My conversation with a Pet Shop employee.

[bpkid]

I went to a local pet shop that I have never been to today just to check it out.I am very concerned of the health of those animals,so I called them,after I left.I snuck in a pen and paper and wrote down the things that I was concerned about.

Me:Hi,I stopped by your shop today and have some concerns.I hope you don't mind.

Him:Ok,we don't mind.What are your concerns?

Me:I have a little more than a couple.I'll start with your tarantulas

Him:Alright

Me:I see that you guys have sponges in their water.Did you know that those are nothing but a breeding ground for bacteria?

Him:We know that.We frequently change the sponges.

Me:Ok,but if I were you,I would just take it out.I noticed them on Repti-Bark.I keep three of them and from my experience,they LOVE to burrow,and that stuff isn't going to help them do that.

Him:I personally don't like dirt,it doesn't look nice.AND if we put them on dirt,they won't be visible to our customers.

Me:How bout the furry animals.Your dogs are in 3'x4'x3' cages,and your cats 2'x4'x3'.That seems kind of small.You also have about 10 aquariums of rats with about 15 rats in each.Thats waaaaaaaaay too many.

Him:We make sure our dogs get out 3 times a day.They like having small living quarters.Same with cats.(I'm no mammal expert,is he right?)The reason we have that many rats is because a guy came to buy a couple,and decided to give them back to us.(What the?)

Me:Reptiles.Are those heat rocks in your cages?

Him:Yes they are.

Me:Well,they can burn reptiles,they sometimes go crazy,even with their rheostats.I use heat pads,you should too.

Him:We know that.These new kinds are very reliable.We check every morning to see how warm it is.We put our hands there and its just perfect.

Me:What kind of substrate is in their cages?

Him:Gravel and sand,but we feed them in other cages.

Me:Your "Rare Licorice Rat Snake" is trying to submerge himself in water.He barely has half an inch of water in his bowl!

Him:We'll have to check on this.(NOT)

Me:How big is your "Large Adult Ball Python" ?

Him:He's about 20 inches.(Sora,my baby ball python,is longerthan that.This is a 1000+ gram snake we're talking about.)

Me:He has a 20 gallon tank,you should upgrade it.

Him:Ok,thanks.

Me:Goodbye.

Well,since he gave me a bunch of bogus excuses,I'm going to call animal control on Monday.


:Sigh:

[ChicagoCubs22]

do it. call animal control. There is a pet store by my house and they have this long monitor in a small cage, and he gets fed 1 rat a week. The thing is almost skinnier then my RTB. its ridiculous how these pet stores just sacrifice anything for profit.

[bpkid]

I can't,they are closed.

[ChicagoCubs22]

well just call animal control and tell them about it, im sure they can investigate once the store does open :P

[bpkid]

Animal control is closed,not the shop.

[PythonGuy24]

That sucks. I had an experience with a pet store like that. My advice is to give the owner advice (sounds like you did) on how to properly care for these creatures, threaten him and check in a few dwys to see if he did what he's supposed to, if he didn't call em, if he did then he turned it around then he knows how to care for them and he dosn't get in trouble.

I guess I'm sayin everybody deserves a second chance.

[lethargiic]

well first of dogs and cats do not like "small living quarters" the crate that my dog had when we were in ny was a 3x4x3 cage and he loved to sleep in it when it was night time but other than that he was free to move about in his own domain (my house)

cripes dogs and cats at the pound have better living quarters than that!!

Secondly as far as animal control its what it is...animal control. they arent going to do squat about the pet store situation.. the best thing to do is to periodically do followups on the living conditions of the animals. dont make threats because it will only upset the owner. just be as polite as you can n tell him.."look im just addressing my concerns and the way you are caring for these animals is not proper, and if the proper measures arent taken then I will be forced to take my business else where along with other people who i know that been to the store.."

Trust me when people start taking their business else where then it's hurt the business...so rather than going to the animal control go to your local better business bureau and file a report..

[BWSmith]

Everything you described is pretty common with herps in pet shops. The heat rock is the only major thing I see. I would just tell them that they can use lights to provide heat and it will make their animals look that much better and save them money. Just tell them how to maintain some humidity. Tarantuals may LIKE to burrow, but it is far from required. They tend to improvise a burrow with web and mulch. Gravel and sand in herp cages are certainly not ideal, but again, not uncommon. IF they are fed in other cages, that is good. They still should be on a more suitable substrate. Generally you see gravel and sand when the shop has alot of fish. I would just tell them that the animals would prefer mulch and the enclosures would look more natural. Asnd of course, they can save money since a huge bag of Cypress mulch is only $2. They are about profit, show them that they can save money AND make better habitats for the animals.

[Rex322]

oh yea, theres a pet store in my area, (name of it is Go Fish) and they usually have numerous snakes. im so disgusted of that place. their kept in those all mesh cages. every cage always has old bad sheds in it. theres one heatlamp. the only waterbowl ive ever seen that was big enough was for a 3ft grn anaconda, and it was browner then dirt. petstores make me sick, and while i know that there are some out there that actually take care of their animals, most of them just flat out suck.

[lisagordier]

Instead of animal control, what about the ASPA? Darn, I know that many cities have a governmental animal recscue program. If the animals are being really mistreated or kept in poor condition in general then they can do a more thorough investigation than animal control/humaine society. They're trained to deal in such situations.

[lethargiic]

Animal control is ASPCA...

[JuliusSqueezer]

As horrific as all of this is, they are not violating any law. Hotrocks are bad but they are obviously legal to sell and use. There is no law against gravel substrate other than that of common sense. Crated dogs in petshops ...I hate to see that but it's pretty universal in petshops that sell dogs. The reason I hate to see it and will never do business with petshops that have them is because no one can ever convince me that these pups didn't come from a puppy mill. If ya wanna go after someone for cruelty, find out where they get their pups and check those folks out.

[lethargiic]

you seriously should write a book on every repeated concern on this website and sell it for some money, brett.