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PetSmart
- Thread starter houtz335
- Start date
Corny Noob
Proud Momma
Now while I'm glad to hear you got a snake from a breeder, you still don't know if it's carrying anything.
Audi Calypso
New member
Haven't read the responses yet, but I want to put in my two cents. A friend of mine bought a snake from one of the big chains (petco or petsmart). The hatchling died within a week, thankfully still under their warranty. For pets I think a good general rule is avoid chains.
wmdude102086
Cory
I am lucky enough to have a local reptile show in my area once a month here. I try as hard as possible not to support those large chain pet stores such as Petco and Petsmart. And even more so the ones who keep the dogs and cats in those tiny little crates all day. Its awful. They know nothing about the animals they keep especially the reptiles.
Jessicat
All Pied Everything
I'm pretty sure big chain pet store's source for corn snakes is breeders who wholesale off snakes they can't sell for a more desirable price. I've seen some hatclings in very bad shape at places like PetCo and Pet Smart. There are many breeders on this site who create wonderful snakes and would never sell you a problem feeder or kinked snake without informing you first.
Take a look at some of the people who make amazing snakes here!
Take a look at some of the people who make amazing snakes here!
Shiari
Blutterer
The petsmart near me does *not* sell snakes, but *does* sell frozen mice. 
The PetCo sells cornsnakes and others, and I impulse bought one. >_> S/he is not the greatest eater/grower, but s/he's doing well even if s/he is outright tiny compared to Lia who was the same size as the little snow when I got it.
The PetCo sells cornsnakes and others, and I impulse bought one. >_> S/he is not the greatest eater/grower, but s/he's doing well even if s/he is outright tiny compared to Lia who was the same size as the little snow when I got it.
Maize411
Hooked for life!!
I bought my first corn snake from a Petsmart and that is because I didn't know about how they aren't for the animals and are more for the profit..Luckily my snake was very healthy and is growing well..though she was underweight..but after that I have bought all my snakes from reptile conventions and have been happy so far :0)
Caryl
BrightHope
I don't advocate buying from pet chain stores, either. Still, I'll have to play devil's advocate a bit. My kids and husband bought my first corn as a birthday gift for me from the local PetSmart, along with frozen pinkies to feed her. She's a basic amel, nothing fancy, but quite healthy and growing fast. I do believe that she'd been underfed a bit, based upon her strike response with her first feeding at my house. Still, she's a great snake and I'm tickled to have her.
My next 4 came from Kathy Love, purchased online. No problems whatsoever!
There are 3 mom and pop pet shops near me that handle herps. One is clueless about morphs but tries to take good care of their reptiles. She occasionally has a surprise goody. One is pretty knowledgable and loves corns. The other, while claiming to specialilze in reptiles, I avoid because it's too depressing to see the conditions in which they keep their animals.
So, while I definitely agree that buying from a breeder is far and away the best choice, it is possible to get a healthy snake from a chain store. Just be prepared to pay more than from a breeder, and be aware of what to look for health-wise.
BTW, there aren't any regular shows/expos near me. I'm going to Pensacola at the beginning of August, but I really envy you folks with monthly expos!
My next 4 came from Kathy Love, purchased online. No problems whatsoever!
There are 3 mom and pop pet shops near me that handle herps. One is clueless about morphs but tries to take good care of their reptiles. She occasionally has a surprise goody. One is pretty knowledgable and loves corns. The other, while claiming to specialilze in reptiles, I avoid because it's too depressing to see the conditions in which they keep their animals.
So, while I definitely agree that buying from a breeder is far and away the best choice, it is possible to get a healthy snake from a chain store. Just be prepared to pay more than from a breeder, and be aware of what to look for health-wise.
BTW, there aren't any regular shows/expos near me. I'm going to Pensacola at the beginning of August, but I really envy you folks with monthly expos!
Hi,
I brought my 6 corns from a local aquatic and reptile centre called Glovers. The staff are all knowlegable about all the reptiles they sell, as they keep them themselves. one of the staff has bred blood pythons, they were the first breeding pair in Britain. All my corns eat well and are growing steadily. I feed my hatchlings every 5 days and my sub adults weekly. Pet store chains in Britain do not tend to sell reptiles, only specialised shops that deal in only reptiles or reptiles and fish. Have looked at Kathy Love's website and would love to have a corn from her. Do not know if they ship to the UK though.
Philippa
I brought my 6 corns from a local aquatic and reptile centre called Glovers. The staff are all knowlegable about all the reptiles they sell, as they keep them themselves. one of the staff has bred blood pythons, they were the first breeding pair in Britain. All my corns eat well and are growing steadily. I feed my hatchlings every 5 days and my sub adults weekly. Pet store chains in Britain do not tend to sell reptiles, only specialised shops that deal in only reptiles or reptiles and fish. Have looked at Kathy Love's website and would love to have a corn from her. Do not know if they ship to the UK though.
Philippa
3CardKnight
Het for awesome...
