wots the worst piece of reptile advice you've ever been given??

[sarah s]

my local one is reasonable but they did tell me not to handle my rainoo at all as she was only a hatchling. Needless to say I just filter out the advice they give me from what I can get here etc.

 

[Hypancistrus]

I think we can all agree that it is aggravating to see shops who do not properly care for or have knowledge about the livestock they sell. However, how many people, even here on this list, would never have been introduced to certain animals (esp herps) if they had not first seen one in a petstore. There is also the fact that many shops would go under without live animal sales, each "pet" sold means the sale of supplies to care for it.
The reptile pet trade has actually improved tremendously in the last couple decades with information readily available to all who take the time to seek it. The information you can so easily find by typing in the search box now, many people here had to learn by trial and error when they started keeping herps. In a perfect world all stores and their employees would have great knowledge of the items they sell. But in the real world we just have to hope that new owners will find sites such as this, and do what we can to increase awareness and knowledge amongst the people we come in contact with and do business with. JMO

I guess it depends on your locale, but around here, plain and simple, the pet stores DO NOT Take care of their animals correctly. What's worse is that they sell to anyone, anytime, and give no advice or WRONG advice (the latter being the worse of the two!). As an example, my sister's friend new that she likes turtles, and wanted to buy her one. She went to a local shop to pick one up as a b-day present. Mistake #1 of shop- selling a pet as a a present. Mistake #2- selling her an Ornate Box turtle and a critter keeper (small glorified sweaterbox) to put it in- the turtles shell was dragging the back. #3- Telling her it A) Needed no heat/light/etc, and that it would eat lettuce and dog food.

End result? My sister is in love with this turtle- I check the net find out that most Ornate's are wild caught and have loads of parasites. I decide we're not keeping this turtle, so I, being a responsible person, take it to Mid-Atlantic Reptile Rescue and pay them $50 to take care of it and try to adopt it out.

Nope, sorry, I can't support any of my local petstores having living creatures, the only exception being our specialist-oriented local fish stores. If it would mean some pet stores would close down- well, that's too bad. They're not fit to care for animals in any way.

And I will also be the hard-liner to say that if you REALLY cannot afford the shipping in addition to the cost of the snake, maybe you shouldn't be getting the snake. I factored the $25 snake and $45 shipping into my planning for the animal and made it work. I think most people (like Adui) would rather not pay the shipping, but would if it's the only way to get a Corn. The other thing to consider is that if pet stores were not allowed to sell snakes, there would be (at least in my area) more of an incentive for hobbyists to breed and sell to the public. So you probably wouldn't have to look to Florida to get a good home-grown Corn Snake.

Just my $.02.

 

[HerpsforU]

I have to disagree at least

Please dont go to a Petco to get your corn. While I have gone to petco in the past to buy rodents, petco sells poor quality animals. This is not always true, and some stores may be better than the few petcos around my house but all the fish they sell are sick and die in weeks and their reptiles aren't of the highest quality either, though not as bad the fish. I guarantee there is some little family owned pet store or small chain pet store near you that you may not know about that could sell you a nice healthy snake and more than likely get you a known morph.

about the Petco's in my area. I have bought four of my corns and two of my leopard geckos from a Petco in my area...all were/are healthy, eating great...all have grown considerably since I bought them, all were only a few months old when purchased AND the best part is they were all on SALE!!

 

[BeckyG]

Please dont go to a Petco to get your corn. While I have gone to petco in the past to buy rodents, petco sells poor quality animals. This is not always true, and some stores may be better than the few petcos around my house but all the fish they sell are sick and die in weeks and their reptiles aren't of the highest quality either, though not as bad the fish. I guarantee there is some little family owned pet store or small chain pet store near you that you may not know about that could sell you a nice healthy snake and more than likely get you a known morph.

I've also bought snakes at petco and they've been perfectly healthy and are still alive. It is the local mom and pop store here that I wouldn't buy from.

 

[exodus5139]

Well, I'm gonna have to go complain to the 2 petcos near my house about this. Why am I stuck with the only 2 petcos that sell sick animals

 

[muffinman206]

When I went to buy my first (and only) corn, the lady told me I only needed to wait two HOURS after feeding to be able to handle the snake again. Glad I read more about that prior.

 

[ultimuttone]

I guess it depends on your locale, but around here, plain and simple, the pet stores DO NOT Take care of their animals correctly. What's worse is that they sell to anyone, anytime, and give no advice or WRONG advice (the latter being the worse of the two!). As an example, my sister's friend new that she likes turtles, and wanted to buy her one. She went to a local shop to pick one up as a b-day present. Mistake #1 of shop- selling a pet as a a present. Mistake #2- selling her an Ornate Box turtle and a critter keeper (small glorified sweaterbox) to put it in- the turtles shell was dragging the back. #3- Telling her it A) Needed no heat/light/etc, and that it would eat lettuce and dog food.

