Pet's you wish weren't sold at pet stores

[SandDeku]

Well, to begin, pet stores seriously mistreat tarantulas, and I'm sick of seeing the G. rosea every time I walk into a PetCo that are just almost starved to death trying to push a giant sponge out of a water dish while desperately scaring away crickets that are too large or too small in size for it to eat. Pet stores are ignorant, selfish, and don't recognize tarantulas as more than a fraction of their sales. If I had more money and space, I'd probably adopt that rosie out, but why should I be responsible for that when it's the pet store's fault for ordering a tarantula in the first place? Also, I don't see how tarantulas being sold at pet stores has any correlation with joining a forum about them. For your information, I've never bought a tarantula from a pet store, always through shipments. That's also a reason why I joined the forums, there's many reputable and trustworthy dealers that I might otherwise not know about. Thanks for the kind welcome, by the way. [/sarcastic] Back on topic, maybe you have some story about how your first tarantula was at a pet store, or you always buy from pet stores or something, but I'm not you and I think ending mistreatment of tarantulas in pet stores is a good thing. Sorry if I dislike animal abuse and joined a forum about arachnids and people who treat them correctly .

Well a) your name is "imatroll" kinda puts up a redflag atleast in my head. Because when I think of troll-- I think along the lines of people who like to aggrovate people. Sorry if I misunderstood or anything.
b)Large chains are different from small petstores. Plus not all stores within a chain are bad. Just the people in it maybe.
c)I do like buying from breeders--- but for some they rather have something either local if possible(or applicable). While others want the best of the best. I rather give a chance to that said animal. sure it maybe sick--- but it can be "nursed" back to health(depending on animal.).

I myself worked in a small petstore. It wasn't the best--- but it wasn't "horrible". Tarantulas are pretty hardy. Most people who get them from a store in my opinion wouldn't be giving them horrible care. For a few reasons:

1)They have had to done some research to manage to convince their parents that tarantulas are not horrible pets and such.
2)If done some research pretty sure they would stumble upon good info. Keeping tarantulas is pretty simple in my opinion compared to a large reptile with extremely difficult care requirements. Such as an iguana. From what I been informed. Tarantulas prefer to be in smaller containers. They don't eat as much as a toad, or a turtle, or an iguana that's for sure.
3)Maintance is ussually pretty self explanatory and simple.

So this is just my speculation and opinion--- but that maybe b ecause I only see tarantulas in SOME stores. Even chains don't carry t h em. Ussually specialty stores.

It's good that you're interested in the animals wellbeing. But remember if it can't be helped why worry about it?

It's not like you can march in a petstore with a weapon on your hand and be like:

"GIVE DER ANIMALS A GOOD CARE OR I KEEL U ALL".

Or something like that. It's also not like you can sue. As well as its not like you can prevent any customers from buying(its against the law to disrupt sales).

etc. Plus. It's a life lesson for those who end up buying that animal. Think about it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is--- not everything is bad about a petstore. Though everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

 

[catfishrod69]

i think when you walk in a pet store that 90% of the animals/inverts/everything else should be stuff that you have never seen or have no clue of...i hate walking in to a pet store and there is yapping dogs, cats, satanic hampsters, and normal goldfish to the normal old guppies...when i was younger a buddy started a pet store, and eventually went out of business, but he sold lion fish, huge centipedes, millipedes, australian possom, all kinds of crazy things, i actually got some stuff off him for dirt cheap not long ago, cause he was pretty much just giving away almost everything he had except a few things he wouldnt...

 

[Philth]

I am totally for no more selling of land hermit crabs in pet stores. They cannot and most likely will never be successfully bred and raised in captivity, and their numbers in the wild will eventually suffer as a result.

This was always a problem for me with most salt water fish. It always bothered me that they are collected in large numbers for the pet trade , just to end up in someone's tank to look pretty. Most SW fish will not breed in captivity. Niver mind how many of them die, before they even make it to the pet shop.

A buddy of mine who works in a pet shop once told me he would never work for a store that sell's puppies because, he doesn't want to support puppy mills, but has no problem selling WC fish , just to be doomed in someone's tank. I never understood his logic.:?

