Should i open my arms to her

[Sylvias]

That was proper in Donnies eyes btw....

[Donnie_K]

@Sylvias - you really... really don't want to turn this into a tanks vs racks thread... seriously... this forums flooded with info about why we avoid "tanks" like the plague...

@reptile alchemist - It's not about the money... it's about supporting stores that treat animals that way. They treat em that way to get the money, and if they get it, they stay open and do it to more animals... food for thought.

[Sylvias]

I am not trying to Donnie... And not saying tanks vs racks... saying Enclosures vs racks. Both can work depending on the species and I am not trying to promote one over the other.

[smilts]

Maybe that store will not get another one of that breed/morph to sell but it will put something in that tank it wont sit empty long.  To me though buying from a known breeder is better for tons of reasons.  For one chain stores have no clue about the bloodlines of there animals.  Petsmart is so bad that they just call corn morphs,  fancy corns.  I'm not one for knocking chain stores other than I don't believe they should have animals in them or at least not reptiles though there aquariums are often horrible.  So maybe no reptiles or fish.  And of course there are exceptions to every rule.  However price wise you Sylvias is correct in the long run with shipping cost there fairly close.  For me though I just like to know more about my animals,  and have no wish to support even minor mistreatment of animals.

[Reptile Alchemist]

ooook yea.i understandthat if i get the snake it will support that store. but the fact is the snake is still a life form. not a mere example to teach the petco a lesson. i mean the snake wasnt asked 2 put their by all means those snakes are breed from 1 breeder. that does business with all the petcos in that district. so i mean hey

[Donnie_K]

Right. But you can't save them all. You pull that one out of there they are just going to put another one in it's place. I mean if you simply have to have that particular one, cool. But don't think you won't go in there in another month and see another one in the exact same conditions. And it's not like you can keep buying every single one they do that too. Let alone the rest of them all across the rest of the US. And even if you could, these guys would just be getting richer off of their cruelty to animals.

[snakebite33308]

i agree with donnie and some of the others, i rarely even buy supplies from pet stores, if i can't get it at the show for cheaper, or at tsc then i might break down and buy in store. but i do sometimes deal with 2 pet stores in general and may be working at a new one, but they are all fish/exotics specialty shops that have a level of care close to what u would have in your own collection, no pet store will have the level we keep our own animals at. but at least they are well fed, and healthy.  only thing i buy from petco is occasional hides, and reptiles mags, but i am a subscriber now lol

[keithdude6848]

Yea.  I had the same issue the other day at a petco looking in on the Russian Tortoises.  I've always wanted more since I got my first.   These things were being kept it horrible conditions.   5 stuffed in something not big enough for one.  No food. No water.   

On sale for 65 dollars.


I just had to remind my self that not only would I be putting another animal in harms way once she was sold that it would pluck another tortoise from the wild.

Very hard moment for me to walk away

[snakebite33308]

i personally don't think the retail pet stores should be allowed to keep live reptiles/amphibians in the stores. i know there are a few that actually try to do things right, but my friend worked at the pet store i mentioned and he almost got fired because he set up a chameleon in a reptibreeze cage not what the store wanted him to set it up in, oh and they also got pissed at him for trying to put drippers on chams and a few other tropical herps. like i said tho, the reptile specialty stores are a different story and i guess i agree with them jacking the price up, bout like a gas station/convenience store, you are paying the extra for the convenience of not having to drive to a show or have the reptile shipped straight from a breeder. do i personally want to pay the price, no, but some people will. the other day a friend of mine told me his friend bought a baby female normal spider ball from the big reptile shop in nashville, paid 425 dollars for her, ouch

[Donnie_K]

good lord! See, the shipping cost or gas to get to the show is alot less, worth saving the money if you ask me. What kinda bums me out, and I'm not trying to get on anyone, is that most of the people you see keeping reptiles know nothing of their lineage, or where they came from, who even produced them. That kind of piece of mind is important, ESPECIALLY for those of you that plan on breeding! I mean I'm not trying to buy anything from anyone, even if they produced it if they don't at least know where the parents came from.