Baby Corn Snake from Petsmart died.

[Alicia P]

Thank you for the advice. Right now I'm online looking at backwater.com. Does anyone know anything about them.

The BOI is the "Board of Inquiry" here http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=13 people leave reviews, both good and bad, of places that sell reptiles and reptile supplies.

 

[Lennycorn]

I feel mad dumb asking but what is BOI? lol

Beginning Of Immaturity

 

[HerpsOfNM]

First and foremost, Howdy, I'm truly sorry for your loss! As Yojoe suggested, I would contact PetSmart, asking for the Pet Care Manager, to see if they are willing to do anything for you. However, they appear to not be obligated to do such if I've followed the timeline you've stated of initial purchase to this point. Again, it sucks to lose a pet and I'm sorry you've had to go through such.

First I'd contact petsmart and see what they'll do to remedy the situation. They don't always take the greatest care of their stock unfortunately but they should either reimburse you at least partially or give you a new snake. Was there anything strange in his behavior or anything that would make you think he wasn't doing okay? Without knowing what the cause is though I don't know if you should even bother with another snake from them or not. Most people won't recommend chain stores for snakes because of their to common neglect and misinformation. How soon did you try refeeding after the regurge and how large was the mouse that he ate? It usually needs to be a week before trying to feed again after a regurge due to the damage that accurs from the action. Just wanting some details because while adults or yearlings are healthier typically and can be easier to take care of, it's not necessarily because of the corn's age so necessarily getting an older corn won't take care of it. Also if it's an infection it may still be in his tank so you need to clean it up really well before getting another one.

At the risk of my $10/hr job and being tarred & feathered, publicly flogged, and then ran out of town (town=cornsnakes.com)...

14 day guarantee on all live pets except feeder insects and fish. This is the gist of the contract that I feel is pertinent for this thread.

PLEASE READ THE ACCOMPANYING 'CARE GUIDE' FOR PET CARE INFORMATION

IMPORTANT: Please read the 'PetSmart 14-Day Satisfaction Guarantee' and 'Notice of Possible Disease Hazards' statements on REVERSE SIDE of this paper before purchasing pets or signing this form.

CUSTOMER CONTRACT: I have received the accompanying care guide for the pets I am purchasing. I have also read the 'PetSmart 14-Day Satisfaction Guarantee' and the 'Notice of Possible Disease Hazards' statements on the back of this form. I will be a responsible pet owner and provide my pets with the appropriate environment and a nutritious diet. (personal edit: I underlined this...this sentence is not bolded, italicized, or underlined on the contract) I will seek veterinary treatment for my pets as necessary. I will provide my pets with the affection and stimulation needed by a living creature. I will treat my pets humanely at all times, and supervise any children handling or caring for the pets.

Reverse side info...

PETSMART 14-DAY SATISFACTION GUARANTEE

All pets sold at PetSmart have a 14-Day Satisfaction Guarantee. We will replace or refund the purchase price of any pet that becomes ill or dies during this period, or is otherwise unsatisfactory as a pet for the purchaser, provided that the pet is returned to the store, along with the sales receipt. Confirmed cases of customer abuse or neglect resulting in injury or the death of the animal are excluded. PetSmart reserves the right to limit the number of returns for pet replacement.

If Your pet becomes ill during the 14-Day Satisfaction Guarantee period, it will be replaced with a healthy pet, or the purchase price will be refunded, upon the pet's return to the store, along with the sales receipt. The pet will be treated according to our veterinary protocol. You can request to be notified if your pet recovers and you wish to repurchase it.

As we believe that routine veterinary check-ups are an important part of responsible pet care, we encourage our customers to have their new pets examined by a veterinarian experienced in treating these pets. Any veterinary fees are the responsibility of the pet owner. If the veterinary examination finds any illness during the guarantee period, please return the pet to the store for a refund or replacement, and we will treat the pet following appropriate veterinary recommendations. PetSmart does not pay or reimburse for customer's veterinarian bills.

We strongly encourage a quarantine period for newly purchased pets. During this period they should be housed separately for other animals owned by the customer. This will allow the pet to adapt to the new environment, and allow monitoring for any possible signs of disease. PetSmart will not be responsible for illness or injuries of animals other than those pets purchased from PetSmart, and only during the 14-Day Satisfaction Guarantee period. We cannot be responsible for injury or illness to humans or property once the pet is in the customer's care.

Going off of terms, Howdy is well beyond the 14 day guarantee, which is more than what most local and on-line breeders are willing to offer these days! However, again I suggest contacting the Pet Care Manager to see if they are willing to do anything for you.

Yea I was planning on getting one. Money is just a tid bit tight at the moment. Also I'm not going to jump into getting another 1. I'll make sure I have a Thermostat before my next snake purchase. I'm worried that the temps are what killed him and it's making me feel like crap.

This is where I'd going to get a tad rough, and this isn't directed at you Howdy, but rather your state situation at hand.

I've noticed many are quick to judge on chain stores (PetSmart, PetCo, Pet Land, what-have-you, etc, etc, etc.) and even mom & pop stores. As with any company, be they chains or mom & pop you'll have your great stores and your, "WHOA! What did I just walk into....annnnnnnnd I'm now walking out." I am by no means defending my place of employment and I don't agree with communal housing of snakes, but PetSmart allows only 4 snakes/cage on corns, kings, milks, sand and rosy boas must be housed by them selves, ball pythons 2 per cage. Sadly, those very tanks they are in are tiny. However, I can go down the street to PetCo, they can slide out a roughly 2 ft x 1ft x 1 ft cage with corns in it and I've seen as many as 15 cramped into it. Every once in a while there are diamonds in the rough, like the PetSmart stores around Albuquerque. In the 2 years I was at my former store I'd obtained a huge following, will customers coming as far as Grants, Gallup, Farmington, Taos, Southern CO, and extreme NE AZ. I took my former store to anywhere from #1 to #4 in the whole company, not #1 to #4 in the district or region, but the whole company (depending on the week) in cricket sales through proper education of insect nutrition (for what we carry).