Cute cuddly Cockatoo's are sold buy the hundreds in pet shops every year. They are amazingly friendly and cute when they are babies, when the pet shop sells them. You have a 3-5 year grace period before the sexually mature, then the list of behavioral problems become endless. If anybody reading this is thinking about getting one, please do the research. There is a reason why Cockatoo's are the most "re-homed" parrots out there.

Giant tortoises that are sold as cute babies have no business being sold in pet shops for obvious reasons as well.

With that said I don't support the laws that ban any animal, since its not fair for the keepers who do the reaserch and have the ability to keep them. i for sure wouldn't want somebody telling me I can't have spiders.
Later, Tom

 

[SandDeku]

This was always a problem for me with most salt water fish. It always bothered me that they are collected in large numbers for the pet trade , just to end up in someone's tank to look pretty. Most SW fish will not breed in captivity. Niver mind how many of them die, before they even make it to the pet shop.

A buddy of mine who works in a pet shop once told me he would never work for a store that sell's puppies because, he doesn't want to support puppy mills, but has no problem selling WC fish , just to be doomed in someone's tank. I never understood his logic.:?

Cute cuddly Cockatoo's are sold buy the hundreds in pet shops every year. They are amazingly friendly and cute when they are babies, when the pet shop sells them. You have a 3-5 year grace period before the sexually mature, then the list of behavioral problems become endless. If anybody reading this is thinking about getting one, please do the research. There is a reason why Cockatoo's are the most "re-homed" parrots out there.

Giant tortoises that are sold as cute babies have no business being sold in pet shops for obvious reasons as well.

With that said I don't support the laws that ban any animal, since its not fair for the keepers who do the reaserch and have the ability to keep them. i for sure wouldn't want somebody telling me I can't have spiders.
Later, Tom

I think anything can get "done" if you put your mind to it. With a little bit of perseverance almost anything can be accomplished!

 

[Spidershane1]

I think anyone should be able to buy any pet they want, BUT they should be able to prove that they know what they are doing.

There should be a quiz they make you take before purchasing an animal. Like say you wanted to buy a Burmese python, you should be able to correctly answer questions such as:
What is the proper temperature/humidity to keep one?
What is a temperature gradient?
How do you make a humidity box?
Whats a proper feeding schedule for neonates/adults?
What is the average growth rate in the first two years for males and for females?
What is the minimum/maximum size that a female/male can attain?
What are the dimentions of the enclosure you plan to keep it in now & as an adult?
And so on and so forth....

If there are any of these questions that someone can't answer, then there is no way in hell they should be allowed to keep a Burm. And the same goes for any animal.

At a petstore in Cali where I used to live, the guy in the exotic department was super knowledgeable about herps and inverts. If anyone came in to buy anything from a scorpion to a burmese, he would ask them these basic questions. If the person couldn't answer them all on the spot, he would offer to sell them an appropriate care book or point them in the direction of the proper internet forums & tell them to come back next week. Once he made a sale, he would give them his card and tell them to call him any and all questions that they had about their animal. I gained much knowledge from him over the years.

I think he pretty much did it how every shop should do it, and who knows how many animals the local rescues were spared due to his dilligence. Before legislation is introduced trying to ban our animals from being sold, perhaps legislation making pre-sale Q&A tests mandatory would be the way to go.
Clueless pet buyers are the number one cause of all the bad stories that make lawmakers want to ban our pets, such as releasing them into the local wild & bites/stings, etc.

 

[SandDeku]

I think anyone should be able to buy any pet they want, BUT they should be able to prove that they know what they are doing.

There should be a quiz they make you take before purchasing an animal. Like say you wanted to buy a Burmese python, you should be able to correctly answer questions such as:
What is the proper temperature/humidity to keep one?
What is a temperature gradient?
How do you make a humidity box?
Whats a proper feeding schedule for neonates/adults?
What is the average growth rate in the first two years for males and for females?
What is the minimum/maximum size that a female/male can attain?
What are the dimentions of the enclosure you plan to keep it in now & as an adult?
And so on and so forth....

If there are any of these questions that someone can't answer, then there is no way in hell they should be allowed to keep a Burm. And the same goes for any animal.

