scary trip to pet store.....

[justinO]

I was in a **store** yesterday dropping off some pet rats and decided to take a look in the reptile department.....

1st: big, MEAN, female carpet, $750. Albino boa, $3000. Since when do pet stores carry higher end stuff (boa)??

2nd: employee guy there with juvi ball python around his arm.... i took a peek and dude said he wouldn't bite, i said "yes, i know, i have 14 of them."...... He went on to say that he just got him yesterday and decided to bring him into work and play with him. ooooookaaaay.... that poor bp probably won't eat for 6 months now from being so scared.

3rd: boy came in with his ball python, said it wouldn't eat. The thing was hours away from death, couldn't even hang on. Store guy put it down, it started biting itself and filping around and around. It was so sad, and they didn't put it out of it's misery, store guy just put it back in a little box. They said out of the 4 they got off the breeder that now 3 had come back dead or dying. I couldn't stand it anymore and i left.

Makes me wish there was a power like the OSPCA for cats and dogs, but for reptiles.... governing this these awful conditions that have been accepted as the norm in retail business for them.

Next time, I go in, drop off rats, and get the hell out.

[Matt_K]

Justin, I edited your thread so that the store name doesn't appear anymore.. We don't allow names to be mentioned in threads like this :D Hope you understand..

[exotic_66]

the guy actually got that bp that exact morning , dont worry jessy i will have a talk with the manager tomorrow.

thanx for sharin

~nessy~

[stha4]

I've also seen some bad things in some pet stores.Thats why I dont buy from them unless i know where they are from and have a contact number.I stick with a breeder i know. When I was younger my dad had gone into a pet store to get mice for our other snakes.in the process he just stopped in the reptile department to find a WC male ball pythons in horrible shape ticks....all kinds of stuff and the employees wouldnt even stick their hands in the cage cause they were scared he'd bite so my dad went back in the back room an took him right out without getting bitten.They obviously didnt know what they were doing they were selling him for $80 an my dad managed to talk them down to $40.That was my first snake as a kid but i was around snakes my whole life.

[justinO]

That's okay for taking out the name... I just figured since it's a chain that it might be okay.... sorry!

Also, I didn't mean to get anyone in trouble, I just think that pet stores as a whole should be looked after somehow! I'm guessing some of it might have to dowith the breeder, but still. I just feel so bad for the little guys. Made me run home and triple check on all my snakes to make sure they were okay....

If I can have just as many animals as a pet store (and I do), and take care of them just fine (none die, all healthy and happy), why can't a store?

[Linds]

Originally posted by justinO
Albino boa, $3000. Since when do pet stores carry higher end stuff (boa)??


When they become quite common place. Albino boas are literally everywhere these days :rolleyes:

[Matt_K]

Originally posted by justinO
Also, I didn't mean to get anyone in trouble, I just think that pet stores as a whole should be looked after somehow! I'm guessing some of it might have to dowith the breeder, but still. I just feel so bad for the little guys. Made me run home and triple check on all my snakes to make sure they were okay....


Nessy works there, therefore, her talking to the Manager is actually a good thing :D Let's hope this will have some impact on the way they care for their animals now..

-Matt

[mykee]

If this is the place across the street from where you live Justin, then this is the first I've ever heard of them being caught with their pants down so to speak. I've always seen them to be quite clean and knowledgeable with their reptiles.
The OSPCA, (Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is not just there to protect dogs and cats, but all pets, reptiles too.

[justinO]

Mykee, no, i work at that one (kennedy commons), they are pretty good with their reptiles...
I've always been involved with the ospca chapters and most avoid the issue when it comes to reptiles, which is too bad.

Knowledge goes as far as they are paid sometimes.... and i am often asked to go over to answer questions, so i'm glad i work there at times. 9 times out of ten, i grab a piece of paper with ssnakess.com written on it and tell them to come here instead!! ;)

Does Jeff have business cards made? Cuz I could certainly use them!