Indonesian Garters and Petco

[infernalis]

Sometimes it really seems that the money is more important than anything else.

They blew you off, in a polite way.

[And_Lyn]

yea, dont know if it helped at all going directly to the supplier but i gave it a shot

-Andrew

[infernalis]

If nothing else this group did start some ripples in the water....

[guidofatherof5]

Andrew & Lyndsey,

Thanks for taking the time to contact them and posting the result.
Glad you join the forum.

[guidofatherof5]

Sounds like a good idea.

[reptile3]

Lyndsey & Andrew, thank you for taking time to get ahold of the supplier. I think with everyone contacting them in some way, *Maybe* they will get the idea... we aren't going to stop.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Yep, it seems like a lot of work to make a mountain out of this particular molehill...

I've been to dedicated reptile stores that have mislabeled animals.

from a professional point of view, this is not a molehill, especially to a company who could have a lawsuit on their hands if this mildly venomous snake bites one of their customers and they react negatively to it. It hapened with the lyre snake, it's happened with other keelbacks, it can easily happen here. And if it's then found that it could have been prevented if things had been researched properly, things can really get out of control. The point that needs to get across to them, is that it's not okay for them to be selling them as one thing, when they are a totally different animal. These are NOT generic anyone-can-care-for-one cornsnakes and kingsnakes that are normally sold at pet stores. They sure as hell should not be available to the unknowing general public, especially not labeled as the innocent garter snakes that everyone remembers picking up out of their yard as a kid. Now that they have been informed, we will have to see if they do anything. Now, there is NO excuse for them to continue to be negligent about the types of snakes they sell. If I see a reptile mislabled at the local rep shop, I tell them, and usually they check it out and change the label. Animals need to be properly labeled. In my opinion, much like the way the law operates, there is no excuse for ignorance. Instead of taking their suppliers (obviously terrible) word for granted, stores need to step up to the plate and do their share of homework as well. It's much like how often I get customers who keep their turtle in a plastic container full of water and think that's acceptable. When I tell them different, and they try to pull the "well no one told me that" card, I simply say when you acquire an animal, whether it be a dog, turtle, or a fish, YOU become responsible for an its care and it is YOUR responsibility to make sure you are giving it the best possible care. That means you have to do a little homework... but if you get a dog, you would find out how to care for one prior, right? It should not be any different just because the animal is a goldfish or an anole instead of a puppy or kitty. I don't care if you won it at a carnival, it still isn't disposable, and you need to either read a book and start giving it the proper care it needs or find it a new home. I do not care if that will make your 3 year old cry. (sorry if I sound mean, but I put the health of the animals first because not enough people do) and neither are the keelbacked snakes being shoved off as garters, which clearly, to petco's supplier, are all the same.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Are you sure these guys are outlawed in AZ? I know true keelbacks are outlawed here in UT and probably many other states but in the proclamation it only states that members of the Rhabdophis family are prohibited. It says nothing of Xenochrophis, which has many common names like the Striped Keelback or the Indonesian Garter.


Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

-Thomas

that's very true. They are not a member of rhabdophis, which are referred to as true keelbacked snakes. Striped keelbacks need a real name of their own already!

[adamanteus]

Striped keelbacks need a real name of their own already!

They have one! Xenochrophis vittatus! Because.....


"That's just one of the problems with using 'common' names.. they don't mean a thing, and you certainly can't enforce 'naming rules'. Keelbacks (Xenochrophis) are commonly known as Indonesian Garter Snakes, there is an entire genus of dangerously venomous Elapids in South Africa (Elapsoidea), which are commonly known as Garter Snakes. Then there is the North American natricine genus (Thamnophis), commonly known as Garter Snakes.
Which is right, which is wrong?"

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

They have one! Xenochrophis vittatus! Because.....


"That's just one of the problems with using 'common' names.. they don't mean a thing, and you certainly can't enforce 'naming rules'. Keelbacks (Xenochrophis) are commonly known as Indonesian Garter Snakes, there is an entire genus of dangerously venomous Elapids in South Africa (Elapsoidea), which are commonly known as Garter Snakes. Then there is the North American natricine genus (Thamnophis), commonly known as Garter Snakes.
Which is right, which is wrong?"

honestly, what I should have said, was... they need a real common name of their own!

when speaking of my snakes, i generally refer to them by latin, and I would do it 24/7 except for the fact that I know not everyone on the forums, EPSECIALLY over at reptastic, is fluent in latin names. You should see me snap my fingers when I am talking to someone about my garters and am trying to spit out the common name, because the latin one just rolled off my tongue and that's the only one I really think about in my head!! Meanwhile, the other person is still trying to figure out what language I was just speaking! Often when I'm at work and I start spouting off the latin names of.... oh, just about anything and everything... from xenopeltis unicolor to betta splendens to ophiophagus hanna, I get called nerd, loser, bookworm... etc