PetCo Conference Call Info

[Sarkhan42]

How about typical rose hairs? From what I can tell over 75% of people have this as their first T.

The most glaring issue with this for me, is that petco is now selling very young spiders, and rosehairs take AGES to grow, which can be frustrating for new and old keepers alike. I like the idea of a B albopilosum(not sure if this was already on the list), due to their general ease of care, decent growth, and pleasant appearance. I think they'd do a great job of introducing people to Ts.

 

[Lander9021]

How about typical rose hairs? From what I can tell over 75% of people have this as their first T. Although I kind of agree with your statment.

Yeh but they'll say "they're the most docile so safe to handle species" whitch is a load of bollards...
But yeah either them or the B.smithi or bohmei

 

[Lander9021]

The most glaring issue with this for me, is that petco is now selling very young spiders, and rosehairs take AGES to grow, which can be frustrating for new and old keepers alike. I like the idea of a B albopilosum(not sure if this was already on the list), due to their general ease of care, decent growth, and pleasant appearance. I think they'd do a great job of introducing people to Ts.

Couldn't agree more, I made that mistake my first t is g.rosea sling , u think since I've been here I've been the prime example of how not to use this site...quick example use my previous threads as proof (lol).
1. Didn't know how long these slings take to grow
2.wrong substrate corrected after 3 attempts
4.wrong substrate height( one fall shed of been a goner)
5.I basically got a t not knowing what I was doing and posted it on here( looking stupid seems to come natural)

 

[EulersK]

Not gonna lie, I haven't read the last three pages of this thread, so this might be completely random. However, I stopped into a Petco today to check out what they have going on. Here is what I noticed. They have what is called a 'dump SKU' for these spiders. That's retail lingo for "everything is sold for this price, regardless of species." The $19.99 tag literally said "Assorted Tarantulas" on the tag. As others have said, they are all housed exactly the same way - an arboreal setup, regardless of species. On top of that, there is a sticker on the outside of each enclosure that has all possible species listed with a single check mark next to which spider is in that specific enclosure. However, on that same sticker, it lists proper care... hopefully you see the problem. A B. vagans is not kept the same way as a P. irminia, but that sticker would have you believe otherwise. Finally, they all come with a cricket conveniently already inside the enclosure. What's not so convenient is that the cricket is easily 5-10x the size of the sling.

Now, here is where I'm about to get a little dark, and possibly a bit controversial. To me, it's absolutely great news that all the species are being sold as very young slings (none looked larger that 3rd or 4th instar). Why is this great news? The average keeper will never raise that spider to a size that would result in a bad bite. We can all agree that slings are fragile, especially when blatantly wrong husbandry information is printed right on the packaging. These spiders are going to die the vast majority of the time, and a parent will not shell out $20 every few months to keep buying the same spider for their child. In short, it's terrible that these spiders are being sent to slaughter, but it's frankly great for the hobby that this is the case. Less chance for a bite, less chance for bad press, less chance for a ban.

 

[Toxoderidae]

Not gonna lie, I haven't read the last three pages of this thread, so this might be completely random. However, I stopped into a Petco today to check out what they have going on. Here is what I noticed. They have what is called a 'dump SKU' for these spiders. That's retail lingo for "everything is sold for this price, regardless of species." The $19.99 tag literally said "Assorted Tarantulas" on the tag. As others have said, they are all housed exactly the same way - an arboreal setup, regardless of species. On top of that, there is a sticker on the outside of each enclosure that has all possible species listed with a single check mark next to which spider is in that specific enclosure. However, on that same sticker, it lists proper care... hopefully you see the problem. A B. vagans is not kept the same way as a P. irminia, but that sticker would have you believe otherwise. Finally, they all come with a cricket conveniently already inside the enclosure. What's not so convenient is that the cricket is easily 5-10x the size of the sling.

