Fed up with it and a possible solution!!

[howieherp]

Hey guys,

This is a bit of a rant to be honest so please forgive me.

I am fed up of hearing disgusting stories of people buying an exotic..mainly as an impulse and not realising that they cannot even meet the very basic requirment for that selected species of snake/lizard/8 legged freak ect ( I cannot stand spiders errrrrr )

Thus resulting in a neglected exotic through no fault of its own, poor health and possible and sometimes inevitable death of the poor thing.

My suggestion and a way of reducing this:

TESTS!!!!!!!!

I think it is about time that it was made compulsary for any reptile shop to make a prospective buyer take a test about there selected exotic before they are able to make the purchase.

The result : Only really enthusiastic exotic keepers will spend there time to research their new species of exotic so that they know how to meet even the very basic requirements needed.

It will dramatically reduce the damage and bad name some people give us real hobbyists and will save so many innocent exotic lives!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for listening to my rant...oooo and I will make it a poll.

Please select your answer and give a reason.

[Johelian]

Ive been to a couple of shops that do do this (but only a couple out of the many shops I have visited, which isnt really a good ratio) and I think its a good idea. Generally the format is a bit more informal than a "test" - really just a chat with the prospective owner to see what they know about the animals husbandry etc. I personally have a lot more respect for shops that do this.

[howieherp]

Originally Posted by Johelian

Ive been to a couple of shops that do do this (but only a couple out of the many shops I have visited, which isnt really a good ratio) and I think its a good idea. Generally the format is a bit more informal than a "test" - really just a chat with the prospective owner to see what they know about the animals husbandry etc. I personally have a lot more respect for shops that do this.

Totally agree with you!!

A shop is deffinetly going to earn more respect by doing this..but i think some shops might see it as possibly reducing there customer base...i dont think this would be the case.

[serz]

I think you should need to be vetted and have a licence before you are allowed to own any animals regardless what it is as there are too many bad keepers out there and like you say people buying these things on a whim.

[Marinam2]

I think it would actually be more beneficial to make sure that staff and sho owners are aware of what they are doing.

If i were standing in a shop trying to sell a species i was well aware about and someone came in and started jibbering on about stuff and it became clear that thy knew nothing i would be in a better position to advise and suggest a "setting up" period.

Rather than just assuming people know what they are doing and handing over said species.

Marina

[Meko]

Originally Posted by serz

I think you should need to be vetted and have a licence before you are allowed to own any animals regardless what it is as there are too many bad keepers out there and like you say people buying these things on a whim.

thats impossible to do though. Breeders will have a nightmare selling anything as people would have to show their license before buying and people won't want to get a license. If we did need a license and i didn't have my dogs i'd just sell everything rather than apply for one for the snakes, fish and frogs. The dogs are family so they're going nowhere.
Also would be impossible to police as people buy puppies off friends etc.

[Trice]

Originally Posted by Marinam2

I think it would actually be more beneficial to make sure that staff and sho owners are aware of what they are doing.

If i were standing in a shop trying to sell a species i was well aware about and someone came in and started jibbering on about stuff and it became clear that thy knew nothing i would be in a better position to advise and suggest a "setting up" period.

Rather than just assuming people know what they are doing and handing over said species.

Marina

I agree with you there, If i worked in a shop and didnt have a clue about the things i was selling, i'd be pretty embarassed too

[amber_gekko]

What would happen in the private reptile trade eg. breeders shows (doncaster etc...) and the classifieds???

If people couldn't get what they wanted from a shop because of tests they could go to a show and pick it up you dont even have to be a member to get in to doncaster and the people there cant be expected to test every person.

Testing in shops or liscencing might just drive the problem underground

[Meko]

is it always possible to know about a species you're selling?

you order in 5 beardies and the supplier cocks up and sells you 5 uro's.
It isn't cost effective or feasible to send them back so do you:
a - send them back anyway
b - educate everybody on them to advanced level so they can give out care advice
c - get them to read up as best they can on them so they've a basic idea of what they need.
d - Wing it as there's only 5 and by the time people are up to speed on everything they'll probably be gone.

Yeah if you're working in a plumbing shop and somebody comes in to buy a regular stock item (boiler) then you'd expect the staff to know about it and if its the right one for the job. But if its an animal thats only going to be in short term you can't force your staff to study it.


I've said it before, possibly on a different thread, the best way to go about it is for shops to have an internet machine where you can show people care sheets and what it needs and all the information they need to know.

there's far too many possible 'stock items' that go in and out of a shop for low paid staff to know everything about them.

[Athravan]

Like Amber Gekko says - what's the point in having shops be stricter about selling when shows aren't anyway?

The last show I went to, required no membership to get in. I purchased over 20 animals. 2 came with caresheets. None of them came with any questions asked regarding whether I had a setup or even knew what I was buying.

Then you've got the classifieds - we have 150 people browsing the classified adverts on these forums at night. There are many other very big classified sites in the UK with thousands of adverts for "second hand" reptiles.

If you make it more difficult for people to buy from shops will it solve the problem? Or will it just lose the shops money and people will buy elsewhere?