# Pet shops



## bikerchicspain (Nov 18, 2009)

Just let me rant for a while and i will be ok, Its just that iam so Angry it makes me wanna go burgal a pet shop,
As a rule i dont go into other pet shops on the fact that they dont look after the animals like i do at mine, especially reptiles. A shop not to far away has a beautiful little sulcata i would say about 3/4 years old, with obvious pyramiding,
shes fed on lettuce and tomate saying thats what the internet said and the internet is never wrong,How ignorant is that, her sustrate is dry hay the smallest water bowl in the world ,no heating and no uv lighting.
I have explained and complained on numereous occasions and the poor animal still has the same old same old.
I unfortunately cannot afford to pay the 250 euros for her,I spoke to the authorities but they cannot do anything as there is no sign os mistreatment in their eyes, blind idiots.. 
I feel so much for this poor tortoise.. sorry guys i just needed to get it out of my system to people that understand.


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## Rhyno47 (Nov 18, 2009)

There is a hinge-back at the pet store nearest to my house. It has been there for a good 8 months now. They have it on rabbit pellets, the alfalfa one, in a 20 gallon tank. His eyes have started to bulge as well.


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## bikerchicspain (Nov 18, 2009)

OMG poor thing..Have you tried talking to them. Would the authorities be interested to know where your from..Here in Spain they are to bothered.. good luck


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## Isa (Nov 18, 2009)

Poor little one . Maybe you could print a caresheet and bring it to them?


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## Rhyno47 (Nov 18, 2009)

Pet shops want money. The last thing they want to do is throw money at the animals they want to sell. They would get less profit.


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## bikerchicspain (Nov 18, 2009)

Not all pet shops, im in charge of a pet shop and the reptiles get treated the way my own do, If i dont think the person wanting the animal isnt interesred in their care then i wont sell it them. When people ask to buy any animal i ask them a series of questions,
..Have you had this type before?
..Whats the basic housing of this animal?
..Do you live in a house or apartment?
..How much time can you dedicate to the animal?
..Are you aware of certain disease that they could carry/pass on?
..Can you afford vet treatment if necessary?
..I give care sheets and also my business number to ring me with any query they may have.
So not all shops are the same fortunatley, must admit i havent found one as efficient as mine yet, but still trying..


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## GBtortoises (Nov 18, 2009)

Ryan's right-sad but true, pet shops are a business. Some good, some not so good and some downright terrible. Some shop owners will listen to advice and take the criticism well. Others claim they will change things but don't and a few could absolutely care less. I know from experience that it's hard to see something like that and not buy the animal just to get it out of those conditions. I've come to realize that doing so doesn't help the situation. The shop just gets another to replace the one that you bought and the owner has more cash in his pocket because of it. Then there is another one in the same spot being mis-treated the same way. That doesn't solve anything. The key is to educate them as best as possible and hope they will listen. Sometimes if they see that keeping the animal healthier may result in selling more, they may listen. Most local Animal Humane agencies deal with dogs, cats and livestock. Unfortunately, they're not usually much up on reptiles or other small animals.


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## terryo (Nov 18, 2009)

If you go into a store that sells puppies, they are in little cages standing on the wire with nothing soft to sleep on. Some are like that for months and finally when they are too old to sell they will go back to the puppy mill for breeding purposes. A very sad fact of life here in NY and probably all over. I think it is the same with most animals that are being sold. There is a little Redfoot in a Petland Discount where I live that, of course, was on the wrong substrate, eating the wrong foods, and had a water bowel that has high ridges and she was lucky if she copuld stick her head in to get a drink. I spoke to the shop owner, and she thanked me. They put the water dish way down into the substrate, which they also changed, and are now feeding her Spring mix. She still doesn't have much humidity, but at least they tried. The owner said that when they get these animals they feel that they are only temporary, and hopefully will be sold, and mostly kids work there and don't have an interest. .......NO excuse in my book. I guess it is all according to who owns the shop. There is a Petco near me that has Redfoots, and they look great, and are in a perfect environment....so again it is all about the shop owner who keeps the animals.


