THIS IS WHY I HATE GOING IN PETSMART!!!!

[sugarcube]

I recently went to petsmart with my 5 month old bearded dragon to get my bearded dragon a new food dish and a woman walked up to me. She was amazed how big my bearded dragon was (he isn't really big he's 17.5 inches). She said that she only feeds her 2 month old baby bearded dragon 40 crickets a week 1 time a week. She also said she doesn't want her baby bearded dragon to grow big as mine so she will probably stunt its growth (she was very serious). I was so furious. But I didn't say anything but I probably should have . Anyway i went to to the reptile isle and I overheard her talking to an employee about mealworms :evil: and the employee said to give the bearded dragon 7-10 mealworms a day. I was so angry . I didn't want to hear anymore to make me more upset so I went checkout. I feel like I should have told her something but I would have probably gotten so mad and cause a scene. I hate that all the employees know nothing about bearded dragons yet they give advice like they know everything about them . What would you do in a situation like this?

 

[anc90]

Im not sure I would have said anything either because most of the time you can't change people like that. Most petsmart employee's know nothing about the species,and it's sad that they make people belive that they do.

 

[Ladyhawk42]

I worked at two locally-owned pet stores, one in Fresno and one where I live now. Neither were any better than PetSmart. I think both owners started out wanting to do the right thing and ended up enslaved to the almighty dollar.

As an employee, I had to play veterinarian to any sick animals and of course I didn't know what I was doing. I was also too emotionally young to say, "You know, this is wrong. If you're going to have a pet store, you need to treat the animals better." I remember puppies languishing in those small cages and never being allowed out. Once, the owner ordered me to fix a conure's dislocated leg. I was also ordered to fix a cockatiel's leg after the original owner crimped the band and the cockatiel outgrew it. Well, removing the band did nothing, so...ugh...I don't even want to write what happened next. Some rats got out and grew feral. One night they got their protein by pulling the legs of finches through the bars of the cage and biting them off. The next day, I had to euthanize the finches. I would say how, but I already feel sick. I have a lot of those memories. To this day, they make me upset.

There were good times, too. It was just like the rest of life: good and bad. But a lot of the bad things didn't need to happen. Setting aside some vet money wouldn't have killed those pet store owners.

Behind the scenes things can get really scary in those stores. When I bred exotic birds, I tried to do it right. I took sick animals to the vet. Looking back, I see some huge mistakes, but at least they weren't cold-hearted, money-based mistakes.

I wonder...are there ANY good pet stores?

 

[brittani299]

This is why I never go to the animal section of pet stores. I just go to where I am going and thats it. I have to put blinders on when I enter Petco and Petsmart. It is sad but it is the only way I can keep myself from killing all the people that work there.

 

[anc90]

I worked at two locally-owned pet stores, one in Fresno and one where I live now. Neither were any better than PetSmart. I think both owners started out wanting to do the right thing and ended up enslaved to the almighty dollar.

As an employee, I had to play veterinarian to any sick animals and of course I didn't know what I was doing. I was also too emotionally young to say, "You know, this is wrong. If you're going to have a pet store, you need to treat the animals better." I remember puppies languishing in those small cages and never being allowed out. Once, the owner ordered me to fix a conure's dislocated leg. I was also ordered to fix a cockatiel's leg after the original owner crimped the band and the cockatiel outgrew it. Well, removing the band did nothing, so...ugh...I don't even want to write what happened next. Some rats got out and grew feral. One night they got their protein by pulling the legs of finches through the bars of the cage and biting them off. The next day, I had to euthanize the finches. I would say how, but I already feel sick. I have a lot of those memories. To this day, they make me upset.

There were good times, too. It was just like the rest of life: good and bad. But a lot of the bad things didn't need to happen. Setting aside some vet money wouldn't have killed those pet store owners.

Behind the scenes things can get really scary in those stores. When I bred exotic birds, I tried to do it right. I took sick animals to the vet. Looking back, I see some huge mistakes, but at least they weren't cold-hearted, money-based mistakes.

I wonder...are there ANY good pet stores?

Sadly probably not and IMO if you want something done right you hve to go straight to the breeder!