My local Petsmart and Petco both sell corns. Petsmart very rarely has any in so I can't comment on the living conditions. Petco on the other hand always has corns and sometimes some pretty interesting ones. The horrible downside is that ALL of them are infested with mites. You can actually look through the glass and see them crawling everywhere and several black dots on the snakes. When I've told management, they seem unconcerned. I've called the customer service line and the guy on the phone sounded outraged at the conditions and within two days the tank was quarantined for treatment but it was too late as most of the snakes died. However, a week later the mite infestation was back along with more snakes. I've approached management again, and they said they would throw in a bottle of mite killer for free and admitted that they don't have the room to treat the snakes. They definitely only care about making money and not the health/well-being of the animals they sell. *shakes fist*
I now buy all of my supplies and soon will buy more snakes from a local shop called Awesome Reptiles. The owner knows snakes, has a great selection and can usually attain special requests. To top it off, he also runs the county Reptile Rescue. I highly recommend buying local, provided you can find a trustworthy breeder/seller. I'm a newcomer to this forum but am looking forward to learning more about corns and hopefully finding morphs I can't live without from some of the reputable breeders at this forum.
I now buy all of my supplies and soon
will buy more snakes from a local shop called Awesome Reptiles. The owner knows snakes, has a great selection and can usually attain special requests. To top it off, he also runs the county Reptile Rescue. I highly recommend buying local, provided you can find a trustworthy breeder/seller. I'm a newcomer to this forum but am looking forward to learning more about corns and hopefully finding morphs I can't live without from some of the reputable breeders at this forum.Roy Munson
New member
Welcome to the discussion board! :cheers:
I highly recommend buying from a reputable breeder, local or not. Shipping costs are a small price to pay to get exactly what you want from a person who cares about their snakes. I've had snakes shipped from all over the country, and my experiences have been great.
CaptainAlgren
New member
ahhh i should have read this before i bought from petsmart! But my corn is very healthy and active (thank god)!! i checked him for any scars or mites before i got him. So far he is eating very well with no problems. I would rather buy from breeders though as i do not like big chain pet stores for treatment of most of their animals. The people there knew somewhat of snakes, but nothing like people do on this forum. I would definitly not trust petsmart. From what i have read i was disgusted on how some of them have treated snakes. The petsmart by me is not close to as bad.
Russell
New member
My first corn snake was from a pet store. A crappy store at that! BUT! by that time I had quite a bit of head knowlege and hands on training I got while working in the college live reptile lab. He was a great first snake. I've bought animals since that one from Petco that did perfectly fine for me. And then on the other hand, I've bought babies from well known supposedly reputable breeders that were tiny when I got them, and never ate for me! And I was experienced with keeping and raising by that time! :devil01:
But yes, as a whole stay away from chain pet stores. But indeed there are many stories of people that do fine with babies from there, just as there are many horror stories of people who do poorly. BUT! I've had people I thought they had a good handle on care of baby snakes. Buy well started babies from me, and killed every one of them! Not everyone has a good hand at raising baby snakes!
And don't tell me some reputable breeders aren't out to make money to pay their bills! I've seen plenty of that over the years and even I'm guilty in that area! It isn't so black and white of pet store chain versus the breeder!
So if at all possible attend a reptile show. Look around at all the tables and stay away from the tiny skinny babies that likely have never seen a meal, or had one or two eons ago and now have lost any advantage of being started!
Good luck!
But yes, as a whole stay away from chain pet stores. But indeed there are many stories of people that do fine with babies from there, just as there are many horror stories of people who do poorly. BUT! I've had people I thought they had a good handle on care of baby snakes. Buy well started babies from me, and killed every one of them! Not everyone has a good hand at raising baby snakes!
And don't tell me some reputable breeders aren't out to make money to pay their bills! I've seen plenty of that over the years and even I'm guilty in that area! It isn't so black and white of pet store chain versus the breeder!
So if at all possible attend a reptile show. Look around at all the tables and stay away from the tiny skinny babies that likely have never seen a meal, or had one or two eons ago and now have lost any advantage of being started!
Good luck!
speirsaaron
New member
i would of thought that buying a snake from a shop its not been cared for right at would be good because your more or less rescuing it lol (well rescuing it for a price >.>)
Criosphynx
Memento semper
the big accounts that supply petco/petsmart no doubt dump non feeders on them.
also everytime I've dug through a petco corn cage (which used to be often) the animals have ALL been male. I have founds som' good finds at petco, my screaming gorgeous ghost came from there... but I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner....
also everytime I've dug through a petco corn cage (which used to be often) the animals have ALL been male. I have founds som' good finds at petco, my screaming gorgeous ghost came from there... but I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner....
bitsy
Owned by Corns since 1991
Not so, unfortunately.
Buying a snake that is being badly treated by the shop, merely shows the shop that there's money in it. This means that they'll stock - and neglect - more. By rescuing one, you would effectively condemn many more to short lives in awful conditions. Any that they did sell would go to their new owners along with advice on how to continue the sort of poor husbandry and care practices that they'd already suffered in the shop.
On the other hand, if nobody buys a bad shop's snakes, then they give them up as a bad job. It's a sad fact that money speaks loudly to this type of outfit.