End result? My sister is in love with this turtle- I check the net find out that most Ornate's are wild caught and have loads of parasites. I decide we're not keeping this turtle, so I, being a responsible person, take it to Mid-Atlantic Reptile Rescue and pay them $50 to take care of it and try to adopt it out.

Nope, sorry, I can't support any of my local petstores having living creatures, the only exception being our specialist-oriented local fish stores. If it would mean some pet stores would close down- well, that's too bad. They're not fit to care for animals in any way.

And I will also be the hard-liner to say that if you REALLY cannot afford the shipping in addition to the cost of the snake, maybe you shouldn't be getting the snake. I factored the $25 snake and $45 shipping into my planning for the animal and made it work. I think most people (like Adui) would rather not pay the shipping, but would if it's the only way to get a Corn. The other thing to consider is that if pet stores were not allowed to sell snakes, there would be (at least in my area) more of an incentive for hobbyists to breed and sell to the public. So you probably wouldn't have to look to Florida to get a good home-grown Corn Snake.

Just my $.02.

One of the great things about this place is we are all entitled to our opinion .

That being said, I already agreed that many sales people are not knowledgeable about their products/livestock. There are also stores/people who are very knowledgable. This is true about any 'product' you buy.
What it comes down to is people need to take responsibility themselves in learning about the pets they decide to keep. In the real world any smuck can purchase a snake from a very reputable source(ie Kathy Love or Rich Z, etc) and still not have a clue what they are doing or what they need to care for it if they don't do their own research. Granted they will receive proper advice if they ask for it, but it really isn't that hard to find the correct information these days if you want to. Just as you found information on the turtle.

Speaking of which, I applaud you for finding the information. However I am curious why you chose to send the turtle to a rescue rather than treating it for parasites(not that hard) and purchasing a more fitting enclosure? Your sister obviously liked the pet and it could have been the start of a true love of herps like you have found with the corns. As you said when we purchase(or receive) a pet we are taking on the responsibility. (Not flaming just remember to look in all directions from your high horse ).

As for including the price of shipping in your purchase, most of us are well aware of that part. But that doesn't mean we don't appreciate the chance to obtain a new addition without paying for shipping, or try to share shipping charges with other keepers in our area so that we can maybe get that extra one or use the money to purchase supplies instead. There are a lot of hobbyists who get their setups piece meal and then the animal because they simply cannot afford to plop down $200-300 at one shot. Are they going to be any less qualified to have a pet snake? I imagine they might be even more appreciative than the person that can just whip out a checkbook or credit card. This is a hobby that should be available to anyone. You never know if that little kid buying his first snake from a crappy Pet-something will turn out to be the next "Corn God" someday

And then there is the plain excitement you get when you find a little treasure at the local shop . You know the one the breeder let slip through in the wholesale shipment and since you do your research you are able to snatch it up for a song and they don't even know what they had :grin01:
Just my .02

 

[westexherps]

I agree with ya'll....most pet stores don't know the first thing about reptiles....now PetSmarts in select areas are selling snakes..however some of the worst things I've heard came from customers. I work a few days a week at the store here, specifically with the reptiles. I actually had a customer who called himself an "expert" tell me that frozen rodents will kill your snakes....well yeah, if you don't defrost them...

 

[rain_man]

The worst advice that I ever got was from a girl at a petco. She told me that I needed a multiple UTH to cover the entire underside of my viv and to keep the temp no less that 90 because "Like snakes are from the desert, Right?"(these are here EXACT words). This clueless girl also told me to microwave the frozen mice so they "felt hot". Right away I knew she knew nothing, thanks to you guys, and I tried to correct her but she told me to talk to the manager. I gave up on her and found the manager. He turned out to be a fanatic to the point of carrying pictures of his corns (which he showed me) and to make a long story, sense then i haven't seen her during any of my visits.

This is off topic but i feel it is needed:

Q: what is the difference between a snake and a goth?

A: you slam on the brakes if a snake is in the road.

sorry to any goths out there, its just meant to be fun.

 

[Gintha]

As for turtles living in a bowl with a rock... it DOES work =) One was 31 when we got her and was only 2 inches diameter =) Had been in a fish bowl her entire life and the owners son gave her to us. Turtles are fairly unique as they won't outgrow their tanks. That turtle is 46 now and shares a 25 gallon tank with another female, both are 5-6 inch diameter now =)

 

[Adui]

Please don't go to a Petco to get your corn. While I have gone to petco in the past to buy rodents, petco sells poor quality animals. This is not always true, and some stores may be better than the few petcos around my house but all the fish they sell are sick and die in weeks and their reptiles aren't of the highest quality either, though not as bad the fish. I guarantee there is some little family owned pet store or small chain pet store near you that you may not know about that could sell you a nice healthy snake and more than likely get you a known morph.

