They're not built to maintain animals. They hope the animals will sell fast so they can just pump more and more animals through the system. They don't want to waste space, food and "effort" keeping a leopard gecko or python there for months.

It sucks, I know...but it's true.
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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)