Referenced from Snakecommunity on Livejournal.com

CyberFae · #1 (**permalink**) 24-08-2006, 10:15 PM

Old news, but still. . . .

x-posted to herpers. This isn't about snakes specifically but I'm trying to raise awareness about stores with bad business practices (in this case, PetSmart), and therefore hope that the mod won't mind me posting this here. If she does, I'll happily delete.

I realise this is old news for a lot of people but I wanted to share with fellow herpers a recent bad experience with PetSmart, and why I won't be buying anything from them or associated with them ever again.

My fiance, mokele, and I stopped by over a week ago to get some crickets for his carnivorous plants. Whilst there we had a good browse and saw some major problems with the reptile display. Most notably, the legless lizards had an enclosure temp that was too high, a very skinny leopard gecko needed to be seperated from its bigger cagemates to recover, and the blizzard gecko morphs were being eaten by crickets. We told the guy in charge of the reptiles and he put lettuce in, at my insistance, so the crickets would eat that instead of the geckos. He also promised to talk to his manager about lowering the temps and getting the skinny gecko to the vet and his own cage but was very clear that if he made the changes himself, he'd be severely reprimanded. The guy was so nice and so willing to learn that we genuinely believed changes would be made.

Stupid us.

Tuesday we were back from the big Florida reptile expo and shopping for supplies for our latest herps, so we went to the same PetSmart. First thing I saw: a dead leopard gecko. The same one we'd warned them about previously. But, actually, it was still alive. Barely. Breathing once a minute, bones everywhere, wrinkled skin from dehydration, and no movement. I told mokele that I wanted to try to pull it around, whereas he wanted to take it to the lab and humanely euthanise it. We decided to talk to the guy in charge about taking the gecko away for emergency treatment.

The PetSmart employee refused to give us the gecko because we made it clear we wouldn't pay. Instead he said he'd "try" to get it to a vet. We said this wasn't good enough and it needed treatment now. It wouldn't survive the night without emergency care and after mokele loudly called the guy (who was walking away) a jackass, he returned and scooped up the gecko, supposedly to take him to the vet (though we only saw him retreat into a backroom before walking off).

Although he was a typical PetSmart sycophant, smiling and thankful for our caring attitude, he made it clear during the whole exchange that he suspected I just wanted a free gecko. As if ANYONE would want a gecko that was so close to death for anything other than to end its misery or nurse it back to health!

We walked out feeling very angry and without any of our supplies. I intend to write a letter to head office (despite how little good it will do), and mokele is ringing back in a few days to ask for the gecko's skeleton.

At the risk of sounding preachy, I urge you not to support PetSmart in any way (buying supplies, animals, or food) until every store, nationwide, improves living conditions for their reptiles. The mammals and birds were all in great cages and great shape, but the reptiles are consistantly in poor condition. Although we know that some PetSmarts are ok, the corporation as a whole has made it abundantly clear over time that reptile care should be as cheap as possible. The life of reptiles should not be decided by which PetSmart they end up in, but rather a blanket corporate policy, applying to all stores and employees, should be enacted that is humane and at least as fair as the way they treat the mammals and birds in their care.

And, frankly, if an experienced herper walks in off the street and offers to fix your goddamn mistakes, free of charge and at expense to themselves, you don't treat them like a fucking potential thief because you lose out on the twenty bucks you think you can sell an almost dead gecko for. Jackasses.

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/sna...ty/830617.html

purejurrasic · #2 (**permalink**) 24-08-2006, 11:53 PM

Well said. couldnt agree more.

Most pet stores, big and small seem to take a dislike to anyone offering advice, almost as if 'how dare you try to tell me how to.....'

Maybe they think we are trying to cause trouble, but if they took the advice, they wouldnt have to worry !!

Tony

NNY · #3 (**permalink**) 25-08-2006, 12:28 AM

I think its pet smart over here or something like that which got their license for selling reptiles taken away due to their neglect to them.. thats one step over here.. lets hope it follows over there.

SilverSteno · #4 (**permalink**) 25-08-2006, 12:55 AM

PetSmart UK shut down completely I think years ago. It wasn't just reps they were problematic with, it was all of their animals.

scarlettvegetable · #5 (**permalink**) 25-08-2006, 01:02 AM

Yeah....now Pets At Home have taken their place.....

SilverSteno · #6 (**permalink**) 25-08-2006, 02:38 PM

But Pets at Home don't sell reptiles ot anything to do with reptiles, so no problem with reps there...

Though they do sell stuff for horses

(not actual horses though)

scarlettvegetable · #7 (**permalink**) 25-08-2006, 06:14 PM

I know they dont sell reptiles, but I dont like the way they look after the animals they do sell.

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