Stupid Petstores & Houdini

[CornsnakeKeeper]

Well, today....my parents had to run to the P.O. and it is near a local pet store so I go in real quick to check out the snakes. The had a "corn snake" for $90.00 labeled as an albino, but if it was pure corn, it was obviously a snow corn snake. The man told me that it was pure corn, but I haven't really ever examined a snow up close, but I couldn't see the traditional corn head marking. So- for all I know, it may have been a hybrid. The worst part was- it was housed with a ball python. They looked to be alright together, no aggressivness or anything, but I know that is not good.

Then, off to the second pet store where I was really headed to, because they are the ones that sell frozen mice. I ask to see the cornsnake they have there, which is labeled as a red corn snake. It was a normal, decent looking, selling for $130! Wow! They took it out for me and it was obviously a female. I then asked about age. She told me that it was 6 or 7 months old and that she was positive. It was as big around as a fifty cent piece and was about 4 foot long or longer. Obviously breedable size... I then corrected her telling her that I already own 5 and they eat on a fixed schedule and that my 2000 babies are way smaller... She then proceeded to tell me that there must be something wrong with my corn snakes. I sarcastically agreed that my corn snakes were deformed and left with my already purchased mice...

Then off to one more store, not a pet store, and I get a call saying that my corn snake got loose and it was found in my bearded dragons cage! That's the last straw... the stupid forty gallon breeder tank had a newly replaced lid and latches and was ducktaped in every imaginable exit place and it still got out... I still can't figure it out! I don't think I could have found a place to fit my finger through anywhere! I'm puzzled. That cage is gonna be sold...soon. The got the beardie out and closed the snake in. It must not have went after the BD, the dragon must not have moved or something because the corn is voracious! I came home to feed my snakes and now he won't eat... I've left him in a 10 gallon locked with 2 mice and he ignores them. First time since I've owned him as a baby! He's now about 4 years old... (BTW, the Beardie is only about 6 inches long..very small...)

So, just wanted to share some snakey frustration for the day... LOL... hope someone enjoyed the long read...


-CK

[Missymonkey]

I hear you, the local pet shops around here do the same thing, I found one that was calling a normal okeetee snake a flame corn and was selling it for 115 bucks, this same pet store was selling feeder guppies for a quarter a piece, I am glad to be an educated shopper because I would hate to pay so much for something you can get online for a lot cheaper, the thing that scares me is that the people who buy these snakes abviously don't investigate them and probably end up taking minimal at best care of them... (I hate to generalize, I should say that most shoppers who pay that much, are uneducated about snake care)

I think pet stores care so poorly for their animals to make us want to buy them so that they have healthy habitats and such,.. it's all a ploy, those darn communists...

[Katie]

A Petshop here had a lavender kingsnake, advertised it as a "purple" corn snake and wanted 300$ for this "strange" snake. They did listen to me when I told them their mistake and they changed the sign and lowered the price a bit. So maybe they aren't SOOOOO bad (because they were receptive to my advice) but still under educated. The snake was healthy and alive last I saw it and I know the guy who has it now and he'll take good care of it.

[greasychips]

i hate it when the pet stores get things wrong, u never know if they r trying 2 rip u off or whether they just can't b bothered 2 look it up and c what the snake is, i they r going 2 b selling snakes then they should be educated first

:p :p

[s05.cmoore]

Yeah, our local pet store has a few corn snake hatchlings for sale (39.99ea.) and they are just normal corns. they also have an albino corn for the same price. problem is, the ones i saw all had mites, and there were crickets all over inside the cage. Im not positive about this, but i hear that crickets can cause some harm to our corns, especially to their eyes. they also sell pinky mice, more like a "pinky brick" in a ziploc bag which would hardly keep them fresh for long, and they are 99 cents per pinky. what a rip off. oh well, thats why i buy online!

[pinatamonkey]

:mad: I went to a Petland the other day (just to check it out) and they were selling anery corns for $80 :eek: dollars! Oh well. Of course, all the snakes were being kept on calci-sand (burm, ball pythons, children's python, and the corns)...also had a hatchling nile monitor escape (overheard the employees)... and the poor doggies kept in the 2x2 cages :(

[Axe]

Well, cmoore... despite the fact that corns don't eat crickets (yeah, that lil bit of news shocked y'all didn't it? - never ceases to amaze me how many pet stores thing a BP or a corn is actually gonna EAT a cricket)....

Crickets will nibble on reptiles whilst they're sleeping, especially the moisture areas (eyes, like you said)...

