Pet shop rant/horror stories

Cuppy

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 30, 2017
Messages
15
Hey all, this is a thread to let out any rants you've been holding in about pet stores recently:
Here's mine:
I live in Alberta, Canada and I've been looking to get my first avic. I noticed Petland had an A. Metallica so I went in and asked some questions to the local clerk. She asked if I wouldn't mind waiting 15 mins because their "tarantula" specialist would be back from her break and could answer any questions I had.
When she got back I asked if she or the store ever deals with old world's and she immediately replied "Yes! In fact, we have one right now. Its from Brazil"
She then proceeded to tell me the 2 inch Avic I was interested in was a fully grown female
That and she only knew the common name that was on the label, and the pet shop didn't even label the T's they had with the scientific name...they must have gotten that info when they ordered them right?
Oh and she slammed a small independent exotic pet store in my City because "they don't handle their tarantulas so they aren't used to humans. I wouldn't shop there if I were you"
I was so astounded I knew I had to save the T under her care and bought it immediately.
And her trying to get the T into temporary container for me to take it home was so sad I told her to let me do it.
So that is my story. Has anyone had worse experiences at a pet shop? or better experiences?
pic related. The T that I saved!
 

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spookyvibes

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 28, 2017
Messages
366
I have a local pet shop in my area that specializes mostly in reptiles. Like a lot of other reptile shops, they carry tarantulas. And just like a lot of other reptile shops that carry tarantulas, they don't have the proper husbandry or knowledge to keep the tarantulas comfortable. Now I know I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to tarantulas. Sure, I have a few and I've learned a few things over the years, but I'm nowhere near as knowledgeable as a lot of the people on this forum. However, I know bad husbandry when I see it. You can't keep every single tarantula in your shop in a 10 gallon tank with 1 inch of substrate and a screen lid. To make matters worse, no hide and no water dish! This is the setup for every tarantula there, whether it be arboreal, fossorial, 1 inch dls, 7 inch dls, it doesn't matter. Also, they claim they don't sell males. As I was staring at a 1-1.5 inch dls B. hamorii. I'm not saying it's impossible to sex a tarantula that small, but damn would it be hard. And I doubt they would go through the trouble of trying to sex them all through molts. Oh, and almost forgot! Heat lamps. Need I say more?
 

Cuppy

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 30, 2017
Messages
15
I have a local pet shop in my area that specializes mostly in reptiles. Like a lot of other reptile shops, they carry tarantulas. And just like a lot of other reptile shops that carry tarantulas, they don't have the proper husbandry or knowledge to keep the tarantulas comfortable. Now I know I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to tarantulas. Sure, I have a few and I've learned a few things over the years, but I'm nowhere near as knowledgeable as a lot of the people on this forum. However, I know bad husbandry when I see it. You can't keep every single tarantula in your shop in a 10 gallon tank with 1 inch of substrate and a screen lid. To make matters worse, no hide and no water dish! This is the setup for every tarantula there, whether it be arboreal, fossorial, 1 inch dls, 7 inch dls, it doesn't matter. Also, they claim they don't sell males. As I was staring at a 1-1.5 inch dls B. hamorii. I'm not saying it's impossible to sex a tarantula that small, but damn would it be hard. And I doubt they would go through the trouble of trying to sex them all through molts. Oh, and almost forgot! Heat lamps. Need I say more?
oh god, that's awful. 10-15 minutes of research would be enough for them to at least get a bit of information but they don't even seem to be trained on that. isn't it sad...
 

Nightstalker47

Arachnoking
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,612
Hey all, this is a threat to let out any rants you've been holding in about pet stores recently:
Here's mine:
I live in Alberta, Canada and I've been looking to get my first avic. I noticed Petland had an A. Metallica so I went in and asked some questions to the local clerk. She asked if I wouldn't mind waiting 15 mins because their "tarantula" specialist would be back from her break and could answer any questions I had.
When she got back I asked if she or the store ever deals with old world's and she immediately replied "Yes! In fact, we have one right now. Its from Brazil"
She then proceeded to tell me the 2 inch Avic I was interested in was a fully grown female
That and she only knew the common name that was on the label, and the pet shop didn't even label the T's they had with the scientific name...they must have gotten that info when they ordered them right?
Oh and she slammed a small independent exotic pet store in my City because "they don't handle their tarantulas so they aren't used to humans. I wouldn't shop there if I were you"
I was so astounded I knew I had to save the T under her care and bought it immediately.
And her trying to get the T into temporary container for me to take it home was so sad I told her to let me do it.
So that is my story. Has anyone had worse experiences at a pet shop? or better experiences?
pic related. The T that I saved!
Sounds like your typical moron petshop worker lol. Just ridiculous.
 

FluffySpider

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Messages
3
I have 2, I used to work at a petsmart. I was the tarantula person because everyone else thought I was crazy. Came into work one day to see a g. rosea on all of it's tip toes because it looked like someone misted the cage 1000000 times and it was a swamp. I fixed that lol.

