Disgusted, disappointed, and a little outraged

[Ch^4]

I ran out of F/T for my BP and forgot to order more, so I had to make a trip to Petco.

As always, I like to look at what they have when I make my infrequent trip to the chain pet store. I was utterly appalled by what I saw...

They had 5 baby BPs housed in a very small viv (no surprise). They only had one hide that was so small that it could fit one baby BP (again, no surprise). However, 2 or 3 of the snakes were stuck in old skin (i.e., it appeared that the skin had been there for days, if not weeks, due to poor husbandry). Additionally, 2 of the snakes were horribly underfed and looked like the proverbial bag-o-bones. It was despicable and so I decided to take a couple of pictures.

In the process of taking pictures, an employee came up to me and (kindly) scolded me, asking me not to use my flash. Here's the kicker: He had the audacity to tell me that BOAS are sensitive to flash photography because of---senseless rambling...For one, the label was right there and he still didn't have a clue what type of snakes they were.

I mentioned that the snakes looked unhealthy, sickly and skinny, and he just said that they weren't having luck the last few times trying to feed (understandable with young BPs). I was assuming they weren't eating due to the stress of 5 snakes together, with only one hide.

I also brought up the fact that humidity was way too low for snakes who are having problematic sheds (their hygrometer read 30%--it was a crappy analog hygrometer, but nonetheless, way too dry for a BP). He said they tried putting moss in there; I glanced over, no moss in sight.

Poor snakes. They are going to sell unhealthy snakes to some little kid who doesn't know any better. I don't understand how they can call themselves a pet shop, if their employees don't even know how to properly care for the animals they sell. I don't know if there is anyway to rectify this problem, but I wish I could inform a higher up, or threaten to report them to some agency (I don't think the BBB would work in this situation).

The pictures don't really show the severity of the problems because they were taken on my phone and I'm not a great photographer.

[TeaNinja]

that's all bad. i had to go to petco a few weeks ago to get some crap, and i looked all around their reptiles and they all looked good. they had a VERY pretty baby redtail who had his/her own little viv. they must just be a crappy branch or something.

[infernalis]

I will let this run for a day, then it's getting moved to the "non forum rants" thread.

That thread was set up specifically for this type of outrage....

Myself I can't stand going to PETCO, I see that same kind of crap over and over, seems like every time I go there.

[Ch^4]

Originally Posted by infernalis

I will let this run for a day, then it's getting moved to the "non forum rants" thread.

That thread was set up specifically for this type of outrage....

Myself I can't stand going to PETCO, I see that same kind of crap over and over, seems like every time I go there.

Sorry infernalis, I completely forgot about that thread. Feel free to move it at your convenience.

(Digression, but do you prefer infernalis or Wayne? Personally, I try to avoid first name acknowledgements unless prompted to do so. However, I think there will be continued correspondence in the years to come, so I thought I'd ask.)

[infernalis]

Wayne is fine.

I don't mind.

[presspirate]

Petco disgusts me. Not only with their poor husbandry, but also with their pricing. It seems if you go there when the animals are "Fresh" You have a good shot at adopting a nice reptile, but after they have been in the storefor awhile.......