With our beardies, we makes sure that all our enclosures are TOTALLY clear of crickets at the end of the night (even though all but two are fed outside of their tanks these days.. makes for easier disposal of the crickets, and no chance of crix hiding to nibble on the beardies during their sleep)...

So yeah, they can cause problems. And most certainly unnecessary problems when the reptile they're in with doesn't eat crickets in the first place, lol :)

[s05.cmoore]

Yeah, its pretty pitiful. it makes me want to open a pet store and do things the right way. just a nice little shop that sells fish, snakes, rodents, and beer. hahah, lol, just kidding, we wouldnt sell fish! =)

Chris

[noe]

Missymonkey, I'm sure you meant to say "those darn capitalists", right? ;)

I do whatever I can to avoid pet shops. It's so difficult for me to see the ball pythons as skinny as colubrids, all their animals kept on pine, and who knows what unknown horrors they afflict on the animals when we're not around. I am sure that they knowingly keep sick, pathetic animals because people love to "rescue" them...which of course just encourages them that it's working.

[Lyle]

A pet shop in Winkler M.B. just opened not long ago. It is much closer than Winnipeg to get frozen mice, I stepped inside, and the stench was horrible. The fish tanks were scummy, their corn had crickets in there, the rodents were swimming in doo-doo. Anyhow, I asked about the frozen mice, they did not have the fuzzies I needed, but he offered me live ones, I said O.K, then he took me to the bathroom where the mouse cage was obove the toilet on a shelf, and obove the cage was lysol cleaner. OK, the bathroom was downright gross, no human would sit on that toilet, or wash hands in there. In the cage was 4 live fuzzies. I took them home and froze them. If I didn't need feed that bad, never would I have accepted them. NEVER AGAIN

[drizzt_19]

the other day i went to the local pet store to get som frozen mice and i decided to go look at the reptiles. most of them are well kept. the thing that shocked me was they were selling an amel. corn labeled as black albino for $149.99. i talked to the owner about it and told him that they were called amel. corns and are usally sold for around $25-$35 dollars in this area. he proceeded to tell me that i didnt know what i was talking about. when i told him that i have 15 corns at home one of which is amel that i bought from Reptile Canyon a few months ago for $20 dollars. he told me that the corn i bought must have something severly wrong with it to be so cheap. i agreed and took my mice and rat weanlings and left. it is amazing that someone would even consider paying $150 dollars for an amel.


drizzt

[kevo26]

well in my local pet store they had some normal, amel and snow corns for sale at $50 each witch i new was way to much for any of those snakes so i wated tell this mouuth and bought them on sale for 29.99 witch is close to the right price the before.

[bmm]

But while its hard for us to imagine purchasing an amel for 50 or more dollars...its not hard for a new buyer who falls in love with it to pay that.

I believe its nuts and I have a good laugh, but the bottom line is snakes are "worth" whatever people will pay for them. And frankly I hope the prices on snakes in pet stores go UP. That way those people who wander in and "fall in love" with a snake will have to really think about the purchase before putting down all that money. Instead of seeing a "cool" pet for 25 bucks, and then losing interest.

But yes of rcourse for hobbyists like us, its ridiculous. :)

bmm

[Rainey]

I love to hear a good slamming of pet stores, I had a thread up a while back discussing my displeasure with a Jack@$$ at a local petstore here.

I think they're generally ignorant and when they do come in contact with someone who actually knows alot about their pets, the salesperson can't dupe them with made up crap, so they get pissed off and start acting all high and mighty and telling you stuff like your corns are deformed. Or that the "flame" cornsnake is the newest and most expensive new morph on the market today...

AHHHH!!! I could just yell at those people sometimes. I go in look around at the reptiles, then go look at the cute chinchillas, and then buy my mice and leave. I think to myself the whole time, "DONT MAKE EYE CONTACT... DONT MAKE EYE CONTACT... DONT MAKE EYE CONTACT..."

[candiedbutter]

I really have problems with pet store people and how even the so called Reptile "experts" go on and on telling me how I should have special UV lighting, black lights, red lights, the whole nine yards, for a Corn! For goodness sakes you morons, they are nocturnal! *rolls my eyes* The way the treat the animals is deplorable.. I always see the dogs shivering in the enclosures, and the snakes lumped in with reptiles of all sorts that could very well munch on any of them for a snack. The birds are being handled by idiots, and the fish tanks are scummy and smelly. It really bothers me.

