The infamous PETCO

[tarantulas118]

So I’ve heard that petco was bad at keeping and selling tarantulas but I never knew they were this bad. so I was just the other day going to one of my two local petcos to get feeders and as I was waiting for them I decided to look for a tarantula and I was about to punch the guy who was keeping them. They were keeping a brachypelma boehmei small juvenile in a huge tank under a heat lamp, the thing was clearly in premolt from that dark shiny abdomen and there were about 10 crickets bigger than it running around the enclosure, once I told the employee what would happen if the thing molts and the crickets are still in there(they will eat it) he Just pointed to big thumbs ups and left. Once I left I opened the feeders at home and surprise! Surprise! The feeders were dead so the next day I came and got them exchanged, while that was happening I looked at the tarantula, they completely ignored me, the crickets were everywhere and this time… MORE OF THEM!!! And if that wasn’t enough the HUGE hide they put there, way too big for a tarantula that size and it was just on top of the “substrate“(woodchips) so there were two open ends and GUESS WHAT…. There was a cobweb spider in the hide! If I had enough money I would have “saved the tarantula and bought it for 99.99 bucks, yeah wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy over priced. And that’s not even it, my local petsmart was keeping a T. Albopilosus in a cricket keeper with no substrate no anything. Ironically enough my other petco was keeping there tarantulas much better than the last ones. What was the worst enclosure setup for a tarantula you’ve ever seen?

 

[ladyratri]

My local PetSmart is actually prevented by local (city-level) laws from "selling live animals" -- which apparently makes exceptions for fish and for feeders. So I can get my crickets there and also be guaranteed I won't have some setup like that trying to guilt me into "rescuing" an overpriced T.

I know everyone says reptile store are terrible for T's in general, but at least my slightly-less-local reptile store is a LITTLE better than that...

That said, this is how they had my gorgeous P. irminia in the store:

Whole pet store enclosure at home later, waiting for proper rehouse:

That's a good 3.5" DLS irminia with a big clump of moss, and not a shred of bark nor a single leaf in sight. No wonder she went straight to a threat pose just from being carried into the house from the car, there's literally nowhere for her to hide! Poor baby.

This one tried to guilt me into joint Cult, er Club Genic... Wasn't ready to drop $250 on her tho.

At least she had reasonable sub, ceiling height, and water dish.

 

[arthurliuyz]

This one tried to guilt me into joint Cult, er Club Genic... Wasn't ready to drop $250 on her tho.

$250 for an A geniculata?! Crazy. Can it beatbox?

 

[ThatsUnpossible]

@tarantulas118 Are you on Twitter? Companies will often respond to a complaint on there, more so than IRL. The employee you spoke to was a disgrace and obviously has no interest in the welfare of animals in his care. These companies should be publicly shamed imo.

Edit: There are around 20 branches in Missouri. Complain about the branch by email to customerrelations@petco.com Petco's own care sheet for T's says to remove uneaten feeders. There's no excuse for this kind of neglect.

 

[ladyratri]

$250 for an A geniculata?! Crazy. Can it beatbox?

Lol I dunno, maybe it does tricks. I mean it was a decent size but.... Yikes.

That face tho, right?!

 

[Shinn]

They view Ts like the crickets. Cheap expendable livestock there to make them money. Also businesses usually just get whoever they can to fill the positions. And that's usually with "good enough" candidates after a rudimentary interview. Love for animals optional.

 

[Dementeddoll]