Someone within this thread stated something about all these animals being housed together and coming from wholesalers. We've covered the housing them together thing and I wholeheartedly agree. The wholesaler thing though I scratch my head at. Many moderate to large breeders we like and know are this very evilly implied wholesalers. These may or may not be people we know. PetSmart had a previous contract with Sandfire Dragon Ranch, and all my store's herps came from a box from them. But I know well and good that what came in that box was at times not actual animals they produced. I know that many of these wholesalers that have these corporate contacts will even have subcontacts with other smaller breeders so that they can fulfill their order. The snakes that come into PetSmart are supposed to have fed 3 times, yet all last year I kept getting ball pythons with barely closed yolk scars. :nope: I get leopard geckos in the same way at times. Where do you (you being anyone, again not directed wholly at you Howdy) think all those hundreds of possible thousands of corn snakes, ball pythons, leopard geckos, bearded dragons, etc go....the quick buck, lets wholesale these, keep the cool ones, post them here, fauna, kingsnake for more plus shipping. Nevermind complications like here in New Mexico where the NM Dept of Game & Fish as an importation ban list, where if you bring anything into the state not listed within Group I of the list, must have an importation permit. Some of the reptiles I use to receive are listed Group II and Sandfire would include both a veterinary certificate of health and a copy of the NM Dept G&F import permit. Simply ordering on-line MAY NOT be a reasonable option.

Coming back to the situation....about 8 out of 10 customers fall under this when I'm looking at a pet sale, be it fish, herps, rodents, or birds...

Yea I was planning on getting one. Money is just a tid bit tight at the moment.

and it frustrates me to no end. What frustrates me even more is when I proceed to possibly refuse sale, as the perspective "Pet Parent" gets upset with me because it's just a $2 fish or just a $40 corn or just a $20 red-eared slider. And then they get even more upset when I state that it's clearly worded on our contract that they will "be a responsible pet owner and provide my pets with the appropriate environment."

I'll offer for the customer to speak to a manager, and out of those about half will just state, "well I'll just go down the street (either PetCo, WalMart, or 1 of 2 local mom & pop shops) as they'll sell me what I want without this hassle." The best part is when these very same customers come back in either purchasing what I had tried to tell them they needed in the first place or asking for advice for their pet that now isn't doing well.

Lastly, god I hope I don't get in trouble for this vent/rant. Again, I'm not defending PetSmart or any other chain pet store. This rant is coming from someone with a BS in Biology, that is the former "curator" of the Nature Center at the Las Cruces Museum of Natural History (now Museum of Nature and Science), who just happens to work for PetSmart as it is the cards given to him after his wife got wait-listed not once, but twice trying to get into grad school at UNM.

 

[susang]

Lastly, god I hope I don't get in trouble for this vent/rant. Again, I'm not defending PetSmart or any other chain pet store. This rant is coming from someone with a BS in Biology, that is the former "curator" of the Nature Center at the Las Cruces Museum of Natural History (now Museum of Nature and Science), who just happens to work for PetSmart as it is the cards given to him after his wife got wait-listed not once, but twice trying to get into grad school at UNM.

I'm with you on most of what you said, but please don't blame the situation with your wife and grad school. As done as you are with people bashing chain stores/mom & pop...I'm done with blaming others for your situation.

Back to OP sorry your snake died, agree with could have been heat, could have been the snake. Even people with lots of snakes lose babies and most of the time there is no reason. I also believe buying from small breeder a better idea, they have feeding and weight records and you know what you are getting.

 

[HerpsOfNM]

I'm with you on most of what you said, but please don't blame the situation with your wife and grad school. As done as you are with people bashing chain stores/mom & pop...I'm done with blaming others for your situation.

I'm not blaming her for her shortcoming. That's all on UNM, the situation she was placed and put through was very unprofessional. We both made the decision to move and have made the best of it after it :blowhead:. Definitely don't feel entitled, if I'm reading between your lines correctly.

 

[smigon]

Thank you for the advice. Right now I'm online looking at backwater.com. Does anyone know anything about them.

What kind of site is it? It doesn't seem to have anything to do with snakes.

 

[Alicia P]

What kind of site is it? It doesn't seem to have anything to do with snakes.

I think she was looking here http://www.backwaterreptiles.com/ and just didn't type the web address properly :shrugs:

 

[bigC0_8]

I did not type the proper address. The address is backwater reptiles.com.

 

[CaptainHowdy]

Thank you guys for all the feedback and yea I had the probe on top of the aspen not on the glass. Lesson learned. Will definately be getting a thermostat before I get a new snake.

 

[diamondlil]

Thank you guys for all the feedback and yea I had the probe on top of the aspen not on the glass. Lesson learned. Will definately be getting a thermostat before I get a new snake.

Just make sure you also break down the tank and clean everything with bleach solution. No way of telling if your little one was carrying any germs and no point in risking the health of a new one.
It could have been the heating, it could have been an illness, or it could just have been bad luck in buying a baby that was never going to make it.
I know the little ones are lovely but I would suggest a well-grown maybe 6 month old corn may be a good idea to think about for your next snake.

 

[zazoo31]

I am new to the site--my daughter has a corn snake that she got for her birthday last year from PetSmart. Our local store has only been open a couple of years and I observed their treatment there a bit before I purchased and they do take good care of their animals and reptiles. They have one employee who has snakes who has spent a great deal of time giving me advice. I know some of the places have bad reputations but we have been fortunate to find a diamond amongst them. I think it depends on the local staff.