First Corn From a Pet Store Story

[onelifetolive45]

Well I have a small collection of corns that I began last year. I have always made it a rule to buy from respectable breeders or people I know and trust, however this past week I was in my local pet store buying mice, when I notices a 10 gallon aquarium with about 15 corns shoved in. I know the owners of the pet store but thye still have the same feel as all pet stores, overpriced animals in inadequate setups. So I walked in a looked at in the cage and there was this little guy just staring at me so I asked to see him/her, and the worker refused to pick up snakes so I had to sort through them all to find him/her and finally got it out. He was the calmest snake I have ever had. So obviously I bought him, and I have never bought a corn from a pet store. I was just wondering what your guys experience was with pet store corns. Horror stories or happy endings are welcomed.

 

[onelifetolive45]

ohh yea and they called him an "oakate"

 

[Lore]

Not all snakes from pet stores are bad.

My biggest and meatiest Corn I have is from a pet store.

If he's feeding and looks healthy, he should be fine.

Congrats :cheers:

 

[onelifetolive45]

Well his first meal was today and he did great. Downed it in like 3 minutes he was hungry. I usually dont name my corns but for some reason I have a desire to name him or her. Any suggestions?

 

[Shade]

I got Belial from a petstore, and the only problems I've ever had with him were a couple skipped feedings and an incomplete shed.

That, and they had him sexed wrong. But all in all he's a great snake.

 

[CaptainJack]

I never bought a corn from a pet store but a long time ago my mom bought me a ribbon snake that came from a pet store and he was healthy all the years I had him until my dad finally forced us to get rid of him. When I was young though I bought a lot of other animals from large pet stores and I would say that about 80 percent of them could have been better and the remaining were great pets. Pet store animals are a lot like those eBay auctions where people claim to be selling a large bag of unsorted gems. Mainly it's all chunks of concrete and glass, but somewhere in there you might find a jewel. Congrats on your new snake! I'm sure that he'll turn out fine.

 

[onelifetolive45]

Before I purchased him I did the basic health check, tounge flicking, size, weight. Everything seems fine so far. Cant wait to see how he colors up. If he is a real okeetee

 

[sbourget]

I've bought both of my corn snakes from my local pet store. They where keeping spur on corn-cob bedding but they've gotten better since the next generation has taken over from their parents. They still occasionally have problems, usually due to their employees not listening to their instructions. But I'm happy to say that they've improved greatly and continue to do what they can to learn about every animal they are going to get in before they get it in.

 

[bubble72]

Hi,

my corn snake that I bought from a closing pet store lasted six days. Even the vet could not help it (my poor little Shrek).

 

[TWGarland]

My experience of pet stores in the Uk sounds alot better than the US.

I'd say ive visited about 15 or so petshops that stock reptiles in the UK. I can't remember checking out any animal and saying my god thats terrible!! all have looked in reasonable condition. Ive never seen anything but adult corns housed together (hatchlings/yealings seperate). In fact most shops here that i've been to, always give you the "You know a corn snake lives up to around 20 years, are you prepared for that?, etc., how about coming back when you've done some research, etc". Which i think is exactly what needs to be said.

The petshop i bought my corn from, which has always been healthy (touch wood!), never missed a meal etc., well that petshop says they always do their best to make sure that the people they are selling to know as much as possible about the species there buying, before they're sold, as apparently otherwise they'll see the same animal back within a few weeks.
makes sense to sell properly doesnt it.

 

[sarah s]

Got to agree the pet shop I got my first corn from is good and also makes sure that people know what they are getting into before they sell. But then I have not found a uk shop that wont check you out for buying reptiles etc before they sell to you. The shop I got my little one from also even talked to the people they got their stock from as they were worried about the quality of some of the animals they were given to sell. They also made sure this issue got fixed before they would take any more animals from these people. This shop wont even house hatchlings together they keep all their snakes in separate housing no matter the age and if an animal looks like its in trouble it goes straight to the vets and they wont sell it till they are sure its fully healthy again.