Recently I noticed a "chocolate" corn going for an extremely high price. Obviously, it was nothing but a normal corn snake! Which was beautiful in itself but the price was absurd! When I tried to tell them that it was a Normal Corn and the price was absurd they told me it was a rare morph and I didn't know anything about Cornsnakes. The same guy who told me I needed UV lighting and blacklights for my Corn. Bah! He also told me Cedar or pine was fine for them, and as I pushed that the snakes were obviously not being fed well, and/or lacking water, he told me that crickets were fine to feed to corns, and they don't need much water. Auuugh! Ia lmost bought the lot of them just to save them from those horrible people!

I have decided that pet store people know absolutly nothing about the animals they sell, and don't even try to research. It makes me sick to my stomach when I think of the animals that suffer there. I run into pet stores and out again with my mice and bite my tongue and avoid eye contact to keep from exploding at them.

[Rainey]

Yup, that's the average experience for anyone who knows anything about animals when they go into a pet store

[Rachel]

WOW, your petstores sound awful! From my experience the ones in the UK are fine and I got my first corns from one. The guy who runs it used to do my course at uni...went to work at a safari park then came back and opened up his own shop. He's a great source of knwoldge on all reptiles, exotic pets etc and would never try to rip anyone off. He is even going to help me with my honours project. All the staff (family and friends) are totally clued up and wont sell to someone that isn't 100% informed.

That's such a shame...I feel so sorry for all the animals all cramped up and treated badly. Surely not all of them are like that?

[wheeler78]

yea the closest one to me smells like poo really really bad you walk near it and you gag the snakes they have are way out priced like a snow for $150. the owner is being watched by the police for illegal gun trades, in fact he asked if i had any to trade w/ for some corns, it was scary. he only cleans the dogs cages like 1 a week and i always see dead fish floting in the watter. i would never buy mice from them ever since i went back there to get one and i saw 3 dead mice beeing eaten by all the other mice it is a really bad store.

[MidnightIris]

A lot of the chain stores around here are pretty bad (there was something in the newspaper about one particualr chain that baked a frog alive...) These stores keep trying to tell me that a hypo corn is worth $130 and keep telling me the wrong prices/info over the phone, so that when I go to the store, they tell me that I must have "called the wrong store" when I say what a different employee told me a day ago.

And that is why I stick to a little, family-run store that I found by pure luck. They sell normals for $30-$40 (depending on if they're locally bred or ordered from out-of-town) and amels for $10 more. If they have snows, it's $10 more then the amels. They have a lot of different herps, all well taken care of and they really lecture perspective herp buyers about the care that their pet will need in the future. They actually hand out fliers about why you shouldn't feed live (although they do sell live, they're trying to scale down each year). The people there are really nice and really helpful.

[Wa$ted]

ive recently moved to the UAE,,i know most of you dont know where that is , but anyway

prices here are $%#@

albino 5 month corn is for 350$ and a python is for about hmmm 1500$ and the opposite of the Us petshops,,petshops here power feed so that snakes can be bigger and people would buy them,,people here=ignorant

i bought a snake,,petshop claimed its a coachwhip .,,after 3 months i found out its a mildly venomous sand snake.pisses off doesnt it,oh well just wanted to post something cause i was pretty bored :>

coachwhip and the sand snake look so alike,,except for this small stripe on the
small stripe on eye,,(how was i supposed to see that)

[poccodiablo]

Yup there isn't much to choose from here. :( You have the Petland Chain store or the World of Pets one man show. Both places have there pros and cons. I decided to get my corn from the small shop since he was a bit more knowledgeable about his snakes but it was still $80 for a normal. The price at Petland was $120 for pretty much the same snake. (They come from the same wholesaler in Calgary) I find the kids at Petland don't know **** about the animals in there store. They have nice clean setups for them and all.. but they tend to put too many corns in the same cage at times. I don't think they know that a big corn could eat a little corn. Anyways thats what I have to deal with.

Jeff Robertson

[Rachel]

Originally posted by Wa$ted
ive recently moved to the UAE,,i know most of you dont know where that is , but anyway



Hey, where in UAE are you? I used to live in Al Ain (then moved to Dubai). They had an OK petshop there (across from Spinneys on Jumeria Beach Road). I'm not sure if it is still the same guys that run it but they seemed a bit more clued up than any of the other pet stores. I can't remember exactly what herps they sold but definately had corns, pythons and hog noses. Hopefully I'll be moving back to Dubai in a few years, I really miss it!!

