Ugh pet stores...

[miss moxie]

So I went to a pet store unexpectedly today, and they had some tarantulas and scorpions. I only took pictures of the tarantulas, but all the scorpions were kept the same way. Which should be your first "uh oh..." moment. Brace yourselves.

Yup, those are sponges. And yep, and 80% of those are fossorials. Living on a single piece of paper towel. C. lividium, C. albostriatus, M. robustum, and P. muticus.

I ended up buying two scorpions (Heterometrus sp.) because I just...am too much of a bleeding heart and either they'd get bought by someone who kept them the same way because "the pet store did" or they'd end up dying and getting replaced because they're cheap and draw people in. Lots of people stopped by them to gasp and "ewww" in that disgusted curiosity. So...I hate pet store husbandry but I gave them my business. The one was curled up in the water dish and looked so pathetic, and I am weak.

Though I was really tempted to buy the P. muticus just to watch them try to get them out of the KK and into a catch cup.

 

[Swoop]

Hope you gave them a bit of that famous moxie sass!

I don't even know how someone who knows absolutely nothing about spiders could mess up their enclosures that badly. You would think they would at least give them a water dish shallow enough to drink from.

 

[Tanner Dzula]

its seeing posts like this that makes em appreciate the pet stores in my local area. Granted they are a bit over priced but thankfully I've never walked in on them being on literal paper towels. id have to buy every single one of them just to give them a decent home.

 

[miss moxie]

Hope you gave them a bit of that famous moxie sass!

I don't even know how someone who knows absolutely nothing about spiders could mess up their enclosures that badly. You would think they would at least give them a water dish shallow enough to drink from.

Famous moxie sass, huh? I guess I can be a bit of a grizzly sometimes...

The sass faded when the girl talking to me about them was a 13-14 year old with braces. I find it hard to maul children. I guess there's a little bit of pink left in the center of my icy black heart.

its seeing posts like this that makes em appreciate the pet stores in my local area. Granted they are a bit over priced but thankfully I've never walked in on them being on literal paper towels. id have to buy every single one of them just to give them a decent home.

Ugh, I know. I know they just get replaced with other tarantulas in just as poor conditions. Just couldn't myself regardless.

 

[Jmanbeing93]

What a tragedy, I really wanted to save the B.albopilosum. I mean if that's not animal suffering, then I don't know what is. It is clearly dehydrated and possibly in pain.

 

[Swoop]

Famous moxie sass, huh? I guess I can be a bit of a grizzly sometimes...

The sass faded when the girl talking to me about them was a 13-14 year old with braces. I find it hard to maul children. I guess there's a little bit of pink left in the center of my icy black heart.

Adolescence is a modern construct. Show no mercy!

 

[Moakmeister]

I don't understand why people think to keep ANYTHING on paper towels. This isn't even anything to do with it being spiders, scorpions, or exotic pets in general. Why is it that their first thought is to use a paper towel? What is the logic behind that?

 

[chanda]

I don't understand why people think to keep ANYTHING on paper towels. This isn't even anything to do with it being spiders, scorpions, or exotic pets in general. Why is it that their first thought is to use a paper towel? What is the logic behind that?

It's cheap. It's readily available. It's disposable when it gets dirty. And most important - it shows off the spider really well to the unsuspecting public. If those poor spiders had appropriate substrate or hides, they would not be visible. They would be cowering in their hides or in burrows - or just blending in with the natural coloration of the substrate - and wouldn't make for eye-catching displays.

And I must confess, I sometimes use paper towels in cages, too. Not with tarantulas, of course! But it is convenient for mantis or assassin bug nymphs. It is also great for temporary bedding for animals in transit - like when I go on a collecting trip and won't be home to set everything up properly for a few days.

 

[miss moxie]

It's cheap. It's readily available. It's disposable when it gets dirty. And most important - it shows off the spider really well to the unsuspecting public. If those poor spiders had appropriate substrate or hides, they would not be visible. They would be cowering in their hides or in burrows - or just blending in with the natural coloration of the substrate - and wouldn't make for eye-catching displays.

