I know it's been beaten to death...

[le-thomas]

I actually brought that same PetSmart pamphlet home the other day. My cousin and I laughed as we read through and listed the errors.

 

[Crickeylynn]

[/COLOR]

Some employees of pet stores actually care about their job and the animals they look after but considering that most chain pet stores pay about minimum wage, you most definitely will find people that don't really give a crap because they don't get paid to. I had a friend that worked at a PetCo and he TRULY cared about the animals he took care of and even changed the T enclosures after I told him what was wrong. Things went back to the wrong way once he left there but he actually tried. I am happy to hear that you care about your work and animals. It is truly unfortunate that not everyone that works at these chains do so. It is truly the chain that needs to be blamed for their incompetence and lack of research when educating their employees and customers. I am glad that at least ONE person has made a difference. Maybe you should talk to management and tell them what the company is teaching is wrong. That might make an even bigger difference.

I care about the Animals, not so much the company.

Eh I never read over that care sheet, seeing as I was smart and did actual research before buying the pet. The only ones i usually give customers are setting up a fish tank and the nitrogen cycle so they believe me when I tell them they need to let their fish tank cycle. I can, however, go onto their computer system and put in a suggestion to correct their mistakes on the care sheet. Which I will do tomorrow if I have time. I tell everyone who asks about T's (we don't sell them at our store) what I know, and them direct them to here and to the Tarantula Keepers Guide. I had one customer that threw 20 crickets in her tank once a month!! She didn't listen to me though. Any suggestions as to what you want me to tell them to correct, besides the sea sponge? I'm still a novice (I got my first T a year ago this month, and I'm at five now.)

 

[spiderengineer]

another one is under dietary needs and nutrition and maintenance get rid of calcium supplements,

 

[DeidraDisaster]

I care about the Animals, not so much the company.

Eh I never read over that care sheet, seeing as I was smart and did actual research before buying the pet. The only ones i usually give customers are setting up a fish tank and the nitrogen cycle so they believe me when I tell them they need to let their fish tank cycle. I can, however, go onto their computer system and put in a suggestion to correct their mistakes on the care sheet. Which I will do tomorrow if I have time. I tell everyone who asks about T's (we don't sell them at our store) what I know, and them direct them to here and to the Tarantula Keepers Guide. I had one customer that threw 20 crickets in her tank once a month!! She didn't listen to me though. Any suggestions as to what you want me to tell them to correct, besides the sea sponge? I'm still a novice (I got my first T a year ago this month, and I'm at five now.)

Well, for starters, the above comment is great^^^ Too much calcium (from reptile or mammal feeding) can actually cause a T to lose it's fangs during a molt or have deformities so feeding mice and anoles etc. to a T should be very minimal if ANY AT ALL.

A 10 gal. tank is way too big for most T's!! The tank should be 2-3x the legspan (is that right? Please correct me if I am wrong)

No under tank heater! Especially for obligate burrowers. If heating is necessary (it usually isn't, room temp is typically ok) it should be place on one side of the tank.

Screen tops are no bueno! T's can get their claws (tarsals) stuck in the screen.

Reptile bark is NOT a good substrate. Should be eco-earth/bed a beast or potting soil or vermiculite or a combination.

Branches are only necessary for an arboreal. Unless you really want decorations.

As mentioned above, calcium is bad for T's so calcium supplementation for crickets is a big NO!

Habitat for a rose hair is NOT tropical, it is arid and dry....desert.

Having two different temps on each half of the enclosure is not necessary. Once again, room temp or a little warmer suffices.

Humidity range is way off for a rosea!! 50-80%???? What kind of range is that anyways?! Roseas can live in a completely dry eniroment with onyl a water dish. Hygrometer isn't necessary due to arid environment.

Using a flourescent bulb is not necessary. They prefer darkness and don't need a bright light beaming down on them. It is beneficial (??) to create 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of light but an open window or a room light can suffice.

The bulb to view them at night should be listed as RED. UV bulbs can be seen by Ts.

Changing bedding once a month is not necessary. (I am assuming they just want to make more money from their substrates) Weekly cleaning of visible boluses and cricket parts and controlled humidity should keep the substrate hospitable for a year (???), possibly more.

Substrate needs to be more than 2-3" (based on enclosure, of course). Substrate should be 1.5x the length of a T from the top of the enclosure to ensure no injuries occur if they climb and fall.

