Your thought on Pet Shops selling reptiles

[gbskda]

With the increasing popularity keeping reptiles ( especially snakes 0 as pets the Queensland Government is submitting a proposal for Pet Shops to sell reptiles.
Me personally I think this is a good and bad idea.
The good being it will give us breeders/ keepers easier access to purchase these beautiful animals and let the general public know that snakes are not evil creatures that need to be hit with a shovel at any cost.
The bad being I don't think most ( about 75% ) Pet Shops are capable of handling reptiles as they don't have the knowledge to keep them. Some of the said 75% of Pet Shops are not even capable enough to sell dogs, cats or any other domesticated animal.
I think it is best to leave it with the breeders/ keepers as they have the knowledge of what they are keeping/ selling, I would prefer to go to a breeder for advice than someone who is after a dollar, because a breeder's reputation is on the line when he/ she sells an animal or gives advice.

[grahamh]

I don't like the pet shop idea for the reasons stated. I'd prefer to get my future snakes from people I at least know through APS or APS reccomendations. Dunno it just don't feel right.

[sarahbell]

iv spoken to afew pet shops tht are planning on selling reptiles and they have all said that the staff that would be responsible for the herp section in the shhops had to do a reptile course as part of the agreement on being allowed to sell them

[Alexahnder]

I agree. Even if they were sold through petshops they would be sold at greatly inflated prices

[sarahbell]

yes i can see shops sell very expensive herps
if the shops worked something out with the breeders prices may not be that much different but i dont see that happening any time soon

[hey_im_sam]

i think that it is a good idea if done right.. increasing public awareness would be a huge benefit. the licencing should include some sort of "prove your worthiness" though, if you get what i mean.
if the pet shops had restrictions on them, ie passing a course, and are maybe inspected, then i think it would be fine.

in america there weren't these restrictions and i saw some horribly kept herps - then again the store i worked at treated them right.

[Administrator]

I can understand pet stores trying to sell reptiles however the amount of interest that it would generate could mean a reptile would be sitting in the store for a while before sold. Would it not be better for them to "order in" reptile when interest is shown and leave it to more experienced breeders to keep them.

[Mel]

Well, for what's it's worth...I think it sucks *** as an idea.

I don't think they will be properly cared for in most cases, and I think they will be ridiculously overpriced, which will cause them to sit around in shops for way too long getting stressed and leaving them open to getting ill.

I have already been told of a certain pet store's intention (the store shall remain nameless) to take advantage of the fact that it's a niche market and not many people know a great deal about snakes. They intend to make the most of (i.e, take advantage of) newcomers lack of information, and sell hatchling Blackheads for around $1500-$2000, and other such 'not overly common' snakes for similarly inflated prices.

A fellow herp keeper and friend of mine who used to own a reputable aquarium up here is already looking for a store to rent. He is very confident the law will come through, and intends to start his own 'reptile only' pet store. They will be taken care of in his store (I hope anyway, as he is a long time keeper), but I'm not confident that will be the case elsewhere. I seriously doubt the majority of major chains and smaller stores will put up the cost of putting staff through reptile courses.

I'll be sticking to dealing only with people and breeders that I know and trust.

Mel x

[saikrett]

i probably wouldn't buy a reptile froma pet shop because they wouldn't care for it while it was in there care, unless i got one from sutherland or somewhere that i know the people that work there keep reptiles and know what there doing.

[Nicole]

I agree there are issues of care and the almost certain inflated prices.
I also agree it would help with education and awareness.

All that aside, I think pet shops are for pet related merchandise.
I wouldn't buy an animal from a pet shop, for snakes, dogs and cats etc, I have always gone to a breeder to purchase.

[Alexahnder]

If it was passed pet shops should give out a caresheet or only do reptile courses where the people are taught about how to care for reptiles and then given the appropriate cages etc. Some pet stores are great while others are not so good.

[Hawkeye]

Difficult questions as both sides can be equally valid.

Maybe just sell reptiles in speciality pet stores (ie need a specific license to sell reptiles) where people who work in the shop know what they are doing. Certainly then people can see the reptiles and learn about them stopping the shovel slaughter (I had no idea what snakes even felt like until DLutz invited me into his home to actually touch one and sold the idea of snakes to my other half).

The other advantage is then also it can become a legitimate income earner for people like Paul rather than the "Hobby" it is now and remove alot of the business falseness that exists.

One the other hand there are also a lot of turkeys around who will buy snakes and feed them 17 frozen rats at a time and should be shot.

I am gonna have a think about this concept as I am not sure what is good and what is not.

Cheers Hawkeye

[africancichlidau]

If you could see the condition on some of the animals in shops down here there would be a huge shout of "NO WAY" coming from up there. Reptiles in shops are not looked after properly.

[stretch]

I think it sucks.

You can go into Pets Paradise in Canberra and see a tank full of lizards kept in cramped conditions and sold at over inflated prices.

It encourages impulse buying because a permit is easy to get. Rather than get a permit and then look around breeders for a specific reptile, people are more inclined to grab anything they see in a cutesy set up at the pet shop. It may not necessarily be the best reptile for them, but hey it is there.

I don't doubt for a second that irresponsible reptile ownership occurs already with the non commercial areas, but having the reptiles popped on pedestals like the lollies at a checkout, simply encourages the practice and makes it easier.

*jumps off the soapbox*

Thank you and remember this is MY OPINION and not that of every single person in the whole wide world

S

[grahamh]

I think there's a lot to be said for having to put a bit of effort in to get what you want - that way you'll appreciate it and most likely take better care of it.

I agree - pet shops should sell pet food and equipment not pets (except maybe fish.