Now, here is where I'm about to get a little dark, and possibly a bit controversial. To me, it's absolutely great news that all the species are being sold as very young slings (none looked larger that 3rd or 4th instar). Why is this great news? The average keeper will never raise that spider to a size that would result in a bad bite. We can all agree that slings are fragile, especially when blatantly wrong husbandry information is printed right on the packaging. These spiders are going to die the vast majority of the time, and a parent will not shell out $20 every few months to keep buying the same spider for their child. In short, it's terrible that these spiders are being sent to slaughter, but it's frankly great for the hobby that this is the case. Less chance for a bite, less chance for bad press, less chance for a ban.

And they are instigating change.. just not in this first wave. The only change they were able to make was to remove OW.

 

[Lander9021]

Not gonna lie, I haven't read the last three pages of this thread, so this might be completely random. However, I stopped into a Petco today to check out what they have going on. Here is what I noticed. They have what is called a 'dump SKU' for these spiders. That's retail lingo for "everything is sold for this price, regardless of species." The $19.99 tag literally said "Assorted Tarantulas" on the tag. As others have said, they are all housed exactly the same way - an arboreal setup, regardless of species. On top of that, there is a sticker on the outside of each enclosure that has all possible species listed with a single check mark next to which spider is in that specific enclosure. However, on that same sticker, it lists proper care... hopefully you see the problem. A B. vagans is not kept the same way as a P. irminia, but that sticker would have you believe otherwise. Finally, they all come with a cricket conveniently already inside the enclosure. What's not so convenient is that the cricket is easily 5-10x the size of the sling.

Now, here is where I'm about to get a little dark, and possibly a bit controversial. To me, it's absolutely great news that all the species are being sold as very young slings (none looked larger that 3rd or 4th instar). Why is this great news? The average keeper will never raise that spider to a size that would result in a bad bite. We can all agree that slings are fragile, especially when blatantly wrong husbandry information is printed right on the packaging. These spiders are going to die the vast majority of the time, and a parent will not shell out $20 every few months to keep buying the same spider for their child. In short, it's terrible that these spiders are being sent to slaughter, but it's frankly great for the hobby that this is the case. Less chance for a bite, less chance for bad press, less chance for a ban.

Perhaps petco knew all along the ts would die ...so that the customer buys another ...a big scam

 

[Toxoderidae]

Perhaps petco knew all along the ts would die ...so that the customer buys another ...a big scam

Why are you still posting this crap?

 

[Draketeeth]

How about typical rose hairs? From what I can tell over 75% of people have this as their first T. Although I kind of agree with your statment.

The new packages have "Rose Hair Tarantula" listed as one of the species they'll carry, and it's been one they've carried, hence a common first T. What concerns me about this is the scientific name listed below is: Grammostola sp.. A whole list of very specific tarantulas on the packaging with the scientific names, and then they suddenly get wishy-washy.

The most glaring issue with this for me, is that petco is now selling very young spiders, and rosehairs take AGES to grow, which can be frustrating for new and old keepers alike. I like the idea of a B albopilosum(not sure if this was already on the list), due to their general ease of care, decent growth, and pleasant appearance. I think they'd do a great job of introducing people to Ts.

B. albo they've stocked as adults, and they'll be getting them in the new packages. Very awesome spiders, this was my introductory T when I started, and my success with the little sling prompted me to continue collecting a few other Ts as time has passed. I totally agree that this is a good species for a starter, and alright for a starter sling. They're usually pretty good about telling you what they need, and those clear signals put me at ease. I love my Albo!

 

[Lander9021]

Why are you still posting this crap?

Why do you think it's crap, what is so hard to believe.

 

[viper69]

Why do you think it's crap, what is so hard to believe.

It is not a viable business model, that is basic business. That's a product-oriented model and not a consumer-oriented model; the former is not successful in the long term. History is full of examples of the former and their ensuing failures.

I'd like to think this is not the case with this org.