 

[tgolden]

Y'all have to understand its not the employee at fault. They are doing what they are told and passing on care info they are told. These folks are not gonna risk they're jobs over some what we call bad husbandry. I don't blame them. Theses places are in to making the money not making the perfect habitat for each animal the comes thru there. Do I agree.....no. Its real ez to strand in judgment when its not your job and livelihood at risk. Y'all should cut them some slack man

 

[Ladyhawk42]

Y'all have to understand its not the employee at fault. They are doing what they are told and passing on care info they are told. These folks are not gonna risk they're jobs over some what we call bad husbandry. I don't blame them. Theses places are in to making the money not making the perfect habitat for each animal the comes thru there. Do I agree.....no. Its real ez to strand in judgment when its not your job and livelihood at risk. Y'all should cut them some slack man

Having worked in pet stores, I have a hard time doing that. When I was young and in good health, I was the ONLY employee who slaved all day to clean bird cages. The person who was supposed to be helping me was schmoozing with the owners and getting raises and promotions. The other employees did not care about expanding their knowledge of the animals they were caring for. It was the brown-nosers who got raises and promotions. I was too busy ruining my back to suck up.

I'm not sure if the heavy labor caused some of my issues, but now I can't even clean my own parrot's cage properly. I pretty much keep him on an area of the counter next to my computer desk with some toys.

When I went home I studied husbandry of parrots and fish so I could come back and better know what I was doing.

When I asked for a raise, I was given 25 cents more per week. I quit. I understand that afterward things went south quickly because I was the only one cleaning parrot cages, which took all day because of the number of parrots we had.

So yes, I blame the employees. If they are young and in good health, there is no reason they can't make at least some changes from the inside. I couldn't afford to take animals to the vet, but I sure as hell could clean their cages and learn best how to care for them. I was the bird lady. And I'm sure I made the lives of the birds better in that store.

 

[tgolden]

So in your opinion employees of the pet stores should spend there off time studying husbandry of all the animals in the store and not get paid for it? And go against what they are told to do at work? Also keep in mind bird lady big difference in bird and reptile.

Posted by moderator: Rudeness is not allowed anywhere on this forum so if you don't have something nice to say, please don't say anything at all. Name calling is not allowed either.

 

[brittani299]

Aguring about this is really not going to solve anything. It comes down to this. If you don't like the way they treat the animals don't buy from there. There is nothi g we can do. We don't own the store we just shop there. They don't care who buys the animals or stuff as long as someone does. And please stop being rude. It is uncalled for.

 

[Ladyhawk42]

So in your opinion employees of the pet stores should spend there off time studying husbandry of all the animals in the store and not get paid for it? And go against what they are told to do at work? Also keep in mind bird lady big difference in bird and reptile.

At any store you have a responsibility to learn your job, even more so at a pet store. Working in a pet store isn't like working in a video store. If you don't learn the plot of Sean of the Dead, it won't hurt anyone. If you don't learn your job at the pet store, lives are at stake. At one of the pet stores, I was told to study animal husbandry and rewarded with a decent raise. At the other I was shunned, so I quit. So yes, a lot of the responsibility also rests on the businesses to reward their employees.

Also, I am not an imbecile. I know there are differences in bird and reptile husbandry. I've had both. I used to have quite a collection of king and corn snakes. Taking care of snakes is different from taking care of geckos, which is different from taking care of bearded dragons, which is different from taking care of discus, which is different from taking care of guppies, which is different from taking care of African cichlids, which is different from taking care of goldfish, which is different from taking care of ad infinitum.

At one store, I learned as much as I could about birds and fish. At the other, I specialized exclusively in birds. I learned enough to breed greys and Senegals (which is different from breeding cockatoos, which is different from breeding Amazons, etc.), but I learned as much as I could.

That's why I'm here. I do NOT know enough about taking care of bearded dragons. I am here to learn. It is my responsibility to learn. No one is paying me to learn. I'm doing it because I don't want Grover to die.

At the second store, I worked as the bird lady alongside a retired WWII Lieutenant Colonel who was the bird MAN (he was a hoot!). We had a reptile guy. He sucked. Instead of doing his job, he would disappear for hours at a time, schmoozing with the owner and getting promotions. At one point, nearly all the reptiles under his care died. He took a disease home to his reptiles and they all died. Because I had learned diseases could be carried home, I left my shoes at the door when I came home, changed my clothing and washed up.

