Quotes from customers and pet store employees

[lumene]

This isn't reptile related, but an ad just popped up on usedvictoria about a Hedgehog for sale and it's being fed Cat food (because its 'cheaper')... completely different diet requirements...

 

[Outcast]

Actually many of the care sheets that I read when I got my hedgehog stated to feed high quality cat food because much of the hedgehog only diets were not good.

 

[toxiclight]

The only really off story I have was an employee in a big chain pet store. My bf had gone there looking for a new heating pad, thermostat and thermometer for a new tank we were setting up. The employee in the reptile department insisted that we didn't need a thermostat or thermometer and did everything but call by bf stupid for wanting these things for our cornsnake.

(for the record, I ended up complaining to the corporate complaint line about this particular employee...I don't enjoy people treating me like I'm stupid because I want basic necessities for my pet)

I felt very sorry for any reptiles that were cared for by that employee.

Luckily, our normal, locally owned pet store has very knowledgeable staff and the reptile manager is awesome with snakes (although he's more a King/milk snake person than a corn person).

 

[VickyChaiTea]

This isn't reptile related, but an ad just popped up on usedvictoria about a Hedgehog for sale and it's being fed Cat food (because its 'cheaper')... completely different diet requirements...

Actually many of the care sheets that I read when I got my hedgehog stated to feed high quality cat food because much of the hedgehog only diets were not good.

After a lot of personal research for hedgehog nutrition, cat food is NOT acceptable as their main diet. They should be getting a high quality hedgehog food like Sunseeds Exotics brand, it actually contains chitin and mealworms in it. It is the best out there, but even then it should only be a fractions of the hedgehogs actual diet. They need so much more like feeder insects, fruits, some vertebrate food like pinkies and cooked chicken, and vegetables. Feeding cat food alone, ANY cat food, will cause obesity and other health problems.

 

[AliCat37]

Ali--WOW. That person is very... Erm... Special. Really? Your Dragons like each other? PFFT. Suuure they do. And don't get me started on cross-species cohabbing. People like that drive me insane!

Yep, this was a reply I got after explaining why cohabbing beardies was not a good idea. What's worse, is that this had come with pics of the "happy beardies" and the one was constantly being sat upon by the other. *face palm* I wish I could just make every reptile owner take a week long class on reptile welfare and behavior.

 

[VickyChaiTea]

Yep, this was a reply I got after explaining why cohabbing beardies was not a good idea. What's worse, is that this had come with pics of the "happy beardies" and the one was constantly being sat upon by the other. *face palm* I wish I could just make every reptile owner take a week long class on reptile welfare and behavior.

People anthropomorphize so much it's terrible. But look! My snakes are cuddling! Then one "mysteriously" disappears but oh it wasn't that. It couldn't be! They liked each other!

 

[AliCat37]

Just today at the local reptile shop in the city I live in..

Me: Do you have any more of the motley butters?
Owner: Sure, there's about 20 of them in there. *Lifts off reptile carpet*
Me: *Seeing one butter and one motley butter among a million other fresh babies.* Can I hold the motley?
Owner: *hands me motley*
Me: Is it a boy or a girl?
Owner: Oh, that I don't know.
Me: *pops it, it's a boy.. I need a girl* Oh, it's a boy.
Owner: Maybe this one is a girl? *Grabs normal butter*
Me: Yeah but that's not a motley, I want a motley.
Owner: Well motley means circles, this one sorta has circles.
Me: *still holding motley shows the clear belly to owner and checkers on the normal butter* Motleys have clear bellies.
Owner: Oh. Well this one still has the circles. (It didn't).

*face palm* The guy who owns the shop needs a corn snake lesson.

I told him I needed a female motley or stripe butter to breed to my stripe amel het caramel, he tries to offer me an amel het stripe, then I explained that I wanted to make more butters and that I needed one that is either a butter or amel het caramel to make butters. Then he told me that caramel is butter

 

[IAmLink]

Me: Well I refuse to buy processed dog food anymore; my Shiba Inu is on a raw diet.

Most people I meet IRL: a.) What?! You can't feed a dog raw meat, it will kill them! They need five food groups like we do!" (Yes, because dogs are also humans, didn't ya know?)
b.) "If you feed your dog raw meat, once it gets the taste of blood, your dog will become vicious!"
c.) "Dogs are not carnivores, therefore they need fruits and vegetables not just meat." :headbang:
d.) "You're going to kill your dog feeding it raw meat."
e.) "Dogs aren't meant to eat raw meat, that's what dog food is for!"

