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Tough decision!

Z

Zeina

#Addicted
Sooooo I wandered into PetsMart today.... And naturally made a B line for the corn snakes :p
They had one teeny tiny little dude in there... Gorgeous, in my opinion...He's black and light gray striped with very small amounts of light orange around his head and neck... He was also super bitey when the associate got him out. I mean he ran away from her, tried to escape, He struck at her several times and actually held on.. And his tail rattled. Then, magic happened: She handed him to me, he didn't strike at me, he didn't rattle his tail, he was a cool cucumber, he sat calm in my hands.... Then she told me he's a problem feeder, as in he's not eating anything at all for them, and he's been there for a few weeks..

Now, I had my heart set on a female baby, blizzard or opal or orchid from an expo or professional beeder... I'm only allowed 2 snakes (Shocking, I know :p)
But I felt such a connection to the little turd face.... I am torn! I told them, I'm not paying the 55 they want for him, especially since he hasn't had a meal yet... But if they can't sell him, I'll come adopt him and at least try to make it work, with the help of people on here.... Sooooo hopefully they'll call me if it's meant to be....?

I hate being an adult lol and that I'm such a softy!
 
Hmmm, very tough decision! Good luck with whatever you end up with! I would stick to your guns though and refuse to pay full pop for a non feeder and be as emotionally prepared as possible that if you get him, he might not eat for you either.
 
I know .... I just thought, worse case scenario, if he had to pass he wouldn't die alone in a pet store with people who probably wouldn't care... He would at least be home with someone who wanted to save him.
I am waiting to see if they contact me. We shall see!
 
If you're new to owning snakes, I would pass on a non feeder. I know it's tough because you connected with him, but you would be better off getting the morph you want from a breeder. And that way you won't have to go through the trouble and possible heartache of trying to get a non feeder to eat.
 
For what it's worth, if he was striking at the employee he shouldn't be difficult to get to eat under the right conditions, and should at least tease feed. So it is a real tragedy if he doesn't make it.
 
I agree, I am new to them and I don't want to do anything wrong, I just hoped that maybe I could help him-
And I thought the same thing, that if he was striking so hard core at the associate, he should want to eat something, I mean he was a feisty little man.
But apparently he hasn't eaten at all, and he's super small.
I just wanted to give him a chance, I don't want him to die alone in some Pet Store- but I hope someone far more experienced can come along and can give him the care he needs!
 
If you do decide to get him (or her, you can't trust pet stores to know the sex), Nanci has an invaluable sticky in her personal forum on how to deal with nonfeeders.
 
Maybe you can print the list of tactics and share it with the keeper at the store. Some stores are receptive to advice, and others not so much. There was a pet store in my area that had a bunch of regurging babies and they had no clue what the regurge protocol was. I printed it out for them and although I didn't follow up, they said they would follow it. So it couldn't hurt.
 
No that's a good idea- I can definitely offer some help through the people on here, even if I don't wind up bringing him home.
I'll look into that, thank you!
And I hope he does too, Lello- He was really sweet with me, he deserves a good home
 
Keeping fingers crossed.. In Petstores when our babies comes in it is not unusual that they don't eat for 3-4 weeks, the whole new environment not to mention they are with other babies.. But yeah don't miss out on the ones you really want either... <3 Good luck!
 
I would avoid the big chain pet stores for snakes. While their are cases where it's worked out, petsmart and petco have both been sued multiple times and lost the law suits over their reptiles and other small animals. Sounds like an awesome little snake, but just be careful. I personally only buy from breeders or stores that KNOW the breeders personally. Just had to give my two cents on this one

Sent from my snake room
 
Lol No, I understand totally.
And I probably wouldn't buy from a pet store unless it was a special circumstance, like him... I used to work at PetsMart, I worked there for 6 years, and I took home and cared for numerous animals from that store- I had bearded dragons with bone malformations and seizures and a hairless rat w/ a tail issue- My pet manager loved animals and she did the best she could to adopt them out but the stock that was coming in was not good- Plus it's only a 2 week guarantee on the animal, and people don't like that.

