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S&S Exotic Animals, Inc. in Texas (Inquiry)

Except for the Ball python problem, I used to recommend them, I guess with that many snakes you just get mites from a pet store. I could buy a snake from them if I really wanted it and just treat it for mites. Everybody makes mistakes and maybe they won't buy ball python babies by the thousands again, Hopefull lesson learned.

I would like to see them pick up the pace on the reptile care, but for everything else it's a cool place.
 
Recent visit to S&S Exotics

I have dropped by S&S a few times recently. As a rule of thumb, I tend to be alittle skeptical of exotic animal pet shops. I am a veterinarian, and I do regular visits to a couple other local pet shops and have seen "a few things". I must admit that I have been pleasantly surprised at how clean the place is. The owner, Suzette, seems quite dedicated to quality control. Though I did not evaluate every animal in the store, what I did see looked just fine. They do have quite a few animals and I would certainly quarantine any herp that I received from them (or anyone else), but overall, I believe that S&S would be a reliable source for good quality herps. They have been in business for many years and their business seems to be growing. Locally, they are well respected by most in the herp community. They must be doing something right!
David Doherty
 
It is definately my assumption that the problems I have been having did not originate from S&S, but from the individual that the snakes were originally aquired from by S&S.
 
I'd also like to report...

...some members of our family who live in the Houston area have given us recent good reviews of S & S Exotic Animals, Inc., telling us that they have vastly improved since we last visited not quite two years ago. Cages were clean, the animals were well-tended to, and the staff was helpful. Way to go, guys! :) That is the kind of news everyone likes to hear.
 
I went today, since I have not been since they had all those Ball pythons. The animals looked great, the store was clean and the staff was very helpful and friendly(huge improvement). The sugar gliders and other mammels and birds where in my opinion are in great shape.
They had some pretty fair deals on tanks and stuff. There was only one thing I didn't like and that was a cage of iguana's marked 12.00 each it was a tall wire cage but had about 50 juvi iguanas in it and no UVB light was present. S and S is a step above most pet stores in town. I know they need to make profits but, I hate those large either WC or CH shipments of animals, many end up being disposible pets. I won't beat them up over it because they are so many other pets stores that truly are disgusting and there practices and ethics are no where to be found. S and S has made much improvement since our last visit.
 
I cannot believe you think mites are ok!

If I get sent mites, it is almost as bad as getting a snake with IBD, because you do not know what the mites might have. Sending out mites with a snake is unacceptable in my opinion.

Dave
 
LadyViper said:
I went today, since I have not been since they had all those Ball pythons. The animals looked great, the store was clean and the staff was very helpful and friendly(huge improvement). The sugar gliders and other mammels and birds where in my opinion are in great shape.
They had some pretty fair deals on tanks and stuff. There was only one thing I didn't like and that was a cage of iguana's marked 12.00 each it was a tall wire cage but had about 50 juvi iguanas in it and no UVB light was present. S and S is a step above most pet stores in town. I know they need to make profits but, I hate those large either WC or CH shipments of animals, many end up being disposible pets. I won't beat them up over it because they are so many other pets stores that truly are disgusting and there practices and ethics are no where to be found. S and S has made much improvement since our last visit.
Click to expand...
Pam, out of curiosity, what are some of the other pet stores that are truly disgusting in the Houston area? I'm curious to see how many of us in the area share the same opinions on them.
 
I think there's one called Houston Aquatics on S. Shepherd... I went in there and they had a dead ball python still on display for sale. I also disapproved of Pet City and the way they "took care" of their reptiles... A lot of them had mites and no water and dirty cages... You could see the evaporation lines on the water bowls.
 
Pet City on 45 and 1960 is the worst!!! Nasty, smelly the worst I have ever seen, next to traders village

T&T, Hwy 6, I was told they had dead snakes on display too, I haven't been in yet, but A trusted person told me they sold a dead snake to a woman and told her it was sleeping. LOL! Since that is still second hand information, there is not way to know.

Trader's village also known has snake hell and mite city!

Petco on Hwy6 and 529, had a dead snake on display and terrible conditions for reptiles.

On the other side Pets A Plenty, AKA the Ulimate reptile store is the very best pet store for reptiles, in my opinion.. but this is not the thread for them. I would say S and S is very darn great when you compare those others. That's all I can think of at the momment
 
Yeah, I'll put S & S in the top 3 overall in the greater Houston area, for sure. They'd be #1 in selection for exotics without focusing on reptiles without a doubt. Still pretty high up there for selection on reptiles, but I'll leave that as in the top 3, too.

I think another thing that throws people off about S & S is the location and the way it's laid out; it takes some getting used to, to say the least! I would imagine folks also see 'old' and immediately think dirty because it's not all nice and shiny storefront, but she's got a pretty good thing goin' on there if you look at the overall operation. Imports are going to be an issue no matter where you go.

Traders village and chains I don't consider pet stores :ack2: , and mostly agree with you on the rest; I'll leave it at that since this is the S & S thread.

