• Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================

    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Just another PetCo story

LeosForLess

LeosForLess

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I was getting tired of all of the posts to PetCo, so one morning i was bored and decided to give them an email with pics of good geckos, care sheets, and a thread Kristina Rogers started.

Here it is

Dear Paul Reschke,

Thank you for contacting PETCO. Let me assure you that our PETCO associates truly care about animals. We partner with the local Humane Societies and Animal Control Agencies. We invite them into our stores so that they can ensure and verify that we are upholding our Animals Come First promise. We have recently established an Animal Advisory Board, which is staffed by leading University Professors, Veterinarians, and National Humane Society leaders. This group reports directly to the Board of Directors for our company. Their job is to offer their unbiased experience and recommendations to our company, to ensure that we are the industry leaders in our Animals Come First promise.

I encourage you to visit our reccommended care sheets that are available to every customer on how to care for their new companion animal. You can visit our care sheets at: http://www.petco.com/CareSheets/CareSheets.aspx?Nav=154

If you ever have a concern over the care or well being over any animal in our stores, please feel free to bring this to the General Managers attention.

Thank you for taking the time to contact PETCO and share your concerns with us. Please feel free to contact us again if you have any further questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Michele T.
Senior Customer Relations Coordinator

At PETCO, Animals Always Come First... Our People Make it Happen!

----------------------------------Original Message-----------------------------------

Message: Hello, i am very concerned about the conditions you keep some of your reptiles in. The store by me has some bad conditions, i once saw a skink run across the store, but people on an online forum say its even worse.
http://thegeckospot.com/leohealth.html
Many of your leopard geckos look like that. They should be alot fatter, not skin and bones. Theyre better kept on paper towels, which is cheaper than sand, and is much more easily cleaned.
http://www.goldengategeckos.com/care.html
That website has an extensive caresheet that may help you. The geckos dont ned to be up to the standards of that sheet, but if somthing close to it were acheived it would be much appreciated.
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76071
That is the thread on the onlien forum, on a site that generates thousands of hits a day. The post was made eysterday afternoon and has already gotten 300 hits. I really hope you consider changing some of your policies. Sincerely, Paul
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Sorry Marcia for using your care sheet, it was the best i could find at the moment. It took them like a month to respond, i think that that reply is bull crap.
 
Yeah it sounds like they're saying that they have solved the problem but when we all go into the stores we can easily point out the negative conditions. Any other views?
 
Just another petco story

i have been wrting letters too. I haven't sent them out yet because my stepdad, (attorney) and I have been going over them. i think I have like 10 diff. lettters to petco and diff. animal welfare organizations. I dont know what the deal is with the news. i will email them again. I was thinking about going into the petco here for a glance to see if anythings changed. I am taking my camera this time. Glad to see other people have written letters, Do you have an email address for this guy? i would like to email him all the crap I have found.
 
the petsmart in OKC, that i went to yesterday was top notch, all the reptiles were housed in these really cool looking aquariums with 2 lights a red and a heating one, temps were registerd on 3 diff.thermometers, humidity , the cages were full of plants, hides, vines, looked spectacular, the uro they had was small but very fat, the leo's were just hatchlings and hiding, but the pictus' or pictii however you wanna say, they had had some fat tails lol they looked really good didn't have a large selection of reptiles, and only 1 aisle of reptile supplies but all the aquariums were crystal clear, and the herps looked very nice, now if they'll just lower their prices :p first time i've been in one, i had my doubts, but now have my hopes.
 
Our Petsmart here is co-run by the ASPCA, so no problems there. But Petco is always dirty. If you're gonna crack down on just Petco, you're going to have to go after all the little shops too, where sometimes conditions are the worst.
 
houdini1 said:
i have been wrting letters too. I haven't sent them out yet because my stepdad, (attorney) and I have been going over them. i think I have like 10 diff. lettters to petco and diff. animal welfare organizations. I dont know what the deal is with the news. i will email them again. I was thinking about going into the petco here for a glance to see if anythings changed. I am taking my camera this time. Glad to see other people have written letters, Do you have an email address for this guy? i would like to email him all the crap I have found.
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i hope you know that you could get arrested for taking pictures. i got yelled at for wanting to get pictures of some animals from petco with me in them for a school project. they told me now because animla welfare organizations could doctor the pics to get them in trouble. allbeit this store was in fine order with good animals. just a heads up b4 u walk in
 
Thank You!

