Do research People!!!!

I can't say this enough, or have other people say it enough.... If you are going to buy a pet, any pet, do some research first!!!

I was just in a pet store this evening where a young mother and her 6-8 year old son were holding a juvenile ball python. The mother was asking how big it would get and how easy it is to take care of. Not out of the ordinary, I thought to myself.

Then she asked what it ate and how often. The lady in the pet store told her that they ate mice. The young mother then asked if a ball python would eat crickets!!! She then asked if there was some sort of dry food they eat!!! Like it's a cat or dog!!!

When, oh when, will people just do a little searching and learn about an animal before buying it as a pet?!?!

Sorry to rant.....but it ends happily. The baby ball python crapped all over the little boy!

Sounds like she was asking questions.

Originally Posted by Dennis Hultman

Sounds like she was asking questions.

......and isn't that doing research? She has to start somewhere. Better before the sale than after.

thank goodness the well trained, totally competent pet store employee kid was there

i see the point but really, it's the way of the world nowadays. the more accessible info is, the less people use it, probably because later, "if they need it", they can simply hop online and refer to it then. sadly, when concerning a living thing, it may be too late.

Yes, she was asking questions. However, I think these questions would have been a little more appropriate had it not been 5 minutes before she bought it. The type of questions she was asking would lead me to believe that she knows nothing about the husbandry of a snake either. Therefore, it may end up eating the right type food, but most likely the wrong housing situation.

Robert,

True, but sometimes the best keepers are those who don't have bad habits or have been filled with misinformation. It might have been an onscene choice versus a planned purchase?

yah...i get what youre saying robert...i know that i do research on any animal im planning to buy, but she might just figure...she can get all the main info. from the workers, and if she needs anything else...she can look it up later.

I think the major problem with this is impulse buying. The best way about looking into a new pet of any kind is to first evaluate your life style and what animals you can offer the best life to. Then I think research should be done to at least get a feel for the basics. A pet store employee is often a person with no experience once so ever with said animal who is going to tell you what info has been passed to him/her. Whether that information is correct is a whole other avenue. I do think it is foolish to bring home or even consider something your not prepared for. Every pet I have ever owned has had extensive research for weeks before I made my final decision. When you take in a pet you are taking responsibility for its well being. With reptiles especially your set up should be up and running prior to bringing the animal home. Chances are someone getting their first pet snake is going to keep it in a tank with either under tank heat, a lamp, or both. All of these devices require a little experimentation/tweaking to get temps where you want them to be consistently, so to me its foolish to take in this animal without first knowing if its environment is correct.

There is nothing that can be done, as ignorance is the way these days, however all you can do is guide those to the proper avenues and hope they do what needs to be done. I think pet stores should require a new owner to take home a care sheet, or at least read it over prior to the sale. Unfortunately the pet stores goal is to make money, not to have an educated consumer(because an educated consumer is most likely going to buy elsewhere). It is frustrating to see someone who isn't prepared for an animal purchasing it. Thats my take on the subject for what its worth, Dan M.

Impulse buying, that would be similar to impulse keeping of animals caught outside, many of us started out as children catching lizards and snakes. Before we had the internet around in every home with a vast array of knowledge, many would be outside and pick up a critter then decide to keep it, we would have to wait until we could ride down to the library on our bikes to gather as much information as we could or go to the nearest pet store in hopes they would know about the critter we just caught. This is how we learned.

Even today, there are some people that have no idea how to use a computer, the thought of using e-mail is overwhelming. My father still has no idea how to turn his cell phone on and off. Just because the information is out there and easily available, it does not mean the person knows how to retrieve it. If they are starting out on a quest to become reptile savvy, then asking questions is a great way to start. Many snakes out here eat insects, rattlesnakes are known for eating roadkill, so the thought of canned food is not that far off if you really think about it. It may seem messed up that someone would think that way, but they were not afraid to ask, instead of taking it home and feeding it canned food then coming back three months later with a sick and skinny snake wondering what went wrong. I do not see that as ignorance, just another way of gathering information.

At one time I would have agreed full heartedly about the need to do research first, but it seems my opinions have changed just as time does. Just an opinion...

I have ended with a couple pets lately that weren't intended, one not really researched. But I at least have some basic ideas.
We have herps and so when we were given a gecko we had some idea what to do.
I think the thing that bugs me the most about a lot of impulse buy situations is will the employee know anything, and/or when will the proper housing for the critter be obtained, some people can afford the pet and tank, but not the heat mat or lighting which is really important.