Bushmaster11B
Juvenile Dragon
- Messages
- 543
- Location
- In the U.S. of A.
This is a sad story I have to share about a local private owned pet store in Amarillo, TX (where I live). So I walked into this store which sells all kinds of reptiles, freshwater fish, prairie dogs (it's a TX thing and they are great pets), kittens and toy miniature dogs. I haven't been in this store for over 10 yrs and for some reason I decided to check them out to see if they had some cheap bulbs. Everything was clean and the store was setup nice (beside certain animals not having enough space in their enclosures and kennels). I was talking to the owner about breeding a pair of 100% Citrus BD's when I bought my female in a couple of months just like I did with my friends shop thats sells saltwater fish and reptiles (much more pristine store and way better environment for animals). He told me he would buy what ever I didn't sell out of each clutch for an average of $250 for each baby BD from my pair. I was happy at that point. Then I asked him if he had any UVB/Basking light combo (single bulb) lights. He showed me an overpriced $43 T-Rex Mercury Bulb that had the price tag of $89! I immediately called him out on the bulb and told him he wasn't going to make a near $50 profit on me. So I asked him to reconsider the price and he was willing to sell it for $50. Needless to say, I still turned him down but asked to see it. THEN..... what he showed me broke my heart. He directed me to a "norm" BD priced at $69 and it was.... "wait a minute! Where is his TAIL!????" 3/4 of his tail was gone. I asked, "what happened to him?" And he replied the bulb burnt his tail off.... I immediately asked him, "THAT BULB? The one that you STILL have in there?!?!" I was VERY VERY upset!
That JERK still had the same bulb in the BD's enclosure, unprotected! The bulb was completely exposed in the enclosure! And he kept the same BD with a tail nub from that bulb in there! REALLY? Why was this guy still selling him for $69? Why was he selling ANY animal at all? This is what I said before I left in much better "G" Rated series of words..... I said, "You know those babies I was willing to sell you for $225 each? Forget it! I would never sell or buy anything from someone who is not passionate enough to properly keep his animals safe and healthy!" Then I remember a disturbing thought I lost during my brain injury over in Afghanistan. I remembered I sold him a rare Albino Corn Snake Breeder with ghost patterns (it breaks my heart to this day that I don't have my corn snake) back in 2002. I ask him right before I left, "remember that Albino Corn Snake Breeder I sold you back in 02? Did you manage to keep him alive, or was he mistreated by you too?" I ran out all the customers in this small store needless to say and I told them to spread the word about this place and how they treat their animals for sale. This wasn't the first time or animal I have seen neglected at this store.
The moral of this story is:
1. If you are going to own any pet, take care of them! They are your responsibility and they can't take care of themselves if you own them or watch over them!
2. If you breed, have some morals yourself and make sure who you sell to knows exactly how to take care of them and that they have the proper means to take care of them! I don't care how much money they offer, it's not worth it!
3. NEVER help a business out by being their customer if they can't take care of their own stock (animals). This is just letting them harm OTHER ANIMALS!
That JERK still had the same bulb in the BD's enclosure, unprotected! The bulb was completely exposed in the enclosure! And he kept the same BD with a tail nub from that bulb in there! REALLY? Why was this guy still selling him for $69? Why was he selling ANY animal at all? This is what I said before I left in much better "G" Rated series of words..... I said, "You know those babies I was willing to sell you for $225 each? Forget it! I would never sell or buy anything from someone who is not passionate enough to properly keep his animals safe and healthy!" Then I remember a disturbing thought I lost during my brain injury over in Afghanistan. I remembered I sold him a rare Albino Corn Snake Breeder with ghost patterns (it breaks my heart to this day that I don't have my corn snake) back in 2002. I ask him right before I left, "remember that Albino Corn Snake Breeder I sold you back in 02? Did you manage to keep him alive, or was he mistreated by you too?" I ran out all the customers in this small store needless to say and I told them to spread the word about this place and how they treat their animals for sale. This wasn't the first time or animal I have seen neglected at this store.
The moral of this story is:
1. If you are going to own any pet, take care of them! They are your responsibility and they can't take care of themselves if you own them or watch over them!
2. If you breed, have some morals yourself and make sure who you sell to knows exactly how to take care of them and that they have the proper means to take care of them! I don't care how much money they offer, it's not worth it!
3. NEVER help a business out by being their customer if they can't take care of their own stock (animals). This is just letting them harm OTHER ANIMALS!
