Blog :

Sometimes you've just got to say something.

Posted by ChelsBrown at 6/6/2009 8:09:21 PM

The other day, I paid a visit to my local big chain pet store to pick up some emergency superworms until my online order came in. I generally prefer not to give this place my money, mostly because they don't promote proper husbandry and rape people's wallets with their outragiously high prices, but hey- I was in a bind and a hungry beardie isn't a pleasant one to have around. Anyways, when I do go there, I'm used to seeing some things that make me shake my head (Calcium sand, slight overcrowding, improper food sizes, the usual) but this time was a bit extreme.

In a no more than 5 gallon sized enclosure ( I swear) they had SEVENTEEN moderately sized baby beardies (5-7) inches (on calcium sand with no UVB). Below that was another TINY enclosure that housed atleast 15-20 4-5 month old leopard geckos climbing all over eachother, they to were all shriveling up on calcium sand with full sized crickets and a dirty water dish. Normally I would just take it upon myself to just mention something to the kid working that section that the cages seem dirty and overcrowded and he'd explain he couldn't change anything without permission from his manager; company policy (blah blah blah). This time however, an otherwise beautiful half dead looking little Hypo Tangerine Carrot tail pulled at my heart strings; he was laying limp in his water dish. I asked for the manager.

To make a long conversation short, When he finally came to see me, I let loose on him about the inncorect, careless husbandry and he replied with excuses like he "knew a lot of it was wrong but company policy is difficult to change, they sell quickly and don't remain in those conditions long" and so forth, trying to smooth things over. He told me to buy the little gecko if I was so concerned about it and I snapped that I wasn't in the position to pay $$$ for an animal out of the blue that was probably very sick and requiring vet care anyways. I'm not sure if I made him feel bad or his sofetening of composure was due to outside interests, but he eventually offered to pay for the gecko himself and give it to me to take home (Sweet!). I'm assuming it was the later, because shortly after I checked out he caught me at the door and told me it was awesome that a "girl like me" (what the f*&^ is that supposed to mean?) was so into herps. He also asked me for my phone number so he could keep in touch to "check on the gecko". I quietly explained to the cheezeball that his superiors weren't paying him to woo me, and I'd consider giving him my number the next time I came in if I saw the herps were in better shape.

There probably won't be a next time.

So anyways, I've had a new little baby for almost two weeks now. We named him "Osama Bin Lizzard". Because of his place of origin and the fact that we weren't sure if he was dead or alive for a while. He's doing awesome now and eating like a pig, its amazing how resilliant the little guy is. Check him out in my animal section!

Comments:

View Oldest First

Chris Montgomery,	Posted At: 6/6/2009 9:28:28 PM
	i used to work at one of those types of places. i just want to say this: Petco in particular seems to be very happy with the way they take care of animals. they don't have any reason or see any need to change it. the store i worked at was horrible before i started, it only got a little better while i was there, and it's worse than ever now that i'm gone. point is: you can boycott them, you can tell everyone you know to avoid them, you can even burn down the store if you want. bad pet stores will never die. good luck with Osama (i never thought i'd say that) and keep up the positive outlook :)

Zoenthena ,	Posted At: 6/6/2009 10:16:03 PM
	I just love seeing or hearing about another using their voice to try and make positive changes. Good for you!! I do get my frozen mice from Petco because I need to find a reliable place to order them. It's hard to tell from ads who to purchase from, so I have to take it by word of mouth. Your little Osama is a cutie and I'm glad you were able to rescue him. I know nothing about gecko's though! Thanks for sharing!

Charlotte ,	Posted At: 6/6/2009 11:08:37 PM
	I work at a petsmart and I run the reptile area, and ours is better than most pet stores... HOWEVER... If this was a petsmart you went to, you can ask for a CARE LINE number, and the store number. If you call corporate, and report an unpleasant expierence, corporate petsmart WILL do something about it. I guarantee it. Good luck with your new addition!!!

