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PetSmart
- Thread starter houtz335
- Start date
mike17l
Self-Admitted Duckoholic
What Bitsy said, if you "rescue" it, they will only get another to replace it. Perpetuating the problem.
chalese09
New member
I got my female from a Petsmart and originally they tried telling me she was a wierd kind of kingsnake but when I pointed out she was a corn they got really devensive. Then, they told me that she was a male and tried selling her to me for $95. When I told them I could easily get the same snake, if not better from a breeder for cheaper. They ended up selling her to me for $80 and told me not to bring her back if I had any problems. Luckily I havnt. Out of my two corns (the other I got from a breeder) she has the most personality.
I tell everyone I meet who is interested in corns that its worth going to a breeder even if it costs more. Petco and Petsmart, although cheeper and in most cases closer, are just looking for a sale and could care less about the health of the snake.
I tell everyone I meet who is interested in corns that its worth going to a breeder even if it costs more. Petco and Petsmart, although cheeper and in most cases closer, are just looking for a sale and could care less about the health of the snake.
I cant believe they tried those maneuvers to make a sell.That was totally upsale.
Criosphynx
Memento semper
A petco employee told a customer that the anery motley corn they had just got in was a boa constrictorx corn hybrid....because it had a"boa pattern"
:::facepalm:::
:::facepalm:::
ladypunk123
too much spare time
NEVER buy from PetSmart/PetCo!!! My boyfriend made the mistake of doing this and I ended up having to deal with the snake not eating, it wasn't handle-able (literally the thing would jump at your face, absolutely wonderful to deal with), it ended up being covered in mites and having internal parasites. After spending the whole 2 weeks "trial period" taking this snake to the vets, giving it time to acclimate to it's surroundings etc we ended up returning it because the biting was getting to be insane (the final straw being when it bit my little cousin while my boyfriend was holding it and he ran over for the leg hug). When we returned it, they said all they could give us was either a new cornsnake or a giftcard.
We wanted neither but decided to look at the other corn they had. When they brought the cage out, they couldn't find the snake. And that's when they told me that they normally lost a snake just about every week. They had like 4 snakes in the whole store!!! Finally they found it about 20 minutes later, behind one of the mouse cages. It was about 8 inches... so pretty small. When I asked what they'd been feeding it they said "four pinkies twice a week"... OK... I have never heard of feeding a small snake that much. The thing was like BLOATED. As far as I'm concerned these stores have no idea how to care for snakes and shouldn't' be allowed to do so. And on top of that, you really aren't saving any money. I can get a normal corn from a woman who lives down my street for $50 and it's in great health, or I can zip over to PetSmart for $90.
We wanted neither but decided to look at the other corn they had. When they brought the cage out, they couldn't find the snake. And that's when they told me that they normally lost a snake just about every week. They had like 4 snakes in the whole store!!! Finally they found it about 20 minutes later, behind one of the mouse cages. It was about 8 inches... so pretty small. When I asked what they'd been feeding it they said "four pinkies twice a week"... OK... I have never heard of feeding a small snake that much. The thing was like BLOATED. As far as I'm concerned these stores have no idea how to care for snakes and shouldn't' be allowed to do so. And on top of that, you really aren't saving any money. I can get a normal corn from a woman who lives down my street for $50 and it's in great health, or I can zip over to PetSmart for $90.
Shiari
Blutterer
I actually have 3 petco snakes. One is very flighty because of a series of mistakes I made that led to a 6 week hunger strike followed by many months of on again, off again, eating. I didn't handle her because she seemed less likely to eat then. Ferenea is now getting much better with being handled.
Dier, my almost-sunglow, is also a petco snake. She's one of my most docile snakes and always has been. Yes, she did have mites I believe that spread to half my collection... but that has been fully dealt with now.
Vanay, my mystery corn, is petco too. No mites, great appetite, and healthy as can be. She too is getting used to being handled.
A lot of very young corns are going to be flighty/bitey. You look like a giant predator to them. The trick is to remain calm with it. Giving them a good 3 to 4 days to settle into their new viv without handling also seems to help.
The treatment also varies from store to store. I haven't browsed my petco for several months because they had a *very* ill garter snake... emaciated... that when I pointed it out they said "It's eating so it's fine.".... :fullauto: It all depends who happens to be in charge, as this incident happened with a relatively new person. When I noticed two corns with injuries many many many months ago, they immediately removed them from display to treat them and I didn't see those snakes for several weeks. When they were back, they were better.
Dier, my almost-sunglow, is also a petco snake. She's one of my most docile snakes and always has been. Yes, she did have mites I believe that spread to half my collection... but that has been fully dealt with now.
Vanay, my mystery corn, is petco too. No mites, great appetite, and healthy as can be. She too is getting used to being handled.
A lot of very young corns are going to be flighty/bitey. You look like a giant predator to them. The trick is to remain calm with it. Giving them a good 3 to 4 days to settle into their new viv without handling also seems to help.
The treatment also varies from store to store. I haven't browsed my petco for several months because they had a *very* ill garter snake... emaciated... that when I pointed it out they said "It's eating so it's fine.".... :fullauto: It all depends who happens to be in charge, as this incident happened with a relatively new person. When I noticed two corns with injuries many many many months ago, they immediately removed them from display to treat them and I didn't see those snakes for several weeks. When they were back, they were better.
ladypunk123
too much spare time
I agree with Shiari... I guess it just depends on who's running the store and if they actually have knowledge of snakes.
I still think that for a starter snake you're better going through a breeder who will probably be more than happy to help you with any problems you may come across. Learning to deal with a bitey, not eating snake can be difficult when you first get into snake ownership.
I still think that for a starter snake you're better going through a breeder who will probably be more than happy to help you with any problems you may come across. Learning to deal with a bitey, not eating snake can be difficult when you first get into snake ownership.
bubz1113
Just getting started
I'm actually a department manager at my PetCo. I agree that there are many stores out there that do not take very good care of their animals but at my store the animals really do come first. If someone doesn't know enough about the species or the illnesses that may arise they are not allowed to sell any animal until they know. I know at my store many times the animals come in with mites but when that does happen the animals that might be affected by the parasite are immediately quarantined for at least 3 weeks and the entire system gets treated. Once they are done with the treatment and are free of mites/illness they are then put back out for sale and anyone who sells the animals tells the customer about the issues that we had and what to watch out for. Also if an animal goes home and a problem does arise we either give you money back, a new animal or it will be taken to the vet.
Regit
New member
I've had mixed experiences with Petsmart. I bought my first corn (a hypo baby) from Petsmart. Two days later I found it dead in it's viv. Took it back to Petsmart, and they gave me first dibs on the next order of corns coming in. I picked Nagini, my ghost boy, up the day he arrived and never had a problem with him. (Until his forever-long hunger strike 'cause of the ladies this year... But he's over that 
)
)
Criosphynx
Memento semper
having worked at both chains I can tell you animals regulary excaped...had mites and refused food...
that said its up to the buyer not the supplier...know what to look for! If you can pick out a healthy snake go for it.
that said its up to the buyer not the supplier...know what to look for! If you can pick out a healthy snake go for it.
Criosphynx
Memento semper
I worked at a PetCo for six weeks. There were various reasons why I quit, but the last straw was them ROASTING a baby savannah monitor.
we had a death freezer @ petsmart. Like the kind people use to store meat. It had to be emptied fairly frequently. Petsmart allows up to $200 retail in deaths a week...tho the number is usually in the $600 range.