So I’ve heard that petco was bad at keeping and selling tarantulas but I never knew they were this bad. so I was just the other day going to one of my two local petcos to get feeders and as I was waiting for them I decided to look for a tarantula and I was about to punch the guy who was keeping them. They were keeping a brachypelma boehmei small juvenile in a huge tank under a heat lamp, the thing was clearly in premolt from that dark shiny abdomen and there were about 10 crickets bigger than it running around the enclosure, once I told the employee what would happen if the thing molts and the crickets are still in there(they will eat it) he Just pointed to big thumbs ups and left. Once I left I opened the feeders at home and surprise! Surprise! The feeders were dead so the next day I came and got them exchanged, while that was happening I looked at the tarantula, they completely ignored me, the crickets were everywhere and this time… MORE OF THEM!!! And if that wasn’t enough the HUGE hide they put there, way too big for a tarantula that size and it was just on top of the “substrate“(woodchips) so there were two open ends and GUESS WHAT…. There was a cobweb spider in the hide! If I had enough money I would have “saved the tarantula and bought it for 99.99 bucks, yeah wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy over priced. And that’s not even it, my local petsmart was keeping a T. Albopilosus in a cricket keeper with no substrate no anything. Ironically enough my other petco was keeping there tarantulas much better than the last ones. What was the worst enclosure setup for a tarantula you’ve ever seen?

Yeah, they don’t know what they’re doing. Even for the reptiles. Horrible setups. I yelled at them the other day like a Karen. I went in to get dubias for my slings. I like looking at the reptiles although I’m like whatever but I’ve owned beardies, chameleons, geckos, basically everything. So I am very knowledgeable about all their setups. I walked in and saw a veiled chameleon on the floor Fo the enclosure. Pale and labored breathing. Touched the glass of the enclosures. Guess what? It had been really cold the last few days cuz of rain and they have the ac running 24/7. That enclosure had no heating. It was cold as hell so I told them one of your chameleons is dying. So the register called them to check on it. One of the workers went and tried telling me that’s normal. I said no it’s not. They don’t come down to the ground because that’s a big no no to chameleons they won’t put themselves in predator danger like that and it’s breathing is labored. Your whole setup is shit and you have no heating whatsoever. She called the manager and they came and took it. Knowing petcos history of just tossing animals to the trash I asked what they were gonna do to it. According to them supposedly put it in icu tank but I doubt it. I wanted to search their dumpsters but the way that petco is setup in a shopping center I wouldn’t know how to access it. Their tarantulas are horribly kept and overpriced. Plus the workers are dumb and are to scared to handle them. I bought one just yesterday. Only cuz they had 50 percent off. I got a fireleg juvi for 50 which wasn’t too bad.

 

[0311usmc]

The Petco by my house is selling a green bottle blue for 149.99$ and a few others that are in improper enclosures. I just grab dog food/treats and bounce, its not worth checking out there critters it will only disappoint you guaranteed!!!!!!!!

 

[Dementeddoll]

The Petco by my house is selling a green bottle blue for 149.99$ and a few others that are in improper enclosures. I just grab dog food/treats and bounce, its not worth checking out there critters it will only disappoint you guaranteed!!!!!!!!

I am disappointed rn with the Black Friday I got a fire leg juvi for 50 and I posted in the ventral sexing and someone said most definitely male. What a disappointment lmao

 

[Zoopy]

The petshop I bought my A Geniculata from was a disgrace. There was a thin layer of substrate, a plastic skull and a potted plant in there. Nowhere for it to even burrow a bit. Problem is that the presentation looked good and I bought from them based on that, thinking that they would know what they were talking about, especially as they had a dedicated "tarantula guy" who helped me. And I'm guessing a ot of people get fooled like that.

I still use them for feeder insects, but it's the last time in my life that I'll buy a T from a petshop. Or any animal, for that matter. I was at an exotic pet expo today and turns out I also massively overpaid for my A Geniculata at 50€. The whole exercise cost me about 250€ in a bunch of junk I didn't need: oversized enclosure for a juvie, heat lamp with an arm and fixture, water gel (god knows how their Ts are alive with that junk), etc. Dude even tried to sell me some really expensive misting system, but that was way out of budget, thank god.

But oh well, you live and you learn.

 

[TribbleWhisperer]

@tarantulas118 Are you on Twitter? Companies will often respond to a complaint on there, more so than IRL...

+1 Twitter shaming WORKS for Petco. I've done it once for the tarantulas (they're pretty good where I'm at with Ts) and 3 times for their ferrets. Each time the employees told me they have to do what their "plan-o-gram" says and refuses to switch it. I tell myself they'd do better if allowed and stay civil, they're young and their boss probably sucks.