Meg Francoeur,	Posted At: 6/6/2009 11:47:18 PM
	Well, I'm not real thrilled with our petsmart. I was there at the pet adoptions today. Their poor kingsnakes were laying in their water bowls because the temps in the cages were at 100 degrees. I pointed the fact out to 3 employees who all went wow, that's bad....hmmmmm....and did....absolutely NOTHING! I also had someone contact me about a cornsnake they were having problems with. He was attempting to feed it crickets. When I asked why, he told me that the petsmart employee where he purchased it, told him to. I was appalled. This has happened more than once. When I told him that cornsnakes do NOT eat crickets, he called them and they told him that if they are too small for pinkies (uh, when are they too small for a day old) then you feed them pinhead crickets. Riiighttt. I've been breeding cornsnakes for years and have never had a baby too small to eat a day old pinkie..ever....and I've had some very small babies. Even my eyelash viper could take a f/t day old if you removed the legs or head. God!

Chris Montgomery,	Posted At: 6/7/2009 9:51:32 AM
	man, i used to hate it when people who knew snakes really well would come into my Petco. it's embarrassing to be the face of a reptile department when your job is to follow corporate guidelines that aren't in the animals best interest. people would look at the cages, then look at me, then look at the cages and say, "man, i hate Petco." i used to just pass out websites and breeder names to people before they bought an animal. oh, you want a cornsnake? here's a website for a great breeder! oh, you want a leopard gecko? here's a reptile show to check out! oh, you want some crickets? here's the number for the privately owned pet store down the street! i haven't visited the store in quite a while.

Chris Montgomery,	Posted At: 6/7/2009 9:53:55 AM
	oh, and yes, Charlotte's PetSmart is really nice compared to any chain store :) but what would happen if Charlotte weren't there?

Lauren ,	Posted At: 6/7/2009 5:24:35 PM
	Luckily the Petco and Petsmart here aren't too awful, but they certainly aren't great... Its good you were able to get that little guy out of there. :)

Sony Raju,	Posted At: 6/8/2009 11:25:08 AM
	thats a great story. glad you picked him/her up and is giving it a good home! kudos to you!

Member Login

User Name:
Password:
Remember Me

Forgot My Password

Our Newest Animals!

Doughnut

tumbledgemstone

JMR-0426

Vanns

JMR-0326

Vanns

189296 Registered animals!

NEW!! See The Rest of the new Arrivals!

Thanks!!!

Thanks to everyone who helped test the new features. If you find any problems, please
Let Me Know.

Todays Birthdays

Ihkura , MasonExotics , elbee , kaorte , Hales , sjatm941 , rrmad , SilverStateExotics , WhisperWindFarm , EthanMichael123 , Haterox , Hollowsmilts , AmayaSerafina , bigfatsmellycat , EthanMichael , rich333 , Smilts , Saucy , WifeOfSlasher , SweetieSnake , SignatureSnakes , mhirwin34 , BonsaiSnake , robin_m10108329 , Asherah29 , JimmyVDE , Chad and Ashleigh , Crested Crazy , Tpruitt25 , Kellykaplan143 , kaarie1 , matt1987 , Geckos4Life2015 , william488 , GoOdMoNEyDaVE , Chris@BMR , Drewcifer , Ahremanes , brandont10 , Natemass , Reptillian , Eclispe_exotics_143 , ballpythonshed , enghede , Pythonfan , Farmsnake , raywoodring , Donnie , jaic1980 , Orian , Idalia , fastchardna , Ksovich , goldengoosesites , valentinosalos , ricky5042 , alfredory3 , Humminbirdywj , Rich Sounds DJing , HognoseNewB , Holographichsx , Batteriesvct , Braxibear , TheonMeadows , Blakeliz , Sinaloan , Lavimener , BrentAlvarez , Raptural , KB Crested Geckos , Williamfrazy , rocker1101 , Danni , goldengoosehots , Lamarr , moad , Binia1990 , hairbuCET , Aolangk , jjbeaver , Shawnfus , Princesshoneybee , Rob@BMR , Ringyreeves , tom swain , haldolherps , Diesel , Nathanielepigo , Artisankpu , robinm , Irene.dian , Banana , Queen Geckos , Jamibeav