I could go on and on about this subject. Just shows how in this situation, I've done tons of research on this subject, whereas all these other people spout out there opinions without even an ounce of knowledge.

 

[AliCat37]

Me: Well I refuse to buy processed dog food anymore; my Shiba Inu is on a raw diet.

I love how many people flip out on this subject. I work with wolves and they get a raw meat diet, and I hate to break it to so many people in the world that their dogs are just domesticated wolves. They are meant to eat raw meat.

 

[Shiari]

In defense of those other people (as a vet tech):

Many MANY people I encounter do NOT know how to properly feed raw. You can NOT feed *just* meat to an animal otherwise there will be a huge calcium-phosphorous imbalance that can be fatal. But most of the people who feed 'raw' do just that, nothing but straight meat. No calcium supplementing, no whole prey, improperly handled food... And the result is sick dogs and cats.

 

[AliCat37]

In defense of those other people (as a vet tech):

Many MANY people I encounter do NOT know how to properly feed raw. You can NOT feed *just* meat to an animal otherwise there will be a huge calcium-phosphorous imbalance that can be fatal. But most of the people who feed 'raw' do just that, nothing but straight meat. No calcium supplementing, no whole prey, improperly handled food... And the result is sick dogs and cats.

Understandable. The wolves get the bones and everything, with hides to play with for flossing and digesting the bones. The only supplement they ever get is fish oil pills.

 

[kathylove]

I am not a dog expert, for sure. But my guess would be that they would need to eat pretty much the whole animal (or most of it). Wouldn't wild wolves eat pretty much everything - guts, stomach contents, and all? I would be surprised that just muscle meat, bones, and fish oil would be a complete, long term diet for any animal, whether dog, human, or otherwise.

 

[ceduke]

When Jasper was on raw, I used to feed him whole frozen rabbits when I could...fur and all. He loved 'em!

 

[Lyion]

At a local store-

Me: Do you sell frozen mice here?
Owner: No... we only sell live.
Me: Oh. Alright **Turns to look at vivs**
Owner: You know live is better for them, right? More nutrients.
Me: I'll stick to f/t....
Owner: Why?
Me: I don't like feeding a living animal to another living animal, and I don't want a chewed up snake.
Owner: But feeding them is the best part.

Hence disgusted look and me leaving


At a Local Petco-
Me: **Looking at snakes** Um, hey could I talk to the reptile manager?
Salesperson: Okay.
Manager: What's up? You want to buy a snake?
Me: Not from here, ever. Also, I'm sure that snakes shouldn't be upsidedown.

At that point the manager looked at the upsidedown snake. He poked it with the eraser of his pencil as if it was some deadly creature.

Manager: It's gone... *Throws in trash*
Me: Uh HEY! You could at least check for a pulse!!



Needless to say, I've done my best to never shop in mainstream petstores ever.

 

[lumene]

Yay! I'm not the only raw feeder!

 

[Kate]

Look up the B.A.R.F. diet for feeding dogs. Biologically Accurate Raw Foods. You also blend up some veggies etc to mimic stomach contents, you don't have to give them the hide for flossing, as long as they have the bones, etc etc. Fun stuff!

 

[ceduke]

Look up the B.A.R.F. diet for feeding dogs. Biologically Accurate Raw Foods. You also blend up some veggies etc to mimic stomach contents, you don't have to give them the hide for flossing, as long as they have the bones, etc etc. Fun stuff!

There are as many ways to feed raw as there are dog owners. I never fed vegetables when I had my dog on raw.

 

[Kate]

There are as many ways to feed raw as there are dog owners. I never fed vegetables when I had my dog on raw.

I agree wholeheartedly, there are many ways, I should have worded it better, I meant it as a reply to the people that mentioned stomach contents, that there is a diet that incorporates it. But there are just as many suitable raw diet guidelines out there as there are dog food brands!

 

[AliCat37]

I am not a dog expert, for sure. But my guess would be that they would need to eat pretty much the whole animal (or most of it). Wouldn't wild wolves eat pretty much everything - guts, stomach contents, and all? I would be surprised that just muscle meat, bones, and fish oil would be a complete, long term diet for any animal, whether dog, human, or otherwise.

It's an AZA accredited sanctuary and a lot of the animals are 12+ years old, so the diet is fine.

 

[kathylove]

If they have been eating nothing else for 12 years and they are healthy, then I guess you can't argue with success, lol! It does surprise me that it works so well, but then it isn't the first time I have been surprised, haha!