Has anyone ever bought through Petco? My snake died...

[Snakelover06]

I bought a snow there last month and just yesterday, it died. Luckily, they replaced it,but I still was shocked cause I was doing everything right. One minute it was peeping its head out his hide and moving...I come home with its food and it's dead. (R.I.P Peace). Does anyone know what could have caused this? My new one seems really fiesty and has a lot of tongue flicking....,but I want to make sure its healthy. Please help.

[AggieTiff]

It is extremely difficult to diagnose a potential cause of death. Sometimes they just aren't strong enough to make it. :(

Can you provide some details about your set-up?

[Snakelover06]

I had a 20 gallon tank about 24 inches long, he was around 12 so I thought thats wasn't too big. I never let temptures dropped below 70 and kept the humidity above 40. Changed his water daily. He was a good eater....but can feeding too large of food kill a snake? I went back to the store and asked for a pinkie,but when I got home I thought it was rather large and looked like a fuzzie. I brushed it off cause the person who sold it to me was a ex reptile hobbyist for the store, so I figured they knew what they were talking about. Thats the only thing that seemed to bother me. He was breathing fine...no mucus, open mouth, or clicking.

[AggieTiff]

Usually a snake regurges meals that are too large, so I doubt that was the cause of death.

You said the temp never dropped below 70 but what was the high temperature??

[gatorlink]

If youre gonna use the same cage clean it and evrthing that came into contact with him very good

[Snakelover06]

the high was usually 80-85.

[carol]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. Unfortunatley this is very commen with animals bought from Petco. Just do a seach on "Petco" on these forums and I am sure you will find many like yourself. I sure hope you have better luck with this new one. However, if not I'd suggest a different source for your next pet. Good Luck!

[ghosthousecorns]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I've got a few that came originally from petco and they are all quite healthy, but on the other hand I have seen some snakes at the local petco where I live that I wouldn't buy. Petco doesn't always have the most knowledgeable employees and I think the quality of care varies greatly from store to store. As for your viv you should give your snake a range of temps (70 - 85) to chose from and also a choice of hides it will go where it needs to (if your temp drops to 70 at night that's to cold) Good luck with your new snake

[TripleMoonsExotic]

A friend of mine purchased a normal, snow and amel from the Hanover PetCo, brought them home and discovered them covered in mites. I'm not exactly sure why they didn't notice the mites when they purchased them. They wanted to give them away to me rather then returning them to the store, but I refused. I don't exactly want the risk of a mite infestation in my collection. the PetCo denied it being their fault. Told them it's nothing to worry about. I don't know what they ended up doing with the Corns.

[luvofthechase]

Take a look online about the documantation on petco. there is a website that PETA put together (i think its petcocruelty.com) that has many stories like yours, and the mites story.
I just heard about this site the other day on my chinhcilla forum, i was sickened by the contents.
I would recoment to anyone that their better off getting a snake shipped from a breeder than going to a petco or any other major chain store.

[CAV]

Be aware that PETA has their own bias and an extremely slanted political agenda. They represent a direct threat to pet hobbyists in the U.S. I would urge caution in using them as a "credible" source. ;)

[Sisuitl]

PETA was pushing through legislation in my home state (Washington) to ban exotic pets, including monkeys, big cats, foxes, wolves and wolf hybrids, etc etc the mammal list went on for ages, and *ALL REPTILES*!!! There was a huge outcry fortunately, and when we all pointed out how much money it would cost to enforce it, and that their requiring all exotics that weren't banned to be neutered and spayed was against the federal endangered species act, they backed off.

Anyway, I have a friend with two very spoiled and well taken care of cougars. Some PETA members cut through all three of her perimeter fences and poisoned them, because "it's better that they are dead than to be slaves to humans". PETA feels this way about domestic dogs and cats too. They also poisoned another friend's grizzly bear, although she managed to survive the poisoning. They suck, and will kill and take away your pets and your right to own them the first chance they get. NEVER give them money, they will use it against you.