Another time I came in and one spood had like 10 crickets in the small cage...had to take em all out
 

Cuppy

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 30, 2017
Messages
15
I have 2, I used to work at a petsmart. I was the tarantula person because everyone else thought I was crazy. Came into work one day to see a g. rosea on all of it's tip toes because it looked like someone misted the cage 1000000 times and it was a swamp. I fixed that lol.

Another time I came in and one spood had like 10 crickets in the small cage...had to take em all out
wow that is scary. And a quick google search would solve so much lol. Good on you for saving multiple T's lives
 

FluffySpider

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Messages
3
wow that is scary. And a quick google search would solve so much lol. Good on you for saving multiple T's lives
I think the biggest issue was everyone was scared to really do anything with them so they just left it
 

spookyvibes

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 28, 2017
Messages
366
oh god, that's awful. 10-15 minutes of research would be enough for them to at least get a bit of information but they don't even seem to be trained on that. isn't it sad...
Exactly! That's what trips me out. It's not like a majority of them are particularly hard to keep. And as you said, a quick google search would be enough for them to get the gist of how to keep them. It's just a matter of them not giving a damn. It's neglect, plain and simple. It just sucks that those tarantulas have to live in such conditions. I mean, couldn't they at least provide a water dish? Is that really too much to ask for? Pet stores can be so frustrating.
 

Moakmeister

Arachnodemon
Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Messages
741
I think everyone is missing the obvious problem here: they know. They know they're keeping them wrong. That's why they're so utterly unmoving on the subject and they insist that they're right. They tell you the wrong stuff on purpose. "Keep the humidity at EXACTLY 70%, temperature at EXACTLY 85 degrees, always use a sponge instead of a dish, always handle them, put fifteen crickets in there every day, and throw the body away if it's on its back." That way, when the tarantula dies, they can blame YOU. They get to tell you it's YOUR fault. They can say "well you just didn't keep the humidity at exactly 70%,so that means it's your fault and we get to keep the money you gave us, sucker. By more heatpads."

It's a brilliant scam, honestly.
 

nicodimus22

Arachnomancer
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Sep 26, 2013
Messages
715
I think everyone is missing the obvious problem here: they know. They know they're keeping them wrong. That's why they're so utterly unmoving on the subject and they insist that they're right. They tell you the wrong stuff on purpose. "Keep the humidity at EXACTLY 70%, temperature at EXACTLY 85 degrees, always use a sponge instead of a dish, always handle them, put fifteen crickets in there every day, and throw the body away if it's on its back." That way, when the tarantula dies, they can blame YOU. They get to tell you it's YOUR fault. They can say "well you just didn't keep the humidity at exactly 70%,so that means it's your fault and we get to keep the money you gave us, sucker. By more heatpads."

It's a brilliant scam, honestly.
I think it's more like they count on customers seeing it and saying "Awww that poor thing is being kept badly, I should buy it and give it a good home." And then they just replace it with another one for the next customer who will feel sorry for it and buy it. This is not exclusive to tarantulas, either.
 

Mini8leggedfreak

Arachnoknight
Joined
Dec 21, 2017
Messages
270
This isn’t like a horror story but I was upset. This pet store close to me has a I think like a white stripe knee tarantula. I get confused with the common names. I can’t really remember the kind of tarantula. And it was a sling in a critter keeper that they got by accident and I couldn’t even find it. It was like a 1/2 - 3/4” sling. And they had a huge cricket in there with it and a water dish like for a full grown adult like 3” diameter. I talked to the one guy and was like I don’t really wanna tell u how to do this but I’ve kept quite a few slings and that thing needs to be in a container like 3 x it’s length. Really small. And I said it could drown in the water. And he’s all like ohh yeah I know. Ohhh!!! Yes you’re right.

Next time I go in there’s just a sponge in the dish.......
I asked the guy if he’d take 40$ down from 60$ bc yeah I do just wanna give it a better life. But he’s like ohh prices just went up! I wanted to say yeah I can get a sling if that for like 20$ but I didn’t. I wasn’t happy. Like yeah maybe it’s just a spider but u made the choice to take it so give it a good life. It just pissed me off
 

Ungoliant

Malleus Aranearum
Staff member
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
4,096
They know they're keeping them wrong. That's why they're so utterly unmoving on the subject and they insist that they're right. They tell you the wrong stuff on purpose. . . . That way, when the tarantula dies, they can blame YOU. They get to tell you it's YOUR fault. They can say "well you just didn't keep the humidity at exactly 70%,so that means it's your fault and we get to keep the money you gave us, sucker. By more heatpads."
I think it's more like they count on customers seeing it and saying "Awww that poor thing is being kept badly, I should buy it and give it a good home." And then they just replace it with another one for the next customer who will feel sorry for it and buy it. This is not exclusive to tarantulas, either.
I think Hanlon's razor applies to most cases of pet store neglect: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity, incompetence, or laziness.

They are not intentionally mistreating animals as part of a conspiracy to wriggle out of refunds or capitalize on buyers' sympathy.

