Prehistoric Pets UPDATE

Hi guys, I had posted about these guys just before the site went down, so I'm not sure how many ppl. saw the post.  The Fountain Valley Prehistoric Pets is about 15min. from my house and despite all the posts about them, I decided to go in and see for myself.  At first, the store looked fairly clean and bright; that is, until I looked in any of the cages.  I was in the market for a baby Argentine boa, so I checked them out first.  They had some decently-patterned babies, but upon closer inspection, I saw ticks all over them!  If you are not familiar with Argentine boas, they are extremely endangered in the wild so any babies you see are captive bred.  I was disgusted that they would allow their babies to be exposed to ticks!  So I decided to look around at the rest of their animals.  I'm not a big lizard/moniter guy, but they had some BIG moniters in some SMALL cages.  A few looked like they didn't have enough room to even turn around, let alone move anywhere.  I admit I don't know moniters, but I think my common sense is enough to know these are not adequate accomodations.  I dreaded what I knew what I was going to find when I checked out their baby ball pythons, as these always suffer the worst forms of pet shop abuse.  Now, I don't know if they got in to the cage through the many cracks in the melamine or if they were intentionally put in as food, but there were crickets crawling all over their cage!  Anyone who knows anything about snakes knows ball pythons don't eat crickets.  Even the PetCo near me knows this.  How can a store trusted with all sorts of rare species (i.e. Galapagos tortoises) not know the basic needs of probably the most popular snake in the pet industry???  I was baffled.
  Concerning the ticks I found on several of the animals, I know that Jay has posted that he uses displays to hold animals being treated.  However, these snakes were provided a TINY water dish that even the smallest couldn't fit into to soak, so I doubt there was any efforts to rid them of such pests.  Additionally, there was a nice big price tag right on the boas' window.  I guarantee if I began waving $179 around, I could have walked out of there with one of those infested snakes.  Which brings me to my next point.  If you check out their website and their many classifieds on kingsnake.com, they price their baby Argentines for $125, but the store priced them at $179.  So do you only get the cheap price over the internet?  Or if you ask for the "internet rate" when you go into the store?  I guess I just don't understand, which is ok with me.  I will avoid this place like the plague...who knows what diseases those ticks carry...  You have been warned!

OK...We've been warned!! BUT....IF what you say it true (I don't know&#33<img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=''>, IF the state of the animals are in the condition you say (I don't know&#33<img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=''>, IF the conditions they're being kept in are inadequate (I don't know&#33<img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=''>....WHY are you NOT putting in a complaint to your local authorities and the local Fish and Game??? Would you rather just stick your head in the sand and make believe it never happened?? If you've ALREADY notified authorities....you've done the RIGHT THING!! If you haven't, as of yet....those are anmals in YOUR neighborhood!! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!! Why make the animals suffer even more?? ....Neil

I have to say,up until 2 months ago i lived close to PP as well and I also reported them to various animal control groups in the area due to their deplorable conditions. Nothing ever came of it. &nbsp;I know for a fact that there are a few people there that bust their A$$es to do what they have to do to keep the animals clean and in good shape, but thats just not enough. &nbsp;If the owner doesnt care about the animals, ya can't really expect the $7 dollar an hour employees that he hires to. &nbsp;Conditions were so bad there that EVERYTIME my girlfriend and I went there, she had to go into the backrooms and give water and spray the animals HERSELF cause there were so many dehydrated, mite infested, tick ridden animals. &nbsp;When we asked the employees why there was a broken flourescent lite with pieces of glass scattered in the empty water dish of an albino burm's cage, they just laughed and said yea, #### be ok, well get to it. &nbsp;WHAT??

If you think what you saw in the display cages were bad, if you saw what was in the back, you would be horrified, but i digress. &nbsp;I will not hide the fact that I have bought stuff there. &nbsp;Cages, food, water bowels, etc. &nbsp;But i only bought 4 animals from there and that was simply to get them out of the horrid conditions in which they were housed. &nbsp;I even over paid for a skinny, tick infested chondro because I just wanted to get it out of there. &nbsp;

I also found the web prices to be much lower than the prices of the same animals in the store. &nbsp;Could it be cause you can easily doctor a photo (A practice which I KNOW the owner does because I've seen him do it, he made it no secret to me). He makes the picture look more appealing than the actual animal is cause he figures if he sells more of em online for a cheaper price, he still makes the same profit. Makes ya wonder doesn't it. &nbsp;Again, this is not true of all the employees there. &nbsp;Some I know personally and are good people who work 10 hours a day to do what they can for the animals. &nbsp;But its a big place and 3 people cant do it all. I wont even go into the dozens of other stories I have about PP, but I agree with the first post. &nbsp;