At a petstore in Cali where I used to live, the guy in the exotic department was super knowledgeable about herps and inverts. If anyone came in to buy anything from a scorpion to a burmese, he would ask them these basic questions. If the person couldn't answer them all on the spot, he would offer to sell them an appropriate care book or point them in the direction of the proper internet forums & tell them to come back next week. Once he made a sale, he would give them his card and tell them to call him any and all questions that they had about their animal. I gained much knowledge from him over the years.

I think he pretty much did it how every shop should do it, and who knows how many animals the local rescues were spared due to his dilligence. Before legislation is introduced trying to ban our animals from being sold, perhaps legislation making pre-sale Q&A tests mandatory would be the way to go.
Clueless pet buyers are the number one cause of all the bad stories that make lawmakers want to ban our pets, such as releasing them into the local wild & bites/stings, etc.

If a law passed by that I couldn't own my pets-- I'd get out of country. xD Hell no would I abide such a stupid rule just because some people don't take care of their pets.

 

[imatroll]

Well a) your name is "imatroll" kinda puts up a redflag atleast in my head. Because when I think of troll-- I think along the lines of people who like to aggrovate people. Sorry if I misunderstood or anything.
b)Large chains are different from small petstores. Plus not all stores within a chain are bad. Just the people in it maybe.
c)I do like buying from breeders--- but for some they rather have something either local if possible(or applicable). While others want the best of the best. I rather give a chance to that said animal. sure it maybe sick--- but it can be "nursed" back to health(depending on animal.).

I myself worked in a small petstore. It wasn't the best--- but it wasn't "horrible". Tarantulas are pretty hardy. Most people who get them from a store in my opinion wouldn't be giving them horrible care. For a few reasons:

1)They have had to done some research to manage to convince their parents that tarantulas are not horrible pets and such.
2)If done some research pretty sure they would stumble upon good info. Keeping tarantulas is pretty simple in my opinion compared to a large reptile with extremely difficult care requirements. Such as an iguana. From what I been informed. Tarantulas prefer to be in smaller containers. They don't eat as much as a toad, or a turtle, or an iguana that's for sure.
3)Maintance is ussually pretty self explanatory and simple.

So this is just my speculation and opinion--- but that maybe b ecause I only see tarantulas in SOME stores. Even chains don't carry t h em. Ussually specialty stores.

It's good that you're interested in the animals wellbeing. But remember if it can't be helped why worry about it?

It's not like you can march in a petstore with a weapon on your hand and be like:

"GIVE DER ANIMALS A GOOD CARE OR I KEEL U ALL".

Or something like that. It's also not like you can sue. As well as its not like you can prevent any customers from buying(its against the law to disrupt sales).

etc. Plus. It's a life lesson for those who end up buying that animal. Think about it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is--- not everything is bad about a petstore. Though everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Sorry, I knew I should've chosen a different name. I guess I'll have to build up my rep. Relating to the first part of your post, I guess every store is different. The stores around me are very ignorant about tarantulas, which is probably why they are not often sold in comparison to the other animals at the store. You're right, though, that it's not like I'm able to do anything about stores selling tarantulas. I'd prefer it otherwise, but I doubt that it will ever stop. Having tarantulas in stores does open a window for people to start off in the tarantula hobby, but I remember two incidents in which I walked into friends' houses and they had a poor, neglected tarantula just sitting in the corner. I used to think to myself, "Well, they are just rosies," but nevertheless, they're still tarantulas. I believe they should be respected at least like a professional/long-time hobbyist would respect and care for a MF G. pulchra, or a P. metallica. I know this won't happen, but it's nice to let people know that I would prefer if tarantulas were generally not sold in pet stores.

 

[SandDeku]

Sorry, I knew I should've chosen a different name. I guess I'll have to build up my rep. Relating to the first part of your post, I guess every store is different. The stores around me are very ignorant about tarantulas, which is probably why they are not often sold in comparison to the other animals at the store. You're right, though, that it's not like I'm able to do anything about stores selling tarantulas. I'd prefer it otherwise, but I doubt that it will ever stop. Having tarantulas in stores does open a window for people to start off in the tarantula hobby, but I remember two incidents in which I walked into friends' houses and they had a poor, neglected tarantula just sitting in the corner. I used to think to myself, "Well, they are just rosies," but nevertheless, they're still tarantulas. I believe they should be respected at least like a professional/long-time hobbyist would respect and care for a MF G. pulchra, or a P. metallica. I know this won't happen, but it's nice to let people know that I would prefer if tarantulas were generally not sold in pet stores.

