Petsmart Russian tortoise

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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I was at Petco buying food for my dog and I saw something unusual.
A Russian tortoise on bark bedding eating food that seemed appropriate. He had a strip UVB light and a cuttlebone available and a water bowl he could actually use.
How about that?
Is Hell freezing over?
Sorry the animal wasn't seen in my photo.
AND it was $119.
Kinda expensive?
 

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SweetGreekTorts

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$119 is very expensive for a wild-caught tortoise. Sadly whoever buys it will pay 2-3x more in vet bills to have it treated for parasites and get it healthy. That food actually isn't good for them, not as a staple. That's all I ever see in their food dishes when I'm at the store. Breaks my heart, but I hope someone gives it a better and loving home.
 

TechnoCheese

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My local petsmart is the same! Only they have an even shallower water bowl. I really hope to work there, when I’m old enough. Most of the employees know me and my beardie, and either don’t mind me or hate me lmao.
 

Tim Carlisle

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My local petsmart is the same! Only they have an even shallower water bowl. I really hope to work there, when I’m old enough. Most of the employees know me and my beardie, and either don’t mind me or hate me lmao.
I think they could use more employees like you!
 

Minority2

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My local petsmart is the same! Only they have an even shallower water bowl. I really hope to work there, when I’m old enough. Most of the employees know me and my beardie, and either don’t mind me or hate me lmao.

The important question here is what do you hope to get from working in pet retail? A shelter and or rescue would a better choice if you're hoping to change or improve upon existing practices and caring conditions. They'll be more open to new ideas. The pet industry however, is ran a certain way in that employed passionate pet lovers may find the experience far more depressing than anticipated. Regulations and procedures are next to impossible to change from the ground up. You may also find employees to not place any effort in care during their shift with the animals.
 

Toddrickfl1

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I worked for PetSmart many years. This was almost 20yrs ago though it might of changed but what I can say is there is no ”Script” or push to make sales. I was free to give any care advice or tips I had on whichever particular animal someone was interested in buying. You might not make a difference for every animal sold, but you probably could with the ones you sell.
 

Tim Carlisle

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I worked for PetSmart many years. This was almost 20yrs ago though it might of changed but what I can say is there is no ”Script” or push to make sales. I was free to give any care advice or tips I had on whichever particular animal someone was interested in buying. You might not make a difference for every animal sold, but you probably could with the ones you sell.
Curious.. did they offer any care training for the different animals they carried, or were the employees left to research themselves?
 

TechnoCheese

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The important question here is what do you hope to get from working in pet retail? A shelter and or rescue would a better choice if you're hoping to change or improve upon existing practices and caring conditions. They'll be more open to new ideas. The pet industry however, is ran a certain way in that employed passionate pet lovers may find the experience far more depressing than anticipated. Regulations and procedures are next to impossible to change from the ground up. You may also find employees to not place any effort in care during their shift with the animals.

I hope to become an exotic vet, and working at a pet store would get me used to caring for all sorts of animals, dealing with people trying to impulse buy pets, dealing with sick/super young animals that arrive, and giving advice in person. It would also hopefully allow me to get more people to the forum and give them some better tortoise advice(probably wouldn’t be able to tell the, the Russians are wild caught, though).

The good thing about my petsmart, is that you can tell the employees put a lot of work into the animals. Heck, even the fish look good, and most of the hamsters are in separate enclosures. Now I just need to hope the employees stay there, or the new ones are just as good lmao.
 

Minority2

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Curious.. did they offer any care training for the different animals they carried, or were the employees left to research themselves?

I can't say certain but I believe it may differ from store to store. A former significant other of mine used to constantly complain about a local Petsmart and their housing conditions when she was working there while also attending university. This was a few years back and I remember hearing her say that her suggestions were often ignored and denied by higher ups.
 

Tim Carlisle

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I can't say certain but I believe it may differ from store to store. A former significant other of mine used to constantly complain about a local Petsmart and their housing conditions when she was working there while also attending university. This was a few years back and I remember hearing her say that her suggestions were often ignored and denied by higher ups.
They probably denied it because there was a price tag attached. I work with multi-million dollar systems. I get blowback for recommending improvements much over $100. lol
 

Toddrickfl1

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Curious.. did they offer any care training for the different animals they carried, or were the employees left to research themselves?
They didn't when I worked there. You were left on your own or to learn from your fellow co-workers what they knew. It might of changed these days I can't speak on that. This was back around 97-2002
 