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## Meg90 (Nov 18, 2009)

About the Hingie--I think you should complain, LOUD AND LONG. Bring in a care sheet and threaten to report them to the health inspectors...they are the agency that is notified when shops are selling obviously sick animals.

Tell them that the tort is no longer worth the price they are offering it at (What is the price btw?)

I did that, and the guy took 25$ dollars off the poor little hingie that I found. I bought her, sent her to a rescue, and she died four months later. Riddled with Pin worms and plagued by URIs. Her adoptive mom was heartbroken.


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## mctlong (Nov 18, 2009)

bikerchicspain said:


> Not all pet shops, im in charge of a pet shop and the reptiles get treated the way my own do, If i dont think the person wanting the animal isnt interesred in their care then i wont sell it them. When people ask to buy any animal i ask them a series of questions,
> ..Have you had this type before?
> ..Whats the basic housing of this animal?
> ..Do you live in a house or apartment?
> ...



Great to hear! Where is your petshop?


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## Rhyno47 (Nov 18, 2009)

It is $125 i believe.


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## bikerchicspain (Nov 18, 2009)

Torrevieja Spain. Not saying we are perfect but we make sure the animals are well looked after each are fed their own special diet, each have the sustrate that they should, If my boss actually found out how much i spend on fresh fruit and veg i wouold get fired,but what the hell.I beleive in my animals not the money making..


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## Meg90 (Nov 18, 2009)

TOOOOOO HIGH. Make sure you print off a kingsnake add for the same tort for 60$. They are a cheap species--as low as 40$ I've seen them. Can you take a picture of it?


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## Rhyno47 (Nov 18, 2009)

I can try.


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## chairman (Nov 18, 2009)

From the price it sounds like a kinixys belliana. They usually do sell for around $130. They are usually fairly darkly colored and have roundish shells. The less expensive ones are usually kinixys homeana or kinixys erosa. They are mostly brown/yellow. The homeana has a shell that ends in a 90 degree angle at the back. The erosa is more rounded, but still more angular than what you'd expect from a healthy tort's shell. The kinixys speki is the other common option, and I think they resemble the belliana, but I honestly don't remember.

If it happens to have been a homeana I could adopt it. I'm actually looking for some females at the moment- maybe fortune is smiling today. Sadly I couldn't take in one of the other subspecies because I don't think the different hingebacks are supposed to get mixed together and I just don't have the space to take on another species. But if it is a home's, please let me know quick! I peeked at your profile and saw you're in MD, and my dad is driving to visit me this weekend from northeast VA and could make a quick pit stop on the way.

If it isn't, well, I certainly hope someone knowledgeable gets him. Almost nobody captive breeds these little guys so he's likely to have had an exceptionally rough life this past year between being imported and living on rabbit food. I didn't realize it when I got my mine (who was also rescued while sick at a pet store), but the stresses these hingebacks go through to get here are criminal. If he's still alive, he's a fighter.

On a similar note, though, I was just in a petshop the other day and they had what I think was a very large, fat, bearded dragon sitting in a very tiny tank. He couldn't even fit in there without keeping his tail coiled a bit, and I'm not just talking the skinny part at the end. Really makes me wish I could win the lotto and open a proper pet store.

At the opposite end, though, I had a store that exclusively dealt with reptiles near my home in FL that was wonderful. Wish there were more like it. Maybe some new legislation would be a good thing.


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## Rhyno47 (Nov 18, 2009)

It is this one 
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/937/50336449.JPG
I dont really know much about them.

It looks fine shell wise. Probably just needs hydrated and to get some nutrients back into its system.


