Angry at Petco

[Seere121]

Just ranting here to relieve stress, so please pardon me.
(oh and some might find this a bit unsettling, I know I did)
Today I stopped by petco cause I like looking at the cute little snakes and what I saw horrified and angered me to the point of yelling at the staff. The little ball pythons were fine, and they had the cutest little stripped corn snake I've ever seen, but when I saw the "regular" corn snakes it infuriated me. The 3 little babies, they couldn't have been a month out of the egg, were so emaciated that they had skin folds almost a quarter their body width and they were covered in mites, just crawling all over the poor little guys. When two of them started thrashing to prevent more mites from biting in I just screamed at the nearest employee about how they needed help and a demiting then stormed out.

Thanks for anyone reading this for putting up with my ranting, I just needed to get this out of my system and yelling at a petco employee more than I did wouldn't have helped anything.

[Calift]

I completely understand how you fee! I would be infuriated if I saw corns in that state.


I was at Petco yesterday and a boy walked in with a young snake on his wrist. He tried to tell me it was a "Ruby Python", very rare, and would not at all believe it was a normal (somewhat dull colored) corn snake......:rolleyes:

[gregmonsta]

PETCO are downright awful. File an official complaint about the store on their website and also to the local branch manager.

[drache]

I wonder whether they ever consider that hiring people who know what they're doing and giving them some incentive to stick around could save them money in the long run
nah - it's just too novel an idea

[Stefan-A]

I wonder whether they ever consider that hiring people who know what they're doing and giving them some incentive to stick around could save them money in the long run
nah - it's just too novel an idea
Hopefully somebody can "sell" that idea. However, I doubt that they would save any money, unless the alternative would be to lose a couple of snakes (in the price class of normal coloured corn snakes) per employee per day.

[drache]

Hopefully somebody can "sell" that idea. However, I doubt that they would save any money, unless the alternative would be to lose a couple of snakes (in the price class of normal coloured corn snakes) per employee per day.
well - I think they're losing us at the first opportunity; we just need to keep letting them know
I don't know what gives them the idea that the average pet owner doesn't care how they treat their animals - I guess it must be the average pet owner
yet another vicious cycle

[ssssnakeluvr]

contact your local animal control agency also....file a cruelty complaint, they can send someone to help straighten them out....

[guidofatherof5]

contact your local animal control agency also....file a cruelty complaint, they can send someone to help straighten them out....


Great suggestion, Don. I agree wholeheartedly.

[ssssnakeluvr]

Great suggestion, Don. I agree wholeheartedly.
of course.....since I'm an officer..that suggestion came to mind....get a few calls every now and then like that myself!! :D

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

One of my good friends has become a regular thorn in Petco's side; apparently their corporate headquarters know her by first name. It's amazing what going to the city newspaper can accomplish! Corporate probably couldn't care less about individual personal complaints, but when it hits the local mainstream (like a negative article in the paper), well lookie lookie... we haven't seen corns being fed crickets in quite some time now!

[mustang]

i bet u could do a hell of a lot good if u call and complain to them...my friends and i did that to pepsi and we got a a 5 dollar discount caus the whole vendingf machine expired...too a few tries but we did when joy played as mats mom and yelled at the lady and matt gave her the right adress ....the other times had errors like
1)me laughing caus friend was faking a gag reflex
2)the snoody lady hung up on us when we gave her the code on the bottle and she figured out it really was expired
3) i know there is one more failed attempt but i forgot about it

[GarterGeek]

Petsmart is just as bad as Petco. Petsmart sold me an Appalachicola Kingsnake as a "Regular Banded Kingsnake". I guess I sort of lucked out. :o:)

Where do these stores buy their animals from, and why are they so often mislabeled? I have a hard time imagining that happening if they were buying from breeders...

[gregmonsta]

Back when Petsmart carried reptiles over here I used to go and drool over their garter tank when I was younger ... looking back it was truely terrible ... 20+ garters stuck in one display tank ... majority parietalis and ... one young vagrans from what I can remember .... a WC parasite breeding ground! (and vagrans buffet to boot).

[mustang]

if i work there ill fix up my location good....but first if im gonna $hit on em i gotta be high up(old moral story) in other words if im gonna yell i better be in upper managment

[emceefisherprice]

I could not agree more. I bought a Columbian Boa from the Petco in Norwalk Connecticut. I checked him over thoroughly before I took him home but as soon as I got him into his new enclosure - mites everywhere. They must have smelled fear @ Petco and then come out when we got home. It was such a horrible infestation the poor snake caught a nasty bite inside his mouth. It caused such a horrible inflammation that the snake suffocated to death with his jaw completely deformed. It broke my heart. I literally wrapped him in a warm blanket while he was gasping for air, pulled out at least 3 grams of solid puss from his wind pipe and before I could clean the top of his mouth, he died in my hands. Needless to say I was FURIOUS. Columbian Boas are too beautiful and delicate to be subjected to that kind of torture.