 

[Travis21v4]

I visited a petco here in vegas... They had the same thing. "Assorted slings" , on the front you cant tell or is it labeled what it is... On the back is a checkmark on which species. Jenn and I asked a couple questions and... We were told they will recieve training when they recieve the new species. As far as ow is concerned they guy has no idea if they will get them or not. We kept it extremely civilized and only asked questions like we were interested in attaining some. Was told they were fed flightless fruit flies... Until u look in the container and see a cricket 5x the size of the sling, a fake leaf and some grey styrofoam. Not knowledgable in the least... And the thing that made no sense at all, is when we asked to see if they had tarantulas the answer was no, but we have baby spiders. Its exactly how I expected it to be, so wasnt to caught off guard. I just
Hope they ditch this... And sell more hamsters or something.

 

[gypsy cola]

@viper69 I seriously applaud your efforts. Thank you for what you have done for this hobby.

For the longest time this board has had it share of Petco posts... Now we have visibility and change. You are responsible for changing the hobby for good. No little kid is going to the hospital because you made a call and hopefully Petco will have some accurate care sheets.

Please pat yourself on the back. I cannot do it.

I also thank everyone who ever visited a store, wrote, or called Petco as well. Our hobby is going to get more attention and it is going in the right direction before anyone got hurt.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

@Lander9021

While i do understand your concerns about big corporations, there's a thing to say when it comes to the US. That's the land of class actions and powerful lawyers (aka 'Sharks', like here those were called) that are able to perform some great battle/s in the courts, and earn multi-millionaire compensations, sometimes.

For what reason do you think that (back then in 1992, when i was a kid purchasing my first T's) the breeder didn't sold us (add my bro) that amazing "blue" OW Theraphosidae (i don't remember now which one was, lol) we asked for?
We had the money, rest assured.

I tell you. Because his first thought probably was: "if tonight the spider bites those kids, tomorrow i am in trouble with parents". Not the best thing a shop keeper wants.

What do you think will happens in the US if (let's make an "if" scenario) all of a sudden, instead of "Grammo & Brachy" the average Petco "Grammo & Brachy" customers ends home with P.ornata, P.murinus, S.calceatum etc?

A bite or an escape is to consider with those, especially in the hands of unexperienced, or not prepared for, customers.

A couple of wrong bites to the wrong person, and a storm of "no one wants" s... happens. And no one wants that.
That's why, probably lol, those were listening to what Viper69 said with attention

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Perhaps petco knew all along the ts would die ...so that the customer buys another ...a big scam

Interesting. What you're basically saying is that these tarantulas sold by Petco will be in the category of "disposable pet." In case anyone is unfamiliar with the term, a disposable pet is an animal which usually die quickly, for one reason or another, and can be easily and cheaply replaced. Examples of this include gold fish, beta fish, anoles (lizards), mice, rats, gerbils, etc. etc. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that remember being kids and getting a pet, it dies, then you get a new one shortly after. I can't say for sure if that is what Petco or any pet store really intends with the animals they sell, but it would be hard to believe they are not aware of this occurring with pet consumers and plan for it accordingly.

Similarly, in other product markets there is planned obsolescence which we are all familiar with. This is when a product is designed to become obsolete or break after a period of use so that you, as a consumer, will go out and buy the same thing again over and over. Consumer technology is the best example of this and also occurs with every day mundane things you use around the house and don't even realize they are planned to fail.

It's really unfortunate that animals are treated like products, but they are. I don't make any claim to know what goes on in any pet store, but there are some realities of the pet trade that seem to be overlooked or outright ignored when discussions like this come up.

 

[SpiderDad61]

I stopped into my local petco today to check things out. I needed crickets so was gonna go anyway. I noticed right away the Ts for sale. All species for $19.99
I didn't bother checking what species they had because I was pissed to see them all in that same "container" that looks like what pepper comes in. It had 1/2" foam on bottom in place of substrate, a tiny fake leaf, NO water dish and poor ventilation on the lid.
I talked to the woman getting my crickets, and explained they each need special care and housing depending on species, and especially No foam flooring. She totally agreed, and said as someone who herself kept Ts, expected to have a talk with her manager when she can. She right away said it wasn't her managers call, as we know, but corporate wanted the Ts in those containers because they are neat little packages for catching the eye and selling to the public.
It's really sad

 

[SpiderDad61]

The ONLY good thing about it was the price without paying shipping, or having to wait for your T, but to me it's not an issue to pay a lil shipping to be a responsible T keeper.