I was just hoping he could come home with someone that would take care of him.
We'll see if they call, hopefully someone liked him as much as I did :p
 
I agree about passing on him if you are inexperienced, but are there other corn snake enthusiasts near you? How about a smaller pet shop that deals with reptiles and are known for good husbandry?

If you answered "yes", I would see if these people will help you out if you take him. If they are willing, go in and ask the manager (not just a salesperson) and bring your information sheets and anything else that will support your willingness to help this little guy. I would definitely try to get him for no cost, since odds are against him, and hopefully the manager has a soft heart and will let you take him.

I know what you mean, those little faces just make me melt! And if he is not long for this world, at least he will pass knowing that he was loved and wanted.

Keep us updated!
 
And to answer your question, no.
I know there is a NW Herper society SOMEWHERE, but like, there's no snake breeders or small pet shops or anything near me.
I think Walter would be the closest, as he lives in Alabama lol I'm hoping to see a shop or society of some kind in this area.
 
Zeina said:
And to answer your question, no.
I know there is a NW Herper society SOMEWHERE, but like, there's no snake breeders or small pet shops or anything near me.
I think Walter would be the closest, as he lives in Alabama lol I'm hoping to see a shop or society of some kind in this area.
Click to expand...

I am on the other side of this planet, but there are a whole bunch of Florida breeders and keepers on this site. Scan through the posts and you will see most people put where they are from under their avatar, so you will find a few people you can probably chat with.

Good luck!
 
DuxorW said:
Maybe you can print the list of tactics and share it with the keeper at the store.
Click to expand...

PetSmart actually has a decent feeding policy and procedure in place on how to feed snakes and what to do with picky or non-feeding individuals. The problem and question is whether the Pet Care manager, lead, and associates know of it, trickled it down, and are successful with it. PetSmart for the longest time did not sell snakes as they have a strict policy of not selling live feeders (rodents and lizards in this case) and thus they did not agree with selling a pet that relied upon eating another "pet". That selling practice was relaxed under the guise that any snakes sold were feeding on frozen/thawed mice. Supposed policy of the vendor is that the snakes supplied to the store are to have eaten at least 3 f/t meals.

Additionally to the policy and procedure are the actual department metrics, pet loss being a huge one. An effective store manager, operations manager, and pet care manager will strive to lessen any and all pet loss and if not an effective and good district manager will question it. IIRC bonuses are heavily factored on that lone metric. Unfortunately, not all PetSmarts are as great as the district I worked in when I lived in Albuquerque. Even then the inevitable happens. The fault isn't necessarily always on the store or associates, but sometimes goes further behind the scenes where poor fish distribution center practices can influence how good of a fish load the store receives, up to and including the same for small animal vendors (which also includes birds) and the various herp vendors. We were not allowed to deny any sick pet received from vendor either. It was viewed better to accept the pet (account for it as a loss in the computer system when receiving the invoice) and take it to the vet.

I can't even recall the number of vet visits I made for hatchling beardies with MDB symptoms, and these were beardies coming from a well-known, large California breeder with the word Sand in their name. The problem stopped when we switched vendors to Lasco (Ty Park) and then switching again to Reptile Industries (Mark and Kim Bell).

The problem here is that I could only wish that customers could see what vendors sent at times. Many customers wouldn't be so quick to place all the blame on the store or associates; although some blame can be placed there.

Sadly, the Dallas/Ft. Worth area has at least 2, if not 3 districts. And sadly (for me as a former PetSmart associate), 9 times out of 10 the PetCos around here have cleaner cages and healthier looking animals. Their (PetCo) only problem is WalMart syndrome....can't find a blasted associate to help me.
 
Well, I have been to a PetSmart where the info clearly hadn't trickled down, so it still can't hurt.
 
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