# stupid things petstore employees say



## CourtneyAndCarl (Jan 15, 2013)

having frequent visits to numerous petstores, I've heard some pretty stupid "information" about animals... I'm sure you guys have as well and I just thought we could share some for giggles. 

These all came anywhere from the closest chain store to the local fish shop.

Here are a few:

"You can't keep female betta together. The only time you can keep betta together is if it's a male and a female."

"If you use calci-sand, you won't need to buy any calcium supplement for your leopard gecko."

"I would only keep your red-eared slider in the ten gallon tank for a few months, maybe a year at most, but yeah he will be fine in there for a little while"

"The only fish you can keep in bowls are goldfish, bettas, and gouramis, because they all breath air"

"Yeah, the UVB bulbs are expensive but thankfully these ones are flourescent bulbs which don't burn out as often, so they'll last you a while"

"That parakeets not all that sick, he just has a cold"

"Oh you've got a 55 gallon tank? A school of bala sharks would look really cool in that"

Those are the only ones I can think of for right now... anyone else got some funnies they'd like to share?


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## TortoiseBoy1999 (Jan 15, 2013)

I cant think of anything right now  But I've got some!


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## DrewsLife727 (Jan 15, 2013)

Yes when I found an 8 inch Sulcata outside my door, I really didnt know what it was. I was unfamiliar with the tortoise world then. It was kinda pyramided too. So I brought this tort to PetCo and asked them what kind of tortoise this was and the employee picked it up and did an examination. After awhile he said it was a male Russian tortoise. I know now that it is a female Sulcata.. Way off.. ha


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## Terry Allan Hall (Jan 16, 2013)

My all-time favorite: "No ma'am, if your son keeps this baby Burmese python in a 10-gallon tank, it'll never outgrow it!...it'll only get as large as the cage it lives in."

No. 2: "That's a baby bullsnake, and it'll get tame if you handle it enough" to a kid who walked into the shop with a small copperhead in a gallon pickle jar (this time, I felt obliged to point out the beastie's true species designation).


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## kathyth (Jan 16, 2013)

" aquatic turtles only need 3 inches of water in the tank"


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## allisonwonderland (Jan 16, 2013)

I was told that the Robo hamster I got when I was 10 was a male. A week later _she_ had babies!


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## wellington (Jan 16, 2013)

When they tell someone that fish won't out grow the size aquarium you put them in.
That you can add a bunch of fish, like 5-10 at one time, it's fine

That they can actually recommend some of their products to people period. Most of the stuff is junk or dangerous and should be taken off the market

I can't remember the last time I had asked for any animal/fish/reptile advice from a pet store like Petco or petsmart employee. Most of them don't know their arse from a hole in the ground


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## Kerryann (Jan 16, 2013)

Terry Allan Hall said:


> My all-time favorite: "No ma'am, if your son keeps this baby Burmese python in a 10-gallon tank, it'll never outgrow it!...it'll only get as large as the cage it lives in."
> 
> No. 2: "That's a baby bullsnake, and it'll get tame if you handle it enough" to a kid who walked into the shop with a small copperhead in a gallon pickle jar (this time, I felt obliged to point out the beastie's true species designation).



I was at the tortoise store last weekend and not a store worker but a mom said it to her kid. They were looking at the Hermans and she told him they could get it and it wouldn't outgrow it's tank. I had to stop her and say no it grows to a size that is based on it's species, which will be more than any aquarium. She was pretty hateful and sure I didn't know what I was talking about until she asked the owner. 
I have actually found the two petsmarts by me to be pretty good about their tortoises but their fish and aquatic frogs are bad bad news. When I got my first African clawed frog they told me it could live with fish and that it didn't need separate food. After I almost killed that frog I learned to research any animal or fish we got immediately. I also learned during that research that the frog wasn't riding the fish playfully but was hoping they would fit in his mouthhole  After that we rescued four additional african clawed frogs that had been sold as dwarfs, not needing food aka could live in a vase with a plant on top only, and other stupid things.


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## wellington (Jan 16, 2013)

Kerryann said:


> Terry Allan Hall said:
> 
> 
> > My all-time favorite: "No ma'am, if your son keeps this baby Burmese python in a 10-gallon tank, it'll never outgrow it!...it'll only get as large as the cage it lives in."
> ...



LOL, i like the riding the fish The frog in the vase with a plant, never heard that one. We had the betta and paradise fish in a vase, with a peace lilly and they never had to be fed Now, because of the plant it will work, but they have to be fed actual fish food or they will die


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## mira_kaylee (Jan 18, 2013)

I had an hour and a half long argument with an employee about how Russians did NOT get to be as big as cars. I have an in depth conversation with someone about why sea snakes and regular snakes were NOT interchangeable as they could not all spend their lives in a tank filled with mostly water and nothing else. I had a most lovely talk about why heat rocks were not a good idea to buy for a baby Leopard Gecko or any animal for that matter. I had a most delightful discussion with a manager about why his albino leopard gecko was blind now because he was baking it under harsh day time lighting, at which point he sent for the vet so that they could prove me wrong and the vet determined as well that the gecko was indeed blind. I bought that gecko, by the way. And that's all that comes to mind right now lol.