It is better to go through the Humane Society when pet cruelty concerns are noted, and to boycott pet stores who don't take care of their animals. Write letters to their CEOs. If there is enough outcry from the public, and it hits their wallets hard enough, they will change, but it's the only way to do it. Maybe when people find pet stores that are really horrible, call the authorities and if the local news has a newstips hotline, call that too. Embarrass them publically. Anything it takes, but do not give support to PETA, they are horrible people. If anyone needs to hear more stories about pets they have killed I can give them to you, I can put you in contact with the humans who cared for them.

Sorry for the rant, I just have a deep hatred to PETA after what they have done.

P.S. the folks who did the actual poisoning had their legal defense and bail paid for by PETA, that's where your money goes when you give it to them. :angry01:

[peep_827]

An animal would be better off dead than a well-loved and cared for pet? That's pretty warped. :(

[luvofthechase]

:uhoh: i didnt mean to cause a rucus, just thought some of the data on there, esp. letters from customers were quite interesting. normally im not a big peta advoacte, theyre like the animal cruelty Taliban as far as i'm concerned :)

[dionythicus]

As in many cases, this quote applies to PETA,

"Of the many truths if you choose one and follow it blindly, it will become a falsehood and you a fanatic."

I think they've forgotten that there's a balance between man and animals.

I'm also from Washington and I read the proposed legislation. Nowhere in it did it seek to ban all reptiles. It was quite specific on species.

As for Petco, I have had a baby snow for seven weeks and has regurged all four times I've fed it. It attacks the pinks, day old with slits to aid digestion, but two days later it comes back up. I also was given (by Petco) a baby kingsnake last year that had probably gotten up against a heat bulb and melted half its face. Its Jacobson's gland was likely destroyed and thus it was never able to determine what food was. On the positive side, I have a five year old breeding female who came from Petco and so did my adult kingsnake.

Whatcha gonna do?

[Sisuitl]

They have tried to pass it three years running that I know of in Washington. The first draft of it said all reptiles. Each year they get a little more specific, hoping it will pass, I think last time it only specified venomous herps and iguanas but I could be wrong. Their rationale is that "all reptiles carry salmonella and are therefore dangerous to keep as pets" or some such nonsense.

[E. g. guttata]

Something similar to that was passed in chicago I think. I'll have to find the actual ordinance.

[dionythicus]

If you go to www.lowergroundreptiles.com she has a link to the latest bills for Washington state. I think certain cities have their own regulations. I'm looking into that.

[HadesBP18]

They passed a law similar to that here in NY that went into effect in January. It banned all "wild" animals such as skunks, wolves, etc. The only reptiles it banned were venemous snakes and big snakes like the African Rock, Reticulated, and I think the Anaconda...not sure on the Anaconda one. Apparently if you already own one of these you have to get a permit which will run you $80 each year to have. The gov't. also threatened anyone found with these animals without permits cannot object or stop the gov't. from killing their animals. It's pretty stupid. At the bottom of Faunaclassifieds they have seperate sub-forums for each state.

That's why I hope to crap that Pataki finally gets the boot out of office. Just my opinion though. :D

[E. g. guttata]

I never knew there was a law like that in MO. I've been looking for months, just for curiosity's sake, and was never able to find one. This is crap :mad:. Now that they have their foot in the door with the "deadly" reptiles, what's to stop them from calling my corns deadly? If they touch my snakes..... :twoguns: :flames: :madeuce: :realhot: :fullauto: :uzi: :bomb:!!!

[Sisuitl]

That's exactly what PETA is trying to do. If they can ban our pets just little by little, they will eventually succeed. In England it's already illegal to own a lot of larger breeds of dog because of the rationale "well, your dog is a big dog, so it's bad". Lame. They tend to start banning with things like monkeys and tigers, and work their way down. That's why we as exotic pet owners need to stay vigilant and educate the public about our pets, hygene, and the fact that reptiles are not salmonella carriers unless you let them wallow in their own crap like a lot of pet shops do.