Dan, if you're in Southern California and still want an Argentine Boa, get in touch with Jack Dyer. &nbsp;He's a smaller dealer than prehistoric pets, but his animals are PERFECT. &nbsp;He's a classy guy and is always willing to share his knowledge of the animals. &nbsp;He's everything that Prehistoric Pets is not. &nbsp;I have an agentine boa from him and I couldnt be happier. &nbsp;Not kissing his A$$, just givin credit where credit is due.

Sorry i didnt post my name to the above post, im Chris Eaton

Thanks guys for your responses, just letting everyone know (especially Neil <img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=''>) that I've contacted the Orange County Humane Society and California Fish and Game. &nbsp;We'll see if I even get a response out of them....I'm fairly certain that they get regular complaints against this store.

Dan Camara
shadowdrop1@yahoo.com

well as for prices differing on the retail vs. internet I under stand why you attract new customers with great prices and you spend less time on an internet sale.If you are local buy it online and pick it up.As for animal care if it's true they should be investigated. He is in our state and have heard stories but it's the customers that need to complain. Jim Lewis

Well the truth is that you have to be careful whenever you buy animals. &nbsp;In the first post PetCo was mentioned. &nbsp;In high school and college I worked in several PetCo's as a Lead Associate and Reptile Specialist and let me tell you I worked 12 hour days (4 hours unpaid overtime) trying to keep the reptiles, fish and small animals clean. &nbsp;SoCal PetCo's receive their reptiles from West Coast Reptiles and Cal Zoo and let me tell you that the reptiles are the worst I have ever seen. &nbsp;West Coast isn't as bad, but Cal Zoo is terrible. &nbsp;The animals would ALWAYS be mite infested and sickly. &nbsp;But does PetCo care? NO. &nbsp;Because Cal Zoo and West Coast Reptiles fly the PetCo reps to places like Hawaii for meetings to review animal policies (must be nice).

Anyway, truth be told you just have to be careful. &nbsp;Sure I have had bad experiences with Prehistoric Pets (ie $$$ leopard geckos that lay 2 eggs and die or never lay at all) but I have also had some good experiences (ie 1.1 Albino Reticulated Pythons that are to die for). &nbsp;Whether you are at Prehistoric Pets, PetCo, a convention or your friends house you must check out the condition of the animal before you buy. &nbsp;Internet buyers beware, but most places have a guarantee. &nbsp;Atleast if you buy from someone who has a reputable site and/or a store front then you know that you can complain and maybe get satisfaction.

For you SoCal'rs, have you ever been to LLL or Reptile Haven? &nbsp;Every leopard gecko I have purchased from LLL, save one, has died!!!

Brice Logan
SnakeBroker.com

It's strange that you mention LLL, because I've done business in there and I'm good friends with one of the employees. &nbsp;They seem to have great animals EXCEPT for their leopards! &nbsp;I dunno what it is, but the only negative things I've heard about them is ppl. getting piss-poor leo's. &nbsp;Personally, I'm happy with the products I've bought there and HAVEN'T bought there....for example:
&nbsp;I had been in the market for an Argentine boa aways back, so I went to check out what they had. &nbsp;There were two very pretty babies in one of their displays, but it was not labelled. &nbsp;I asked the girl at the counter about them and she said they weren't for sale. &nbsp;I asked "why not???" and she replied that both animals were eating well, but continually losing weight. &nbsp;They were going to the vet later that week and would not be for sale until they had got them growing steadily. &nbsp;IMO, this is great service. &nbsp;They could have sold off these animals to an experienced herper, as they looked healthy and they would even eat! &nbsp;But they simply weren't going to put unhealthy animals on the market.

Dan

BTW, I still haven't heard from Fish & Game or the local humane society, so I'll try again with some phone calls. &nbsp;As for Reptile Haven, I really prefer LLL because it's so much cleaner and well-maintained. &nbsp;Reptile Haven has always been a bit dirty and smelly and the animals always have this "Kill Me Now" look on their faces. &nbsp;I'd rather spend my money at a place that doesn't keep 4 or 5 species of snakes in one big tank (check out their garters/green snakes/racers to see what I mean). &nbsp;Just my experience.....

Dan

I agree.