So I went back to Petco, explained the situation, and looked at the same tank. I noticed now there were 4 fresh Columbian Boa hatchlings all covered in mites, emaciated much like you described with big skin folds all over each younging. I called for the staff and was greeted by "Mike" the g.e.d.-level pseudoherpotologist. I explained to him that he was killing the snaked but not he, the asst manager or the store manager seemed to give 2 shits. I hate to FIGHT to get my money back with a now-frozen deceased Col. Boa in my hands and a mouth that looked like it was run over by a tire. The ******* goes "did you step on him?"

That is the last time I will EVER deal with that place. How can a corporately owned place with supposedly reputable breeders/dealers allow such unsanitary conditions at their store?

I currently have a ball python who's just shy of 8 months old and i noticed he's got some mites now. I keep a VERY clean cage for him so somehow one must have jumped off my arm and into his cage when I was dealing with the dying Hispanic. Here we go again.

The plus side - pythons, especially ball pythons, are pretty hearty and can handle the repetitive beta-dine baths but i can't seem to get him completely clean. i'm going to keep bathing him until i see no mini-mites on my hands, THEN and only then can he go into his new 55gal tank.

seeing any animal suffering - especially reptiles - brings such pain to me.. i wish there was a demiting vaccine for them.

Any tricks anyone? I've heard a bath of beta-dine, mineral oil, and water will drown the mites.. and it did drown the big guys.. guy the micro-mites seemed to come out from under the scales. how many baths until my boy is clean? it sucks squishing them and seeing Montel's blood on my finger (thats the python's name, Montel W. Python, W for Williams.

emcee fisher price

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I could not agree more. I bought a Columbian Boa from the Petco in Norwalk Connecticut. I checked him over thoroughly before I took him home but as soon as I got him into his new enclosure - mites everywhere. They must have smelled fear @ Petco and then come out when we got home. It was such a horrible infestation the poor snake caught a nasty bite inside his mouth. It caused such a horrible inflammation that the snake suffocated to death with his jaw completely deformed. It broke my heart. I literally wrapped him in a warm blanket while he was gasping for air, pulled out at least 3 grams of solid puss from his wind pipe and before I could clean the top of his mouth, he died in my hands. Needless to say I was FURIOUS. Columbian Boas are too beautiful and delicate to be subjected to that kind of torture.

So I went back to Petco, explained the situation, and looked at the same tank. I noticed now there were 4 fresh Columbian Boa hatchlings all covered in mites, emaciated much like you described with big skin folds all over each younging. I called for the staff and was greeted by "Mike" the g.e.d.-level pseudoherpotologist. I explained to him that he was killing the snaked but not he, the asst manager or the store manager seemed to give 2 shits. I hate to FIGHT to get my money back with a now-frozen deceased Col. Boa in my hands and a mouth that looked like it was run over by a tire. The ******* goes "did you step on him?"

That is the last time I will EVER deal with that place. How can a corporately owned place with supposedly reputable breeders/dealers allow such unsanitary conditions at their store?

I currently have a ball python who's just shy of 8 months old and i noticed he's got some mites now. I keep a VERY clean cage for him so somehow one must have jumped off my arm and into his cage when I was dealing with the dying Hispanic. Here we go again.

The plus side - pythons, especially ball pythons, are pretty hearty and can handle the repetitive beta-dine baths but i can't seem to get him completely clean. i'm going to keep bathing him until i see no mini-mites on my hands, THEN and only then can he go into his new 55gal tank.

seeing any animal suffering - especially reptiles - brings such pain to me.. i wish there was a demiting vaccine for them.

Any tricks anyone? I've heard a bath of beta-dine, mineral oil, and water will drown the mites.. and it did drown the big guys.. guy the micro-mites seemed to come out from under the scales. how many baths until my boy is clean? it sucks squishing them and seeing Montel's blood on my finger (thats the python's name, Montel W. Python, W for Williams.

emcee fisher price
order yourself a can of provent-a-mite. I had a mite infestation once about 2 years ago. That stuff works wonders. You simply treat the substrate of the snake's tank as per the instructions, and the mites will be all dead within a few days. I now use provent-a-mite as a preventative, because mites can hitchhike under the scales of new acquisitions without either party knowing they are there!

[mustang]

stupid petco outsmarted me i gotta be 18 to work there! and i probably know more than half them idiots! i go to 2 locations one of the is ok the animals dont look sick or anything (this manager cares) but the other is horrable !!!! they misslabled a ribbon snake as a garter(i believe it was a ribbon ) 5 or 6 of those in a cage! and i saw that one of the bearded dragons was having a hard time shedding beceause of all the cr@p on his skin! i compllained to someone and she said ....o im not the animal caretaker here ....Q number two ..do u even clean the cages?
o occasionay we rinse em out
o boy was i mad if not for my mother being there i would have ASKED to see the animal caretaker!

