PetSmart & other Pet Store Rants

[Demonatrix]

I try to do what I can. I never feel like its enough tho

 

[blackclaw83]

i was going to get my baby beardie from petsmart but they looked sick and {spell this wrong} lathergic. it was sad. I didnt see a basking light only a uvb bulb. I wont by crix from them either due to half are dead. screw that.

 

[Demonatrix]

Im a snake lady and every snake I've ever seen there.. well mostly at Petco's are shedding in pieces and have stuck shed all over them and it makes me want to punch everyone working there in the face..then again I've been told I have some anger issues lol

 

[Alisha OK]

I try my hardest to stay out of those stores, I get so upset when seeing all the reptiles and how badly they are treated. There was one occasion where I was forced to go there when I was in a pinch and a customer was talking to a sales person about getting a crested gecko and the things this guy was telling him I couldn't believe! He was telling the customer that crested geckos needed to be kept at 90 degrees, needed a high power UV, needed to be fed crickets and mealworms only, were ground dwelling, and lived on sand. Well....I was asked to leave that day because I informed the customer of how wrong the sales person was and when the sales person started to argue with me I pulled out my phone and googled crested gecko care. The manager then came out telling me I had no idea what I was talking about and that all my pets would die because of my lack of knowledge... well that pushed my buttons too much and I screamed obscenities and left. However something good came out of it because the customer who was about to buy a crested gecko followed me out and thanked me then asked where he could go to find out more info before he purchased...and that he would not be purchasing from there.

I did file a complaint but nothing ever came out of it.

Its absolutely ridiculous aint it ? That poor man would have taken the gecko home and god knows what would have happened. Petsmart fooled my once with my bearded dragon. i wont be returning there

 

[Demonatrix]

Sometimes I am forced to go because I need something quick but if I can wait I go to a local expo that is 2x a month, or sometimes ill even drive the 45 min to a family owned reptile store if I have the time.

 

[Pat B]

LOL...good for you!! I went into my 'favorite' PS store today to buy crickets and the beardie tank had food strewn everywhere. I said something to the clerk and she went immediately to clean it up. Guess the word came down after I wrote my scathing email to corporate HQ to keep the beardie tank CLEAN!!

 

[Aleena]

I've come to realize that most pet stores are evil, you just go with the least evil out of the bunch and don't take their mostly well intended advice. I have a Petco that is 1 mile from my house and a worse ps that is 1.5 miles from my house, i'll usually still go to the locally owned one because mostly they'll listen to some advice at that one.

 

[Pat B]

i was going to get my baby beardie from petsmart but they looked sick and {spell this wrong} lathergic. it was sad. I didnt see a basking light only a uvb bulb. I wont by crix from them either due to half are dead. screw that.

That is so sad....did you say anything to anybody?? I have come to realize PS doesn't know a friggin' thing about beardies and I never ask them any questions or advice. Maybe you could keep checking back and when you see one that looks healthy snatch it up!! They get new ones in all the time....

 

[Daeyang]

This happened recently with me at petco, I mean it wasn't a bearded dragon but it was a..mountain lizard? not sure of the name.. Horned mountain lizard/dragon? Not sure, but anyways! As we all know, no lizard just lays in the middle of the tank "sleeping", they'll usually hide, or go to a corner, somewhere they feel safe.
I looked at it, and there was a fly on him, he was laying in the middle of the tank with sand all about, a filthy, DISGUSTING, tank. I immidetly told the man taking care of the fish and I almost yelled because how angry I was, first off, the tank was horrificly filthy, and had poop in the corner, Like OLD poo, you can tell the difference, and also the fact that there was a fly in there, HOW DOES THAT GET IN THERE.
So he went to go check him out, and he moved him and the lizard wouldn't budge, the lizard was extremely cold and hardly breathing. He went to go tell someone else who cared for the reptiles, and I took the lizard out of the cage and kept him in my hands to at least give him body warmth, after that he started breathing a bit better, but immediately the man said that he was already sick yadda yadda yadda which I know is a complete lie. Because I know what happens with animals at PETCO, that are sick.
So I told him I will tell authorities if the tanks aren't cleaned out and everything was in top shape, and the man quickly agreed and had someone start working on the tanks, then the man was going to take the lizard from me, and I just said, "No. I am taking him home with me. How much does he cost?" and immediately he said I could just take him.
So now I have a beautiful lizard in my extra 20 gallon, planning on getting a 45 gallon next week. And he is now doing GREAT. I also had gone to the vet and they said that its amazing he's alive because of how much sand is in his body, they gave me an antibiodotic that helps digest/get rid of the sand...
I just can never trust PETCO and PETSMART.. EVER.

 

[Emmily]

That made me tear up BAD. How can anyone do that!! That is just so horrible!