We all care deep down. But we can't tell people what to do and expect result. You can try to teach a person to use a spoon, a fork, and a knife. But they may just still in the end eat with their hands. xD

 

[imatroll]

We all care deep down. But we can't tell people what to do and expect result. You can try to teach a person to use a spoon, a fork, and a knife. But they may just still in the end eat with their hands. xD

LOL! But anyways, the point of this thread isn't to start a mob against pet stores for them to stop selling a certain animal- their store would go empty! I'm just saying that I wish tarantulas weren't sold at pet stores. It's not like I can do anything about that.

 

[skar]

My opinion - I love going to pet stores but . . . ALL.

 

[SandDeku]

LOL! But anyways, the point of this thread isn't to start a mob against pet stores for them to stop selling a certain animal- their store would go empty! I'm just saying that I wish tarantulas weren't sold at pet stores. It's not like I can do anything about that.

I guess so. :S To be honest. I wish they never sold turtles in stores either. I love them. But.... sooo many people (and pardon my language but I believe it must be said) soo many are so f**king stupid that it makes me depressed thinking about what will happen to the poor turtles. You know why i say this? I got an old lady come up to me when I was working in a petstore that if a 2.5gallon tank was okay for a red eared slider. and that it was his sons who went to college and can't afford a bigger tank. I got so upset. I wanted to scream my lungs at her. Because that's beyond cruel. I mean not even a 10gallon! which is still bad--- but not as bad as 2.5 GALLON!!!!! I get questions about turtles all the time and they're ussually like beyond retarded. I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this. But that just really pisses me off badly when someone says that.

SO in a sense I "wished" they wouldn't be sold in stores. But at the same time I know its business.

 

[Rabid538]

Brackish water fish- most stores sell them in fresh water and do not provide information that require salt or their proper salinty.... Case in point, "freshwater" stone fish... cannot live in captivity... at all, even under proper conditions.... dont even try.

I agree that most stores won't inform you that freshwater stone fish actually need brackish water. Same for other types of fish like the freshwater moray eel. But it is also the customer's responsibility to research what they are buying. Stone fish can be kept in captivity if you know what you are doing. I have a stone fish that is doing perfectly fine and I have had her for a while now. She even laid eggs.

I don't think Nile monitors or Savannah monitors should be sold in pet stores without proper warning because they are so inexpensive and easy to acquire, but they get huge.

 

[1Lord Of Ants1]

I agree that most stores won't inform you that freshwater stone fish actually need brackish water. Same for other types of fish like the freshwater moray eel. But it is also the customer's responsibility to research what they are buying. Stone fish can be kept in captivity if you know what you are doing. I have a stone fish that is doing perfectly fine and I have had her for a while now. She even laid eggs.

Freshwater stonefish is a very misleading name. But with brackish water, they can live for quite awhile. I had one for 3 years before it died. I did nothing special with it as far as care went, it lived in a 20 gallon long. (I got it as an adult, it was probably a couple years old already) Here in Florida they are known as oyster crackers or toadfish - they are easy to catch with a crab trap. I fed it shrimp and silversides.

 

[Drakk]

Hmm i guess the animal that i feel bad for in pet stores is the common green iguana.
Ive seen so many mistreated....in stores and at there "loving" owners home..
Ive rescued several from bad homes etc...Like the monitors mentioned above they get big, and can be imposing with the tail lashing etc, dunno if anyone covered greenies, them and basilisks...seen some nasty nose injuries on them tank size and privacy issues completely ignored usually....water dragons seem to do better at least in the store.
Gotta mention greenies tho....nearly never been in a pet store without them, nearly never not been upset by conditions.
I know its business but...still makes a beating heart feel bad.
I switched pet stores over adult rosies in the little critter keepers....couden't even stretch out and had them on some kind of pelleted stuff for sub...one of them was seriously injured and just slowly passing in cage...terrible sight.

