Website launch

[Woma_n]

Well done Matt, me and Ricky have been waiting for your site since you told us about it

What does everyone think of pet shops? If a pet shop looked after its herps really well, would anyones opinions on them change? Just wondering...

 

[stockeh]

thanks mel, still no where near finished but hey at leats it is up and running

say g'day to rick for me catch u soon
matt

 

[moosenoose]

Am I out of line in saying...what on earth is going on over there at The Reptile Warehouse in Preston Victoria?! I say no more .......Your prices look good Stockeh!

 

[stockeh]

thanks moosenoose thats the idea we have all been gettin ripped off for too long

 

[NCHERPS]

Woma n,
I personally think specialisation is the key, reptile only shops are generally alot better than Pet shops that sell everything, ie: Jack of all trades, master of none!

 

[moosenoose]

Surely if the DPI or DSE are on peoples cases about how to feed their herps (ie: the live/ frozen debate) and also their strict licensing guidelines for herpers etc, should it not be beyond the realms of normality that they also have guidelines in place to protect these animals in the care of shopkeepers?? Where's the spot checks on them??...oops...I forgot...they might PAY more for their licenses than we do!! Is that too cruel?? ... too harsh???

 

[phantom]

nice site should be gr8 when all up a running

 

[zoe]

i dont have a problem with pet shops selling reptiles if they just looked after them properly! which they dont seem to do...

 

[sydneygoldsales.com]

First of all congrats on the site. You may want to look at some shopping cart software called ShopFactory. You can get at it http://www.3d3.com You can build an entire web site in a few minutes with the shopping cart and it has everything you would ever need integrated like shipping costs, tax costs, payment systems. There is too much to list but it creates good looking, professional web sites.

As for my opinion on pet shops selling herps.

I think it needs to come in two parts. 1st being that people shouldn't be able to just fill in a form to get their licence. They should have to read a manual and then have to sit some kind of test, just like they were going for their L's for their drivers licence. On top of that they should have to be a part of some kind of community that deals with herps, weather it be on-line, just like this one, or regular meetings, or a newsletter or whatever, just so long as the licencee knows that there are loads of resources out there for them to get info, and loads of places to get set up properly at much more affordable places than the pet shops.

The second part is the pet shops should have to go through the same test as above, but the should have to be forced to also do a practical exam, dealing with herp health, herp handling, herp husbandry, basically anything you would ever need to know that does not fall into copmlex health issues that a vet would need to treat. If a pet shop is completely competant not only would they be able to look after the animals, they would also give a **** since they went to so much effort (hopefully). After they are certified to sell herps they should be randomly inspected once a quarter. If they stuff up they get a strike. Three strikes and they are out.

Once both parties are certified they can trade between each other knowing that each other has a clue, and all they need to do is show their photo licence to verify that they have passed the tests.

Some may consider this harsh but I would love to see herps in pet shops, but only if they were cared for properly and there was some sort of accountability on both parts.

I honestly think that pet shops should have to go through that process for every animal they sell.

Just my opinion

=)

 

[stockeh]

thanks bondi i appreciate it
matt

 

[zoe]

bloody oath bondi you are absolutely spot on there! it SHOULD be that hard - if they dont want to bother then its better that they dont have herps anyway

 

[womas4me]

I think that joe average keeper should also have regular inspections. More herps would die in australia through keepers than the total of all pet shop losses put together. Everyone bags the shops when they do wrong, and so they should be bagged and inspected etc, but what about the poor animals killed by keepers negligence every day. Put it in a ratio of keepers deaths to pet shop deaths and i would say the ratio would be extremely high. Pet shops just have higher exposure.

 

[zoe]

i agree. i think we all should be inspected...but i doubt that's gonna happen anytime soon :?

 

[africancichlidau]

REGULAR inspection is the way to go with pet shops I believe. They should have to prove basic husbandry skills but not necessarily be able to deal with any health problems providing they have a Herp Vet that they have an agreement with. A formal agreement signed by both parties and if one of the inspections turns up a sick animal they should have to prove that it is recieving treatment or at least is booked in with the contracted vet. I have no problems with the high prices charged by the shops as they have to make a living, what I have a problem with is someone paying this high price for a sub standard or sick animal as I have seen both for sale in pet shops in Victoria.

 

[Adam]

Price on fully wired cages are awesome!!!

 

[africancichlidau]

There are a helluvalot more keepers than pet shops though

 

[Adam]

That is true.

 

[stockeh]

thanks adam.... does that mean you want one

 

[sydneygoldsales.com]

They should have to prove basic husbandry skills but not necessarily be able to deal with any health problems providing they have a Herp Vet that they have an agreement with.

Sorry, I should have been a little clearer. What I should have said was that they don't need to be able to treat the animal, but they have to be aware of any health issues. Too many pet shops would not even know if their animals had anything wrong with them.

I have no problems with the high prices charged by the shops as they have to make a living, what I have a problem with is someone paying this high price for a sub standard or sick animal as I have seen both for sale in pet shops in Victoria.

I could not agree more.

 

[Hickson]

I have to agree woith the general sentiments expressed by everyone, but there is something I think everyone has overlooked. It's been mentioned in previous posts in this thread (and others) that the prices in petshops are rip-offs - notwithstanding the fact they have to make a living - and that lots of animals die from reptile keepers through neglect.

One advantage of the high prices commanded petshops is that few people are going to fork out a lot of money on a spur-of-the-moment purchase. As well as the price of the animal, the cage, with lights/heatsource/thermostat/timer etc is also quite high. Anyone that really really wants a reptile will research it and find a breeder, and only spend the money on all the accompnying equipment when they are reasonably sure they can keep the animal alive.
I remember the days back in the '60s when you could buy turtles in pet shops for the same price as a budgie - thousands were sold to people who thought they were a new novel and cute pet. Then the novelty wore off ...
Just my two cents worth.