Ts don't need a sponge to gather water, they drink just fine from a shallow dish. Sponges harbor bacteria and mold and crix don't mind laying eggs on them.

Water doesn't need to be dechlorinated. At least, I never have done such a thing and my Ts are fine.

They do no need to be fed daily. One or two crickets/dubias/mealworms once a week is great. Possibly more if they are a large species and a smaller feeder.

They SHOULD NOT be promoting handling! I am all for handling docile Ts but newbies and inexperienced keepers should not be encouraged to handle their Ts, especially if they are selling cobalts. The T can be injured or you can be bitten. Also, venom is not always MILD. In rosies, yes but we all know that some are more potent.

They never mentioned the urticating hairs. If you see your T kick his hairs or, actually, everytime you handle your T...WASH YOUR HANDS and don't touch your eyes or other orifices until you have. They can cause permanent damage to the eyes and nasal passages.

Last but not least, recommend the TKG for comprehensive info and make sure that your store is carrying it. I don't think I have ever seen it at PetSmart or PetCo.

Did I miss anything or am I wrong in any area??? Please correct me. If he plans on REALLY telling them where they are wrong, I am all for the criticism/corrections. Also, I realize this pamphlet was meant for Ts AND scorpions but I am not very knowledgable on scorps. Should be two different pamphlets, IMHO.

 

[Hobo]

Any suggestions as to what you want me to tell them to correct, besides the sea sponge? I'm still a novice (I got my first T a year ago this month, and I'm at five now.)

First, how about asking the mto stop copy-pasteing from reptile care sheets... or at least asking them to replace the word reptile to make it not so obvious.:biggrin:

Anyways,
Names and numbers have been removed to protect the identities of the copy-paseters
Oh wait what...? This was approved by veterinarians?!
Oh my....

 

[Crickeylynn]

Did I miss anything or am I wrong in any area??? Please correct me. If he plans on REALLY telling them where they are wrong, I am all for the criticism/corrections. Also, I realize this pamphlet was meant for Ts AND scorpions but I am not very knowledgable on scorps. Should be two different pamphlets, IMHO.

SHE!! I will put the suggestion in. Don't know if they will actually act upon it though, the higher ups are oh so much smarter than me. I know nothing about Scorpions either, so I can't help there.

 

[DeidraDisaster]

Hobo, it seems that you and I were pretty much on the same page. I did miss a few things though. :/ 10+ years in the hobby and I am still learning.

---------- Post added 07-14-2012 at 11:56 AM ----------

SHE!!

Teehee! Sorry!

 

[Anonymity82]

Here is a free pamphlet I got at PetSmart. How many errors can you list? To make it less work, how about we list what is correct?

Yes, I mentioned this to my boss but they will not change anything. Alas, I am only a teeny piece of a much larger corporation.

---------- Post added 07-14-2012 at 10:42 PM ----------

I don't think people should expect people who work at pet stores to know everything there is about every animal they may or may not carry. They have much to do and have to follow what the bosses tell them. They also don't have a high pay rate so keeping things PERFECTLY isn't on the top of the list. Also, employees have to deal with many idiot customers who are given the proper advice and decide to keep their new hamster in a large KK. OR, decide that a guinea pig doesn't need a hide or they use cedar bedding even though we tell them how toxic it is to small animals. That being said, employees should really step up and admit to their ignorance when they encounter it.

Customer, if you're going to a pet store to buy an animal you should probably have some knowledge on what you're getting and how to care for it. That is unless you're impulse buying a living creature. If this is the case, then who's really at fault?

 

[Ivymike1973]

Yes, I mentioned this to my boss but they will not change anything. Alas, I am only a teeny piece of a much larger corporation.

---------- Post added 07-14-2012 at 10:42 PM ----------

I don't think people should expect people who work at pet stores to know everything there is about every animal they may or may not carry. They have much to do and have to follow what the bosses tell them. They also don't have a high pay rate so keeping things PERFECTLY isn't on the top of the list. Also, employees have to deal with many idiot customers who are given the proper advice and decide to keep their new hamster in a large KK. OR, decide that a guinea pig doesn't need a hide or they use cedar bedding even though we tell them how toxic it is to small animals. That being said, employees should really step up and admit to their ignorance when they encounter it.

Customer, if you're going to a pet store to buy an animal you should probably have some knowledge on what you're getting and how to care for it. That is unless you're impulse buying a living creature. If this is the case, then who's really at fault?

