Another misinformed petstore!!!

[CDN-Cresties]

Ok, well i wont mention the name of the store but if you want to know just PM me. Here it goes, i went to a pet shop around my area, and to my displeasure, i seen many horrible things. First i saw a crested gecko under a light bulb that was pushing the temp above 80 degrees and I also saw a boa and a BP covered in mites. I told the person working in the reptile section what they were doing wrong and he said that he was part time and he didnt know to much, but he said that he would inform his manager. My thing is why hire someone who really didnt know what they were doing? But hopefully he told his manager and some change will occur.

-Steve-

[Aaron_S]

Ok we see these posts ALL the time and they get the same response...how about if you find a bad pet store(90%) you do something about it...maybe get a job there,call some organization. Just stop complaining about it.

[SerpentLust]

Sheesh Aaron, that was a bit harsh. I had that happen, and so I worked my BUTT off to get hired there. However, even then you aren't secure. In alot of pet stores that aren't primarily reptiles, you'll notice that they treat the reptiles like stock or supplies and not actually creatures...a month later, after I had taken extra time to give them all proper husbandry and inform the customers extensively on their purchases...I got fired because I wasn't kind of just selling and getting customers out, and I took too much time with the care and maintenance...

Jenn

[katev17]

Just stop complaining about it.

Aaron, if you don't want to hear about it, don't reply. Just raise an eyebrow and move on. No good can come of it. It's good that Steve's able to recognize the problems of the pet store, as a lot of people don't see how serious it is until they see it first hand. He HAS made somewhat of an effort: he's made an uneducated employee aware that mistakes have been made. No need to be so negative toward him.

Kate

[mark129er]

After reading some of the stories I guess I'm lucky. The pet stores here are owned by the people who work there so they aren't just "putting in time" and the people who deal with the reptiles seem knowledgeable and sincere.

[Jayson]

Steve
It is hard to walk into a store where there is supposed to be people that know what they are doing but don't.
You are going to see that everywhere at some given point of time.
It is starting to get better but sometimes the cute and fuzzy type pet stores are the worst.
I have found from experience of speaking up the only way the message will get across is go and speak with the manager/owner yourself do not rely on the employee who has no clue about the animals in the first place because he/she will have no information to back up the protest of neglect. Normally cute and fuzzy stores get reptiles as a show piece thinking that their customers will ohhh and ahhh over the reptiles they have without the understanding of how to care for them.
It is a long and frustrating battle to be fought just have patience and do not be demeaning. That will only close the ears of the listener.
Christina

[liltattyprinces]

I hate to say it but it's every where, I speak up but hate to say, it usally does little good. So i choose to deal with one specific store. I've known the owners for about 17 yrs and they treat all the animals with the best care. I've just gotten to the point that i can't sotmach seeing the neglect that takes place in some of the big chain stores. So i take my business to a reputable family owned store with careing and knowlegeable staff

[CDN-Cresties]

Thanks for the postive feedback. :D

-Steve-

[MouseKilla]

It has a lot to do with the kind of store you go to. The family owned kind give you the best service. The worst is the big chain store in the mall hiring the brain dead teenagers for minimum wage. I don't give them a hard time because I know they're likely paid sh*t and treated worse. If the store cares about the service they'll have someone usefull asking if you need help right away when you walk in. Sometimes they don't care though, they just hang a bunch of animals up on the wall like it was Wal-Mart and wait for you to ring the till. Thank you, have a nice day sir.

[alan]

The worst part is seeing the teenage employees taking snakes out just to fool around or to impress their friends. I've seen it a couple of times and I just thought it's totally unessesary. Just leave the snakes alone. And if they need handling, do it with some professionism, that will just mislead customers that that is the right thing to do.
Anyhow, I still think the pet stores in Toronto ain't as bad as the ones in other cities. I see them doing something wrong here and there (or may be I am not educated enough to find more mistakes?), but overall they are fine.

[sapphire_moon]

I did the same thing at a petstore in my area. And they actually did something about it..........I was truely amazed. When I mentioned about the bp's being sick and that it might be IBD they actually stayed there and asked me the symptoms and such, and said they would have their vet check them out! I was amazed!