They really don't know better or care enough to learn. (And in the cases of large chains, corporate bureaucracy makes it difficult to make any changes to store displays. Store employees receive instructions from corporate and are told not to deviate from them.)
 

Tia B

Arachnopigeon
Joined
Oct 11, 2017
Messages
115
I think Hanlon's razor applies to most cases of pet store neglect: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity, incompetence, or laziness.

They are not intentionally mistreating animals as part of a conspiracy to wriggle out of refunds or capitalize on buyers' sympathy.

They really don't know better or care enough to learn. (And in the cases of large chains, corporate bureaucracy makes it difficult to make any changes to store displays. Store employees receive instructions from corporate and are told not to deviate from them.)
I think that that's really the heart of the issue. The majority of people just don't care. They're not being cruel intentionally, they just don't value the tarantula's life enough to put any real work into their care. "It's just a spider", "It looks fine", "This is easier". They're unwilling and/or unable to change the care because to them it doesn't matter.

Most people barely view arachnids and insects as living things. I've had multiple people try to argue with me saying insects aren't animals. It's frustrating.
 

PanzoN88

Arachnodemon
Joined
Sep 15, 2014
Messages
713
I agree with the above statements. Some do not care to learn proper care, and others are just unaware that there is a wrong and a right way to care, then you have the third type of pet store employee that did some research (perhaps right here on this forum), but refuse to accept that the information they found was the right information and proceed to go by the reptile caresheets. From what i've heard it dounds like chain pet stores are ran like a dictatorship (you use this caredheet and only this caresheet unless hou want aone way ticket to the unemployment office). I was lucky to have a great pet store in my area (non chain store with a tarantula room) (thanks peta for lying to get it shut down, NOT).
 

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
Joined
Dec 25, 2014
Messages
5,845
I will probably receive a lot of 'Dislike' and 'Disagree' for this but oh well, I'm a 100% I don't give a damn one :bored:

It's silly to complain about Pet Shops - that sell T's. Silly and useless. Everyone knows that 98% of those shops (and I'm kind on this % but probably exists a couple of private owned ones with a bit of 'dignity', so I want to remain fair enough) are clueless about arachnids (and sometimes about other animals as well).

And to me, the real 'horror story' is the fact that people keeps purchasing from those. Oh, yes, I see... there's always a 'Theraphosidae to save'.

I'm honestly surprised by the fact that, in the 2018 Internet - always online U.S - a lot of people keep 'promoting' in a way or another (despite their good intentions) those kind of folks and their 'behind the corner' shops, and not the way they deserve all of the trusted U.S breeders/sellers/importers (private or not, isn't important) that, btw, are those that at least try to keep the U.S arachnid scene alive and 'healthy'.

Mah, I say.

Remember, the customer best 'weapon' is the wallet, and nothing else. We can choose to support those that really deserves and 'punish' those that deserve nothing.
 

Greasylake

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jul 23, 2017
Messages
1,324
There was a pet store I used to go to solely because they sold dubias and I didn't want to over harvest my colony so I'd buy some from there. I noticed they had a "Vietnamese centipede" which nobody at the pet store could tell me the scientific name of. I ID'd it a Scolopendra Dehaani for them, then tried to explain that the way they were keeping it would kill it sooner rather than later. It was on a one inch layer of woodchips, which it could not burrow under and if it tried to molt would probably have been killed by, had a heat lamp shining straight down on its already bone dry enclosure, and they had a screen lid. I tried to explain that centipedes are very prone to desiccation and all of these factors would leave it as little more than a dried out worm before too long but maybe I came off as too much of a know-it-all and they didn't take my advice. Either way I wasn't going to pay 60 bucks for a 3 inch dehaani so I left it for them to figure out. The guy working the counter also told me that a sting from an H. Spinifer was as painful as painful as being shot. I'm guessing he'd never been stung or shot and I felt I'd already said enough to my roaches and left. Haven't been back yet.
 

Cuppy

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 30, 2017
Messages
15
I think it's more like they count on customers seeing it and saying "Awww that poor thing is being kept badly, I should buy it and give it a good home." And then they just replace it with another one for the next customer who will feel sorry for it and buy it. This is not exclusive to tarantulas, either.
why not both lol.
 

FluffySpider

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Messages
3
I thought of another petsmart story today. We feed all the reptiles and stuff at the same time so we dusted em with calcium powder. The ol' shake a nd bake in a cricket bag lmao. One day I see a rosea spood with white powder on her carapace, and after a d ay or two it doesn't just come off like I thought. Who knows how it got all on her. So I took her to the podium with a Q-tip and slowly started to get the powder off with it. She did this thing, it's hard to describe but it was so funny. Like if someone touched you, you cringed the other way? But she let me wipe the powder off either way. Too much calcium for spood (sarcasm)

Reading posts up there, I also remember we had to put t he sponges in the water. I couldn't take em out because it was store policy. :/ It angered me to no end. For the scorps too. No idea who came up with that one.
 
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