Captive Born Reptiles - Columbus, Ohio

About a year after I moved to Ohio, I found this place.. At the time, it seemed nice - However, I was only in the front section of the shop.

I recently visited, again, as I'm collecting info on breeds and morphs, and wanted to see the selection they have before I choose a breeder and get my first slithery baby....


The conditions I saw made my stomach turn :
- Tanks with bright lights and no apparent heating sources (Ambient temp was around 70) [I watched the guy who was on staff put a new python back into her tank, and there was nothing under it]
- No gauges to monitor humidity or temperature, even of the general store
- About 3-4 30- or 50-gallon tanks with 4-6 BPs each
- A tank with what looked like 9-10 eel-looking snakes (can't remember the breed) stuffed into one hide, [A medium-sized hamster igloo - The snakes were each a couple feet long, at least] to the point of not being able to move
- Severely unclean tanks
- Most tanks had no hides at all
- Snakes that were so skinny they looked like they hadn't eaten in a year
- 4-5 snakes that were stargazing
- A couple of lizards that were being sold strictly as a mating pair -- One of which had a big sore on it's back, was covered in crickets, and looked near or at death's door
- A plastic tub sitting out on the counter [For people to touch and look at, I assume] populated by juvenile mice and half-dead pinkies (A bit inhumane, if you ask me.. Either kill it so it doesn't suffer or feed it right away, don't let it starve to death)
- Alligators [Or maybe crocs, whichever one is the most common, I'm sure] left to roam around the store unsupervised, without any warning to customers
- Deterioration of sanitary conditions as you move towards the back of the store
- Signs posted up around the store [Seen by my partner, not by me, so I am not certain exactly what they said or how many signs they were] that said something along the lines of "No pictures: You will be asked to delete any you take"
- A sign on the outside of the store that said "Keep your laws off our pets"


That's just a list of the most notable things... There were a handful of others that I wasn't sure about and don't quite remember.


Being a newbie to the world of reptiles, I know that I could be misreading things, (I can be super paranoid) but I have been doing a lot of research and talking with / reading through conversations between other herpers. As far as I'm concerned, any one of the things I've listed above is enough to call them out on it and make them change.

This place is supposed to be run by reputable breeders -- Their site says "Captive Born Reptiles is one of the nation's largest retailers of captive born reptiles and amphibians. As a breeder of reptiles for over 30 years, we have quality animals as well as a full line of reptile and amphibian care products, including caging, lighting, bedding, books, and live or frozen mice, rats, and rabbits." You would think they would know enough to keep their reptiles' husbandry taken care of properly.

However, I'm also a newbie to the world of law, and I have no ideas on how to go about getting these guys to clean up their acts. I have a friend who is going to help me research actual reputable breeders, nearby, that I can talk about this with (She also lead me to this site, to check out any reviews from other people, on this place, and ask some questions); and I have plans to call animal control to at least have someone go down there and check it out, should that take a while, but I would like to get a few more opinions on the situation.



Thanks in advance,
Kytten

We were in there about 12 years ago, all I can truly remember is a very foul smell, and a big cage with some large anacondas, the only waterdish/soaking tank had what looked like very watery diarrhea in it, and the was a semi dry crust over the surface.
It is a shame that conditions have not improved yet, also very hard to believe they have not been shut down.
It seems like Ohio is in the forefront of leading exotic animal ordinances, yet not 1 animal control has told them to clean their shop up?

I hate to think of what harm they could do to the industry if someone (peta-ish)does sneak some video and put it up on social media.
Maybe "one of the good guys" could sneak some video, and use it to threaten the owners to clean up, before it is too late.
Look at the uproar the dirty cages caused at "Big Daddies Wholesale"
I am not sure if he still has a store front?

Here is another link to same business. It was closed because title of thread was incorrect but is the same Captive Born Reptiles

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...+Born+Reptiles

Yeah, I've seen a couple of threads about them and from what I've read everyone on here who has been there has the same opinion of them...


The question is: How do I go about getting them shut down or at least start the process?

Originally Posted by Casey Hulse

I am not sure if he still has a store front?

What do you mean?

Yeah he's still open. Here is story from first of the month at his Cincinnati store

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news...thon/73396696/

Originally Posted by JColt

Yeah he's still open. Here is story from first of the month at his Cincinnati store

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news...thon/73396696/

That incident occurred at his Newport, KY store.
He does not have a cincinnati store.
Only has two locations. Columbus, OH and Newport, KY.

....

Originally Posted by Pasodama

That incident occurred at his Newport, KY store.
He does not have a Cincinnati store.
Only has two locations. Columbus, OH and Newport, KY.

....

Cincinnati/Newport...same store, a lot of people refer to it as Cincinnati as I am sure they hardly know the difference, heck Delta does not as it refers to Cincinnati airport even though in Kentucky...lol
Yes I know its is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky but you get my drift, it would certainly be picked up on by Cincinnati news teams for sure and they just generalise it.

So ... What should be done about it?

Do I contact animal control?
Do I find a reptile vet?
Do I get a legit breeder to go in and take a look?

Also, how would I go about keeping tabs on one of the animals, if they do get shutdown?