[MissHisssss]

I went to the swaps a few weeks ago and came across a guy standing if front of a Pet Shop with a huge coat on, hat, mittens... and still cold. In front of him were two corns, a king and a milksnake.... all being sold as milksnakes. I told him that it was too cold for the snakes to be outside. It was only about 45 degrees. Then I went inside to talk to the manager who was conviently not there, so I told one of the employees that if they didn't bring the snakes in that I'd report them for animial cruelty. They brought them in right away. And I have threatened other pet shops as well when I see mistreatment of animals.... and so should everyone else. These animals can't speak for themselves.... so someone has to. I'm not with PETA or anything. They can go overboard with this sort of thing. They even let out dogs from their cages at our local dog show (stupid people). I'm on my own and will warn people if I see cruelty, and report them if they don't fix it. I will be going back to check that pet shop out tomorrow, and if they are still trying to sell reptiles in 40 degree weather.... well, no more Mr nice guy/girl.

[Julie F]

There was a privatly owned petstore down the street from me about a year and a half ago. Atleast he changed the animal cages. Other than that, typical pet store i guess. 10 parakeets crammed into a cage, and i love parakeets. I also hate how petstores keep chinchillas out in the open, exposing them to heat, if it gets over 80 degrees, they will overheat (they have THICK fur, and come from the cold andeas mountains).

Well, all the snakes had heatlamps on the cages, and no hides (he said you can't have a snake hiding, if someone wants to buy it, they have to see it), most of the cages were around 95 degrees :(

One night, the store burned down, electrical fire from all the heat lamps, or a rat chewed one. All the animals died. There was also another one in town, privatly owned, and the smell was putrid. 5 dogs crammed into a 2'X2' cage. The health department shut them down thankfully. Now there's a pet supplies plus in town. And they feed the snakes crickets. Sometimes i want to rescue a snake from there, but if you buy something from the store, it promotes the business.

All you can really do is use photoshop, and make a flyer of a dead kitten or parrot in a cage (it will get people) and post that around town, or call the better business bereau.

[user]

Well, pet stores here in Edmonton, AB, Can. for the most part do a excellent job caring for all of their animals. I've been getting my Corn's from a family owned pet store for the past 6 years now and I have never had a single problem with the 30 corn snakes they have sold to me. All of them have been in excellent health and very well cared for and the people I bought them off of are very knowledgeable and they know their reptiles. Even most of the larger pet stores here do a very good job caring for all of their animals. I would never walk into a pet store and just buy a corn snake or any other animal for that matter because I know they can treat their animals poorly. With the exception of just a few of the pet stores I have been to here I've been very surprised how much knowledge some of these people have about all the animals. The stores are very clean also. I buy all of my corns from two shops and I haven't had a single snake get sick or die on me.

So obviously you people are just basing your opinions on what you have experienced with pet shops in or around your area. Just because the ones you've been to have treated their animals poorly, or sell bad products doesn't mean all of them are like that.

[MissHisssss]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I didn't say that ALL petshops were bad..... but for those that are should be reported. Actually... I'm surprised that all those that have written complaints on this thread have not reported the petshops that they talked about.

MissHisssss.

[user]

Yes, I agree with you. All of the pet shops that treat their animals poorly and don't have a clean environment like some of the posters on here have stated should be reported and then shut down. I, for one don't feel like purchasing sick, or injured animals from someone who has no clue in hell what their doing. Unfortunately people complain about pet stores treating their animals poorly, but don't make any attempt to report them. But thats their problem not mine.

[Julie F]

You can repot them, although action isn't always done.

alot of animal cruelty agencies don't hadle petstores. I did report a few months back an animal shelter that was adopting out dogs with distemper, my dog came from there and had it. The pound even admitted that they know that they have sick animals. After talking to what sounded to be like a concerned county comminsionner, no action was taking to help prevent these situations.

And i do agree that not all pet stores are bad. there's a petstore in akron that specializes in reptiles, and is a really reliable store.

[CowBoyWay]

Always buy direct from a Corn Snake breeder with beautiful snakes,
if you want a beautiful Snake. (imho)
Besides, It's more fun that way :)

If a breeder retails his snakes, in order to only sell the best specimens, in many cases, they have "culled" there so so, nothing special here type quality, in quantity @ wholesale.
And where do you think the "culls", your lesser quality, not so perfect examples end up... :(

Why in your local chain pet store, many times, with a fancy name with a fancy high FOOLuten price to go with that "rare" morph.
Not all mind ya, but many do.

:mad:

If you do have a local pet store that does a great job with there husbandry practices and stocks quality critters,
you'll want to make sure that you drive that extra mile to spend your money there, instead of an uncaring MEGA store.