Well.. My current Corn snake was purchased at Petco, and I have to admit I was not going to go back. My baby came home with mites. I did the research and took care of it. Now the petco has a girl in charge of the snakes who, at least on first conversation, seems to know at least something about snakes. I am still not going to just run over there and buy one without trying to find other sources. However if that becomes necessary I will buy it there if they can get what I want.
All that said, I do know of a semi local shop that while selling all pet supplies sells only reptiles and fish. I chatted with that fellow for quite a while, he seemed very knowledgeable about reptiles in general. What impressed me the most was the fact that when asked a question hie didn't have the answer too he didn't feed me a line, he just said " i don't really know, but I'm sure I can get you a book on it if you need it."

If I haven't found a breeder with the particular morph i want locally I will contact him and see what he can get before I go back to the "Evil petco". (Sorry couldnt resist)

 

[Baba-Lou]

Wow now thats a pet store i would go to.

 

[Adui]

And I will also be the hard-liner to say that if you REALLY cannot afford the shipping in addition to the cost of the snake, maybe you shouldn't be getting the snake. I factored the $25 snake and $45 shipping into my planning for the animal and made it work. I think most people (like Adui) would rather not pay the shipping, but would if it's the only way to get a Corn. The other thing to consider is that if pet stores were not allowed to sell snakes, there would be (at least in my area) more of an incentive for hobbyists to breed and sell to the public. So you probably wouldn't have to look to Florida to get a good home-grown Corn Snake.

Just my $.02.

{Begin rant}

Oh I see so us poor folk caint have pets, thats only for the rich fo'k who kin afferd em.. After all I caint afferd to have ma' pet shipped so I must not be a good owner.

I'm sorry, I really REALLY tried not to be offended but I get this crap WAY too often about too dad blamed many of my hobbies. Example, i am a ham radio operator, I cant afford the kid of antenna I need for the space I have available. I was actually told by one person "Then I guess you just cant afford our hobby." For the record, I wasn't looking for a handout, I was looking for technical advice on building my own version for as little as possible.

Just because I would rather save the $45 shipping fee for equipment, or the emergency vet reserve.. Or maybe even just gas to go to work DOES NOT mean I am incapable of properly caring for my pets. I resent the implication that it does.
{End rant}

My apologies to the masses, this is not intended to be a flame, just a rant...

 

[jazzgeek]

Just my $.02.

You may have some change coming your way.

regards,
jazz

 

[antsterr]

Since we're talking about pet shop conditions.
One pet shop here I purchased some corns from has about 30 amel's all in one big 50 gallon tank. The snakes were all healthy and I know that they cared about their health because they would not sell one to me on the day I first asked because they had all just been fed and they said the car ride could be rough full belly.
The reptile manager there said that they've never had any problems with keeping that many snakes in one cage. They way it was set up there were many many spaces to be used as hides or places for a snake to go and be alone, but 90% of them were all piled up in the same hide. I guess these snakes didn't mind the crowd.

 

[SnakeAround]

Maybe they all hided their cause it was the only warm spot.... or the only cool spot for that matter.

 

[TripleMoonsExotic]

As for turtles living in a bowl with a rock... it DOES work =) One was 31 when we got her and was only 2 inches diameter =) Had been in a fish bowl her entire life and the owners son gave her to us. Turtles are fairly unique as they won't outgrow their tanks. That turtle is 46 now and shares a 25 gallon tank with another female, both are 5-6 inch diameter now =)

I really, really hope I misinterpreted what you were saying.

A 31 year old turtle should NOT be 2." The thought of someone keeping a turtle in a bowl for its entire life is horrid. Turtles can and will outgrow their tanks or their growths will be stunted considerably.

http://www.theturtleranch.com/DEFMT.html

 

[MooreSnakes]

This is off topic but i feel it is needed:

Q: what is the difference between a snake and a goth?

A: you slam on the brakes if a snake is in the road.

sorry to any goths out there, its just meant to be fun.

Replace goth with lawyer :grin01:

 

[Gintha]

Ours have never outgrown their tanks =) And yes, poor little thing was only 2 inches at 31. Shes close to 6 inch diameter now tho and weighs almost 3 pounds. Feisty for a 46 year old turtle too hehe, would snap your finger off in a heartbeat. She bites, one of the other ones hisses and one of them likes to be dried off and cuddle in bed LOL. I'll get pics of the nice one next time I go to my sisters hehe, not putting my hands in the tank upstairs, they are the "guard turtles" for the house LOL

Grandpa did some research on turtles a while back, red eared sliders don't tend to outgrow their homes, but painted and box turtles do, and snapping turtles if your brave enough to buy one =) Ours are all sliders, I had a boxy but my ex took him, my little Fernando! I miss him *sniff*

 

[TripleMoonsExotic]

So you think it's perfectly exceptable to house them improperly and stunt their growth?