ARGH! Boarding NIGHTMARE!

[lilyskip]

I just had the worst experience today when I went to go pick up Huxley from the reptile store that was boarding him for the 3 weeks I was gone. This was the location at which I bought him, and he checked out healthy, so I figured that was a good sign. Plus, they were the only place I knew that would board the animals.

So I called the store about three times the week before I was going to pick him up, as late as two days ago, to make sure they knew that I was coming in on Thursday and to please NOT feed him after Tuesday afternoon. After an hour-long bus ride (i have no car up here) to the store, the first thing that I find out is that he ate TODAY. What about the THREE CALLS I made to make sure this did NOT happen?!?! "Well, he didn't eat yesterday." ARRRRGHHH!!!

THEN, I actually go to look at him, and his tank is FILTHY. Clearly, it had not been cleaned since I brought him there--the newspaper was the same as *I* had put down. There were at least four bowel movements in the tank, a huge urine stain in the middle of the tank, and clumps of urate everywhere. Even more, he was shedding, and his skin was coming off in pieces, because his humidity was at 40%, and he had about half an inch of water in his bowl. The heat on the hot side was at 80...coincidentally the same as the cold side!! WOohoOO!

I FREAKED OUT. I think I burst into tears upon seeing the tank...I wasn't prepared to learn that my snake was left in total neglect for three weeks, aside from being fed. I could scream. And then when I confronted the lady (one of the owners, I think) about the dirty tank, she actually said, "This tank isn't dirty." I think my response was along the lines of, "Excuse me? Shall we count the bowel movements in here?!" They didn't charge me for boarding, but that's little comfort.

I brought Hux home after they cleaned the tank, even though he just ate--despite my better judgement. I just couldn't stand to know that he was there any longer than he had to be. He hasn't regurgitated yet, and i'm hoping that he doesn't at all. ugh, this was awful... :medangry:

[marisa]

Man that sucks.

Good he is back home with you. I hope he recovers from this experience just fine.

Marisa

[HetForHuman]

Damn pet stores.
sometimes i think most of them just dont give a damn.
i think i would have started screaming at the ladie, hmmm maybe even stick her head inside the tank and rub her nose in the feces.
then yelled som more.

i hope you can find a better place to take Huxley next time you have to leave.

[sapphire_moon]

If I was near you I would have watched him for you...If he gets sick from that can you sue because they were boarding him, and they are responsible for his care and well being......

[Andy_G]

That really sucks!!! I couldn't handle that without hitting someone, i'm sorry, but if anyone mistreats my snakes, they're mistreating part of my family, so they'd get it.

[Pia]

Sorry to hear that lilyskip, hope he's none the worse for it.

[Lisa]

Hopefully Hux will be just fine. Snakes can be hardy animals. I wouldn't board him there again though.

[lilyskip]

Thanks for the support, guys. It's kind of sad, because I always liked that reptile store, and now I never want to go there again. Hux didn't throw up, which is good, but he hasn't moved very much since I got him home. I'm hoping he's still digesting and that he's not sick. I'll move him in a few days to clean his tank (which now SMELLS). grr.

[Linds]

Sorry to hear about your experience :( Pet stores are scary, even the good ones, you know your snake will be exposed to all the scary stuff that comes in. They are not going to quarantine your snake from everything, and sanitize themselves after touching other snakes before they touch your little guy. Huxley should be fine, I've had to travel snakes the day after a meal before. If he hasn't puked yet, I'm sure he will be just fine :) Be sure to keep an eye out for RI or anything with those low temps. Good luck and keep us updated :thumbsup:

[Invictus]

Good luck Lilyskip. I guess we'll just chalk this up to one more nail in the coffin of the reputation of pet stores....

[Piers]

I got to ask, why would you send a snake to be boarded if your only gone for three weeks? All snakes can live much much longer without food and as for water, a larger bowl would probably do it. And I'm sure you could of found one person to top up the water.
I'm not tring to be an *** but putting a pet snake into a petshop will cause more troubles than its worth! Petshops have a lot if not most wild cought animals in them, and as you now know first hand don't always look after them as they should
Piers

[lilyskip]

Piers--
Thanks for the input. It's not so much a pet store as a specialty reptile store. All of their animals are from breeders, and that is where I bought my snake. Plus, my snake didn't stay in a public tank. He was the tank that I keep him in at home, away from the merchandise.

I sent him to be boarded since none of my friends were in town who could take care of him. The house I was living in over the summer had to be emptied, and I couldn't leave any stuff (let alone a live animal) in there. Also, I was expecting him to shed, and wanted someone to be able to raise the humidity (which, even though the boarders didn't do, it was their responsibility to do that). Plus, he's just a baby and needs to eat. Three weeks without food is a bit much for me to be comfortable with. Even more, there's a lot of things that can happen to a snake left alone--like, he could pull down his digital thermometer and get hurt on the sticky side.

I'm not sure what you do with YOUR animals...I think it's fine to leave snakes alone for a week or so, but IMO, three weeks is too long, especially if you are expecting a shed or if the snake is young and growing.

[TheRedDragon]

Thank god your snake is back with you, at least you KNOW how to care for herps. Man that p**ses me off! I would do more than just yell at them....... :mad: