Local pet store feeding snakes live rodents, totally NOT okay with me, man!!!

[Adrya]

This is long, I know, sorry, but I just need to rant.

I know there's probably a zillion pet stores that do this. I was at one of my local pet shops today and I took a look in their reptile room (like I always do, usually the first place I go when I enter the store), and a girl who works there was feeding baby rock pythons and a colombian rainbow boa live mice, big enough to do damage. They had baby ball pythons and burmeses, too, and I'm sure they're fed live as well. I think that totally defeats the purpose of getting snakes started on feeding frozen/thawed, and I wonder how many owners out there have bought snakes from them and couldn't get them to eat f/t, if they weren't feeding them live. Now I've seen this pet store feed frozen/thawed before. I was just standing there watching her feed them these live mice, and it just totally urked me why in the heck they'd even start feeding their snakes live rodents. The rainbow boa looked like it was going into shed, but she threw a big mouse in there anyway, and I looked down on the floor and she had a small cardboard box full of live mice. Then somebody else who works there came in to get her to help with something. So what she does she do? She closes up the rainbow boa's cage leaving the uninterested snake and the big live mouse, and then opens another empty one, tosses the box of mice into it, closes it up, and leaves them in there. I have no idea how long she left them like that, but that rainbow boa was definitely showing no interest in the mouse whatsoever, and each cage that they keep their snakes in is only about 1 1/2 feet long by 10 inches deep or something like that.

Now I'm usually relatively pleased with how they have their reptiles, but I guess I was wrong on that one. They also have a huge tiger reticulated python kept in a cage that I think is too small for it. It's about 10x10x6 feet, maybe smaller. They've always had this snake, but now that I'm serious and know a lot more about the herp hobby, I personally think it was just TOO FRICKEN SMALL. And I have no idea how long they've had the snake, nor how often it's taken out of that thing.

I've also never really been content with how they keep whatever aquatic turtles they recieve. They used to have a huge tank that they kept their turtles for sale in, but that doesn't exist anymore. Right now, they currently have what appears to be a 20 long with three big red-eared sliders in it, each about 7 inches in shell length or so, but the female of the three seemed a little bigger. There is no filter, they're in relatively shallow foul looking water, and they had no basking light whatsoever with any kind of UV or heat. All they had was just some kind of flourescent bulb. And the female I thought was the worst of condition. She had multiple layers of retained scales on her shell that never shed off, and she's probably been like that for who-knows how many years, because I know that turtles shed their shell scales once, maybe twice a year depending on how much they grow. Well this was so bad that it looked like "pyramiding" of what you'd see on a poorly nutritioned tortoise.

I never let my turtles get like that, ever. If some of the scales don't shed off, I pull them off myself, and I brush their shells with an old toothbrush and clean out grooves and such.

But that just really ticks me off. I never said anything to them, but I most likely will very soon if I don't start seeing something better. I'm almost tempted to print out "The Live Pile" forum about Chance and showing them that.

[brownsfan222]

definitly show them the picture of chance (if its ok with louise of course) but i know how she feels on the subject and louise will want to help, but next time say something to them but dont try to argue because most likely it will make it worse. my local "big name" pet shop was housing there animals poorly and i told them that it was sad that they never cared enough to interact with the animals or at least clean the cages

[Adrya]

Originally Posted by brownsfan222

definitly show them the picture of chance (if its ok with louise of course) but i know how she feels on the subject and louise will want to help, but next time say something to them but dont try to argue because most likely it will make it worse. my local "big name" pet shop was housing there animals poorly and i told them that it was sad that they never cared enough to interact with the animals or at least clean the cages

Sometimes I'm not sure how to go about saying something to them. And of course I would get permission from Louise about that forum. I wouldn't argue with them (although I know it's hard for many people).

I personally would like to work there, hopefully to mostly get to take care of their reptiles and make things better, but I don't know how much of a difference it would make. At least I'd be making some kind of a difference. I personally would hold each snake at a time, every time I'd work there. But I don't know if they permit the employees to do that.

As for the turtles, they need to make space to set up a proper environment for them, like a large indoor pond that's a few hundred gallons. But I also have never seen a pet store so crammed with stuff in my life, either.

[tmfleo1]

Something like that you also get me very upset . infact a place I go to once in while Pet Extreme to get suppiles and meal worms , crickets etc I went there the other day almost all of the reptiles were in very poor condition several animals look dehydrated and starving I could not beleave it . I met the owner manager a few years go he seemed to know what he was doing this last trip in there was all new people working there I don't know if the manager a met a few years ago is still there or not I'm going to stop in and check the condition of the animals and if nothing has changed I'm going to demand to speck to ther manager .

[Adrya]

Something else that urks me too... They have a big albino cobra. It's not for sale, but I don't like the cage it's in, it's too small. It's like 2 1/2 by one foot deep, maybe a little deeper. It has a cardboard box to hide in, and one big waterbowl, which was almost dry when I looked in it. I don't know how often the cage is cleaned, either, it always seems dirty every time I see it, with pieces of shed and smeared poo. There also appears to be two tumorous lumps in the hood of the cobra. I just think that if this store intends on keeping animals like a big retic and a cobra, they need to provide it so much more than that. It makes me want to be an animal cruelty officer.

[brownsfan222]

i bet the ppl at the store arent reptile lovers and are afraid of the cobra but idk maybe only certain employees can mess with it because of liability but thats still no reason to neglect the thing

[Adrya]

Originally Posted by brownsfan222

i bet the ppl at the store arent reptile lovers and are afraid of the cobra but idk maybe only certain employees can mess with it because of liability but thats still no reason to neglect the thing

There's two women who own the store and started the store back who-knows when. Most of the employees there are highschool students and some college students, a couple of which I know (but not anybody I ever hung out with).

A few years ago I remember the cobra having a bigger tumor on the lower part of its body that looked like it was just going to explode or something. My mom was with me then and we at least said something about it at the time to one of the employees. They knew. That tumor isn't there, now, but now the snake has more issues. It's also got a flourescent light for its cage, but I have no idea what type it is, if it's just a plain bulb or not. I certainly hope they know NOT to have ANY UV light for an albino animal.

As for the Retic, the store had a big sale a couple of months ago with on-the-spot interviews, so people could go up there, just walk up and immediately be interviewed for those who wanted a job there. There was an article about it in the newspaper the next day, and supposedly they had the big retic out of its cage for "show and tell." But that's probably the only time that retic's been out of its cage for who-knows how long.