 

[Embers To Ashes]

I have to agree with moniters and other large reptiles. here is my list:

#1: Snakes that will grow over 12 feet long. I believe that snakes like this should only be sold to people that have enough sence to go through a reputable dealer to buy them, have housed simmeler snakes, and know what they are getting into.

#2: MONITERS!!! there is one paticuler store near me that is very bad about this. "No type of moniter needs any aditional heat or ligh soarce, and none will grow to be more than 30lbs." That has to be the biggest hunk of crap I have ever heard. All of the moniters my freind would rescue from there would die of complications from having never been exposed to UVB lighting... she is one of the only people I know that actualy knows how to care for the poor things.

#3 baby reptiles, frogs, and fish. I think that these should be sold at pet stores, but only if the buyer knows how big they will get. We have a baby pacman frog at the store that is only about 1" long and everyone wants to buy him because he is cute and little. Same with fish. I was helping a lady who had three oscars in a 10 gallon together and was wondering why they where dieing. Some with the feeder goldfish. I have seen them get over a foot long and people want to cram twenty in a ten gallon.

 

[imatroll]

I guess so. :S To be honest. I wish they never sold turtles in stores either. I love them. But.... sooo many people (and pardon my language but I believe it must be said) soo many are so f**king stupid that it makes me depressed thinking about what will happen to the poor turtles. You know why i say this? I got an old lady come up to me when I was working in a petstore that if a 2.5gallon tank was okay for a red eared slider. and that it was his sons who went to college and can't afford a bigger tank. I got so upset. I wanted to scream my lungs at her. Because that's beyond cruel. I mean not even a 10gallon! which is still bad--- but not as bad as 2.5 GALLON!!!!! I get questions about turtles all the time and they're ussually like beyond retarded. I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this. But that just really pisses me off badly when someone says that.

SO in a sense I "wished" they wouldn't be sold in stores. But at the same time I know its business.

Amen to that. It's always business, and it's not going to stop happening. But when something like that happens, it really makes you wonder what would happen if you weren't there, and if someone else is making such a bad mistake. Staff is hardly ever helpful, and the problem is just that pet stores sell pets. Once an animal leaves their store and money goes into the cash register, they could care less if you ate the animal, and if you did they probably wouldn't know. And then, buyers are to blame for their ignorance and lack of knowledge because they didn't do any research, but I guess we just have to face that because it's life. There's no way EVER that I would be able to stop pet stores from doing what they do.

 

[rm90]

Chinchillas.

I hate everytime I walk into a petstore the lights are blasting full on the chinchilla cages. They are nocturnal!!! No wonder most of them are pulling fur and stressed to the max. Not to mention I haven't seen a petstore yet that has a cage that isn't filled with plastic, another nono for chinchillas.

 

[SandDeku]

Amen to that. It's always business, and it's not going to stop happening. But when something like that happens, it really makes you wonder what would happen if you weren't there, and if someone else is making such a bad mistake. Staff is hardly ever helpful, and the problem is just that pet stores sell pets. Once an animal leaves their store and money goes into the cash register, they could care less if you ate the animal, and if you did they probably wouldn't know. And then, buyers are to blame for their ignorance and lack of knowledge because they didn't do any research, but I guess we just have to face that because it's life. There's no way EVER that I would be able to stop pet stores from doing what they do.

Well partially agree to that. but think of it this way:
a)Without petstores there wouldn't have ever been any of the exotic hobbies introduced. It was a stepping stone for us keepers.
b)Some cannot buy crickets or other feeders online. Or even pets. It's convenient!
c)It's because there are still petstore exotic pet laws aren't that bad. Because without them-- they'd pass the law without giving two hoots about whose' going to be affected by it. Because nobody understands it.

So there's always to sides to the same coin. Basically petstores and breeders are just two sides of the same coin. PLUS not all breeders are good to begin with. Want me to mention a list about all the bad breeders out there?

