Would you get people to boycott your local reptile shop for this?????

dave28 · #1 (**permalink**) 31-01-2009, 08:45 PM

Hi there firstly i would like to start by saying if you goto a reptile shop and you see a reptile you really like or a snake tortoise, spider etc. Regardless of it being down the cheaper end of scale or up the most expensive side of scale. You buy that specific reptile and you take it home, and decide to play safe after letting it settle for a week or 2 and take it to your vet for a check up to make sure all is well and ok.

Then the vet sais your lizards, or spider, snake, are not well eg like we were told me and the ex back then beginning of last year your lizards have hook worms and have done for some time.

You sit back and take it in maybe in bit of shock and especially after you spent more than 500 to get that lizard in the 1st place.

You end up paying more on top in vet bills to get them treated and luckyily you took them there, wise they will have died, so a lizard or what ever that should of cost 500 say and a vet bill over 100 now puts that up to 600plus.

Do you sit back and think oh well never mind, or like i did go into the reptile shop and have a go at the owners for selling an ill lizard(s)?

Who in turn deny any wrong doing and get on there high horse getting very defensive and saying they didnt have that when they were here, when you've clearly been told by the best vet in the area, they've had hook worms or maybe other things wrong with them for weeks, possible they came in shop with them already, but as vet said more likely caught them in shop due to poor standards and lack of cleaniness in the viv and staff not doing there job properly.

Then ever since then the owners get funny with you and offish, even if 1of us my ex use to run the reptile section few years bk now whom the ownres have known since she was an ickle gal. Yet they wont admitt responsibility or apologise.

I thought we had a right to speak and complain if your not happy with something????

Then near on a year later hardly been in the shop since but went there today to get some food, and the owners nowhere to be seen but you get a message relayed to you from them by a member of staff, you and your ex as she is now are not welcome in the shop the owners dont want you in here. You by all means can come in if you choose to at your own free will, but the reception from the husband and wife owners will not be very friendly and you will be asked to leave.

all down to you the customer speaking your rights and telling them how it is and complaining about the poor service and your lizard being ill. tell you what this is crazy!!!!! all because there in the wrong but still cant admitt that to this day so easiest option they ban you instead to run away from it and cover there back.

All down to speaking your rights and not happy with the service you recieved and the condition you recieved your animal/reptile in and had an illness. And the owners staff will not put hands up or offer any apology in any shape or form.

What would of happened if the lizard had died? Are you covered by a garuntee, would you get a refund or replacement? Highly unlikely. More and likely pin the blame on you the buyer or customer left our shop what happens from there doesnt concern us! Think reptile shop owners need to change there attitude abit and laws should be tightened on there lisence.

So this is to all of you, if your in the portsmouth area or use the biggest reptile well known shop in the area situated on the outskirts without naming it, you boycott it and go elsewhere and take your custom.

Dunno if anyone else here has had problems from there but i know my mate has, lost 1 that died vet couldnt save this specific lizard and also got a 2nd from there to replace it and that also ended up at the vets whom knows the owners personally and wasnt best pleased but he managed to save this lizard just but cost my mate an arm and a leg in vet bills!

ALL BECAUSE YOU SPOKE YOUR RIGHTS AND RIGHTS TO COMPLAIN ABOUT POOR BELOW STANDARD OF SERVICE DUE TO ANIMAL BEING ILL WHEN YOU PURCHASED IT AND SHOP NOT HOLDING THEMSELVES RESPONSIBLE, IF THEY HAD DIED THEN WHAT???? 600 PLUS POUND DOWN THE DRAIN DON'T THINK YOU WOULD BE HAPPY EITHER. LUCKILY THEY SURVIVED. THREAD TO WHERE LATEST PICS ARE UPDATED TODAY IS WRITTEN IN MY SIGNATURE BOX.

TOO LATE TIME TO DESTOY THEM CAUSE THEM TO GO BUST IF NOT GET SHUT DOWN ALTOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE WORD IS OUT

I ASK YOU ALL TO TAKE YOUR CUSTOM ELSEWHERE THE SHOP IN QUESTION (IS NOT FAR FROM COSHAM!!)

Lynne · #2 (**permalink**) 31-01-2009, 09:24 PM

i tend to buy my reps from the two scources that i trust implicitly. the one time the shop made a mistake sexing a snake, the mistake was rectified to both our satisfaction. i would indeed go and have a word with anyone selling me a rep with anything wrong with it. and try to come to an amicable agreement about the treatment. and if there was a shop around here selling animals with worms etc, i would want to know about it, and i would have my vet check them BEFORE i paid, although obviously you didnt have this choice.
i would not go back into the shop through choice anyway if this happened, not even to buy food.
i have to say the place i buy most of my snakes is not around here.