 

[Daeyang]

That made me tear up BAD. How can anyone do that!! That is just so horrible!

That is why if I ever go to petco or petsmart, it's to get EMERGENCY things, in case my local pet store is out, for this reason my pet store was out of yesterdays news bedding I really need some (I'm a big fan of rodents, I have a rat and a few mice..), and since I was there I also checked the superworms, they had dates back from may. When I opened there containers they smelled HORRIBLE, and it looked like the worms were cooked! They were solid black!!
I never buy live food from there (crix..etc) because I feel like it'll kill my pets.

 

[Emmily]

Yeah I never buy from anywhere like that I buy my crix online. I also have a hamster so i understand.

 

[Pat B]

Oh my goodness....that is so terrible. You did a wonderful thing in rescuing that beardie. Find out where Petco HQ is and write them a scathing email. I did and now when I go into PS I always check the beardie tank. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for these beautiful creatures to be treated like that. We, as beardie lovers have to speak for them. I ended up getting a phone call from the store manager telling me he took care of the issue and it wouldn't happen again....yeah right....It happened yesterday but at least the clerk cleaned out the tank immediately when I said something....Thank you again for a needed rescue!!

 

[Demonatrix]

As much as I want to rescue the pets that are badly treated by pet store I just can't bring myself to do it. I know that if I take that poor animal they will just replace it with another one that will be treated the same

 

[Pat B]

As much as I want to rescue the pets that are badly treated by pet store I just can't bring myself to do it. I know that if I take that poor animal they will just replace it with another one that will be treated the same

You are so right!! And they call themselves PET stores. Well DUH!! Take care of them!!

 

[cherryfilters]

good job!! *pat on the back for pat B* good to now you made a difference. they will be a little more happier now that you spoke your voice for them

also why don't you try ordering live feed over the internet or maybe find a local live feed breeder?

Ive bought mine over the internet and they were always great. also, one of my co-worker's husband has 16 bd's and breeds live feed.

 

[Pat B]

good job!! *pat on the back for pat B* good to now you made a difference. they will be a little more happier now that you spoke your voice for them

also why don't you try ordering live feed over the internet or maybe find a local live feed breeder?

Ive bought mine over the internet and they were always great. also, one of my co-worker's husband has 16 bd's and breeds live feed.

lordy.....16 beardies!! I guess I would order mine through the internet also. I don't know why I haven't gone the internet route. I think I am afraid that most of them will die. Crix you can't keep outside and they stink . Spike basically only will eat mealies or crickets and not interested whatsoever in greens. I think it is because greens don't move. At least that is the only reason that I can figure out!

 

[Toasty]

As much as I want to rescue the pets that are badly treated by pet store I just can't bring myself to do it. I know that if I take that poor animal they will just replace it with another one that will be treated the same

I agree 100% with Demonatrix on this. And not only will it be replaced, but any money you pay for the animal is going to show up as another sale and thus, more profit. There are also mills making a profit by breeding these all these different animals in bulk to supply to the stores and if we're horrified by petstore conditions, I'm guessing we don't support animal mill practices either. Because I feel so strongly about this, everything I buy for my animals is ordered online from vendors I support or from pet supply stores that do no sell live animals. Before moving to a very rural area a couple of years ago I had several supply "only" stores reasonably close to me that I liked to support by giving my business to whenever possible.

 

[cherryfilters]

lordy.....16 beardies!! I guess I would order mine through the internet also. I don't know why I haven't gone the internet route. I think I am afraid that most of them will die. Crix you can't keep outside and they stink . Spike basically only will eat mealies or crickets and not interested whatsoever in greens. I think it is because greens don't move. At least that is the only reason that I can figure out!

He saves beardies then gives them out for adoption, he used to work for a pet store long long time ago lol.

surprisingly the live feed doesn't die, trust me i was skeptical at first, but you never know until you try.
I believe I saw this one site possibly referred by Germ, www.mulberryfarms.com

Plus it's cheaper over the internet. you should try feeding spike dubia roaches, steven LOOOOOOVES them.

Anyways, maybe you can try hand feeding spike his veggies, possibly move the green around with your finger so he'd go after it? lol.
or sprinkle that dragon bites stuff. i tried it for steven when she was a little one and she'd just eat that bc she didn't really like fruits too much.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11955

 

[NerJaro]

i go to PS on if i have to (for decorations and such the locally owed store doesnt carry much viv decor, NE Oklahoma, lots of dogs and cats). the local store is called Southern Ag, Tulsa area only, an ex girlfriend works there and has a few reptiles of her own. their crickets are $0.99 a dz and last for quite a few days. every so often i get crix from southern ag and they will chirp at night, never have i gotten crix from PC or PS that chirped. i trust Southern Ag more than the others