And I must confess, I sometimes use paper towels in cages, too. Not with tarantulas, of course! But it is convenient for mantis or assassin bug nymphs. It is also great for temporary bedding for animals in transit - like when I go on a collecting trip and won't be home to set everything up properly for a few days.

Well yes, a time and place for everything. Paper towels are definitely handy in a pinch.

I know exactly why they deprive these Ts of proper substrate, it's still just frustrating. Those poor Ts, and scorpions, constantly having that light blazing down on them.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

The sass faded when the girl talking to me about them was a 13-14 year old with braces. I find it hard to maul children. I guess there's a little bit of pink left in the center of my icy black heart.

Existence is pain, you should've given her that life lesson early and torn her several new ones

 

[WolfSoon]

I saw this earlier at a local pet store where I buy crickets. I'm not very sassy but I politely told them I was very concerned that these Aphonopelma were at risk of a fall injury or a foot stuck to that mesh lid. They didn't seem to care much even though the Ts are right there climbing the lids.



One time I asked about the size of a B. albopilosum that had been in this store for months. I thought the employee would know the size or ask someone, but he instead removed a big wooden hide to show me a tiny sling and then accidentally dropped the hide right next to the sling, almost crushing it. He looked embarrassed after that and like he wanted me to leave. The poor B. albo is still there.

 

[grumpycow3]

This is something that has affected me directly because my first T was from a pet shop and it was on newspaper when i got it, and the guy said i needed so much heat and this much humidity and i also purchased an enclosure from him with a mesh lid which in the years to come my T would hang from many times and i just thought this was natural behaviour. The T was a chilean rose and it started going yellowy brown later in its life so im not sure if the guy was correct, needless to say it died at about 10 years even though itt was female and i found this website while doing research on proper care before getting my second one which was also a chilean rose and she is still alive and well, i nicknamed her ballerina because she gives me the happy dance so much.

 

[Kendricks]

Not many things have the power to trigger me as hard as pet stores.
On top, this is one of the most extreme examples as well. I will never understand why some people are so cruel towards living creatures.
I want to say so many things to speak my mind - but I also want to stay on AB.

Anyways, I can only repeat myself and say: If you buy at a bad pet store, you can't complain.
You just supported them to continue this.

If no one buys inverts there, they won't keep selling them. A store in my area stopped selling them due to low interest.

Yes, there are always idiots who buy there regardless for many reasons, but just because others make bad decisions doesn't mean one should do the same.

That's only my POV of course...

 

[Andrea82]

@Devin B this right here is the reason why members here have no patience for people who go buy lps spiders and keep them the same as the lps. two seconds of internet remedies a lot

 

[Devin B]

@Devin B this right here is the reason why members here have no patience for people who go buy lps spiders and keep them the same as the lps. two seconds of internet remedies a lot

I'm not 100% sure why you tagged me but my opinion remains unchanged. I think the pet shops should be held to a higher standard and new keepers are not entirely at fault when they are spoon feed terrible information like its leading edge science.

I will admit I believed every word the pet store worker told me when I got my first T from one of those tarantula huts from pet co. They brought out a big book of bad advice and gave me a care sheet with loads of misinformation. If I wasnt as passionate I wouldnt have found this site.

I also researched T's for 3 or 4 weeks watching tons of youtube videos and there are just as many videos that will kill your tarantula as there are helpful ones.

That is why I'd rather help a new keeper rather than ridicule them for their ignorance.

I know my opinion isnt a very popular one here and I hope some more people understand it a little better.

 

[WolfSoon]

I just wanted to add that there is a local pet store here that actually knows what they’re doing and has Ts and reptiles in appropriate containers. So of course they get a lot of negative online reviews saying that their animal housing is too small and “inhumane.” I had a similar thought when I first went in there years ago and didn’t know much about tarantulas. It just shows how misunderstood the hobby is I guess. At least the store’s setup probably weeds out the average noob pet store customers.


I would buy something from said store, but their selection is too advanced for me..a ton of pokies last time I looked. Maybe someday!

 

[darkness975]

Couldn't they have at least given them a half log and a lower water dish if nothing else?

 

[efmp1987]

Thai zebra on a toilet paper substrate. What is that? A piece of turd?