Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I went into a pet store to get some supplies,I always go by the tanks to see what they have.They had a cute little amel. corn baby in one of those small plastic keepers with nothing but a water dish and there where like 6 crickets on the poor thing!!!!!!! I freaked out and got the lady closest to me and she did take them out but she said someone must of threw some in there over the weekend because the baby had not had a pinky in 3 weeks because they were out!!!!!I offered to go buy a pinky at another store but the other lady that was in charge said no, against there policy. She also tried to tell me that this 12 in. snake was a yearling and that it was ok for them to go a month without eating!!! I blew up!!!!!! I went to the manager, and he assured me that he would correct everything and feed the little guy.
Sorry for the long post but I just don't understand how some people could be so cruel to an innocent LIFE!!
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Carolyn
1 Leopard Gecko, 1 Corn snake,1 Pacman,2 Firebelly Toads,6 cats,3 dogs, and 2 newts

Carolyn
I know what you mean!! I hate to even go into pet stores anymore!!

There is one here in town that I will not go to anymore. The reptiles they have are always in really bad shape. The last time I was in the store, I found a rough green snake dead in its cage. There was no hides or climbing branches for it, and a water dish. It was in a 10 gal aquarium with a 100 watt incandecent light bulb on top and no temp gauge. So I am pretty sure the heat killed the little guy. Anyways I got the store owner to come over and take a look at it. He threw it into the trash and said "oh well". I tried to talk to the guy about me volunteering my time to come in and help out with the reptiles. He said no and flat out told me "I could care less about the reptiles, and besides, I can make more money on the Eukanuba dog food I sell." I was steaming hot and went off on this @%*hole and told him I would tell all of my friends and family about his crappy attitude.

People like that should be fined a huge hefty fine and their permit to sell animals should be revoked!!

It makes me mad too, and I know the majority of people on here feel the same way about pet stores!

Although not all pet stores are bad, there is one other one here in town that really takes care of their animals.

Happy herping
Brian

How awful!!!!!!!! I don't know how I would of reacted if that was me. I can't believe people take jobs in pet shops and don't like or care for animals. I guess they just need to fire "miss nasty pants" and hire someone who cares. I know if I worked there( I am far from being an expert)I would admit to not knowing an ansewer and I would also do tons of research about each animal under my care.
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Carolyn
1 Leopard Gecko, 1 Corn snake,1 Pacman,2 Firebelly Toads,6 cats,3 dogs, and 2 newts

Consider yourself, and the little snake, lucky--that the manager actually listened and promised to rectify the problem, instead of going stubborn and ordering you out of the store. I've actually been told to basically mind my own business before, when I was being NICE and explaining some problems with herp setups in stores.

I do think there was a bit of luck to it, believe me I was prepared to be kicked out. I just hope the manager wasn't just blowing smoke but will REALLY take care of the little sweetie. I would of bought him but I already have a new baby coming from Don at SMR in a few weeks and I am tring to get that cage setup now. Plus the store would not have learned anything if I just bought the snake but maybe I will just check on him in a few days and see.
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Carolyn
1 Leopard Gecko, 1 Corn snake,1 Pacman,2 Firebelly Toads,6 cats,3 dogs, and 2 newts

i feel really lucky that i have a good petshop fairly close by, they only sell exotic pets like reptiles, insects and fish. all the staff know their stuff and the animals are all in the best enviroment possible.

I am getting so sick of pet stores, especially the big chain stores.

Hi, I am Gene by the way. I normally hang out on the monitor forum with that bunch of yahoos & bone heads. I have a couple of okeetee corns too though. They are just starting to shed into their orange.

I have seen a bunch of animals that the stores shouldn't even carry. Animals with more specialized care requirements like Chams, monitors, and Uros.

Those aside, they have one adult corn that looks like it just got snached out of a field somewere. Very dingy color, bad attitude, you get the pic. The beardies are slowly dieing, the geckos are paper thin, it's enough to make you sick. My wife keeps geckos and almost started to cry yesterday when she looked at them.

I don't know, it's just sad and people buy them that way.

Later, Gene

>>I am getting so sick of pet stores, especially the big chain stores.

Just two weeks ago, I visited a chain pet store called "PetCenter" in Winnipeg, to discuss reptiles with the manager. I noticed that they had none, and I questioned him about it. The response I rec'd, was that their chain doesn't purchase or sell reptiles, because they feel the care of these animals is too specialized. He advised me that they prefer to maintain a breeders' list, and to refer queries about reptiles to qualified breeders that can supply support to the purchasers of their animals. I was quite impressed.

I visited a number of other pet store in Winnipeg that week, to check out their premises and policies, prior to offering several yearling Black Rat Snakes for sale. I found three stores in which the reptiles were all maintained in clean and attractive cages, with fresh water, and evidently all well-fed. In two cases, the owners were anticipating new arrivals, and refused to buy the babies since they wouldn't be able to house them adequately at that time. Again, I was impressed. One of these stores did take one of the babies, as the owner felt that one was all he could house at that time, and he has assured me that he'll reserve space for some of my babies next year. The remaining five went as a "lot" (this store, I'd made previous arragements with - last year). I watched him place each baby into a clean and adequately large cage.

The stores that I recommend for reptiles in Winnipeg are:

"Bird Shop & Aquariums" - 1034 Main Street - mgr: Henry (jwbirdco@shaw.ca)
"Pet Outfitters" - 3426 Portage Ave. - mgr: Ryan Dunbar
"Pets 101" - 2539 Portage Ave., and 6650 Roblin Blvd. - mgr: Chad

For reptile veterinary care in Winnipeg, I recommend:

"Centennial Animal Hospital" - 2747 Pembina Hwy - [204] 269-8162
"WinRose Animal Hospital" - 534 St. Anne's Road - [204] 254-3150

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tricia

No obviously not all stores, chain or other wise are going to be bad. I am really glad you have found / know of some good ones. There are a couple of "mom & pop" places here where I live that do pretty well and take good care of the animals too.