 

[onelifetolive45]

Wow it seems like the entire mentality of pet shops in the UK is different from a lot of shops here in the US. Thanks for all the posts keep them coming if you want. I will give weekly updates on my little guy if you guys want.

 

[stragen]

I live in Portsmouth UK and there are 2 reptile shops local to me. I know 5 snakes(3 corns, 2 royal pythons) and 1 beardie that have come from one or the other of them and they are all doing very well. The shops look after their animals well and are very forthcoming with advice - I have been in several times looking to buy some equipment, and got told that its not what i need(even though they havent got the thing i need in stock!), and they are even helpful over the phone.

Admittedly, both the shops are "specialist" - hopefully all reptile shops are like this, but maybe i have just been lucky!

I havent ventured into the local "Pets@Home" superstore though...

 

[stragen]

hmmm gotta figure out how to edit..

I just had a thought after i posted the last msg - The RSPCA are tying to get the keeping of most reptiles as pets banned in the uk, so they have a really really anti - rep policy at the moment. If any petstore steps out of line they will probably try to close it down instantly!

This is good in a way(makes sure rep shops are doing everything right) but for the wrong reasons(want to ban reps).

Anyone that hasnt seen it already, please sign the anti-rspca petition here:
http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=994

 

[RedRaydin]

My Experience

Since I have not contributed in a while I guess I'll throw my two cents in. I got Raydin at a petco in northern virginia. I was one of the dumb new snake enthusiasts who had conducted not a speck of research. All I heard was of my fiancee telling me about her pet boa constrictors she had a few years back with her x and how awesome they were. So I was in the store one day, saw this cute red snake, no idea what it was called. Thought the name corn sounded funny but I had never seen one like it. Ended up finding out it's an amel. He's colored up great. Only reason I think he ended up in a pet store was because on some of his saddles the red is faded and looks like it has white in it. I imagine the breeder saw this and expected to not get a good deal on it. But as hes matured its slowly faded. You can still notice it on quite a few saddles in close up pics (check my old posts if you'd like, I attach pics every month of his progression). Anywayz he was being fed off frozen pinks in the store but I wanted my snake to be a killer lol, so I started him on live (my fiancee said that was the coolest part, watching them eat). I must admit it was pretty cool. But yea, never missed a feeding. I got him on two like fuzzies now every 7 days. He started on pinks, one every 7 days. Then after a month graduated to two pinks every seven days. After two months, one pink and one fuzzy every seven days. And now as he hunts around much more I am starting him on two fuzzies tonight and every seven days thereafter. This will be his fourteenth feeding since purchase as a hatchling on 09/18. He's doing great. I am due to post progression around Christmas so be checking the photo gallery for Christmas pics of Mr. Raydin. Talk to you guys later. See not all of these stories as horror stories haha. Good luck with the new corn.

 

[onelifetolive45]

Yea so far I think there has been only one horror story which was awful. So far he is doing great, I hope that after Christmas I will have a new digital camera (hint hint mom if your looking at this :crazy02: ) to take picture of my whole collection including my new little guy.

 

[MegF.]

Actually, as far as co-habitating, it would be better to have the babies than the adults. You risk breeding of females if they are housed together, two males fighting if housed together. I'm not sure that's better. I sold what was left of my hatchlings to my local petstore. They kept their animals in good condition and I had sexed all my babies already for them so they kept like sexes in together until sold. Not my favorite setup but better than nothing and someone could choose whether they wanted a boy or girl that way. Once the amount was lower they housed seperately. He even apologized for having to put them together but he didn't have room for all of the ones I brought.

 

[onelifetolive45]

i agree that having hatchlings together is better than adults, but co-hab is always a bad idea

 

[MegF.]

Yep, but most petshops don't have the amont of space required to house all of them seperately. Even the reptile shops I've been in, co-habitate routinely. I wish I owned some of those places...I'd love to get in there and fix them up!

 

[onelifetolive45]

Ohh yea that would be nice. I can understand that they dont have room btu what bothers me is that it doesnt stop them from purchasing too many animals even when they know it isnt healthy.