Calling on all exotic animal keepers

[cornking4]

I went into a local Petco today and was truly horrified by what I saw. Bad husbandry and general neglect gave way to flat out cruelty. I saw dead corn snakes in tiny cages, malnourished guinea pigs in poorly designed enclosures, and dry frog terrariums with empty water bowls. This experience both disgusted and inspired me.

It inspired me to BOYCOTT MONOPOLIZING PET STORE CHAINS!!!

Now, at my local Pets, Inc, a family owned, honest pet store, all animals are treated as they should be. Monitors are given large vision terrariums, snakes are given $1,000 enclosures with automatic lighting, heating, and misting systems, and when an animal is sold, the employees actually help the new owners to establish an adequate habitat. This is how pet stores should be.

I am calling upon ALL exotic animal keepers to boycott these animal abusing corporations that only want to turn a profit. Instead, give your money and business to small, family owned pet stores like Pets, Inc that actually care about the welfare of animals.

Thank you.

 

[GOT_TEGUS]

I went into a local Petco today and was truly horrified by what I saw. Bad husbandry and general neglect gave way to flat out cruelty. I saw dead corn snakes in tiny cages, malnourished guinea pigs in poorly designed enclosures, and dry frog terrariums with empty water bowls. This experience both disgusted and inspired me.

It inspired me to BOYCOTT MONOPOLIZING PET STORE CHAINS!!!

Now, at my local Pets, Inc, a family owned, honest pet store, all animals are treated as they should be. Monitors are given large vision terrariums, snakes are given $1,000 enclosures with automatic lighting, heating, and misting systems, and when an animal is sold, the employees actually help the new owners to establish an adequate habitat. This is how pet stores should be.

I am calling upon ALL exotic animal keepers to boycott these animal abusing corporations that only want to turn a profit. Instead, give your money and business to small, family owned pet stores like Pets, Inc that actually care about the welfare of animals.

Thank you.

agree most of workers are smucks too. I went in sometime ago and asked about a iguana to worker said the iggys are full grown at 12 inches I lost brain cells talkin to the guy. once i told him im a tegu guy then he was asking questions and guess what I gave him the right info lol my 5 year old daughter knows more yay petco and pets mart workers. lol

 

[cornking4]

Exactly. Most employees are teenage idiots who've never even seen a snake before in their life. It really is sad that all those animals are in the care of some embasils.

 

[GOT_TEGUS]

Exactly. Most employees are teenage idiots who've never even seen a snake before in their life. It really is sad that all those animals are in the care of some embasils.

most of the workers I see are college kids :-D just having a Job for beer money lol. its not about the workers the poor animals suffer.

thats why I have the Best Boss ( Bobby ) lol everybody on this forum knows herps and GUs.

Hire Us OUt
JD

 

[cornking4]

Seriously. lol. At least the employees in small, family owned shops are knowledgable breeders that know what they're talking about.

 

[latshki]

I know what you mean man
our chain store isnt bad but they keep leos on sand (bad)
they dont mist chams, and dont know too much in general but its not too bad but Ive had me share of experiences when I wanted to tell them off
the family owned store on the other hand is good they dont know everything but if they dont know the answer they grab a book or go google it
when i bought a fat tail gecko there I wanted to know if it was male or female she didnt know how to tell so off to the comp she went, found out then she sexed it, a month later I had a clutch of eggs and 6 months later I have a nice healthy baby gecko

 

[cornking4]

That's exactly what we have here in AZ. An ignorant Petco and Petsmart and a small family owned store that actually gives a damn about animals' well being. The other thing about family owned stores is that they buy from local breeders instead of abusive reptile farms.

 

[rrcoolj]

I completely agree. I dont really have a LFS near my house so I order most of my supplies etc online. I do sometimes go there when I have too(for convenience) but I try not too. They always keep several sized leos in the same cage from 1inch to 3inches and I cant tell you how many times ive seen things like a ballpython slithering into the tree frog cage and nobody seems to notice. Thier fish tanks are littered with dead and dying fish and sometimes they will have peacfull fish like angels with hyper aggressive convicts. Petco and petsmart seem to take care of thier mamals and birds fairly well but when it comes to the "other pets" they just dont seem to care...

 

[cornking4]

Same here... I order or buy 99% of my supplies from family owned stores. I read in an article by the ASPCA that chain stores like Petco and Petsmart raise their PH levels to dangerous percentages just to bring out the color in the fish and make them look more appealing to customers. Then when they're exposed to normal PH levels, they experience enormous physical strain and sometimes die. Petco guys say "but don't worry, you can always bring them back for a refund". As if it was only about money. It's so angering.

 

[GOT_TEGUS]

Same here... I order or buy 99% of my supplies from family owned stores. I read in an article by the ASPCA that chain stores like Petco and Petsmart raise their PH levels to dangerous percentages just to bring out the color in the fish and make them look more appealing to customers. Then when they're exposed to normal PH levels, they experience enormous physical strain and sometimes die. Petco guys say "but don't worry, you can always bring them back for a refund". As if it was only about money. It's so angering.

petco & pets mart corp smucks from to bottom to the top. selling unhealthy and not knowing nothin about the animals. I boycotted them long ago.

 

[rrcoolj]

Same here... I order or buy 99% of my supplies from family owned stores. I read in an article by the ASPCA that chain stores like Petco and Petsmart raise their PH levels to dangerous percentages just to bring out the color in the fish and make them look more appealing to customers. Then when they're exposed to normal PH levels, they experience enormous physical strain and sometimes die. Petco guys say "but don't worry, you can always bring them back for a refund". As if it was only about money. It's so angering.

thats called "juicing" I believe. It can also be done by ingenting the fish with hormones. This causes hyper aggressive behaior as a side affect and an increase in male fish. It is very common among cichlids especially.

 

[cornking4]

Cruel to the fish, either way.

 

[cornking4]

I also saw a cham in a small enclosure, and the description read "great starter lizard! Easy to care for!"

Misinformation...

 

[rrcoolj]

Just went to petco today and saw the saddest thing. There was a baby sav laying on the ground looking extremely sick. NO UVB or proper temps crix everywhere. I could tell he is still alive because he would occasionally twitch but just awful. I really wish I could take him home just for a few weeks just to get him back on his feet and get him a good home. Maybe I will, poor little guy I feel for him...

 

[cornking4]

That's so unfortunate. Why on earth does petco need to sell savs?? They should only be purchased by more experienced keepers; who know better than to buy a reptile from petco.

 

[sclevenger08]

I experienced the same thing at Pet Supplies Plus. The Sav. was about 7 inches and barley breathing. They had several other lizards in just horriable conditions. I agree with the boycott idea. I told my mom, I will never buy anything for that store, reguardless of how much cheaper their supplies are. :-|