Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know I should never ever set foot in Petland, but someone told me they had baby alligators on display and I couldn't resist. Ugh. All of the reptiles were living in their own filth. They happened to have a Borneo blood, and From the state of the poor creature's cage, it hadn't been cleaned in a month. Poor baby, but I'm not about to take on a rescue animal who's probably got parasites and a horrible temper. Even the poor ball pythons were literally crawling with mites and ticks. I'm so furious I could spit nails. Should I take surreptitious photos of the neglect before I call the police?

I would report it to the right people right away, or try to get them to take care of them properly.A friend gave some advise on how to keep their snakes at proper temps and humidity, and now he's coming to him and asking questions which I though was neat.Atleast he's taking the right steps and now trying to make the requirements needed for the pet stores snakes to thrive and to sell healthy animals.We were almost going to test them out and see if they would sell me a snake they know isn't eating since they have gotten him, but this one kid might make the difference, so we'll give him a little while to make things better.They have anything they need at cost so why not make the best of it, with the best.

The biggest problem is that all of the employees are 5'2" blonde girls who were hired only for their looks. I wish I were exaggerrating, but it's true. They're all afraid fo the snakes, particularly the blood. I've already called and reported neglect once, and things only got marginally better. Now it's worse than the first time I called the police!

Hey,
You might want to try calling animal control. They'll probably do more than the police. It's a shame that these shops are allowed to carry these animals. Even worse, the fact that they hire poorly trained staff.
-Angel
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"Until we lose our self, there is no way of finding our self."
-Henry Miller.

Word of caution-
Through my own research and experience I have found that many of the so-called animal rescue organizations (which I will not name - but just think about the first few that pop into your head) are NOT reptile friendly. I have seen many reptiles euthanized and/or poorly cared for by such organizations simply because the staff didn't know how to handle them. Therefore my advice to you is to be very selective about who you contact for help. Local herp organizations can stear you in the right direction. If not you may want to contact the local dept of agriculture. Pet stores are responsible for a certain standard of cleanliness and if they are in violation of this they can receive fines or summons. Other than tha I wish you the best of luck in pursuing the issue. I hate stores like that and I'm glad that so many opf you do too.
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0.1.0 argentine horn
0.0.2 pixie
1.1.0 fire salamanders
0.0.1 axolotl
1.1.0 golden treefrogs
0.0.1 green treefrog
0.1.0 golden gecko
0.1.0 skunk gecko
0.0.1 cali king
0.1.0 sumatran blood python
0.1.0 ball python
0.0.1 corn snake
0.0.2 giant black millipdes
0.0.2 dumpys
0.1.0 Argentine B&W

Yeah, local animal control is pretty worthless even when it comes to dogs and cats, so I don't even want to think about trying to get them to care about the wellfare of snakes and lizards.

Its pretty outragous at some of the pet stores I've seen. Luckily the local one near me has a few herp guys working there so they do a pretty good job. But Ive been to Petlands and stuff before and had to explain to employees how to care for things and also to other customers buying feeders that are in desperate need of knowledge. They always charge rediculus prices and cant be selling healthy animals due to their negligent keeping, its really a shame.
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

As much as i hate to say it, we has trouble from a petland here in san antonio and the police, game warden and others were called but a college of mine who is in peta got them involved and and if nothing else they have been a pain in the store owners ass that is worth it, as much as i dont agree with peta...

Most states the pet stores are regulated by the State Dept. of Agriculture. I know this sounds odd but any animal related business not involved directly with native species comes under agriculture. Go figure and the animals in question are "livestock" not unlike cows and sheep. There should be a certificate of some sort posted in plain site, usually near the checkout, of the authority that regulates any pet shop. If you don't see it ask them where it is, if they refuse to show it then they are also in violation for that. These are the people to contact as it is their inspectors that have the authority to handle all complaints. For expample in Illinois its the State Dept. of Agriculture, Animal Welfare Divsion. You want to ask to be put in contact with the inspector for your city and file your complaint directly with them, insist on it, don't just file by phone with the receptionist/secretary. If possible try to have a cup of coffee with the inpector and file a written complaint and be informative as to what to look for. These guys have a job to do but are grossly undereducated as to the specifics. Be helpful to them not argumentative or offensive. Be specific in your complaint, DON'T just say the cages are filthy. If they have mites specify, dirty cages, runny stools etc. For the best impact don't just complain about the condition of the herps. Check out the whole store, even if you have no interest in the other animals. Look for sick, underfed, debilitated animals, mites on rodents, tanks full of dead fish, empty food bowls, water bottles. The more thorough you are in your complaint the more impact it will have on the store. These inspectors are usually overworked and understaffed and without specifics they may and usually do miss, what we would consider obvious. In most cases the animals will be put into quarantine by the store in question and cannot be released for sale until there has been a follow up inspection to see that the matter has been resolved. In severe cases I have seen customers asked to leave the store and the store closed until problems have been solved.

In the case of the mites you mentioned be sure to go back to the store at a later time. It's easy for a pet shop to clean cages, use a product that simply eradicates the mites on the herps but not the mite infestation in the store. The mites are usually back with in a week or so. This is why it's best to meet with the inspector so you can explain about how mites can migrate and that the whole environment needs to be treated not just the herps in question. Educate don't offend.

The police, animal shelters(who are regulated by the same authorities as pet shops) have little that they can do in regards to these complaints.
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Hope this helps.

BigT

Hey,
Very informative, Thanks!
-Angel
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"Until we lose our self, there is no way of finding our self."
-Henry Miller.

Yeah, I just found that out. I made sure to explain to them that reptiles don't pass feces as often as other animals, so there's no excuse at all for the state of the tanks. Oh, and that poor blood the employees claim is so evil - it doesn't have a hide, just a big tub of dirty water. I'd be mean too.

I would write the Better Business Bureau and carbon copy it to the pet store. The BBB will have them on permanent record then and I think they will even send them a follow up letter.

I would also threaten to write the local newspapers as well as the local TV and Radio stations. Just make sure everything you say is fact. Make the owner of the business nervous that you are going to ruin his/her name in public.

Here's a link to some good info about dealing with bad pet stores.

Link

Good luck, I hope you get something accomplished. All you can do is give it your best shot.

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Rob Talkington

So glad the petland near me keeps moderately (not perfect but acceptable) good care of their exotics. The only thing they do wrong is house multiple snakes together.
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
0.1 Red blood python (Rhianon)
0.0.1 ball pythons (FELIX!!!!!)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

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