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## jeninak907 (Jan 19, 2013)

Speaking of poor fish care, it is sad when you see thoes crab that they sell because they need air. And they never inform people of that. I had bought some and they always commited suicide because they had no air, I usually found them in the middle of the floor all dried out... They need a way to get to air like a little bowl in the tank with an air bubble in in with a rock so they have something to hang out on. Even in their care sheet it does not say give them fresh air...


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## Edna (Jan 19, 2013)

It depends on the questions you ask them, I guess. The pet store employees I talk to always sound very competent because my questions are within their range of expertise. Where are the Mother Hubbard biscuits? "On this aisle, toward the middle." This cuttlebone display is empty. "There are more on the other side of the aisle." 
Asking pet store employees about care is like asking the Walmart employee about the qualities of various coffee makers (or anything else). There are simply much better sources of information. We do our research before we buy. Shoppers have access to the internet on their iphones. If they're still getting information from pet store clerks, there's probably no helping them anyway.


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## FLINTUS (Jan 19, 2013)

2 Hermann's and a red foot in a 1ft square viv.
Me: "These torts come from differen areas of the world and have different needs. That viv is also way too small."
Lady: "They only need space to turn and eat. Regarding the difference in species, they're both torts aren't they?"


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jan 19, 2013)

Edna said:


> It depends on the questions you ask them, I guess. The pet store employees I talk to always sound very competent because my questions are within their range of expertise. Where are the Mother Hubbard biscuits? "On this aisle, toward the middle." This cuttlebone display is empty. "There are more on the other side of the aisle."
> Asking pet store employees about care is like asking the Walmart employee about the qualities of various coffee makers (or anything else). There are simply much better sources of information. We do our research before we buy. Shoppers have access to the internet on their iphones. If they're still getting information from pet store clerks, there's probably no helping them anyway.



Hey! I take offense to that, SOME of us know what we're talking about


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## kimber_lee_314 (Jan 19, 2013)

DrewsLife727 said:


> Yes when I found an 8 inch Sulcata outside my door, I really didnt know what it was. I was unfamiliar with the tortoise world then. It was kinda pyramided too. So I brought this tort to PetCo and asked them what kind of tortoise this was and the employee picked it up and did an examination. After awhile he said it was a male Russian tortoise. I know now that it is a female Sulcata.. Way off.. ha



Ha ha!!! This reminds me of when I was new to Texas tortoises - many years ago. I wasn't sure if mine was a Texas (and I didn't know any tortoise people back then) so I took him into a reptile shop figuring they would know. They told me I had a marginated tortoise. They want to buy him and put him in with a female to breed. Of course I said no - but how stupid was that? I knew he wasn't a Marginated - they don't even look like a Texas tort!


This one didn't come from a pet shop - but from a "tortoise expert." 

"A sulcata will only grow to the size of the tank you keep him in so you don't have to worry about him growing too big."


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## Yvonne G (Jan 19, 2013)

The one that gets me is that all their russians are babies. When are they going to realize that a russian is a small species of tortoise and not a baby?


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## Edna (Jan 19, 2013)

CourtneyAndCarl said:


> Edna said:
> 
> 
> > It depends on the questions you ask them, I guess. The pet store employees I talk to always sound very competent because my questions are within their range of expertise. Where are the Mother Hubbard biscuits? "On this aisle, toward the middle." This cuttlebone display is empty. "There are more on the other side of the aisle."
> ...



I have no doubt of that, Courtney. The Walmart employee *might* know which coffee maker (or whatever) has the highest ratings, too, but chances are that they don't.


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## SBeanie (Jan 19, 2013)

1. "The dead fish in there is for the goldfish, the goldfish eat meat, two birds one stone kinda thing".

2. " that turtle only needs the turtle pellets for food, if you give them anything else they might be allergic and die"

3. "That is a male hamster for sure, you can tell by the way he walks" (turned out it was a girl and she had babies) 

4. "They make a fish shot that will perk him right up" (in regards to a fish who was missing a fin and swimming in a circle motion)


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jan 19, 2013)

Here's one from a while back:
"Oh, you have Russian tortoises? Here, get them this wheat grass. They'll love it!"

Not really accurate. One of them liked it okay, the other barely touched it. Neither one loved it, and they didn't eat very much or very often. Have found out since then that _Testudos_ aren't really grazers.




SBeanie said:


> 4. "They make a fish shot that will perk him right up" (in regards to a fish who was missing a fin and swimming in a circle motion)



Reminds me of Monty Python's "Dead Parrot" sketch:
[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vuW6tQ0218[/video]


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## SBeanie (Jan 19, 2013)

GeoTerraTestudo said:


> Here's one from a while back:
> "Oh, you have Russian tortoises? Here, get them this wheat grass. They'll love it!"
> 
> Not really accurate. One of them liked it okay, the other barely touched it. Neither one loved it, and they didn't eat very much or very often. Have found out since then that _Testudos_ aren't really grazers.
> ...





Hahahahahahha that's great.