vetdebbie · #3 (**permalink**) 31-01-2009, 10:03 PM

If you've had a period of weeks between buying and diagnosis, there is no way of proving a link to the shop. Presumably if you waited a while to take them to the vet, they looked healthy initially. So sadly, regardless of the likeliness of the source, you don't really have a leg to stand on. Your vet has no idea where the infectation has come from, and can't state anything definatively to that effect. Sorry, morally you may be right, but you have no proof, and therefore the shop can be upset with you.

bronzeyis200 · #4 (**permalink**) 01-02-2009, 03:04 PM

It seems to me the vet told you that the things that were wrong with it were definitely over a longer period of time than your ownership but you then paid out and got it all sorted before going back to shop.
Personally, I would have got the vet to write me a report of what was wrong, the estimated period of time the illness/problem has been there, and an estimated cost for curing, and took that along with the animal back to the shop.
Explained what has gone on, shown them the report and request (the trick is never demand, only gets peoples back up) that they pay for the animal to be treated as you are more than pleased with the purchase other than it coming to you complete with problems.(also make sure that you dont say it caught the probs there, just that it was purchased with them).

The ball is then in their court....... a decent shop will read the report and either offer to pay the treatment/refund you and take animal back or offer to take the animal to their own vet to be treated.
Most will do the last option I would imagine as it would be the cheaper option for them.

If after doing the above they were then less than helpful, then yes I would stop going there and tell others to do the same!!

Athravan · #5 (**permalink**) 01-02-2009, 03:10 PM

Do you know how many people try to pull the wool over the eyes of reptile shops every week?

I've had people lie and say an animal was dead and it wasn't, I've had people bring me the body back of a totally different animal claiming it was the one that they bought when I can see it's definitely not, asking for a refund, I've had people swap the price tags on lighting kits etc. and bring back an old bulb and say it doesn't work, I only bought it yesterday. I've had people lie about what setups they have, saying they have the perfect setup when they don't have any of the necessary things, and then blaming me when things go wrong.

It's impossible for a shop after a period of weeks if they don't have actually evidence to say who's at fault. It's not possible for a vet to say who's at fault either, and it's entirely possible that if the animal came into the shop with an internal parasite that the shop genuinely had no clue.

You sound frustrated and upset and to be honest I probably would be if I were you too.

But just think about the amount of times shops get scammed by customers and you will understand why they get a bit shirky sometimes.

Herp breeder · #6 (**permalink**) 01-02-2009, 03:15 PM

mate u were right in wat ya did cause they are actually breaking the law by selling ill animals especially if they knew it was ill

georgieabc123 · #7 (**permalink**) 01-02-2009, 03:19 PM

i had this with my dog ibrought her from a shop found out she had mites flea kennel cough so i got them to pay for the vets bill

Lynne · #8 (**permalink**) 01-02-2009, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgieabc123

i had this with my dog ibrought her from a shop found out she had mites flea kennel cough so i got them to pay for the vets bill

i think any good shop would do this. to be honest i wouldnt hand back an ill animal into the same conditions that caused its illness. i know of a few rep shops who actually have vet visits every week or two. where the vet goes to the shop.

bronzeyis200 · #9 (**permalink**) 01-02-2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lynne

i think any good shop would do this. to be honest i wouldnt hand back an ill animal into the same conditions that caused its illness. i know of a few rep shops who actually have vet visits every week or two. where the vet goes to the shop.

The thing is, there is no proof the "illness" was contracted in the shop, and if you go into any shop finger pointing with no proof, you will get nowhere except a banning order from the owners.
In the words of the john smiths advert....

"YA BARRED!!!"

Saedcantas · #10 (**permalink**) 01-02-2009, 05:12 PM

I'd like to bet money on the vast majority of uk reptile shops being rammed with animals CB and otherwise all carrying all kinds of parasites that the vendors are blissfully unaware of.

You got scorched by an aspect of animal keeping that you hadn't anticipated. The fact is it's ridiculously common.

More often than not, good shops and bad shops will receive animals with parasites and problems, the questions you have to ask yourself are;

-How many shops do you think are aware of bio-security for incoming animals?

-How much does a faecal sample cost?

-How many shops do you think pay for incoming groups of animals to be faecalled?

-Therefore how many shops do you think even have a clue what is floating around in their stock?

The only difference then between good shops and bad shops is how they deal with it once they discover a problem.

The afore mentioned shop isn't what I'd call bad.
They had no opportunity to do anything about the problem as it seems it was all done and dusted before you went back and gave them an earfull...

Sorry you've had a bad experience, every animal I've ever bought has come with problems, you expect it and do exactly as you did, go to te vets for a checkup and a faecal

Lotte***

View Poll Results: would you boycott your reptile shop and tell others to do the same?
yes i would wouldnt need to think twice	13	92.86%
you would be angry but would not speak up or complain to the owners of shop	1	7.14%
i would just sweep it under carpet	0	0%
continue to give them your custom and cash	0	0%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 14. You may not vote on this poll

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