I HATE Petco also!!! About a month ago i went in for worms and stopped by to see the babies....OMG, their tails looked like dried up toothpicks and one was laying on the water dish(not in it, his head was resting on the rim). I said something to two different works and one said "to my knowledge none of them are sick"!!!! So i called their survey thing and complained. Of course no one called. So i emailed them and basically said the location had hatchlings that were DYING and they were still for sale! (Actually it was worse because they stuck a new "sale" price on the tank) Then i told them i didn't appreciate the employees insulting my intelligence and LYING to my face!! I also mentioned that ALL the reptile sites I've been on have had at least 1 post about their animals (witch is basialy what you told them). I told them i didn't like that no one in the co bothered to respond to my survey and that if no one contacted me this time i would call the local news. So it's REALLY good to hear you did that :) !! Maybe now those :censored: 's will start taking things seriously :uzi: It's been about 5-6 days now, so we'll see...

You go girl!!! :)
 
the next time i go to petco for various other pet products i will take a look at the leos. if i dont like what i see i will be "bringing it to the managers attention." maybe all these reports coming from across the country is a good thing. ill prolly write a few emails saying i will find an animal welfare group thats not in the pocketbook of petco. i think someone needs to bring one of them in anonymously to show them jsut whats going on.
 
Just another petco story

The NY Gecko said:
i hope you know that you could get arrested for taking pictures. i got yelled at for wanting to get pictures of some animals from petco with me in them for a school project. they told me now because animla welfare organizations could doctor the pics to get them in trouble. allbeit this store was in fine order with good animals. just a heads up b4 u walk in
Click to expand...
Its not here in idaho, I checked. As long as there are no "no photography signs" and they dont tell me to leave or to stop and I dont i can't get in any trouble. Trust me I really can't and dont want to get arrested. lol I just really wish I could show you all how bad it really is up here. I am not normally an emotional person but the last time I went in there I was almost in tears because of what I saw. There was one leo barely able to move it was so thin, its tail was no larger than a thin shoelace. I thought it was dead. All their animals are like that there.
 
Thats cool, just dont want no one getting arrested thats all. Just walk up, snap a few with a high speed shutter and walk out. Get alot if you can. They cant make you delete the pictures youve already taken should they decide to tell you to stop. If you take some before they tell you, just brush it off and walk out. Apologies if i seem a lil bit asslilke for that but i have no patience for corporate abuse of reptiles.
 
The petco here is so, so their leos when i went in and bought mine looked 'alright' maybe a tad skinny, but you have to think how many out of what fifty? babies do you think will actually be able to capture the crickets? when some in there are way bigger? Though I do have to say the one i bought is having some issues of her own, just a little leg injury when i got her, but i called them because hey ill go take her to the vet for free, of course if i dont like what i hear ill go somewhere else.

But the 'manager' of the reptile area asked me when i was on the phone with him to describe to him what is wrong, and so i did though i figured he wouldnt be much help, but i should have know he would have been stupid enough to tell me that, obviously he cant.."Im sorry but i really cant diagnose anything over the phone, you'll have to bring him in" ya really..think I didnt already know that? he was kinda rude too, but oh well. How canhe Diagnose anything anyway when he's not even a vet? You think I would be stupid enough to believe you if you suggested something to me? when your animals here are sickly looking? pfft.

I also have dated pictures of her leg too mwaha, cant pull one over me!

Stevi.
 
I was very disapointed today. I went to petco, to bring in Aba, and have my little paper signed and yadda. And me and my dad walked by the reptile area, and i was telling him about the petco issue and this on here lol, well i was saying how so far here they looked fairly alright and health.
Well we looked down into the leo's cage and i was so sadden by what I saw, they looked so sickly. It has just been two weeks and they looked good two weeks ago, but now they dont, i wasnt pleased at all with the sight, and found amusing that i was offered another one instead, i was like..no ill keep mine.
 