Keep on truckin, Suzette!
 
To be honest it's how clean the cage is, not the store front. I would like to compare pet stores in houston with you. I think I'll start a thread in our forums.
 
i know this is an old post but i just recieved two monitors from suzette, and i couldnt be happier! they arrived on time! no problems what so ever!
 
Just to resurrect this dead thread, I just bought a male Isabel Island ground boa from Suzette...she was really great to do business with, very polite and full of information. She answered all of my questions without hesitation and was totally willing to work around my schedule for shipping.

I'll come back when I get him and give a report as to how healthy the snake is. :)
 
I just went to SS exotics about three weeks ago and the condition is the same as what is stated above. It made me SICK. She also tried to sell the particular animal i was looking at, singly, which with Sugar Gliders, should never be done, but since she makes more on the cage set up if she sells each one separately, she ignores what is best for the animal, and sells them alone. I also discovered she has THREE THOUSAND breeder pairs! I do not even want to think about their condition. I am looking for someone to call. Because the overall state of her place, and the animals in it, is appalling. She has crammed as much as she can get in there, and on top of that, it's filthy. I wish someone would shut her down, and those poor animals could be taken care of by someone who actually cares more about animals then they do about money! What bothered me more than anything else, is that they claim to be Christians. Don't use God to sell your mess. I don't think God nor anyone else would condone the treatment of those animals.
 
i hope i'm right...

i see you posted that in december... and i know that sometimes, businesses get REAL swamped during christmas. maybe the x-mas help wasn't as helpful as she had hoped.. maybe? i know that xmas help doesn't usually know the job as well as the regular employees.. nor do they care as much as the regular employees (generally speaking, anyway.. since it's just a temp job for most of them to get some extra cash). sometimes, xmas help ends up working against you.. they'll quit, they'll half-azs things, they'll spot clean instead of completely changing the cages, etc. maybe the extra xmas stock and all of the other xmas comotion that was going on was overwhelming the staff and her xmas help.. this year more than usual.. i hope so, anyway.. since i just bought some snakes from her. i'm an exotic snake guy, so mites and RI's are usually a small price to pay for that rare snake you've been looking for forever, especially at the prices she sells them at.. so i'd still be happy either way.. but even so, it still sucks to open a box and find mites or slime dripping from the snakes face, knowing that it'll be THAT much more work and risk before you have a healthy specimen. anyway, i'm in PA, so i don't think i'll be posting a review of how s&s looks on the inside anytime soon, but i DID just buy a pair of rare indonesian rat snake from her.. so when they show up, i'll let you know how they look. i CAN say, though, that suzette was one of the most honorable and personable people i've dealt with in a while, even though i have yet to speak to over the phone (which worried me a little at first, until i read the BOI and learned that she's not part of a ghost company.. i love the BOI, heh.. ). i left my number a few times asking her to call me, but we just ended up doing all of our talking via email.. which ended up being ok, because the results couldn't have been any better since she had gone way beyond what most dealers would. she said she'd hold these guys for me without even leaving a deposit.. and she did. not many people will hold animals without a deposit now-a-days, especially not people who have as many animals and do as much business as she does. it was very nice.. felt like i was dealing with a friend, instead of some big company. i hope the snakes look good, i'd love to do business with her again. so far, other than not calling me, i'm very pleased with everything.. and if these guys show up without mites or RI, i'll be back to post a 9 1/2 out of 10 (so long as they're also healthy and the packaging is good..).. she'd only lose 1/2 of a point for not calling me, since she DID maintain great communication otherwise, going back and forth with me over email so many times, during which time she worked so hard to satisfy the customer. even if they have mites and/or RI, i'd probably still come back here and give her a 7 1/2 - 8 1/2, since i've been looking for adults of this species for a long time.. and she managed to come up with a PAIR. so i'll keep my fingers crossed, and i'll let you know how they look when they arrive. talk to you then. -Ryan
 
lanceheads said:
Jennifer,

Two years ago is a long time. What the situation was then MAY not be now. That was in the past and that was your opinion.

So why the negative post?

Your quote:

"Whether they remain that way now, I cannot say and only hope they've improved."

So,,,, why say anything at all? Especially negative?

They might have cleaned up their act for all you know.
Click to expand...