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## chairman (Nov 18, 2009)

That's a Home's Hingeback. Meg is completely right, these guys never sell for more than $50. Only reason to pay that much for a Home's would be if it were captive bred. $40 is much more fair, and given the condition of the animal and the vet care it'll need, 'free to good home' is an honest price. Unless you or someone you know feels like giving this guy a home, could you PM me the name/address/phone number of the pet store? I can check to see if I can work something out.


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## Jacqui (Nov 19, 2009)

If they got this Homes in over 8 months ago, they easily would have paid more. There was a glut shipped into the US this year and it brought prices down. Still if it is a large animal, or has been cleared of worms, even a long term captive, it would also raise it's price.

The bulging eyes you described, could also be their normal eyes. They are a bit large and bulgy looking. Along with sad like a doe's eyes.

My first concern would be if it has a water dish large enough to get into to soak along with what temps are they keeping him at.

Speki are kinda close to the Bells in looks. Bells are normally over $200 closer to $300 in price for an adult. If you find one for $130 tell me where.


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## chairman (Nov 19, 2009)

I'm actually a little surprised to hear that there were a lot of them imported this year. I am looking all over the place to find some females to join my boys and am having a difficult time finding any. But it was during that search that I found the Bell's for around the $130 mark... sorry, can't remember where. Probably one of the many FL sellers with a website. I just remember being disappointed because one of the sellers was advertising Home's but had Bells instead. No offense meant to the Bells, of course. I just dislike it when folks use stock photos to sell animals, especially when they're the wrong pics.


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## Jacqui (Nov 19, 2009)

On Kingsnake there are always a couple of ads for Homes. Earlier in the year there were about a dozen folks at a time selling large numbers of the Homes. Now I think it's back down to two or three.

Personally, I feel if they are going to sell it, you should be able to see pictures of the same animal your buying, unfortunately, that seldom seems to happen. Just like I wish they would be honest about the condition the animal is in. So much nicer to buy in person.

Bells are hard to find, since they can't be imported into the US. If you locate any adults again at a nice price (or any period) let me know. I have a few males looking for females. The gene pool is getting small.


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## GBtortoises (Nov 20, 2009)

Keep in mind that pet shops sell at "retail" prices, not necessarily the same price you may be able to find on the internet. The tortoise may be less expensive on the internet, but by the time you pay to have it shipped you are often paying as much or more than walking into a pet shop and buying one. The advantage of a pet shop purchase is that you can physically see the animal that you are getting, for better or for worse. At least then you know what you've got in your hands. More often than not when you buy from an internet wholesaler or dealer you get what they send you. Most will not go through the trouble to send you a photo of the specific animal that they are sending. Even if they do, a picture is a picture. It doesn't allow you to look over every inch of the animal or to pick it up and feel it's weight or how stong, active and alert the animal is (or isn't).
Bringing a copy of an internet ad for less into a pet shop and demanding that they sell it to you at the internet price will probably isn't going to get you the animal, just some choice words.


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## Jacqui (Nov 20, 2009)

GBtortoises said:


> Keep in mind that pet shops sell at "retail" prices, not necessarily the same price you may be able to find on the internet. The tortoise may be less expensive on the internet, but by the time you pay to have it shipped you are often paying as much or more than walking into a pet shop and buying one. The advantage of a pet shop purchase is that you can physically see the animal that you are getting, for better or for worse. At least then you know what you've got in your hands. More often than not when you buy from an internet wholesaler or dealer you get what they send you. Most will not go through the trouble to send you a photo of the specific animal that they are sending. Even if they do, a picture is a picture. It doesn't allow you to look over every inch of the animal or to pick it up and feel it's weight or how stong, active and alert the animal is (or isn't).
> Bringing a copy of an internet ad for less into a pet shop and demanding that they sell it to you at the internet price will probably isn't going to get you the animal, just some choice words.



The actual hands on and seeing, is why I am more then willing to buy at the higher prices. Cheaper often means less quality in my book. In the end the purchase price may be cheaper than the added vet bills, time spent, and general frustration often associated with a "cheap" animal.


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