Sorry, i don't buy the whole "It doesn't pay much, so I don't have to put any effort into it." argument. If you want to advance and get paid more you need to put in some effort and educate yourself on your own time. Not many places are going to pay you more for doing the bare minimum. Not trying to single you out as I have seen this comment many times and have seen this attitude in many of my former employees. Neither your boss nor your pay rate are stopping you from learning everything you need to know.

I do agree that the customers are likely to be idiots who probably won't listen to you and there is not much you can do about that but that's not an excuse to be as ignorant as they are.

I really hope it doesn't seem like I am attacking you. I am just trying to give you a different perspective.

 

[DeidraDisaster]

Like my dad used to say (pardon my french), "The world is full of geeks and a-holes, you just have to learn to deal with them." In ANY profession or ANY customer transactions, there is bound to be an idiot at one point or another. It is unfortunate that your boss won't change the incorrect pamphlet but I do think as an employee you should strive to do the best at your job. I am a cook by profession and I would not get away with only learning SOME of the menu or only heating the food halfway. I also need to know what is in our menu items in case of allergies, that is my responsibility to learn. Why should a pet store employee get away with only doing their job halfway? If you are a hard worker, you should strive to do any job as best as you can and give 110%. If you don't feel you get paid enough for that, maybe you should find a different job that you are willing to bust your butt for. I am not attacking anyone that works in pet stores but excuses are just that, excuses. You can't change the corporate standards but I am sure you can do some research in your free time and make sure the customer is knowledgeable. It is unfortunate that customers are sometimes ignorant but at least you have done your part and your job. Personally, you should refuse a sale to anyone that won't listen to your comprehensive information. It is a life that hangs in the balance and that should be more important than money. Or at least it is to me.

 

[spiderengineer]

I think going to the manager and telling him or her whats wrong with the pamphlet is really a waste of time, because I think this is something that is mass produce at a printing press some where else and the manager would have no real say in the how it is even created. sure maybe the manager can talk to the higher ups, but I don't they are going to throw away mostly likely hundreds of boxes of these pamphlets that cost maybe a few thousand dollars to make just because some employee thinks the info is wrong. I mean I am not saying I know how the corporate structure works at petco or petsmart or any chain pet shop, but I do know that they are driven by money and at the end of the day if it cost them more money to change it rather then to leave it they will pretend they never had this conversation and play ignorant to the problems they are promoting.

 

[ScarecrowGirl]

I had to run by my petco today to pick up some cork bark hides for my t's and they had an H. lividum too, I thought this was isolated but it looks like it might be the whole chain picking up H. lividums! The employees told me it gave them a run around the other day when some one wanted to hold it ::

 

[Deftones90]

[QUOTE/] The employees told me it gave them a run around the other day when some one wanted to hold it ::[/QUOTE]

Oh man....

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk 2

 

[Skeri]

I had to run by my petco today to pick up some cork bark hides for my t's and they had an H. lividum too, I thought this was isolated but it looks like it might be the whole chain picking up H. lividums! The employees told me it gave them a run around the other day when some one wanted to hold it ::

And this proves my point.

Also, as I feel being a minimum wage chain pet store worker, do you need to be an expert of every animal in the store? No. Should you know the basics? Yes. If I had little to no knowledge of a pet (although I agree people should do the work of studying on their own) and I was told I could handle my pet, and I got bit the first time I tryed to handle it (which would most likely happen with an H. lividum) i'd be pretty upset. This goes for working anywhere. Its why I hate shopping anymore. It seems anywhere I go the best service I get anymore is "I don't know I just work here." -_-

 

[Anonymity82]

I've never seen a petsmart even carry a tarantula and if I worked there I would definitely tell them they should at least be warned. I give the knowledge I have to customers but if I don't know I have no other choice but to refer them to a pamphlet. We don't even carry tarantulas so why we have a care sheet for them IDK.

As for the cook, I agree that an employee should make a lot of effort to be good at their job but I think you would care a lot less if you were flipping burgers at McDonald's for 7 bucks an hour.

---------- Post added 07-15-2012 at 10:12 AM ----------

And this proves my point.

Also, as I feel being a minimum wage chain pet store worker, do you need to be an expert of every animal in the store? No. Should you know the basics? Yes. If I had little to no knowledge of a pet (although I agree people should do the work of studying on their own) and I was told I could handle my pet, and I got bit the first time I tryed to handle it (which would most likely happen with an H. lividum) i'd be pretty upset. This goes for working anywhere. Its why I hate shopping anymore. It seems anywhere I go the best service I get anymore is "I don't know I just work here." -_-

Agreed. No one should say they can handle a pet if they don't know. They should know.