[mustang]

One of my good friends has become a regular thorn in Petco's side; apparently their corporate headquarters know her by first name. It's amazing what going to the city newspaper can accomplish! Corporate probably couldn't care less about individual personal complaints, but when it hits the local mainstream (like a negative article in the paper), well lookie lookie... we haven't seen corns being fed crickets in quite some time now!
wow i havent even thought of that ...i rarely even read the paper tho beceause of a few bias opinions and an article about poaching that turned into a anti-hunting kill the nra kinda article....stupid idiot...maybe she runs petco!...

[ConcinusMan]

contact your local animal control agency also....file a cruelty complaint, they can send someone to help straighten them out....

I did that. Twice in a year. (Private reptile shop). They will ask you to put your concerns in writing, and they will ask you if you talked to the owner first. Nothing seemed to change after complaining except that they quit leaving dead animals in the enclosures for months at a time. I think animal control has trouble recognizing cruelty when it comes to reptiles and/or they have higher priorities. I think you'd have better luck talking to someone higher up in the company.(petco) Putting it in writing is the most affective way. Might want to point out that the mite problem will spread to other animals if it hasn't already, and will persist in the enclosures if not properly dealt with.

Much of this has to do with their reptile sources rather than fault of the keeping. What I mean is, animals are usually there a short time. If there are health issues, it's usually because they got the animals that way. The store is intended to be a temporary place until the animals are sold. You purchase mite-infested snakes, then that's what you get. Not only that, it spreads to healthy, clean animals. I agree that what you saw is cruel. The snakes are in immediate danger and suffering, and likely can be saved. To do nothing amounts to cruelty.

In petco stores around my area, the facilities are immaculate, clean, and conditions appropriate for the individual species, and the animals are in excellent condition. You can't always judge a pet store based on staff knowledge of the animals, or the condition of the animals. The SOURCE of those reptiles is as much, if not more important than proper husbandry while they are in the store.

Blabbering about it to staff and storming out is useless. It's best to set aside emotions and ask to see a manager. Calmly and effectively explain your concerns and offer suggestions. Explain that your concern is mainly for the suffering the snakes are enduring, and they wouldn't let a puppy suffer from fleas. Explain that a call to animal cruelty authorities is best left as a last resort. A manager doesn't have to be knowledgeable about the snakes, but it's their job to address customer concerns.

EDIT: was it the bremerton store on wheaton way?

[ssssnakeluvr]

I think animal control has trouble recognizing cruelty when it comes to reptiles and/or they have higher priorities.


you may have found an officer that doesn't know any better, but not all animal control officers know a lot about reptiles. best to talk with animal control and see if they have anyone that knows about reptile care.... some of us animal control officers DO know about care and do enforce cruelty laws on stores. :D

I am one of them that does know...and will enforce cruelty laws on any animals that are treated improperly....but, a BIG part of our job is education....a lot of these people have no clue about caring for critters....

[mustang]

you may have found an officer that doesn't know any better, but not all animal control officers know a lot about reptiles. best to talk with animal control and see if they have anyone that knows about reptile care.... some of us animal control officers DO know about care and do enforce cruelty laws on stores. :D

I am one of them that does know...and will enforce cruelty laws on any animals that are treated improperly....but, a BIG part of our job is education....a lot of these people have no clue about caring for critters....
and yet theryre selling them...i showed a lady (the manager at petco) a flathead snake i caught (my first snake it is a tantilla i believe thats the correct spelling) she said it was a garter snake...how the heck can u mix them up that BADLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! but when its just me in there i give the staff a good lecture sometimes(once) the other times i point out the mistake verbally and walk away...

[ConcinusMan]

a flathead garter snake? The only time I've seen one of those is when it was dead on the road! LoL.

[ssssnakeluvr]

and yet theryre selling them...i showed a lady (the manager at petco) a flathead snake i caught (my first snake it is a tantilla i believe thats the correct spelling) she said it was a garter snake...how the heck can u mix them up that BADLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! but when its just me in there i give the staff a good lecture sometimes(once) the other times i point out the mistake verbally and walk away...
well....I can't speak for areas I don't work in....most of the petcos here are decent....I still don't buy herps from them...can find better stuff on here!! and have yet to find any garters other than the occasional albino checkered here... lots of these stores hire kids out of high schoolwith no knowledge...
very hard to confuse a garter and a flathead snake....I found a couple of them in Kansas....one baby....very small!

[ConcinusMan]

My recent acquisition "Jewels" the 3 foot(+) Pueblan milk finally shed her skin last night and so I went to petco to purchase an adult live mouse which she enthusiastically devoured. It's been quite a while since I went there, and man, did they have some georgous snakes in there! Again, the enclosures were immaculate and clean, and the animals very healthy.

