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Bad Guy Petco in California

J

jumper1

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I have been keeping quiet for a long time, and have finally decided to keep quite no longer about how Petco is abusing reptiles. I live in California, and every Petco I have been to have reptiles that are either sick or live in less than adequate conditions. The reason why I am making this thread is so people can be aware if they aren't already and hopefully so Petco will end this abuse.

Awhile back I went to Petco to get cat food. I walked by the reptile section and was completely shocked at what I saw. The corn snakes, leopard geckos, bearded dragons, water dragons, green iguanas, savannah monitors, crested geckos and ball pythons all had improper temperatures and humidity, stuck shed on their bodies, wrinkled skin, and were skinny. I talked to the manager and he told me that the issue would be addressed. It's been months and nothing has changed.

I'm not sure what to do. I've already asked the manager to fix the problem and he hasn't done that. I really hope that someone here can help and I really hope that I'm not breaking the rules in any way. If I am, I'm sorry! I have posted a photo of one of the thin leopard geckos I saw.
 

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Show them, with your wallet, how much their lack of care means to you. Meaning - shop elsewhere for your cat food and other supplies. If enough people were to do that, things would change.
 
I think if one's business is critters, you should keep them clean and well fed.
There is a Petco in the town next to mine that does just that. The store is immaculate, the people helpful, and the reptiles there are in good condition. The substrate is always clean and there is fresh water.
The other critters like the birds and ferrets are well cared for also.


I absolutely believe Kate and agree about writing the corporate office, and until the store shapes up, taking your business elsewhere.
Maybe even sending a link to this thread.
I think though that the individual stores are entitled to be judged separately because some of them, like the one I go to, do make the effort to have a clean well run store.
 
I visited a Petco by where the Big E is held and it was great. However, the one in Milford Ct on the post road is horrible. Tons of crickets in the snake cages (the employees insist that corns, bp's and boas eat them), no humidity in the rainbow boas cage. Stuck sheds and big wood chips for bedding.
The fish department is horrible there as well. No light for corals or clams. Ick everywhere and cyano covering the tanks. One of the idiot employees even told a customer they could buy a critter cage and divide it to have half fw and half SW. Sold them the cage and an Oscar and a hippo tang.
I've tried talking to them and got nowhere and sent emails and letters to corporate. It does nothing. As long as people shop there and they are staffed by morons, they will not change.
Stop spending money and hopefully the store will close due to lack of business.
 
Most of the Petcos in my area take good care of the animals (for a big-name pet store that barely trains their employees), but there's been a couple that I've called animal control on. Here in Los Angeles county, the stores are actually monitored and given a grade on how well they care for the animals. If you call animal control on one of these stores, they certainly do something about it. I got the chance to speak with the animal control officer that went to investigate one of the Petcos I called on. She ordered that they get veterinary care for the skin-and-bone leopard geckos. When they didn't get vet care within 24 hours, she confiscated them. Unfortunately, most didn't make it because they were too far gone, but a couple later were nursed to health and found great homes. The Petco was fined and corporate contacted. Since then, they have brought in new staff, fired old ones, and the store is looking better.

So, in your situation. Call/email animal control and call/email corporate. If you email, be sure to send pictures. Keep all sorts of documentation, including who you talked to and when.
 
I got a good story about Petco

I was actually kicked out of the petco closest to me about a month ago. After about an hour and a half of being in there with my large tegu who was on a leash I was told that I had to leave asap becasue someone with a micro dog was scared for there life. Doesnt matter that A: my lizard is friendly and B: I had like 20 people around me is AWW on how sweet and gorgeous he is. Most of which were there were the employes of the store. When I asked why I was being asked to leave the manager (who i have never seen before and have been going to the store for over a year) said "because it is against the rules of petco to bring in animals that they do not sell". Being a smart ass I asked why dogs were allow in because they do not sell them there. He told me that they sale dog products so that dogs were allowed in. I then brought it to his attention that they sell reptile products also but by that time he was unhappy because customers started walking out because of the treatment I was getting. I hope that the one person with the dog spends lots of money there because I was getting ready to drop close to a grand there on several different things but decided to drive another 30 min and hit up petsmart where they love seeing all my animals.
 
The 2 Petsmarts near me have both been good since they opened. The Petco by my has been up and down. From what I get from some long time employees I know at Petco, the conditions in the store are the direct result of the attitude and dedication of the store manager. If they don't care, the animals suffer.

From what they tell me, you can thank PETA and HSUS for the snakes sometimes havibg crickets. They have pressured the chain stores to discourage breeding and live feeders. They feed all their snakes f/t and if the snakes refuse, they just don't eat. I asked about the crickets in a Corn snake cage once and was told it was a desperate attempt to get it to eat. When I asked about live food I was informed of the animal rights thing. They don't even have live pinks in the store to give them if they wanted to. That's why their mice and rats are pet prices and not labeled as feeders too. Petsmart even separates the sexes of rodents so they won't breed.