It just seems like for every good one there are so many bad ones that would just as soon throw a dying animal away as to look at it. I have a few examples but they hardly warrent hashing out. I'll bet the vast majority of retail shops don't have the equipment or the proper level of knowledge to keep reptiles successfully for any period of time. That's what saddens me.

Great job finding the good ones!!

Although I have recently had trouble with one of the chain stores and do not personally care for any of the three major chain stores in my area, I do have a very good pet store in my area. They specialize in reptiles, produce most of their animals and are very knowledgeable about their animals.
I get bothered when I see people automatically bash all pet stores. There are plenty of good pet stores out there.
With a good local pet store you can observe the animals before buying them, you can find out the history of the animals, first hand, and you can watch them feed before buying them.
I have to wonder sometimes when I read where people say NO NO NO never buy from a pet store they are the worst, the only place to get your reptiles is at shows or through reputable dealers.
Now, I definitely go along with reputable breeder/dealers. I would most adamantly stress that over shows unless the breeder is at the show you will be attending.
Just because it is a reptile show doesn't mean you can trust everyone there. There are a lot of small shows that are basically local breeders/hobbyists and if you are from out of town you may not know a single person there.
I went to a show in Birmingham back in November and it was not good. Most of the people at the show were just local breeders/hobbyists that had no histories of their animals, no business addresses and no form of guarantee. That to me doesn't sound like the best place to get reptiles to me. Now, I will admit I saw a few nice animals and there was one very nice booth set up with Leopard geckos. But I also saw some half dead lizards, water turtles kept in dry containers and a couple of corn snakes that looked like they had pieces of skin left over from at least two previous sheds.
There were also a sh** load of hatchling turtles for sell. This is illegal you know and doesn't say much for the reputation of the show.
My local pet store guarantees their reptiles. If they don't eat they will give your money back. That's even if you buy a hatchling that hasn't even had it's first meal.
Two of the five snakes I got from them were obtained before they had eaten their first meal. They are doing great.
All five are excellent eaters and very docile.
Anyway I am rambling......My point is simple, don't automatically bash pet stores. There are a lot of good pet stores out there and a lot of good pet store owners who deserve a chance.

My five local pet store acquisitions.
Creamsicle Arwen:

Amel. Yoda:

Anery. Legolas:

Snow Frosty:

Snow Yeti:

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Jimmy (draybar)

Wonderful looking snakes you got there.
I totally agree with what you said about shows.
I do have a nice place by me that handles nice animals and that is where I got my Jewel. The only problem is if you want a more specialized morph you have to go to a breeder.I am getting a Lavender next month and can't wait !!!!!!!!
I also want a Ball Python and plan on buying one from my local store, they carry very nice looking normals !

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Carolyn
1 Leopard Gecko, 1 Corn snake,1 Pacman,2 Firebelly Toads,6 cats,3 dogs, and 2 newts

>>
Good luck finding some quality snakes.
You will need to post pics when you get the new snakes
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Jimmy (draybar)

I know what you mean about the Geckos. I have a leopard gecko and always look in on them at the store. I to have seen the paper thin tails and toothpick bodies, you know they are sick but thet just stay there until they die.I think most pet stores feel it is to much money to vet them.
I feel in love with reptiles from seeing them at the store but something needs to change,for the animals sake and to make sure people know how to "properly" take care of there new little sweeties!
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Carolyn
1 Leopard Gecko, 1 Corn snake,1 Pacman,2 Firebelly Toads,6 cats,3 dogs, and 2 newts

For a small state like RI, we have some of the best reptile places. Royal Reptiles in Providence, and JL Breeders in East Provodence are the two that come to mind. Also, Rumford Pets has a VERY knowledgeable staff in re: to reptiles. They have also been known to take in animals for sale. They currently have a red tailed boa with cage and set up for $200.00....sigh. Wish I could take her....Anyway, some of the other stores are sad to visit. The Bearded Dragons have their toes and tails nibbled off from lack of food, and the cages smell. The snakes look sick and thin, with folds of skin on their sides....AND somehow, these are the places that charge the most money! I purchased a cute little beardie, a 20 gal long cage, lamp unit, rep-cal cricket dust vitamin-stuff all for under $100.00 at JL, and at the "chain stores" they were asking $69.99 for a nibbled beardie alone! All I can say is support the good places, and visit the bad ones to keep them on their toes.

I do have some pretty good stores near me but I was going to this store for cat supplies( I like what the carry and no one else near me does). Unfortantly they are the worest store for reptiles. I guess I will just keep tring to help when I can and maybe they will clean up there act, they do take ok care of some of there animals they just didn't with the baby corn.
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Carolyn
1 Leopard Gecko, 1 Corn snake,1 Pacman,2 Firebelly Toads,6 cats,3 dogs, and 2 newts

against there policy. She also tried to tell me that this 12 in. snake was a yearling and that it was ok for them to go a month without eating!!! I blew up!!!!!! I went to the manager, and he assured me that he would correct everything and feed the little guy.
Sorry for the long post but I just don't understand how some people could be so cruel to an innocent LIFE!

I think it's important to make the distinction between deliberate cruelty, and ignorance. How you respond in such a situation should be determined by whether you are indeed observing someone being cruel with intent, or just not knowing any better. I don't know what you mean when you say you "blew up!!!!!!" but if you were loud, condescending, or otherwise rude, you very probably made an enemy, rather than a newly educated friend. And the experience may have also turned this person off to snakes or reptiles in general, making them even less likely to want to learn anything about their care.

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Pituophis