When they leave I take pics of whats wrong and blow Petco up on Twitter. They always respond same day asking for a DM of the store info and fix it. Twice they even followed up days later to ask if I'd seen the changes. I'm a legit nobody on Twitter so anyone reading this don't let 10 followers hold you back

 

[HooahArmy]

With any kind of mass-market chain for any store, $$$ comes first and everyone, including the customer, comes last.

Petco Nightmare 1: Went to pick up emergency crickets at the store. Employee took 15 minutes to bring me a bag of all-dead crickets. 'Why are they dead?' I ask. The employee looked at me stunned. "Oh, you want them alive, ma'am?" Took another 10 minutes to get them live.

Petco Nightmare 2: Bought a rare-find gold-colored pet mouse there around 2010 among a bunch of feeders. Mouse was ill and Petco had a policy (possibly still around) that they would help a new purchase if it fell ill within a few days after purchase. I returned them the mouse for them to help her, and 7 days later when I came to pick her up, I learned that she had been 'accidentally' sold. My homegirl was probably eaten by a snake somewhere.

Petco Nightmare 3: Brought a young cousin of mine to go look at fish. Poor 6 year-old was treated instead to the sight of an overcrowded Budgie enclosure, with a bunch of birds violently pecking a severely wounded smaller bird to death. My cousin screamed and cried for no less than 10 minutes while I ran around looking for understaffed store help.

Petco Nightmare 4: Dad went to seek a pet mouse. Saw enclosure of numerous ill mice, all covered in diarrhea. Same scene next month, and the next.

The list goes on for each of you who also saw horrors at pet chains. Not too long ago, there was also a post on this board from someone bringing a PETA article regarding what responsible T owners are doing to 'inhumanely' keep spiders. Animal rights activist groups need to reconsider their priorities...

 

[tarantulas118]

The Petco by my house is selling a green bottle blue for 149.99$ and a few others that are in improper enclosures. I just grab dog food/treats and bounce, its not worth checking out there critters it will only disappoint you guaranteed!!!!!!!!

SAME mines got a gbb for 150, mexican fireleg for 100, and curly hair for 50, everything is too overprice!!!! I only go for feeders

 

[Dementeddoll]

With any kind of mass-market chain for any store, $$$ comes first and everyone, including the customer, comes last.

Petco Nightmare 1: Went to pick up emergency crickets at the store. Employee took 15 minutes to bring me a bag of all-dead crickets. 'Why are they dead?' I ask. The employee looked at me stunned. "Oh, you want them alive, ma'am?" Took another 10 minutes to get them live.

Petco Nightmare 2: Bought a rare-find gold-colored pet mouse there around 2010 among a bunch of feeders. Mouse was ill and Petco had a policy (possibly still around) that they would help a new purchase if it fell ill within a few days after purchase. I returned them the mouse for them to help her, and 7 days later when I came to pick her up, I learned that she had been 'accidentally' sold. My homegirl was probably eaten by a snake somewhere.

Petco Nightmare 3: Brought a young cousin of mine to go look at fish. Poor 6 year-old was treated instead to the sight of an overcrowded Budgie enclosure, with a bunch of birds violently pecking a severely wounded smaller bird to death. My cousin screamed and cried for no less than 10 minutes while I ran around looking for understaffed store help.

Petco Nightmare 4: Dad went to seek a pet mouse. Saw enclosure of numerous ill mice, all covered in diarrhea. Same scene next month, and the next.

The list goes on for each of you who also saw horrors at pet chains. Not too long ago, there was also a post on this board from someone bringing a PETA article regarding what responsible T owners are doing to 'inhumanely' keep spiders. Animal rights activist groups need to reconsider their priorities...

Oh that gold mouse you’re talking about didn’t get sold. If you know petco tosses animals in the dumpsters still alive when they’re ill. They won’t waste their money trying to save an animal let alone a mouse.