I know what goes on behind the scenes in pet stores. A lot of it is the owners' fault, but a lot of it is employee apathy and unwillingness to work. I have seen it and unfortunately, it's the ass-kissers and not the good employees who get the raises and promotions. However, a good employee can make a huge difference in the lives of the animals. I know this from experience. I worked hard in those stores. I did not resent studying husbandry at home because lives were at stake.

I've seen the local PetSmart employees doing nothing but sitting on their asses and talking about trivial matters. Would asking them to learn about the few species in their care be too much to ask? The stores where I worked had so many species I could only specialize in parrots and learn as much as I could about canaries, finches and fresh water fish. At PetSmart, the employees could learn what they needed to know relatively quickly.

The buck stops at the managers and owners, but the employees have responsibilities, too. Lives are at stake, so yes, they need to learn animal husbandry.

 

[Ladyhawk42]

So in your opinion employees of the pet stores should spend there off time studying husbandry of all the animals in the store and not get paid for it? And go against what they are told to do at work? Also keep in mind bird lady big difference in bird and reptile.

OK, I'm done. I just didn't appreciate him / her insulting my intelligence. Of course bearded dragon husbandry is different from parrot husbandry. That is why I am here.

I also feel I'm in a unique position, having worked in pet stores where the employees don't care about the animals. It's not just the big chains and it's not just the owners and managers. It's the employees. Part of the problem is they're not paid well. Part of the problem is they just don't care. They want a place where they can spend 8-ish hours doing as little as possible. If that's the case, they should try to find a job where lives are not at stake. You cannot begin to understand how frustrating it was to work in those stores, trying to do the job of three or four people because they wouldn't pull their own weight and knowing if you failed animals would die.

 

[tgolden]

Not sure why you getting upset. I'm trying to understand your point of view bird lady. To do that I have to ask questions and state my opinion. Since you are offended by me doing so I will not post anymore and chat elsewhere...........food for thought tho. If you remain closed minded to other opinions, how will you learn things?
Good luck

 

[shrambo]

Ok I'm not sure if my store is different or what. but. i work at petco. and prior to working there i was told horror stories by different people saying how awful the animals are treated and stuff. so i expected the worse. but. it couldn't be further from the truth. there's not one employee at my store who doesn't care about the animals, with the exception of the cashiers. but they don't sell the animals. not every person is an absolute expert of every reptile, but they know enough to tell the customers what they need and how to keep the animal alive and happy. when animals get sick, they aren't just left for dead. they go see a vet. and get treated with medicine. and sometimes we have to force feed animals because they won't eat. and it's not always easy. but it's done.

As for people saying, "they're only doing what they're told and trying to sell you stuff", that's a complete lie. most of the employees when selling a reptile will recommend you go buy certain things at walmart to save money. we don't work off commission- why would we care if you spent $50 extra dollars. also, what we are told is that if we ever are uncomfortable selling a certain animal we can refuse the customer the sale (i.e. the lady in petsmart mentioned earlier who wanted to stunt her beardies growth. If she came to buy another beardie, we could tell her no.) she would get mad, but too bad. I've refused to sell a bearded dragon to some old asian man who claimed he already had a bearded dragon and that uvb was unnecessary. Fish are refused to people all the time.

So, like i said, i'm not sure if my petco is different, but we actually care about our animals. i've walked in on one of my coworkers having a conversation with a guinea pig. It all comes down to who the employees are and who's the small animal manager i guess. in my case, i'm lucky.
but your job is not at risk when it comes to refusing to sell to an unfit customer or giving correct information to customers. and if it is and you work at petco, then contact your district manager (your store manager's manager). Because you could totally get your store in trouble and get transferred elsewhere.

 

[Ladyhawk42]

Ok I'm not sure if my store is different or what. but. i work at petco. and prior to working there i was told horror stories by different people saying how awful the animals are treated and stuff. so i expected the worse. but. it couldn't be further from the truth.

Where do you work so I can come buy stuff at YOUR Petco?

Seriously, I am ecstatic to hear that your store is so good with its animals. Maybe there are decent pet stores out there after all.

 

[shrambo]

Maryland lol.