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Petstore = Me Angry

AliCat37

AliCat37

Michelle's Candied Corns!
I went to get superworms for Toothless today, and while there, their male corns actually decided to show themselves. There are 3 in the cage, all adults. All emaciated. One in particular, a BEAUTIFUL normal (probably a Miami), is literally a skeleton with skin on top of it. This poor thing even went up to the light bulb (not on thank god) and tried to eat it. I am crying right now. I asked the guy how much he wanted for it, and he wants $170!!! That poor creature is no where near worth that much.. I think I'm going to try to make a deal with him and bring my entire cockroach colony down there and see if I can get that snake out of there. I just needed to vent... :(
 
It just upsets me that I know I can't save them all. I really am going to see if I can at least make a difference for this one though.. I just don't know how. Any suggestions?
 
If its that bad dont try to make any deals or save the snake. Another snake will just take its place. Just report him.
 
I would try calling a local animal shelter and asking them who they would call if they were tipped off to an animal in terrible condition. Odds are they will be dogs/cats/horses/etc. only, but the organization they'd go too might not be.
 
As far as I know, reptiles are not covered by any humane laws, so the humane society probably will not even check it out. They don't even respond to calls about cats.

Nanci, I didn't ask him. I don't really want to impose when they're the only place that I can get superworms that are alive and not dead (like petco).
 
I called one of the Humane Societies here and as I thought, they don't respond to calls about reptiles/pet stores. So I called USDA and left a message at their Animal Protection department.
 
Poor baby... =(

As far as not wanting to push because of the superworms, maybe look into a different source for your supers? Would it be an option to order them online? Personally, I'd be concerned about the quality of their feeders (whether or not they're pretty good about them being alive) if they can't even keep their reptiles healthy...
 
Floof said:
Poor baby... =(

As far as not wanting to push because of the superworms, maybe look into a different source for your supers? Would it be an option to order them online? Personally, I'd be concerned about the quality of their feeders (whether or not they're pretty good about them being alive) if they can't even keep their reptiles healthy...
Click to expand...

The only other place is over half an hour away, and its a scales n tails, so that's just about as bad as this store. This one orders the super worms from somewhere, not sure where. The only good pet store around is about an hour away in either direction. Trust me, I do worry about the quality of them. This store has been written up so many times and been threatened to be shut down almost every year. The nickname of the store is "Dead Pets".
I'd love to be able to order supers, but I'd have to buy over 1000 to make it worth it (he goes through 100+ a week). I'm worried that they'll "pop" and then Toothless won't eat them. (That picky jerk won't eat anything but supers right now).
As far as the snake goes, I got to the pet store (BTWs this is the same one that was trying to tell me that motley means circles and convince me normal patterned corns were motleys) and the owner's son was there for a moment stopping by. I was able to talk to him about possibly trading for some random stuff I don't use anymore (roaches, books, etc) and he told me to bring it down tomorrow when his dad (the owner) isn't around. He said he'll try to work something out for me because they have too many male corns. *sigh*
 
AliCat - I can skip going out for lunch one week and send you a twenty, if it would help. PM me with your name and address, if you want to take me up on the offer. Or I can send it on to someone else you trust, who can forward it on to you, if you don't want to give some random guy on the internet your address.

Pugs
 
Ah... Darn picky lizard. Seems like lizards are the best at driving their keepers crazy...

Well, at least the son is willing to work with you to get him out of there, it's better than nothing. Good luck!
 
I've ordered superworms by the thousand for a long time. They keep very well and don't change into beetles very often. Maybe 10 out of the thousand?? You can get one of those plastic drawers from Target and keep them in that. They can't climb.
 
I know you left a complaint with the USDA but there's other options too. According to the ASPCA you can call any of these organizations:

Your local SPCA or humane society, which may have the power to investigate such matters in your area. For a listing of animal agencies in your area, visit ASPCA.org.
your local Health Department/Board of Health, as the abuse of animals in pet stores and breeder facilities often involves unsafe or unsanitary conditions for humans
your local Better Business Bureau
local law enforcement officials
local media organizations
local politicians
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees wholesale breeders of dogs and cats. It is best to contact this agency by mail.

My guess would be Better Business Bureau would be your best bet. I know you're in a sticky situation with needing this business. Best case scenario: the pet store will receive the complaint and stop keeping reptiles or shape up. I doubt they'll close their doors just because they can't care for corn snakes properly so they can no longer sell them. Just my 2 cents. Hope this resolves in a manner where you can still shop there and no other animals are harmed :)
 
I completely understand the anger, but what will happen when the remaining Corns get into this state? And when they've been bought, what about the next lot that they get in? As long as people keep paying over the top prices for Corns in dreadful condition, it reinforces that the shop can get top dollar and they can routinely starve and mistreat their Corns.

The only things these organisations understand is the bottom line. "Rescuing" this one snake might save its life, whilst condemning dozens more to a slow death over the coming years. However I know that when faced with cruelty like this there's really no good answer and I certainly wouldn't want to be in that situation myself.

Personally, I might make concerned anonymous contact with the local press and see if some adverse publicity can be drummed up against the store. Or if you're OK about being seen to take a stand, how about a letter to their Head Office outlining your concerns, making it clear that you're copying the latter to your local press? Reducing their footfall and making them look bad are the only things they're really going to understand.
 
Dave, how easy is it to breed supers? I'd definitely be willing to look into that. Or if they don't pop very often ordering is something I can do!

Pugs- thank you so much! No need to send that though. I took the roaches down there and a few books that I don't use and the son handed me the snake and said "This never happened."

Jenn- Valley Pets is not even regulated by BBB! I thought about them as well, as far as I know they have a D rating, but BBB doesn't over see them. I contacted the local humane society here and they don't respond to those sorts of calls.

Bitsy- I think I am going to take the pictures I took down to the city hall so I can show them that they need to be concerned about more than just the dogs and cats there. Also, since all their animals seem to be in poor shape, I'm going to see what TheSnakeShop in Vegas thinks (follow them on FB and they always have nice animals) I should do.

When I went in this morning, the son handed me the snake and told me what's exactly been going on. Now, I don't believe this necessarily, but he told me that the snake had come in about a month ago and he was very emaciated. The kid who owned him went to college and the parents didn't take care of it so they brought it in. He said that the snake eats just fine and has been eating small rats (o.e I DON'T believe that at all). So then he asked me if I had other snakes and knew how to take care of them.
So, long story short, the snake (dubbed Shivers) is settling in in quarantine. He was very thirsty when I got him home as well. I know that getting animals from a petstore only supports the store, but at least I didn't have to pay for him, and for this one at least, I made a difference. And who knows if their story is true...

He is just shy of 5 feet in length, 280 grams...


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right now my plan is to feed him slit hoppers with nutribac every 4-5 days to help prevent upset tummy.
 
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