On Friday I went to a local farmers market type place. It has various stores including a pet store. My daughter and I went into the pet store, just to look around and give an update on the ferret I purchased from there back in September. On our way out I noticed they had a baby beardie. So we stopped to look at it.
Here's what we saw: Three 5-gallon tanks with a baby beardie approx 3-5" long, in one, sharing a very very hot heat lamp with the tarantula in a tank next to it, and next to the tarantula was a baby ball python soaking in its water dish(upon closer inspection, you could see mites). In the beardies tank was aspen for substrate, a basking stick which was laying down the length of the tank. Not that it needed a basking spot cause the tank was so small the whole tank was a basking spot. An empty food bowl. A water dish with fake plants soaking in it. And at least 3 full grown crickets, about at big as the beardies head(in length).
I asked the girl working,(she's the owners daughter) how often they feed the beardie, and her reply was "oh, we just throw a handful of crickets in there two to three times a week" ..... I replied with, "I've been doing research on bearded dragons cause im going to be buying one soon. I haven't done as much research on the babies because I plan on getting an adult, but if I remember correctly, the babies get 80% (crickets) and 20% greens. And you're only supposed to give them as many as they can eat in 15 minutes" ...before I could mention the size of the crickets, she cut me off telling me she's never had a problem with how they take care of them, and that she takes care of her own the same way and its just fine. I was floored. The beardie was $60, and I was about 5 seconds from buying it even though im not 100% prepared (I could have easily purchased everything I was missing from a different pet store) but that's when we spotted the mites on the ball python. Which wouldn't have bothered me if I didnt have 10 other reptiles.
This is a "mom and pop" pet store. You would think these people would know better. But then again, they have puppy-mil puppies for sale there too ..
Sorry, i had to vent. This makes me sick, sad and so very angry!!!
Here's what we saw: Three 5-gallon tanks with a baby beardie approx 3-5" long, in one, sharing a very very hot heat lamp with the tarantula in a tank next to it, and next to the tarantula was a baby ball python soaking in its water dish(upon closer inspection, you could see mites). In the beardies tank was aspen for substrate, a basking stick which was laying down the length of the tank. Not that it needed a basking spot cause the tank was so small the whole tank was a basking spot. An empty food bowl. A water dish with fake plants soaking in it. And at least 3 full grown crickets, about at big as the beardies head(in length).
I asked the girl working,(she's the owners daughter) how often they feed the beardie, and her reply was "oh, we just throw a handful of crickets in there two to three times a week" ..... I replied with, "I've been doing research on bearded dragons cause im going to be buying one soon. I haven't done as much research on the babies because I plan on getting an adult, but if I remember correctly, the babies get 80% (crickets) and 20% greens. And you're only supposed to give them as many as they can eat in 15 minutes" ...before I could mention the size of the crickets, she cut me off telling me she's never had a problem with how they take care of them, and that she takes care of her own the same way and its just fine. I was floored. The beardie was $60, and I was about 5 seconds from buying it even though im not 100% prepared (I could have easily purchased everything I was missing from a different pet store) but that's when we spotted the mites on the ball python. Which wouldn't have bothered me if I didnt have 10 other reptiles.
This is a "mom and pop" pet store. You would think these people would know better. But then again, they have puppy-mil puppies for sale there too ..
Sorry, i had to vent. This makes me sick, sad and so very angry!!!
they're not even treating the python. They're not water loving snakes (mine aren't atleast. Except for when they had mites)... but Nope!! I really want to go back and give them all a piece of my mind! I just might.
