Another pet store post

[christin]

So in one of my local pet stores today I saw 5 or 6 G. roseas. All but one of them looked dehydrated, 1 was severly dehydraded with a shriveled abdomen. The one that didn't look too bad appeared to have some minor damage to its carapace, and appeared to be missing a fang.

I noticed that thier water source was water gel dumped into the corner (I won't even talk about the substrate)

So, tomorrow, I am going to go and more than likely buy the T with the missing fang.....even though this is not a T on my wish list. In addition I am going to print out the sticky thread about "how to really care for your G. rosea" and give it to the manager. Heres the question:

How do I address the whole water gel thing? Regardless of the differing opinions about water gel for T's, these animals are indeed dehydrated, and will likely die soon if something doesn't change.

I do hope the info is well received by the petstore, I have too many T's as it is...lol, witch is a drop in the bucket compared to many of you. This one would put me at 10. Any advice?

 

[cheetah13mo]

Sounds like a good plan. The only advise I can come up with is do not get any kind of an attitude with them because you know nothing will happen then and don't expect them to change anything. It's very likely that they won't care nor will they do anything about it if they did. Good luck.

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

seems a consistant theme that many pet stores don't properly take care of tarantulas. a local pet store here has an adult h. lividium on gravel substrate. can you imagine something that stupid? she's beautiful and i'd "rescue" her if the price tag wasn't a ridiculous $99

 

[sparular]

Although it's tempting to save poorly kept tarantulas at a pet store, I worry that if you buy them they may just get more because they sold the ones they got. I would give them the care sheet and not buy the tarantula unless they learn how to take care of them. Maybe tell them that without proper maintenance they will die and see if they offer you a discount since they are in bad shape, then maybe buying one or more wouldn't be bad if they don't make much money. I understand it's hard to watch them suffer and I'll understand if you save one, but it just seems like it's encouraging bad behavior.

 

[Laceface]

Aren't pet shops horrid? We have one nearby, that I can't stand. I told them of problems with their Ts, and how to fix them (little things). And the guy I was talking to had me tell four or five different people..I come back later, and everything is the same. Their "tarantula" expert (read reptile guy) even owns them, and has no idea what he's doing.. he just claims they won't be their long, and that's how they look at it..they won't be there long, so why let the burrowers burrow, or change the substrate? My mom thinks they only listened to me explain at that petshop because the guy was trying to flirt..I didn't notice though, I was on a T rant..lol

Good luck though, but beware, even if they act like they're paying attention..chances are they aren't

 

[Rain_Flower]

i went to the pet store the other day and they had a little pink toe that just looked really beat up, and just all kinds a outta shape. I wanted to rescue it to but I talked to the lady and she was very nice and very willing to listen to everything i said. now i could be wrong, but she really did seem like she was listening like she cared and wanted to help, but i haven't gone back to see if she actually did anything about it yet.

 

[christin]

Sounds like a good plan. The only advise I can come up with is do not get any kind of an attitude with them because you know nothing will happen then and don't expect them to change anything. It's very likely that they won't care nor will they do anything about it if they did. Good luck.

Yeah, I'm not the type for an attitude. And I think I've acctually talked to the owner (or manager) about something unrelated at least a few times, and he's a nice guy. I do hope something changes.

I think someone else said this, but it would be silly to buy from them if they don't change thier T ways. Thank you all.

 

[RottweilExpress]

Good initiative Christin!

 

[Moltar]

Believe it or not, i've had some success with changing a couple of local pet stores' policies for keeping t's. When it's not a big chain store they do have the ability to change it up at will. (Petco, etc have coorporate policies...) Try to find the clerk who seems more enthusiastic about the animals rather than hunting down the manager. It's less confrontational that way. Say something like "Yaknow, i've read a lot about these animals and there are a lot of misconceptions about their keeping requirements. Would you mind if i gave you a few pointers?" That works a lot better than "Hey, man, you're killing this thing."

Using this non-confrontational approach i've weened two petstores off of bark chips and onto bed-a-beast. Also they've raised the substrate at one store and they don't dump crix in 10 at a time anymore. And they pitched the sponge. And they stopped spraying the rosie in the face every day. Now i'm like their unofficial t consultant. I was called in a few weeks ago to confirm that a certain t was in fact an H. lividum. It was and i ended up buying it...

 

[Moltar]

seems a consistant theme that many pet stores don't properly take care of tarantulas. a local pet store here has an adult h. lividium on gravel substrate. can you imagine something that stupid? she's beautiful and i'd "rescue" her if the price tag wasn't a ridiculous $99

Good grief!!! i paid $50 for the one i mentioned above (almost adult, i hope it's a she) and felt like i was getting ripped off... It was scruffy looking from the trip from cambodia or wherever. It didn't take long with moist soil and plenty of food for it to get pretty again.

 

[JMoran1097]

seems a consistant theme that many pet stores don't properly take care of tarantulas. a local pet store here has an adult h. lividium on gravel substrate. can you imagine something that stupid? she's beautiful and i'd "rescue" her if the price tag wasn't a ridiculous $99

sadly this is how it is most of the time. you wish they were at a really low price so you would take it home.

 

[charlet_2007]

So in one of my local pet stores today I saw 5 or 6 G. roseas. All but one of them looked dehydrated, 1 was severly dehydraded with a shriveled abdomen. The one that didn't look too bad appeared to have some minor damage to its carapace, and appeared to be missing a fang.

I noticed that thier water source was water gel dumped into the corner (I won't even talk about the substrate)

So, tomorrow, I am going to go and more than likely buy the T with the missing fang.....even though this is not a T on my wish list. In addition I am going to print out the sticky thread about "how to really care for your G. rosea" and give it to the manager. Heres the question:

How do I address the whole water gel thing? Regardless of the differing opinions about water gel for T's, these animals are indeed dehydrated, and will likely die soon if something doesn't change.

I do hope the info is well received by the petstore, I have too many T's as it is...lol, witch is a drop in the bucket compared to many of you. This one would put me at 10. Any advice?

i just plain out told the pet store i was at what they were doing wrong and they listen but i think it kind of helps because the manager was the one that was checking me out when i bought my last Rosea

 

[Delailah]

Just curious... does anyone know where are the pet stores obtaining these T's? Who/where are their sources?

I can't think a T of small stature would be appealing to a consumer, so they must be acquiring them as larger, non-juvenile (if there is such a word) tarantulas. Perhaps someone is selling adult T's to pet stores?

Perhaps they are the ones who need "re-education" as well. :?

 

[Brettus]

I think the majority of pet stores act upon the fact that most of the customers who come to their store will be as uneducated in tarantula care as they are, and thus won't complain or will buy the spider thinking the pet store owners know best how to look after it. It all comes back to how people generally value the life and health of a spider less than the stereotypical cat or dog. If a puppy, for instance, was being kept in poor conditions and was obviously in poor health, people would complain and legal action could be taken, but as most people don't have the same level of concern for spiders, there is not an incentive for action. That said, there are some pet stores that do the right thing.