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## surie_the_tortoise (Jan 19, 2013)

" oh you have 2 oscars in a 75 gallon tank yes this red devil will be fine with them. "


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## Vegasarah (Jan 19, 2013)

I wish I had a better memory for the stuff pet store people say. Sometimes I just go in there to troll them. Ask them questions I already know the answer to in order to educate them. Actually there is a Petco right next to my house that I really like because I go in there so often they all know me. And the manager asks ME questions about their blue tongue skinks and even their tortoises sometimes. And they know I'll harp on them if I see improper care! I mean, the cramped conditions they can't really help because that's all they have to work with. But if I see humidity/ diet/ temp/ light stuff I call the manager over right away and they fixit right in front of me. I don't usually shop in a chain store like that but I will in this Petco because they are awesome.

"Here are your minnows!" *hands me a bag with 3 minnows and 4 goldfish*

"The Nile Monitor will not get big as long as you keep it in a small tank!" (They can get up to 7 feet long, and keeping them in a small tank is not only very cruel, it will not 'keep it small'. Had a nice long chat with that certain girl about that.)


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## jessrich87 (Jan 19, 2013)

I worked at PetSmart for 5 years and like to think that I was pretty smart about pet care- but I def. agree with the fact that some or most retail pet store employees are very uneducated on pet care. I have heard some pretty dumb thimgs myself. Here is my favorite:

I was shopping for a gecko and the one I liked was in a viv labeled "Common Gecko".
Me: What kind of gecko is that?
PetCo lady: That is a Common Gecko.
*headdesk*

I bought it anyway and researched it when I got home. She was a Bibron Gecko. Pretty cool. I did inform the lady that "Common" is not a species of gecko.


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## mctlong (Jan 19, 2013)

emysemys said:


> The one that gets me is that all their russians are babies. When are they going to realize that a russian is a small species of tortoise and not a baby?



Yes, this.

I asked an employee at our local Petco if their Russians are wild-caught and she said definitely no. As a matter of fact, she said, they were just hatched from the breeder a few weeks previous. They were 4-inch Russians! LOL!


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## Rover15 (Jan 19, 2013)

My favourite I over heard a dad talking to his son

Son: day look at these turtles (red footed tortoise)

Dad: that is actually a Tortoise

Son: can we buy him

Dad: No, I want to buy you and your sister something that will live a long time that is why I don't think a puppy is a good idea either ....... Hey look at this chameleon (vailed chameleon)

Same store different time

Customer:hey what kind of snakes are these?(They were tiny cornsnakes)

Same employee as above: I'm not 100% sure they normally have the names on the tank we just got them in. But my best guess they are baby ball pythons

Customer: okay they are what my son wants can I have one

Employee: umm let me get a box (he came back with a box and a scond employee a much smarter employee)

Smart employee: what snake did you want mam?

Customer: one of these "ball pythons"

Smart employee: mam those are cornsnakes let me show you the ball pythons(the other employee took off in the other direction but also no longer works there)

Pet store

My wife asked: are rabits good with kids

Employee: yea ..... But they bite 

There are many more story thouse are my favourtie I have herd many tales of if you want your snake to stay small feed it once a month or keep it in a small tank, the stupidity is endless at pet/reptile stores


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## mainey34 (Jan 19, 2013)

I went to petsmart to get a hermit crab to put in with my Redfoot. I asked the employee to see them. He fished around...i said, well i want one thats alive...so we found one. Anyways...i asked him if they add salt to their water or do they use a special water. He said, dumbfoundedly..." huh? Salt water? " I said yes, you sell it. " No mam. We use tap water" they are supposed to soak in salt water and also drink salt water....DUH!


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## DrewsLife727 (Jan 20, 2013)

Pet store

My wife asked: are rabits good with kids

Employee: yea ..... But they bite 

There are many more story thouse are my favourtie I have herd many tales of if you want your snake to stay small feed it once a month or keep it in a small tank, the stupidity is endless at pet/reptile stores
[/quote]

hahahaha this made me laugh


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jan 20, 2013)

As a petstore employee, I honestly think I could get in trouble for how often I try to talk costumers OUT of buying pets... but when someone comes up to me and says they want a baby bearded dragon, and then tell me they have a 10 gallon terrarium set up at home already that is "the perfect size for the little fella", you better believe I am going to talk them out of the bearded dragon and steer them towards the leopard gecko.

Haha, the dead fish being goldfish food cracks me up. I've never heard that one 

I probably have a LOT of fish stories that I just can't think of, haha. Ohh one that just came to mind is the costumer that had a ten gallon tank. They had two mollies and a redtailed shark. The employee had told them that the red tailed shark will stay really small and hide most of the time, and that he wouldn't be at all aggressive to the mollies... I was in the fish area at the time and after the employee left I mentioned to them that the red tailed sharks get HUGE and pretty aggressive... they went to hunt down the employee right away so he could take the fish out of their bag


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jan 20, 2013)

Courtney, I'm glad you make sure customers can actually support the animal they want to buy. Both economically and ethically, it's better to make a little money from a customer for a lifetime, than to make a lot just once and never see him again.


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