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Bad Guy Petco in California

Wow.:eek: I do not know what to say about that. I can point out a couple things about the video though. That box he found said petco.com and that box is for home deliveries only and is not sent to the stores. Second the boxes he pulled out of that box were from flukers farms and they have never in what I seen shipped iggies. I personally have never seen the blue bags that the video shows the Iggy is in. They in 8 years of petco have only been shipped in insulated boxes in white snake bags. Never any thing else. I am very disappointed in this thread. This video could have been so many other things. I only am saying what I seen. If it is true then I would hope the managers and or team from that day were held accountable accordingly. I am sending a link to this thread to my office to make sure they can get involved in all my concerns and yours. Voices of many will be heard. Petco cares a lot about the perception of there stores. Looks like Texas will be having some surprise corperate visits. Sorry to everyone for what they are having to see. There are really a lot of great petcos out there with nothing but the best in all aspects.
 
Hi Rich I can respect that but at the same time Petco is being put out there as it a issue for all that work for them instead of the obvious and that is they are uneducated about the state of the animal care in some of their stores. So I work for Petco Does that mean I am Petco and you should boycott me an what I bring to the reptile community? 2nd Just because of association with the group (HUSU) that all reptile owners hate does not make them bad. Over the last 10 years we have been under fire for many reason and you and everyone else is put into a category because of those who did wrong and or seriously screwed up. Because of those categories and those presenting it to those trying to reuine our hobby we are all bad guys in the eyes of many. I love my hobby and would love to make a carrier out of it but till then Petco is my families world. I pays the bills and makes it possible to feed them. I will never place you and or anyone into a category I will only try to educate to make it all better for everyone to the best My ability.
 
I will Be sure to pass this along. Thanks for the opp to get your concerns heard. I out. MIke
 
Sorry but it does make them bad.

You working there helps increase revenue by having a better setup for animals, thus increasing Petcos overall annual sales, which then donate to HSUS.

Who are then trying to rip away your rights to keep the very animals you love, while you work for a company paying them to do it.

Its great you have a clean nice store, but you are only furthering HSUS pocket.
 
I'm really sad to throw my voice up here, but in my location, Petco is truly the very best option. There are only two independently owned pet shops in competition with Petco and their bread and butter is puppy mill puppies from brokers. Those two shops are disgustingly filthy nasty with true sub par conditions for all animals. The "reptile" sections of both those stores makes Petco look like a nationally accredited zoo! And my Petco could very much so benefit from some husbandry education.

I do my best to support home grown shops (I couldn't survive without Pangea shipping supplies for a flat $5.99!) but my only option for dog food and and heavy sundries is Petco.
 
Rich, I don't often disagree with you...maybe I don't here either, but let me explain what I am thinking: both Petco and PetSmart can play a big role in continuing the hobby of reptile-keeping.

Okay, here goes. In my opinion, many 1st-time reptile owners start with a leopard gecko or a bearded dragon from Petco or Petsmart. The children/people I am thinking of have never been to a reptile show and don't know of any specialty pet stores as they buy Purina Cat Chow and Alpo from Petco or WalMart. It's not until later, when they become addicted to the hobby, that they educate themselves more and turn into the next generation of keepers/breeders.

Now, I don't know what % of sales at Petco are reptiles or related products, but I would guess it's not too high (maybe 5%?). But how many leopard geckos do they, as a company, sell each year? How many ball pythons or bearded dragons? I would venture to say tens to hundreds of thousands, and I think it's fairly reasonable to say that most of these sales are to folks on the newer end of the hobby.

I would think that by introducing more people to the hobby, Petco is helping the cause of reptile-keeping more than their donations could possibly be hurting it. By the very nature of them selling reptiles, they strengthen the case for their keeping. I think we should be more worried when Petco and Petsmart STOP carrying reptiles as that will move reptiles further from the public's view and out of the mainstream.


Michael - thank you for posting. I hope there is no pushback stemming from your willingness to discuss these issues here. I believe it is in everyone's interest for Petco, as well as anybody who keeps/sells reptiles, to be the best ambassadors they can be.
 
Our Petco is a good one

Rich, I don't often disagree with you...maybe I don't here either, but let me explain what I am thinking: both Petco and PetSmart can play a big role in continuing the hobby of reptile-keeping.

Okay, here goes. In my opinion, many 1st-time reptile owners start with a leopard gecko or a bearded dragon from Petco or Petsmart. The children/people I am thinking of have never been to a reptile show and don't know of any specialty pet stores as they buy Purina Cat Chow and Alpo from Petco or WalMart. It's not until later, when they become addicted to the hobby, that they educate themselves more and turn into the next generation of keepers/breeders.

Now, I don't know what % of sales at Petco are reptiles or related products, but I would guess it's not too high (maybe 5%?). But how many leopard geckos do they, as a company, sell each year? How many ball pythons or bearded dragons? I would venture to say tens to hundreds of thousands, and I think it's fairly reasonable to say that most of these sales are to folks on the newer end of the hobby.

I would think that by introducing more people to the hobby, Petco is helping the cause of reptile-keeping more than their donations could possibly be hurting it. By the very nature of them selling reptiles, they strengthen the case for their keeping. I think we should be more worried when Petco and Petsmart STOP carrying reptiles as that will move reptiles further from the public's view and out of the mainstream.


Michael - thank you for posting. I hope there is no pushback stemming from your willingness to discuss these issues here. I believe it is in everyone's interest for Petco, as well as anybody who keeps/sells reptiles, to be the best ambassadors they can be.

^^Agreed. Our first reptiles were from the local Petco and got us really interested in reptiles. At the time I'd had no clue that there were reptile shows, and didn't know how to even look for breeders. Honestly, didn't even think reptiles were so big and that there even were lots of breeders out there to choose from.
Out Petco is actually really great. We go in there a lot. The employees really care about the animals, and will take the extra time to socialize one that is skittish, or soak them and work with them if they have shedding issues or anything like that. I really think it's the management of the particular stores, not the corporation. You should contact the big wigs and alert them as to what is going on in that store.
 
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