Reptile & Amphibian Forums

at a local pet storeone of the largest Pet co)ompany stores there is ...........
about two weeks ago I was in there picking up stuff for fish
and there lay this wonderful tri color milk snake......
my wife and I asked to see the animal -after close examination
I asked the sales kid....... if I could speak with him ."yes sir.
how may I skrew you today?" I explained that I don't have much
"real world" experience & that I don't own alot of snakes, every thing I know I’ve read in books or collected online and word of
mouth, I told the guy that the snake was deathly sick and needed to see
a vet. the guy shrugged his shoulders like: who cares,,..........
a week later I come to the store to get more fish stuff -my wife has
the intention of checking on the milk,(she wanted to buy it baaad) and I in the back of my
mind was considering checking out their ball pythons ,because
of a sale on that particular type of snake...
"where is the milk? - -pet co)ompany -"um um um hey your that guy
who said,........my manager would like to speak with you"
the milk DIED the next morning( an absolute tragic loss! man!,
this snake was "picture quality" -the manager wanted to know
what I saw and thought , I told him.......
the pythons are sick, the red tail is sick and they are not far
from dying also........I also explained IMO-- that the cages
where gross, to small, to cold - they need to be fed more -
and most importantly! THEY NEED TO SEE A VET NOW! - well I went
back this weekend they are all dead or still dying -and coincidently they are ALL on sale now.

my point is,,,,,, I always considered online sales and sites
as RA RA RA I’m better then them because........propaganda
but I was wrong, plain and simple wrong.... "buy from me because
pet stores suck,2nd grade animals, we supply quality" they are
telling the truth,
so my question is what sitesbreedersmail order delivery outfits
have you had a good experience with? who do you recommend?
I’m not buying from one of those hell holes again , that chain
was supposed to be "the best"
Thanks,
Dallas
Dwiebelhaus@msn.com

thats not just with snakes either, most of the animals I see in most petstores, fish, reptiles, rodents, whatever, seems to be sick. The reptiles are the worst of course. Is it even possible to sell animals in petstores or is it just ignorance on the part of the managers and employees? They sell fish in walmart, need I say more?
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My greybands:
Prince Mandrake and Princess Caldera

I agree that most pet stores are bad. I saw some cali kings and rat snakes at a pet co that looked half dead. They were extremly thin and underfed. I also know of another pet store that was saling ball pythons that were not guranteed feeders for 24 bucks. If you want to get a good animal you have to go to the private breeders these days. just my two cents.

It's sad but true...like said, it happens with many animals in those stores but it seems like the herps suffer the most because one, "it's just a snake!" as so many say, and two snakes in particular can "hide" their illnesses long enough to make a vet visit necessary - which most won't do.

If you can find a reputable local breeder (or even from anywhere) then you should be OK...just about any of the regulars on here can point you in the direction of ethical breeders...at that level those guys can't afford to have a bad rap.

Just stay away from some stores in south Florida, not to far from the "Glades," a huge "cargo" like store in West Palm, etc.
JMO though.

-John

Now that I have kingsnake hatchlings, I've been looking at local petstores to possibly sell my babies. (next year I plan to try to sell them differently, but this year we are moving and need the income and fewer animals to move). There is one that boasts of having one of the largest reptile collections for sale. They have about 35 or 40 cages. They weren't interested in buying my babies, and I was glad, after I saw the condition of the cages. All of the animals had hides, bark substrate, clean water dishes. But each cage had at least two or three patchy sheds, feces. They had one conehead lizard (?) that had bony little legs and looked like it was on death's door. It was reduced from $75 down to $25. Further along they had an adult sinaloan milk snake, reduced from $250 down to $125. Poor thing was sitting their with bubbles at its nostrils, it's mouth wide open, in obvious respiratory distress.

Luckily there are nice petstores in the area that do care for their reptiles. But it made me so sad for those poor creatures. But you know what happens if you buy a sick reptile... money down the toilet, and a freed up cage for a new animal to come in and be abused. lose lose... best solution, never go back.
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~Sasheena

Hi-
That is a horrible story and its got me really worried. I just purchased a california kingsnake from a petco near me two days ago. Its not very big and it appears healthy but from your story im now really worried. This is my first time owning a snake and i dont know how to tell if its sick. I am definatly taking it to the vet asap but in the meantime are there any warning signs too look for?
-worried

Do you have the "king snake manual"?
if you don't get it! the actual name is "the general care and
maintenance of common king snakes"
by: David perlowin
published by: the herpetocultural library
I would look for:
consistent tongue flicking, some what solid feces ,skin consistency ,(no scales sticking straight up, no brown patches)
I know the snake is small, but pay attention to how it moves
is it vigorous? strong -does it seem "dizzy"-not good) does it seem attentive, alert etc.does it's mouth hang open -as in trying to get some air?-not good, these are things that you most likely
already looked for out of common sense and care for the animal.
and this may seem strange............ but
hold the animal - and "feel" it's presence , does it seem happy?
.........to you? or do you "feel" .............nothing like the animal is absent?like it's already gone- I know it seems or sounds weird , but that's the first thing I do, -or I’ll just ask it! ha ha ha "hey dude
do you feel alright?" ha ha I know I’m the weirdo.
some other folks on here like sasheena and oldnerper could tell you
more serious things to look for, these are just general first impression things ,
but anyway don't worry , i'm sure your heart picked the "right one"
Dallas

okay thank you so much i will definatly buy that book the it seems alright except it does flick its tongue constantly(and i thought i was just smelling me : ) well thank you for your time and your probobly right its probobly okay. One more question do you know how to correctly post pictures, im having trouble with that.
-katie

Tonuge flicking is a wonderful thing! that's a good thing,
sorry, i'm not a writer - i might have given the wrong impression
that it was bad , no that's great.
you need web space to post a pic , or a pic from a web address
in the bottom column you paste or write the link in "image url:
right click on this pic and select properties -you will see what
i'm talkin about,
Dallas

Unfortunately I'm not completely self sufficient and still have to go to the pet store for crickets and feeder fish. But when I'm there I keep a good distance from their reptiles for fear of bringing one of their nasty diseases home to my collection.
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International Snakes Meetup