Definitely complain to Corporate when you see poor conditions. They will do something if they get enough complaints. Despite what some people think the bad conditions are not company policy.
 
hallowedone said:
I was actually kicked out of the petco closest to me about a month ago. After about an hour and a half of being in there with my large tegu who was on a leash I was told that I had to leave asap becasue someone with a micro dog was scared for there life. Doesnt matter that A: my lizard is friendly and B: I had like 20 people around me is AWW on how sweet and gorgeous he is. Most of which were there were the employes of the store. When I asked why I was being asked to leave the manager (who i have never seen before and have been going to the store for over a year) said "because it is against the rules of petco to bring in animals that they do not sell". Being a smart ass I asked why dogs were allow in because they do not sell them there. He told me that they sale dog products so that dogs were allowed in. I then brought it to his attention that they sell reptile products also but by that time he was unhappy because customers started walking out because of the treatment I was getting. I hope that the one person with the dog spends lots of money there because I was getting ready to drop close to a grand there on several different things but decided to drive another 30 min and hit up petsmart where they love seeing all my animals.
Click to expand...
be very careful about bringing in your pets to these stores. It is a great place to get fleas and mites
 
People know about these chain shops but most aren't reptile people so not important to them. All you can do is shop elsewhere and tell others.
You could maybe once a week or as your time allows stand out front with a sign. Companies don't like protesters as it's bad for business. That is if your as serious as your post let's on.
 
It all depends on the store manager and the employees. Unfortunately some areas can only afford to employ people that do not know anything about their care. I worked at a Petco in Austin and our manager would not order animals that could not be comfortably housed in their enclosure and all our animals were in great condition. Now I go in the same store and the animals are sub-par, but not terrible.
 
This is upsetting to me. I am a GM for Petco and I know that all petcos do not have the care we are speaking about. Pm me the store and I will call my district office and corperate to make sure it is looked into. You also can call petco corperate and they will get all the bells and whistles going to address it. Ask to speak to the regional animal manager or district. They will listen. Sorry for your experience!!!!!!!
Michael Masters
 
If thats the case corporate is going to get ALOT of calls. Just about every petco I have been to (which is alot) is horrible with their reptiles.
 

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I have watched all the comments and I understand all the concerns. Hitting them in the pocket book does not hurt Petco only but all the families they employ and not all the associates deal with the reptiles. Not all Petcos are bad infact Petco is a really great place but unfortunately there may be some miss guided associates on how to handle issues link the ones in the photos you all are seeing. I am not a spokes man for Petco but someone who values his Job and does love it. I would recommend bringing you concerns to the managers at the store if not go to customer relations at Petco.com and voice your concerns. They take it straight to the district managers and the regional managers. It is also copied over to the Ceo and Vps of the company. Trust me when I say your voice will be heard and yes the more they get calls about with individual stores that are less then perfect with the animal care the more visits they will get and were needed they will replace mangers. Trust me II have seen it happen more then once. We are a deeply caring community lets come together to professionally to get this concern addressed. I am already contacting the right people to get into that store to find out what is happening.
 
MIchaelfm said:
This is upsetting to me. I am a GM for Petco and I know that all petcos do not have the care we are speaking about. Pm me the store and I will call my district office and corperate to make sure it is looked into. You also can call petco corperate and they will get all the bells and whistles going to address it. Ask to speak to the regional animal manager or district. They will listen. Sorry for your experience!!!!!!!
Michael Masters
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I was waiting for you to chime in Mike. I was going to post that you were a gm and had a great store. It all comes down to the managers in each store. It also seems like the regional manager needs to fix the issue.
 
For the record, before it closed down, the petco near where I live took really good care of their herps. Their corn snake babies were housed separately, had clean, healthy skin, were well fed... and this applied to the rest of the herps as well. It really does depend on who works there and if anyone actually had the guts to say something to their corporate offices if bad conditions are spotted. Posting about it on a forum won't do much... but getting ahold of someone higher up than the employees neglecting the animals can.
 
Thanks Rich and Shannon. The best thing to do is make the call.
You all have you hearts in the right place and considering the ways the reptile community is under fire everyone needs to be on the same page to show we are the best when it comes to over all care of our reptiles compared to any pet owners. We are the best and the most compashionat.
 
MIchaelfm said:
Thanks Rich and Shannon. The best thing to do is make the call.
You all have you hearts in the right place and considering the ways the reptile community is under fire everyone needs to be on the same page to show we are the best when it comes to over all care of our reptiles compared to any pet owners. We are the best and the most compashionat.
Click to expand...

I managed a Pet Supplies Plus and worked there for 7 years (and I will never go back ;) )I know how it goes in retail... sometimes your employees really are clueless no matter HOW you train them. I used to have people do the most idiotic things with our animals, and all we had were some hamsters, guinea pigs, and that sort of thing. You would think it's impossible to screw up taking care of a couple hamsters but.... you'd be assuming waaayyyy too much intelligence. I had employees feed hamster food to the birds, sell rats to people with a sm Kritter Keeper as an acceptable habitat, bag a large fish in such a small bag the fish was standing up on end, bag betta fish with zero air in the bag, sell someone a clownfish and a goldfish bowl, and plenty of other things I don't even need to mention. These same employees would be told again and again what they were doing wrong, and if they didn't get it right, they were let go. We never allowed our animals to be without clean water, food, timothy hay, clean substrate, etc etc.. even if it meant firing neglectful employees in the process. But if nobody says anything to someone higher up, nothing gets done. If the animals are allowed to get to that point in a store it means that not only the employees, but the management, are slacking and/or ignorant. If you as a customer go to the manager in a store where there are a bunch of sick reptiles, it's not going to change anything because they already allowed it to get to that point and clearly have no idea how to correct the situation, or care to.
 
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