Ugh...I really hate pet stores.
Our LPS is better than most pet stores, but they're by no means the best either. They take fairly good care of the more common stuff (RES, cornsnakes, ball pythons, bearded dragons, leopard geckos, etc), but many times, they're behind the times when it comes to not-so-mainstream species. Coupled with the typical complaints most herpers have with pet stores (high retail prices, ignorant staff that often gives innaccurate info to customers, etc)...its pretty frustrating to go in there.
Such as the case with the baby red-foots I saw in there last night. They had them on a mixture of aspen shavings and repti-bark, and Lord knows what they were feeding them. I have a friend who works there who actually knows she's doing, but she only works 3 days a week, so its not like she has a lot of pull. I pointed out that the RFs need to be on a substrate more humid-retentive. She said she knows but the animal care manager thinks they don't.
I actually used to work at this LPS for almost 10 yrs, so there's a bit of history there. I left on good terms, but its not exactly a secret I didn't agree with the direction the small animal/reptile dept was headed. Long story short, a lot of the manager staff there are idiots (as are with most jobs) and nothing is going to change.
[sigh] I just wish people wouldn't be so darn pig-headed sometimes. Through our local herp society, I have offered to come and help teach their staff about reptile husbandry, lighting, heating, etc. since there's always new things to be learned. They don't want to learn. They think they do everything right already and there is no need for improvement.
Our LPS is better than most pet stores, but they're by no means the best either. They take fairly good care of the more common stuff (RES, cornsnakes, ball pythons, bearded dragons, leopard geckos, etc), but many times, they're behind the times when it comes to not-so-mainstream species. Coupled with the typical complaints most herpers have with pet stores (high retail prices, ignorant staff that often gives innaccurate info to customers, etc)...its pretty frustrating to go in there.
Such as the case with the baby red-foots I saw in there last night. They had them on a mixture of aspen shavings and repti-bark, and Lord knows what they were feeding them. I have a friend who works there who actually knows she's doing, but she only works 3 days a week, so its not like she has a lot of pull. I pointed out that the RFs need to be on a substrate more humid-retentive. She said she knows but the animal care manager thinks they don't.
I actually used to work at this LPS for almost 10 yrs, so there's a bit of history there. I left on good terms, but its not exactly a secret I didn't agree with the direction the small animal/reptile dept was headed. Long story short, a lot of the manager staff there are idiots (as are with most jobs) and nothing is going to change.
[sigh] I just wish people wouldn't be so darn pig-headed sometimes. Through our local herp society, I have offered to come and help teach their staff about reptile husbandry, lighting, heating, etc. since there's always new things to be learned. They don't want to learn. They think they do everything right already and there is no need for improvement.