[HadesBP18]

Sometimes I just don't understand people. Don't they have enough sense to wake up and say "Hmm...killing animals to save animals...doesn't sound quite right to me..." I agree with the whole Animal Rights Taliban. Nobody else likes them because their ideals are so radical and they hurt animals AND people. It's another 'If I ruled the country' thing. They'd die if they killed my pet. They would suffer profusely as I would make sure their last moments were full of enduring grief and pain. :angry01:

[rippit]

PETA is a terrorist organization, plain and simple. If a group engaged in the same types of activities in the name of God that PETA does in the name of animals, they would be added to the government's terror watch list.

[gardenmum]

I am sorry you lost your first snake. That is a rotten feeling, I know.

You say you had your snake for a month. Did it ever regurge any of its meals? Was it loosing weight? How many meals did it eat for you? Just trying to see if there was anything that was possible signs. The temps, by the way, should be about 82 on the warm side and mid 70's on the cool side. It sounds like your temps fluctuated from 70 - 85 in the whole container. If the temps are fluctuating too much, it could cause the food to not digest properly and stress for the snake. Just a thought. About the pink being too large, if it ate it ok AND kept it down (which I assume it did since you said it died when you were bringing it's next meal home), then that should have been ok. But if you ever find yourself in the situation where you think the pink is too large for the snake to comfortably eat at one time, then what you can do is snap the head off of it and feed just the head and then the remainder for the next meal. This is easily done when the pink is frozen.

Sorry you lost one but glad you got the replacement. I wish you the best with your new one.



And, I can't say I have any love lost for PETA. I agree they are a radical group and their best interest is not preservation of animals. It is one thing to have love and respect for animals and nature....it is another to be a fanatical "bunny hugger." If it weren't for people keeping pets including exotics, the general "public" would be unaware of and uncaring for the preservation of the land in which those animals they love come from. Thus, we learn not to toss trash out of cars and try hard to recycle, etc. I believe in preserving land for habitat and such, but they just go way too far and are irrational in their reasons. There will ALWAYS be people out there that "say" they love animals and get them and don't feed/care for them and let them loose uncaringly and such. I agree, these people should be tried to be stopped. In the same token, there will always be people who abuse, starve and kill their own children and teach them to be thieves and murderers. Should all people be banned from having children because of this? Where the logic is skewed with PETA is that banning is not always the right answer to the problem. Educating the public is by far the most productive means of correcting the problems. People need to have awareness of the need to protect habitats for the wild species and the best way is for people to see these species "up close and personal", to be able to "see the personality" of the species so they can have empathy and desire to protect their domain. This comes with proper ownership of these animals. That's my opinion. It is not the snake that is bad, it is not the dog that is bad, it is not the gun that is the problem, it is the person behind them that is the problem. Not everyone should suffer because a few just "don't get it."

OK....now that I spewed off on that, I will say that I have/had five Petco corns and I have 2 Petco Columbian Boas. All of them, except one, was in excellent shape. The one that wasn't in excellent shape was the only one I got from a Petco not near me and not the one I go to normally. The people at that Petco were not very good about keeping the place nice and clean and that particular corn had mites. I got rid of the mites within a week of getting it and the snake thereafter was fine. The others were all mite free and ate fine. I agree that it all depends on what your Petco store is like in the care of their animals. I personally would not hesitate should I see one I simply "couldn't do without" lol...at that Petco.

I also got some snakes last year from a breeder who is no longer is in the snake business and they were sickly with URI and thin and I had to take them to the vet for medications. So, the bottom line to me is, if I can look at the snakes in person, make sure they look and act healthy. If I am buying via the internet, buy only from reputable breeders with good standing in the reptile world and also stand behind their sales.