Disappointed in 'reptile specialist'

[damian83]

I don't like the ones that have almost 200 hatchies for sale (you know the one ) they all can't be getting the correct care. I know how much work it was feeding 10 of them AND lizards AND rodents AND arachnids in the one day in one store and be on the sales floor at the same time!

isnt that why they hire all the 12 year old kids on weekends?
lol

 

[disintegratus]

isnt that why they hire all the 12 year old kids on weekends?
lol

I'm an awful person. One of my favourite things to do is to go to the terrible places like these ones, and start interogating one of the sales staff about their animals, in front of other waiting customers if i can. Then I basically prove that they know nothing about the animals under their care and make them look like an idiot. by the time i'm finished, the customer who'd been waiting to speak to them usually asks me stuff instead, and I tell them to go through a decent breeder and do their research before they purchase etc. I know it's mean, they're just doing their job, but if I can convince even one person not to give them money, that's okay with me also, I only do it to the idiots who think it's okay to make up the answer if they don't know it.

On a side note, the pet shop near me, the one that used to have a herp room known as the morgue, has gotten a lot better lately, albeit in baby steps. The new owner's not nearly as awful as the old one. It's still got a long way to go, but they're getting there. I go there all the time and just chat to them, I've almost convinced them to put the rats into cages instead of glass tanks. The owner knows damn well that I won't buy anything off him while he's still stocking puppies and ferrets, but at least the reptile guy seems to be more knowledgable than most general pet stores than i've seen. Oh, and I live in Springvale which should give you a clue as to which pet shop.

 

[KaotikJezta]

I'm an awful person. One of my favourite things to do is to go to the terrible places like these ones, and start interogating one of the sales staff about their animals, in front of other waiting customers if i can. Then I basically prove that they know nothing about the animals under their care and make them look like an idiot. by the time i'm finished, the customer who'd been waiting to speak to them usually asks me stuff instead, and I tell them to go through a decent breeder and do their research before they purchase etc. I know it's mean, they're just doing their job, but if I can convince even one person not to give them money, that's okay with me also, I only do it to the idiots who think it's okay to make up the answer if they don't know it.

On a side note, the pet shop near me, the one that used to have a herp room known as the morgue, has gotten a lot better lately, albeit in baby steps. The new owner's not nearly as awful as the old one. It's still got a long way to go, but they're getting there. I go there all the time and just chat to them, I've almost convinced them to put the rats into cages instead of glass tanks. The owner knows damn well that I won't buy anything off him while he's still stocking puppies and ferrets, but at least the reptile guy seems to be more knowledgable than most general pet stores than i've seen. Oh, and I live in Springvale which should give you a clue as to which pet shop.

I'm guessing the one that has lost about 6 customers to our shop in the last 2 weeks.

 

[graphitebeans]

I live in Townsville, and I can report at least one really decent reptile section. They only stock young lizards (beardies and blueys) that aren't too big for the enclosures, and the paper never has more than 1 or 2 poos (I'm usually there late in the day, too). They stock macs, and keep them in click clacks, but never ones too small for the snakes and I've never seen a mess in with them. The guy who runs the herp section knows his stuff, and is happy to have a chat about herps or birds (my Mum attacked him about the macaws they're selling, as we used to have one).
It's not ideal to have a herp section at pet stores, but I rarely see the same animals there and they sell books for all the animals they stock.
As a bonus, all of the other pet stores in the area (big chains, anyway) have stopped selling herps - they say they pay too much for food for animals that don't sell! Yay!
Just thought y'all would like a positive report! It's the diamond in the rough, but it is a bit encouraging...

 

[timantula]

I'm an awful person. One of my favourite things to do is to go to the terrible places like these ones, and start interogating one of the sales staff about their animals, in front of other waiting customers if i can. Then I basically prove that they know nothing about the animals under their care and make them look like an idiot. by the time i'm finished, the customer who'd been waiting to speak to them usually asks me stuff instead, and I tell them to go through a decent breeder and do their research before they purchase etc. I know it's mean, they're just doing their job, but if I can convince even one person not to give them money, that's okay with me also, I only do it to the idiots who think it's okay to make up the answer if they don't know it.

On a side note, the pet shop near me, the one that used to have a herp room known as the morgue, has gotten a lot better lately, albeit in baby steps. The new owner's not nearly as awful as the old one. It's still got a long way to go, but they're getting there. I go there all the time and just chat to them, I've almost convinced them to put the rats into cages instead of glass tanks. The owner knows damn well that I won't buy anything off him while he's still stocking puppies and ferrets, but at least the reptile guy seems to be more knowledgable than most general pet stores than i've seen. Oh, and I live in Springvale which should give you a clue as to which pet shop.

um big yellow? if so i love going in there and giving the place an 'audit' then speaking my mind, in fact i do it to most pet/reptile shops i know or see and i will only buy off 2 shops in victoria..

I'm guessing the one that has lost about 6 customers to our shop in the last 2 weeks.

just a guess.. are you in cranbourne or narre warren... or neither?

 

[disintegratus]

Yeah, that's the one. I went in there not too long after the place had changed hands, and was looking through the reptile section when I found a young childrens on one of the display hooks, just cruisin around. My partner convinced me to hand it in to them (I wanted to take it home and hand it over to dse/whoever myself) They checked it out and said it wasn't on their books, so they handed it in. Apparently (and you do have to take these things with a grain of salt) the old owner just opened the tanks and let em all go.

 

[KaotikJezta]

um big yellow? if so i love going in there and giving the place an 'audit' then speaking my mind, in fact i do it to most pet/reptile shops i know or see and i will only buy off 2 shops in victoria..



just a guess.. are you in cranbourne or narre warren... or neither?

Cranbourne

 

[Fantazmic]

I was there on the weekend.

The reptiles in reptile area didn't look to flash, many with shedding issues. But the Bird section was a disgrace. 2 galahs and a long billed corrella housed all together in a tiny dirty "2ft x 2ft" cocky cage with one pirch. Female Electus with what looked like a broken foot and wing, sitting there looking like it was about to die.

Thereptiles are difficult to report because RSPCA will pass the buck...but i remember a few years ago I reported a pet shop for birds in cages that were way too small and they dd visit and make them clean it up.....so although the RSPCA wont visit for reps they will for other animals so you can report them that way.