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Please Help!!! What Can I do?

xavusangel

xavusangel

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I went to Petco tonight and i seen a corn snake there that was as thin as a pencil or maybe thinner, he loooked in really bad shape, so i talked to one of the customer service people and all he could say is that he probably wasn't being fed right because he use to do it but someone else took his job and he would talk to her?! The snake looked like it was dying and i feel like rescuing it but i'm not going to pay full price!!! What can i do? Poor guy :(
 
I think most of us have been in that position...some have tried for the save, some don't (for a whole bunch of reasons). Many will tell you that to take this snake home is asking for trouble (myself included , but I've done it). If it is as bad as you say, chances are you will not save it...but you could endanger other snakes in your collection by bringing it home. If you are not concerned about that, and want to try - ask to speak with the manager that oversees the animals. Show him/her the snake & express your concerns. Offer to explain proper care of this snake to the person responsible for it. Depending on the responses you get, you may want to make an offer (remember, they get these things CHEAP and it is in bad shape). Not knowing how big it is, how bad off it is, (what morph it is), the asking price, etc, it is hard to recommend a figure...but since you are saying "thin as a pencil" like it is bad, I'm guessing at least a yearling. IF after really looking it over, you think it is salvagable, offer them 1/3 their listed price (if they have it for $45-50, offer them $15), but be prepared to walk away. If you appear to eager too "save" it, they might try to hold out for $$. Above all, be realistic...if it's too far gone - save yourself some money and stress by walking away
 
Thank you very much for the help, i don't know if i want to try and go through all the trouble if chances are i probably won't be able to save it, im not an expert in corn snake yet,im still pretty new to them actually, but i know well enough to say that snake was horribly sick, i think i will go back in a few days and see if anything changed, i think the snake was a hatchling but i have never seen a hatchling so thin and lethargic, he also looked extremly dehydrated..so i will check up on him...thanks again
 
The whole problem of "saving" these guys arises when you stop and think.....once you buy that one, they will just get in another one to replace it, and the cycle continues. I know how hard it is to walk away, believe me...there has been more than one time where I couldn't, and yet other times I did and felt horrible for days. But when you buy this one at any price, are you willing to buy the next one they get, and the next one, to keep them from suffering the same fate? In my opinion, the best thing you can do is as Harald said.....TRY talking to the manager, corporate, anyone who will listen (and maybe some that don't) and make your best effort at educating them....
 
Bear in mind that you may just be setting yourself up for the heartache of having that snake die while in your care. That can be rather traumatic for some people. Some pet shop personnel don't have the foggiest notion of how to care for snakes. They probably throw in a handful of crickets every week and feel that the feeding chore is done for that animal. :rolleyes:
 
Any animal that is lethargic and thin resulting in poor appearance they must immediately take it to a vet. "Animals come first at Petco" Yeah right. I have spent weeks arguing proper husbandry for the reptiles in their care with minimal results. If the animal goes to the vet and something happens to it where it will not appear normal allowing them to sell it, they offer it up for adoption. Offer to adopt the animal, there is no charge for that. Unfortunately, the employees must adhere to the corporations view of how to care for the animal, which is usually deathly inaccurate.
 
I too have had my share of difficulties with pet store reptiles. You can talk and reason your brains out, but I have noticed they do not care. They see me as some lunatic, I have been able to save a few and get a price reduction because I threatened to bring in the humane society and shut them down. Sometimes, if most of the animals are bad I just call the humane society and not even bother with walking out with an animal.

A lot of these stores randomly hire teenagers that have no clue what to do. I am told they are trained, which means nothing about experience. Many times the best thing to do is just bite your tongue and walk away, I also spread the news to everyone so they will not end up with a sick and dying reptile. I have found that to be worth more than just trying to save a dying snake with proper care. The people I inform go to a private breeder and pick out a healthy snake that has a better chance of living a long life with proper care. Good luck woth your choice.
 
Yes, seems far too horrible to occur in such a place, where animals are supposedly their main concern...
Funny you should mention that.... I used to have a coworker, who when instructed to feed the reptiles tossed crickets into every cage and thought it was done... Needless to say, he was told his assisstance was no longer needed, a decision handed down by management.
 
Thanks for all the replies, my boyfriend told me i shouldn't buy it either because they will just go and buy more, which is true, but its so sad, animals should come first before any stupid supplies!!! I feel really bad for those animals, i didn't mention i also seen a dead mouse in a cage that looked like it had been there a while because it was flat but i didn't say anything to the people there, because i didn't want to seem like a annoying person!!!
 
That is just inexcusable. Deaths happen, but all cages should be checked every morning before opening. When we had the shop, before the doors opened: fish were scooped, small animals and birds were cleaned, and reptiles were checked (major messes taken care of prior to that lock turning). Sometimes all the reptiles stuff wasn't done before people came in because I usually only had about 45 minutes after I got there (after my hour commute home from my "real" job), but there was nothing dead or sickly looking in the cages.
 
xavusangel said:
Thanks for all the replies, my boyfriend told me i shouldn't buy it either because they will just go and buy more, which is true, but its so sad, animals should come first before any stupid supplies!!! I feel really bad for those animals, i didn't mention i also seen a dead mouse in a cage that looked like it had been there a while because it was flat but i didn't say anything to the people there, because i didn't want to seem like a annoying person!!!
Click to expand...

They SHOULD come first, but unfortunately, that's usually not the case in places like that. And you know, if there were a lot more "annoying people" telling these people they have problems, maybe they would eventually learn.....or a lot more of us getting kicked out. :rolleyes:
 
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