picked up another one...i think i'm hooked

[aingeal]

So Petco was having there reptile sale this weekend and I found this little girl (or boy) and just fell in love. Very active, social and flicking her tongue at everything. when we first went to hold her she balled up slightly but within seconds was opening up and checking us out. we didn't feel the need to box her up and in the car ride home she fell asleep in my boyfriends hands (or was very relaxed anyways). i know, pet stores aren't the place to purchase from, but we've gotten all our reptiles (25 of them :freakedout:) from big chain pet stores and all of them are doing great. it makes me feel good that we can provide better homes for these guys than what they have in the store...kinda like a rescue mission i think. anyways, here is a pic of her (or him)..this is Loki.

[smy_749]

rescue mission? .......

[aingeal]

when buying from a big chain pet store...some of their reptiles they have for almost a year sitting in 3-5 gal setups with all the wrong temps and humidity. At least with the stores in my area.

[FWK]

Ima go way out a limb and guess that it's a boy based on the size of its head (just a guess, really no way to be sure other than popping or probing). Your mission is admirable but big box stores are not a good place to rescue pets, all you are doing is encouraging them to stock more of them at the wrong temps and humidity. As soon as you buy one another will take its place. Buy from local pet stores or better yet direct from breeders when possible. If you really want to rescue pets go to shelters or watch craigslist.

[aingeal]

I have a appointment setup to get all our snakes probed, but the one vet that will even see them can't until next month :( Very good point about the big box stores. Unfortunately, there are only two local stores that sell reptiles, but their conditions and restock morals are the same (if not worse, housing different species together with completely opposite needs) and tend to quote box store ideas and there are no breeders in the area either. I could order online, but I have no clue who to order from. There are so many and I don't know of any reputable ones to go too, but I am certainly open to any recommendations if any of you guys have some.

[franks]

I completely understand the sentiment, but there are a bunch of us here that cringe thinking about somebody buying 25 animals from petco. First off, I am genuinely excited for you- new snakes are fun. Secondly, it's your money and your reptiles and I want to say niether I, nor anyone else, has a right to tell you what to buy or where to buy. I just would like to explain the thought process behind our aversion to big chain reptiles. Buying from them negatively effects the animals we love and our hobby in 2 ways:

You are not rescuing the animal. You can go there and buy a snake once a week and every week there will be a new snake there. The more that are sold the more they buy. Since they have proven incapable of properly caring for the reptiles we love, we don't want them buying or keeping any. The less reptiles they touch and effect the better.
The other aspect here is that it negatively effects the people who are working hard to keep these animals and breed them in the right way. Let's just completely skip the part where it is cheaper to buy from a breeder. There are plenty of people who invest in proper setups and top of the line rodents because they love working with their specific reptiles. Buying from big chains is not supporting the guys (and girls) who are out there doing the right thing by the animals.
Just my 2 cents.