Man, this petco thing is still going on??? All I can say is that it is a waste of time with your emails to them.... You need to remember that animals in these big chain stores are not going to be taken care of as well as you would care for your pets....

The animals in these stores are not pets, they are items for sale.... As sad as this may sound, this is the way it is.... These stores have huge turn over rates..... Even the sick ones get sold.... Some of the time the ill ones are even bought or "rescued" by people who should know better.... As long as they keep selling, they will keep bringing them in....

This is why it is best to purchase animals from private breeders.... The animals from a reputable breeder will be stronger and healthier because even the animals for sale are treated like pets....

Crying about how bad petco or any other chain pet store is, does absolutly nothing.... It is actually quite repeditive and boring..... Instead of typing crap on the forum, get off your behinds and do something about it.... Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done..... They have backing, lawyers, and all that good stuff..... And do you think a fine for a few hundred dollars will affect a corperate chain store???

There are just some battles in life that will never be won..... Sadly, this is one of them,,,,,
 
Gregg M said:
Man, this petco thing is still going on??? All I can say is that it is a waste of time with your emails to them.... You need to remember that animals in these big chain stores are not going to be taken care of as well as you would care for your pets....

The animals in these stores are not pets, they are items for sale.... As sad as this may sound, this is the way it is.... These stores have huge turn over rates..... Even the sick ones get sold.... Some of the time the ill ones are even bought or "rescued" by people who should know better.... As long as they keep selling, they will keep bringing them in....

This is why it is best to purchase animals from private breeders.... The animals from a reputable breeder will be stronger and healthier because even the animals for sale are treated like pets....

Crying about how bad petco or any other chain pet store is, does absolutly nothing.... It is actually quite repeditive and boring..... Instead of typing crap on the forum, get off your behinds and do something about it.... Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done..... They have backing, lawyers, and all that good stuff..... And do you think a fine for a few hundred dollars will affect a corperate chain store???

There are just some battles in life that will never be won..... Sadly, this is one of them,,,,,
Click to expand...
you havent been following very closely have you? A few people have been trying to get things done. Read all of these kinds of posts before you tell us "to get off our behinds"
 
Gregg M said:
Man, this petco thing is still going on??? All I can say is that it is a waste of time with your emails to them.... You need to remember that animals in these big chain stores are not going to be taken care of as well as you would care for your pets....

The animals in these stores are not pets, they are items for sale.... As sad as this may sound, this is the way it is.... These stores have huge turn over rates..... Even the sick ones get sold.... Some of the time the ill ones are even bought or "rescued" by people who should know better.... As long as they keep selling, they will keep bringing them in....

This is why it is best to purchase animals from private breeders.... The animals from a reputable breeder will be stronger and healthier because even the animals for sale are treated like pets....

Crying about how bad petco or any other chain pet store is, does absolutly nothing.... It is actually quite repeditive and boring..... Instead of typing crap on the forum, get off your behinds and do something about it.... Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done..... They have backing, lawyers, and all that good stuff..... And do you think a fine for a few hundred dollars will affect a corperate chain store???

There are just some battles in life that will never be won..... Sadly, this is one of them,,,,,
Click to expand...


Hence why i EMAILED them, i mean theres not a lot a 15 year old kid can do other than that.
 
Gregg M said:
Crying about how bad petco or any other chain pet store is, does absolutly nothing.... It is actually quite repeditive and boring..... Instead of typing crap on the forum, get off your behinds and do something about it.... Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done..... They have backing, lawyers, and all that good stuff..... And do you think a fine for a few hundred dollars will affect a corperate chain store???
Click to expand...

Trust me, I do understand the fustration and I commend you on letting your fustration known to all..... The fact is that this has been going on for years..... Longer than some of the people on this forum have been keeping reptiles...... There is not much the "little guy" can do..... Emails and illegaly taking pictures will do nothing..... Thats the point I was trying to drive home here.....

You should focus your energy at things that are more in reach like educating the public on reptiles and their husbandry....

Milwaukee Reptiles said:
That's the Gregg charm we've all missed... lol :hehe:
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I am back telling it the way it is..... LOL.... How have you been???
 
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