So yeah. and sometimes. With breeders the problem is--- you can get seriously scammed by online breeders! I got scammed twice by a place called turtle source. Bought two turtles. One was a white lipped mud turtle and the other was a Texas map turtle. They came shipped without any heat packet(it was cold outside...) it was just packed in Styrofoam and newspapers..... They both were overpriced... 50 for the texas or 70I forgot. and like 50-80 for the mud. The mud turtle died that sunday. They said they couldn't replace it because the warranty was 1 week! and that it had passed... But they weren't open on sunday!!! SOOO the guy said he could give me a discount if i buy another turtle-- sounded like DTS herps inc(never bought from there-- but that place is the ABSOLUTE WORST!). It basically was stupid because I had the tank set up for a couple of months! It was a 20g long! Had excellent filtration-- 00ppm ammonia and the rest was low!

That's what I'm talking about. So breeders in my opinion are no different. I basically lost almost 150dollars(add up with the shipping and handling) I think it was actually 170? They didn't even do anything. Sooo yeah. but like if it was a petstore AT LEAST you can complain the living heck to a manager to the point they feel really cruddy and they replace it(due to their fault). It's happened to me with some "Bad" guppies I bought from a petsmart. They replaced them all and gave me a few extras. They're still alive(well some--- cause they bred and I decided to feed alot of them to my turtle).

There's a "BOI" on a forum that's ussually for classifieds(breeders and such) called faunaclassifieds. That's where you can find background info on some of the breeders you purchase from. It's pretty much over run with bad info about DTS herp. Apparently the guy is like a little kid(I talked to him as well-- just to annoy him to see what would happen-- he "types" like a teenager), he rips people off by sending them bad animals. Then he's never "wrong" and never ever ever in his life replaces them or gives the money back! A girl even asked for just 30dollars to cover for medicine. Cause she bought alot of tortoises from him in one sitting --- guy puts em in a snake bag(ALL IN THERE) then when it comes to her they're pretty much fine except one. He sent one tortoise that had both eyes infected very badly. The guy said it was fine when he shipped it. But that stuff doesn't happen that fast over a few hours.... Because it was really really bad. The guy never even gave her that sort of compensation. just called her an "idiot" and eventually blocked her.

There's even more out there. SO in a way that's why Im sorta defending petstores. to be bluntly honest-- I know the people who work there are extremely stupid but think about it. They're so stupid they don't know too much about it right? Well if you go in there and talk like a smartypants because you got a sick animal you won't get that much of a hassle. Pretty much even may get extra stuff for one of them pulling a move like that! Sure some animals maybe sick. But if its "not that bad"you can end up healing them yourselves and not have to spend for shipping. Which if you buy from some breeders you pay over 40dollars for shipping and you can get ripped off really badly.

Though it depends on the store and animal. If the animal is "new arrival" it really doesn't matter. Because it's new to the store you won't have as much problems. And if you do you can return it atleast.

---------- Post added at 02:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:29 PM ----------

Chinchillas.

I hate everytime I walk into a petstore the lights are blasting full on the chinchilla cages. They are nocturnal!!! No wonder most of them are pulling fur and stressed to the max. Not to mention I haven't seen a petstore yet that has a cage that isn't filled with plastic, another nono for chinchillas.

I oddly agree with you on that one. I do love chins but.. I don't think they're the best pet for "most" people IN MY OPINION(no offense to any chins owners!). Because some may have lifestyles that don't fit in with the lifestyles of the chins. I also heard they need an extremely large cage(larger than an iguana cage....) almost a room! Or so I was told... As well as that they're not too keen on being hold. which would be bad for people like me because I think its so cute I couldn't resist my temptations on holding one! ;c

 

[pnshmntMMA]

pittbulllady, heres my .02.... you wanna keep tigers and stuff, awesome til it kills you and escapes and becomes law enforcements problem, AKA my problem. like the lady with the chimps....if you wanna keep something that cannot be contained in a terrarium, and is dangerous, move to a third world garbage dump like india. i hear they have plenty of cuddly tigers there for you smart people........

 

[Drakk]

That's what I'm talking about. So breeders in my opinion are no different. I basically lost almost 150dollars(add up with the shipping and handling) I think it was actually 170? They didn't even do anything.

+1
My current pet store is smallish but they listen to advice use full spectrum on the reptiles reasonable tank sizes etc...
good ppl and bad in both options.