---------- Post added 07-15-2012 at 10:16 AM ----------

I'm not speaking for myself when I said about careless low waged employees. I love animals and I want to learn as much about them while I go to school which is why I'm working there. I'm just saying people need to give the low wage employees a break if they don't know everything there is to know about an animal they don't like. Petsmart doesn't carry tarantulas and if I worked at Petco you better believe the first thing I would do is go home and study the new tarantula we got in but I like them.

 

[Crickeylynn]

I think going to the manager and telling him or her whats wrong with the pamphlet is really a waste of time, because I think this is something that is mass produce at a printing press some where else and the manager would have no real say in the how it is even created. sure maybe the manager can talk to the higher ups, but I don't they are going to throw away mostly likely hundreds of boxes of these pamphlets that cost maybe a few thousand dollars to make just because some employee thinks the info is wrong. I mean I am not saying I know how the corporate structure works at petco or petsmart or any chain pet shop, but I do know that they are driven by money and at the end of the day if it cost them more money to change it rather then to leave it they will pretend they never had this conversation and play ignorant to the problems they are promoting.

I agree that going to the manager is worthless. I don't think my suggestion to corporate over their system is gonna make them change anything, but I'll at least put forth the effort.

I know the basics about the animals in the store. The fish are my strongest point, with reptiles being my weakest. But I still know enough to recommended the basics. I tell every customer they should go home and research before buying the pet. I am glad our store doesn't sell T's. I did go to an exotic petshop where the guy told me he had held an H lividum, and the customer told him he was surprised it hadn't but him yet. He flat out said he was clueless about the T's.

 

[DeidraDisaster]

As for the cook, I agree that an employee should make a lot of effort to be good at their job but I think you would care a lot less if you were flipping burgers at McDonald's for 7 bucks an hour.

---------- Post added 07-15-2012 at 10:12 AM ----------

That's the thing, if you don't feel you are being paid enough to do a good job, then maybe you should find a different one. I might be perfectly happy flipping burgers for minimum wage but if I wasn't, I would search for something else. What's the point of staying somewhere where you don't feel like you get paid enough to do a little extra? Of course, this is just my opinion. As I mentioned before, I had a friend that worked at a PetCo here in Boise. I am almost positive he did not get paid that much be he still went above and beyond. Not to mention that we are dealing with living creatures here, not just some mindless desk job.

 

[Anonymity82]

I'm not trying to argue with anyone on here. I agree that employees should do their best. I respect everyone's opinions and that's why I love forums. Employees should now the basics and where ever they sell H. lividums they should educated ENOUGH to be able to tell a customer that they should not handle it and when they take it home to give enough substrate (and proper such as potting soil) to allow it to burrow because that is what they do.

 

[DeidraDisaster]

I agree that going to the manager is worthless. I don't think my suggestion to corporate over their system is gonna make them change anything, but I'll at least put forth the effort.

I totally agree and I kind of figured that your boss wouldn't care or do anything but at least you tried. That's what I am saying, customers may be ignorant but you should still do your part and educate them, at least you tried. Once again, these are animals/living creatures, not just some inanimate object that you are selling. I must say I think it is awesome that you asked for corrections to the pamphlet errors and went out of your way to change them! You have already gone beyond your expected duties!

I guess it boils down to "Don't buy your pets from chain stores if you don't like the treatment." Your money is only going towards more animals that they will mistreat. I am sure we all want to "save" them, I'm sure some of us are guilty of this. I know I am. For the good of the hobby and the Ts, CB breeders are the way to go!

 

[Anonymity82]

Definitely agree that you should buy your pets from legitimate breeders instead of ANY pet stores. Breeders who allow you to see their breeding facility and have positive reviews from happy customers.

I just don't know why people think the mom and pop shops treat their animals better than chain stores. The mom and pop stores don't have the funds or get the discounts that the chain places recieve. I've been into both many times and the small stores often look dirty and I know they're not paying out money to save a sick mouse or hamster, at least this goes for most of them. Chains often have their own vet within the store or close by and they pay hundreds of dollars less for care. When I found out that PS actually has a room where they care for sick animals and not just the 500 dollar conures but 15 dollar hamsters knowing that some of these wont even be able to be sold but have to be adopted out I was amazed and my view changed completely about them.