OMG isn't that the point of this BOI.... to share PAST experiences about people....... I would want to know how they keep their animals regardless of how long ago it is.... that says alot about what kind of business this is... Why say something negative???? because it was a negative experience... DUH
 
It could have been worse...

sorry it took so long to reply with the status of my purchase, but when i had recieved these rare and beautiful indonesian ratsnakes, they were pretty infested with many black mites, both large and small, caked into their eyes making them look like they had a lot of crust around their eyes, and there were mites crawling in and out of the facial scales.. and they also had pretty bad RI's (respiritory illnesses).. they kept their mouths open and gargled when they would breathe, and while holding them, i could feel their chests vibrating with liquid each time they took a breath. i gave them a gentle soak and rinsed their eyes, and mites just kept falling out of their eyes, one after another. these guys are fighters though, and if these snakes (which normally live 40+ years or so) manage to stay alive until these mites are taken care of and then survive until the RI is taken care of, then these guys will be beautiful! however, it's not likely that they'll see another birthday without the right amount of luck and hard work. it could have been worse, thoughi mean, they were alive when i got them atleast.. and judging by their condition, i'd say they are imports.. though that's just an assumption, since all they could tell me after i had asked a few times via emails, is that they only had them for a few weeks. if they ARE imports/wild caughts, then mites and RI aren't all that uncommon in that situation.. but i was kind of hoping i was buying healthier snakes, since they told me they looked healthy to them, and i trusted their professional opinions. i would have offered them MUCH less money had they told me that they were THIS sick and infested with mites. i'll be pretty upset if they die before i even get to name them.. losing hundreds of dollars and 2 beautiful snakes.. it'll be a lot more work than i had hoped, but hopefully it'll end with the same great result.. beautiful rare snakes.. but, it doesn't look good. i just thought i'd mention it to anyone purchasing, just incase what these snakes have had spread to the rest of thier stock since i don't know if they have an "import section" and a "captive bred section" that are far enough away as to not contaminate eachother.. but i do know that mites like to spread around and mites are also a common cause of RI as well. so make sure you prepare, just in case. the people there seemed rather nice, and as far as customer service goes, they seemed professional for the most part before the sale, but afterwards i could only get one response every couple of emails or so... and a few times i asked for a phone call, and didn't hear anything. and in that one post-sale email i got back, they didn't offer any compensation or appologies, but she did say this:

"This is the first I've heard about this. My employees apparently
aren't leaving me any messages from you.
I had the snakes for 3 weeks. When I first get anything in, I
treat them for mites and de-worm them. I had looked at the
snakes a few days before we shipped them and they looked
good then. The mites could have come from the shipping bags."

so make sure you speak directly to suzette so you don't have to worry about messages not getting through, and make sure you don't use their shipping bags.. heh. seriously though, these guys ARE beautiful.. and i've been looking for these guys for a while.. so it's going to be hard for me to 100% regret the sale until they actually die, but i am pretty disappointed that they are SOO sick. i guess i'll just keep my fingers crossed in hopes that they are not too far gone for this treatment to be able to work. wish me luck!
 
I haven't said much about this business even though I've worked for them in the past and I know what the conditions were like at the time I worked there. The only reason I'm coming on now is to tell you, Ryan, that you need to open your eyes and realize those animals did not arrive to you in the condition they should have and that there is no excuse for them to get sent out like that. They didn't get that many mites from the snake bags. When I worked there they did not have a separate area for CBB animals and WC animals and we did not pre-treat for mites or deworm before we sold imported animals. The fact that they are imports does not excuse shipping out in their condition. Also the employees didn't have access to the e-mail account. This business is notorious for leaving you high and dry after the animal is sold. All you needed to do is read the guarantee or lack thereof on their website and you would know that. If they die, end of story. S&S will say it is your fault they died. I've spent over 1k on vet bills from one or two animals from them... do they care, they sure don't seem to.
 
Thank You

first of all, thank you for coming on.. and 2nd, wow. i feel so naive and taken advantage of.. it's a little hard for me swallow it all down, but it all makes perfect sense. i mean there were a LOT of mites for them to just be picked up from the bag .. and it would be weird that not ONE of the employees would pass on even ONE of my messages.. and about the guarantee: i saw they had live arrival guarantee, but it wasn't until i actually got the box and read the invoice inside that i read that the live arrival ONLY applies to animals picked up at the airport (or something along those lines... anyway, i wasn't covered..). it's sad, i actually gave them the benefit of the doubt and believed every word.. and if it weren't for your help, i may have even foolishly gave them more money for thier pet mites that come with a free snake in the bag for the mites to live on. if it weren't for your inside tip, i might have bought from them again somewhere down the road and Again paid hundreds to get a dead snake in a box without a live arrival guarantee that applies to me, or have a snake only live for a month or so until it dies after spending a lot of money on meds and treatments. so thanks for openning my eyes, and i'm very lucky to have someone who was once on the inside, be willing to come on for my benefit. thank you.
 
S&S exotics houston

I will never buy from them again. I ordered a female honduran from them online and when it arrived i always sex my animals to make sure what sex i bought is was i got. I prob it its a Male, and then i popped it to make sure it just wasnt deep. . I called them an Robert answered the phone and i told him and he said its a girl and we argured for a bit and he said you can ship it back but you have to pay the shipping . so after hanging up ten minutes later he calls me and tells me i dont know how to prob and i dont know what im doing and that snake came from a vet ......So i still have it i figaured that if i send it back he will say he never got it or some shit like that so ......Im trading it at a show next month..



seth
 
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