[mustang]

well....I can't speak for areas I don't work in....most of the petcos here are decent....I still don't buy herps from them...can find better stuff on here!! and have yet to find any garters other than the occasional albino checkered here... lots of these stores hire kids out of high schoolwith no knowledge...
very hard to confuse a garter and a flathead snake....I found a couple of them in Kansas....one baby....very small!
they dont get bigger than i think 8 in....oh they wont hire anone under 18 here...instead they hire more stupid older people. DOSNT APPLY TO ANY OF YOU!

[ssssnakeluvr]

[quote=mustang;121613]they dont get bigger than i think 8 in....quote]

I haven't seen one that big....caught a very young one....was not even 3 in long!

[ConcinusMan]

Seere121 (http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/../members/seere121.html)

OK, something seriously went wrong there^^^

Anyway, staying on topic, I was hoping that the above user (original poster) would reveal what local petco had the atrocity. More time that passes, the less likely that anything can be done. Snakes will removed/discarded I'm sure. I was hoping to bombard them with calls but hey, probably too late.

[Millinex]

Petco is an interesting store. I've encountered some who simply don't care about anything going on with the animals, the conditions, what they are selling. I have on the other hand found stores with employees who are very open and accepting to improvement, criticism, and improving the store. At one point they where telling me why they don't carry certain animals, such as iguanas, monitors and whatnot, because it isn't responsible practice and such.
Don't be so quick to hate on petco as a whole ;)

[ConcinusMan]

Well, the corporation is still ultimately responsible. It has their name on it. Seems like a pretty widespread problem, and there's definitely a lot of people complaining about it. It's been that way as far back as I can remember. All the stores in my area cleaned up their act years ago. I have only seen stores stop selling certain small animals(that were making profit) because laws changed. That line he gave you is probably a bunch of hooey. Petco still sells monitors here.(tegus) It's not responsible practice to sell gigantic spiders, or pythons (that can reach 30 feet) either but they didn't stop until laws changed.

But anyway, corporate is obviously not in the dark about the issue. There's numerous web page results on google about the issue, right along with their own site. But without specific, well-written complaints, they are in the dark as to where to focus the changes. If more people would do this instead of wasting their efforts on deaf, powerless people, it could make a difference:

Contact PETCO
If you would like to report problem you observe at a PETCO store, e-mail details, including PETCO store number, address, and the names of the employees you spoke with to:
Brian K. Devine CEO/CFO
Chief Executive Officer
PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.
9125 Rehco Road
San Diego, CA 92121
Toll-free Phone: (888) 583-6044 x3046
Fax: (858) 677-3033
E-mail: briand@petco.com

James M. Myers, Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer
PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.
9125 Rehco Road
San Diego, CA 92121
Phone: (858) 677-3005
E-mail: jamesm@petco.com

Other Corporate Contacts
PETCO Customer Satisfaction
Toll-free Phone: (888) 409-4567
Toll-free Fax: (800) 571-2952
E-mail: customersatisfaction@petco.com
(Note: This e-mail address returns an auto-response and messages may not be read.)

Arthur Lewis, Director of Livestock Management E-mail: arthurl@petco.com
Craig Parsons, Small Animals Buyer
E-mail: craigp@petco.com

Sally Stork, Vice President of Store Operations
E-mail: sallys@petco.com
Shawn Underwood, Communications Representative
Phone: (858) 909-4662
E-mail: shawnu@petco.com

Share Your Experiences & Observations
When submitting a complaint about a PETCO store, please include the store location (address helps), date and time you visited the store, names of employees you spoke with, the specific conditions you found objectionable, your full name, and any action taken, if any, by you or a store employee.

[mustang]

Petco is an interesting store. I've encountered some who simply don't care about anything going on with the animals, the conditions, what they are selling. I have on the other hand found stores with employees who are very open and accepting to improvement, criticism, and improving the store. At one point they where telling me why they don't carry certain animals, such as iguanas, monitors and whatnot, because it isn't responsible practice and such.
Don't be so quick to hate on petco as a whole ;)i agree for SOME its irresponsalbe but for others whom are knowledgable its compleatly ok

[ConcinusMan]

Hey, you know what I noticed the other day? The petco that I said is great, they even have a little computer thingy in the herp section, built into the display. Complete care records are kept by employee's on it. The record things like feedings, who ate, who didn't, water changes, substrate changes, the works. Gosh, and they just got a beautiful Thayer's kingsnake Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri in. 80 bucks. Gorgeous individual. I was so tempted.

[ConcinusMan]

oh, and guess what they are feeding their hatchling corns? one I found looks pretty emaciated, but the rest are healthy. It's just that they are so tiny. Instead of feeding them pinky parts, they are feeding them friggen crickets. But that's all I can find wrong there.