truth about pet-stores

[chondrogreen]

I'm so glad you told me the average size of a coastal as I would never of known this

You can stick to those sizes if that's what you think is good

As I said opinions will vary.
BUT umm where did I say it is good?
I said "minimum size" and I stated that it was "perfectly fine" which it is according to hundreds of keepers that currently use 4x2x2's lol.
I also said "of course bigger is better" which is the case with any captive situation, pretty obvious huh. But your the 1 arguing over it.
And to think some people even use tray rack systems. OMG lol

 

[Andrais]

I hate the god damn place called pet paridise!!! there's so many of them, there like rats!
Never bought anything off them (becasue their so pricy i can't afford too!!) but i hate the way they give infomation and try and sell something to u, like its a market in the busy streets of New deli, India. And they keep changing owners its really annoying. There was this guy who owned the place on time who was a reptile guy like us, yeh his staff were alright, and he toned the prices down a bit, keep the piece, i was happy with the store in that day, but them this bi*th came along and took or the place and now its all gone down hill again. She has no idea of how to run the place, let alone know anything about animals, and she has this silly teenager working for her, whos a thick a a 1000 year old willow tree. Ahhhhh!!! were have all the good pet stores gone these days....arn't there anymore decent people around...or have they all taken a rocket ship to mars to find a better place to set up there loving, kind, clean pet stores..well never know

 

[WombleHerp]

I have recently started in a pet shop for about 3-4 weeks now, the conitions of the reptiles was TERRIBLE. I took the job because i needed the money, and i felt sorry for all the reptiles that are there.

NOT ONE staff member knows anything about them, and i came in there, major problems i found. I do not like pet shops either, im just one of those who comes in, gives good advice to customers and doesnt sell just because its a sale.
I make sure i know what im selling, if its the right thing to sell, etc. so i guess i could say there are us out there who bring something out of the dirt so to speak haha.. although i might not be there for too much longer! we'll see how it all plays out.

 

[bk201]

a few years back i did some work experience in a petshop at plumpton which didnt open until the basic needs of all the animals were met.

nice people family owned same as alot of older good petshops , unfortunately like many other small good shops it closed down....who can compete with scammers at these new shops...

when i was up on holidays in qld i walked into a petshop which unlike nsw had reptiles for sale... a guy tryed to sell me a tiny spotted python like <15cm for $300 and tryed to tell me i can buy it and go to the government department up there and get a permit to take it home...i walked out straight after...the reptiles looked healthy and was kept clean etc but stupid advice trying to make a sale

 

[wokka]

Opinions will vary, but the average size (that is AVERAGE size) of Coastals is 8ft.
Some will grow a bit bigger, some alot bigger and others smaller but on average 8ft seems to be common ground not just IMO but also in many writings on Herpetology.
As a rule of thumb for housing Pythons you can use the following to find the minimum dimensions of enclosure to use.

Terrestrial & semi arboreal Python = 1/2 x 1/4 x 1/4 the body length = 4x2x2ft for an 8ft Python.
Arboreal Python = 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/4 the body length = 4x4x2ft enclosure for an 8ft Python.

Of course the bigger the better in any situation but as a minimum a 4x2x2 would be perfectly fine for a Coastal.
BTW I havn't read anything on the NPWS enclosure standards but I am pretty confident they would probably use the same rule of thumb as reference for minimum standards (But I am sure to be corrected if wrong lol)

Just for the record NPWS dont use that as a rule of thumb. I would hate for yet another internet opinion to be considered correct just because it is written.

 

[derekm]

It isn't just pet shops, it's all types of businesses. Mobile phone shops staffed by people that know nothing more about phones that what the brochure says, computers shops staffed by people that can't even spell CPU, etc, etc, etc. The business model for many of these places is based on a small business owner working their butts off for long hours for less than they'd earn in wages, employing minimum wage staff, doing as much cash business as possible, and affording to live by disguising as many of their personal expenses against the business's book earnings as they think they can get away with.

IMO the only way to deal with this type of business environment is to make sure that, before you enter a shop, you know more about what you want to buy than any salesperson you are likely to meet . Alternatively, search for a supplier whose love for what they are selling, not just the money, is obvious. (They're out there and when you find one, you'll know.) Helping people find those suppliers is one of the ways in which forums like this really provide value.

 

[Andie]

A response from the other side... Please note that this is NOT directed at any particular poster but at the commonly held ideas which I see time and time again in my animal fora.

Not all pet shops are bad. Pricing is one thing animal care is another. If the prices are too high then go somewhere else. If the animals are not cared for, there is no excuse. I love my work.

This is such a difficult topic. Hobbyists are very passionate about their particular kind of animal. What I have seen consistently across fish, bird and reptile fora is that hobbyists dislike pet shops and think that the people who work in them are useless and money hungry. This of course is a generalisation because like all businesses there are good ones and bad ones.

I have worked in a privately owned (ie not Pet's Purgatory) for almost 4 years now. When I started I knew nothing but learned quickly. We try our best to talk people out of buying goldfish for bowls because we know they will die. We tell people not to buy more fish that day because their water quality is off. They appreciate this and come back because we have shown them that we actually care. Nothing is more satisfying than catching up with a customer who we have helped solve a problem.

Yes the markup is high. But consider the fish stock that arrive diseased and sick and need to be humanely put down. Not anything our fault but costs $$$. Consider that we do very little business during the week, it is all about Sat and Sun, but still staff are needed every day. Consider that sometimes we have juvenile reptiles for months because people don't want to pay for the heat and the uv and the things they need so we don't sell them the animal. It is just the way of retail. At the end of the day, it is a business and the costs of operating have to be covered with some profit left.

I personally like to look and hold and feel things that I buy for my pets and prefer to pay pet shop prices rather than online. That is my choice though.

My conclusion on what to do is don't go to pet shops if you don't like them. If you see dodgy goings on in a pet shop, talk to the manager and if they blow you off get ecoaccess involved. Let's want petshops to be better.

If you MUST tell the customer to go to a breeder instead, please follow them to their car and don't do it in front of me. I can't control the prices in the store I work at and it is a rude and disrespectful thing to do to me. I would not walk into a jewellery store and do it.

Besides, breeders, how many of you sell snakes to people who saw a spotted in a pet store and fell in love and now want the snakes which we can not sell. You've not got much competition from us (unless you are a spotted breeder).

Finally, I just want to say that not everyone in a pet store knows everything about every animal the store sells. If you overhear a salesperson who appears lost, respectfully offer a suggestion and help us be better members of and animal community.

*gets off soapbox*