 

[Lander9021]

Interesting. What you're basically saying is that these tarantulas sold by Petco will be in the category of "disposable pet." In case anyone is unfamiliar with the term, a disposable pet is an animal which usually die quickly, for one reason or another, and can be easily and cheaply replaced. Examples of this include gold fish, beta fish, anoles (lizards), mice, rats, gerbils, etc. etc. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that remember being kids and getting a pet, it dies, then you get a new one shortly after. I can't say for sure if that is what Petco or any pet store really intends with the animals they sell, but it would be hard to believe they are not aware of this occurring with pet consumers and plan for it accordingly.

Similarly, in other product markets there is planned obsolescence which we are all familiar with. This is when a product is designed to become obsolete or break after a period of use so that you, as a consumer, will go out and buy the same thing again over and over. Consumer technology is the best example of this and also occurs with every day mundane things you use around the house and don't even realize they are planned to fail.

It's really unfortunate that animals are treated like products, but they are. I don't make any claim to know what goes on in any pet store, but there are some realities of the pet trade that seem to be overlooked or outright ignored when discussions like this come up.

That is exactly what I am saying, yes it won't be as obvious as that but it's still pheasable and when you think about quite easy to cover up....fair enough chances are small but the odds of leaving your house and dieing is small but it happens.

 

[Walter1]

ease up there trigger! Its all going to be ok.

but no, i'm afraid your mistaken on this point. Change in the US doesn't happen because of Citizens, it happens when someone dies, and someone get sued, and the government gets involved.

If we all look down deep inside we all know how this is going to end.

Some tool is going to buy spoiled rotten billy "the pretty orange Tarantula", which he'll try to pet, get bit, sue Petco, the stupid kid will have a senator for an uncle and lawyer for a brother and 4 months of "dangerous aggressive deadly Tarantula sold at Petco bites little child" headlines later, well all be required to have DWR Licensees to own, and transport across state lines will be hella expensive if legal at all.

Mark my words our hobby is in hella deep water right now.

I'll take fear of lawsuits if it keeps OWs out of chains.

 

[viper69]

@viper69 I seriously applaud your efforts. Thank you for what you have done for this hobby.

For the longest time this board has had it share of Petco posts... Now we have visibility and change. You are responsible for changing the hobby for good. No little kid is going to the hospital because you made a call and hopefully Petco will have some accurate care sheets.

Please pat yourself on the back. I cannot do it.

I also thank everyone who ever visited a store, wrote, or called Petco as well. Our hobby is going to get more attention and it is going in the right direction before anyone got hurt.

Thanks Gypsy. However, to be fair it was you who brought this to the forum's attention sooner rather than later. So kudos to you as well!

I agree re the big box posts. I was prompted by a few things to call them:

1. Tired of seeing posts like that, and recognizing change in an org, at times, comes from the top not from the store employees.
2. I personally felt selling OWs in a big box store was going to end up in a lawsuit and restrictions on responsible keepers, just like it happened to us snake keepers
3. And I've always felt certain things are true in life such as the famous quote "You must be the change you wish to see in the world.- Mahatma Gandhi"

 

[darkness975]

It is really a shame that our hobbies are so despised by the average Joe Schmo out there. They cannot be adult enough to leave us alone they have to go out of their way to demonize them and us.

I am pleasantly surprised to see that this turned out the way it did. I admit I had fear for the worst possible outcome when I first read about this. Hats off to everyone here who has helped to make a difference. Hopefully they will take our advice to heart and make the necessary corrections.