TortMom6

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My experience working at a Petsmart: This is why I refuse to shop these box stores and prefer to adopt or buy from a reputable breeder.
Up until a year ago I worked at a Petsmart for 3 years. There was very basic information available to employees about the care of the animals offered, especially the reptiles, and most of it was wrong. I spent countless hours doing my own research and would tell customers what I knew to be right. It was heartbreaking the conditions most of the animals were forced to live in. Some of my major complaints were reptiles living in sand, only getting pellets to eat, and having way too many animals in an enclosure. Also, the veterinary care was poor to non-existent. There was a vet on site who was supposed to see the pets for sale if they became ill, but had no experience with exotic animals.
-- WARNING: THE REST OF THIS POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS THAT ARE TROUBLING TO EVERY HUMAN WITH A HEART, CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK --
I finally reached my breaking point on day when a piebald python (sweetest, most charming, inquisitive snake I have ever met) got stuck in a round hole on the back of its tank. Employees were to keep tape over the hole to prevent escapes, but someone forgot. I found her when I started my shift. She was stuck at about the halfway point of her body. She was squeezed in there so bad that she had ripped her scales and underlying skin completely off of an area that went completely around her and was approximately 6 inches long. Muscle and bone was exposed. I was able to get her out of the hole and ran her (literally ran through the store) to the vet. The vet and her staff on duty had no clue what to do. They were afraid to even touch her. I made a phone call to a reputable exotic vet and explained what happened and sent some pictures. The exotic vet said the snake should be put down, there was too much exposed muscle and bone for it to survive and make a recovery, trying to attempt it would cost thousands of dollars and the snake would be in excruciating pain, and its chances of survival the vet said were less that 5%. We decided the best course of action was to put the snake down. All this time she had been in my arms, she never once tried to bite. The vet at the Petsmart was too afraid of the snake to inject it with the solution that would put it down, and she said she had no idea where the heart was or how to find it. I was then given a choice, I could take the snake back to its enclosure and wait for it to pass away on its own, in excruciating pain, or I was told I could put it in a plastic bag and basically chloroform it. I would have to be the one to do it because the vet and all her assistants were too afraid to touch the snake. I have never been so mad and sad before. I made the choice to put the snake out of her misery as quickly as possible, there was no way I could return her to her tank and wait for her to die. But it was an awful experience, she looked at me so reproachfully as I was putting her in the bag. Thankfully she passed within 5 minutes, she was ready to go and be out of pain. All this time she was her sweet self even though she was in the worst pain she could ever experience. She was a sweet girl who did not deserve her fate. My manager and district manager's response was "Life happens, after all it was just an animal". I left the company shortly after that. I still have nightmares about this, and I still get very sad when I remember what happened.
I do realize that not all box pet stores are the same, but I was way too traumatized to want to support what I personally think of as cruel and inhumane stores.
 

TechnoCheese

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My experience working at a Petsmart: This is why I refuse to shop these box stores and prefer to adopt or buy from a reputable breeder.
Up until a year ago I worked at a Petsmart for 3 years. There was very basic information available to employees about the care of the animals offered, especially the reptiles, and most of it was wrong. I spent countless hours doing my own research and would tell customers what I knew to be right. It was heartbreaking the conditions most of the animals were forced to live in. Some of my major complaints were reptiles living in sand, only getting pellets to eat, and having way too many animals in an enclosure. Also, the veterinary care was poor to non-existent. There was a vet on site who was supposed to see the pets for sale if they became ill, but had no experience with exotic animals.
-- WARNING: THE REST OF THIS POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS THAT ARE TROUBLING TO EVERY HUMAN WITH A HEART, CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK --
I finally reached my breaking point on day when a piebald python (sweetest, most charming, inquisitive snake I have ever met) got stuck in a round hole on the back of its tank. Employees were to keep tape over the hole to prevent escapes, but someone forgot. I found her when I started my shift. She was stuck at about the halfway point of her body. She was squeezed in there so bad that she had ripped her scales and underlying skin completely off of an area that went completely around her and was approximately 6 inches long. Muscle and bone was exposed. I was able to get her out of the hole and ran her (literally ran through the store) to the vet. The vet and her staff on duty had no clue what to do. They were afraid to even touch her. I made a phone call to a reputable exotic vet and explained what happened and sent some pictures. The exotic vet said the snake should be put down, there was too much exposed muscle and bone for it to survive and make a recovery, trying to attempt it would cost thousands of dollars and the snake would be in excruciating pain, and its chances of survival the vet said were less that 5%. We decided the best course of action was to put the snake down. All this time she had been in my arms, she never once tried to bite. The vet at the Petsmart was too afraid of the snake to inject it with the solution that would put it down, and she said she had no idea where the heart was or how to find it. I was then given a choice, I could take the snake back to its enclosure and wait for it to pass away on its own, in excruciating pain, or I was told I could put it in a plastic bag and basically chloroform it. I would have to be the one to do it because the vet and all her assistants were too afraid to touch the snake. I have never been so mad and sad before. I made the choice to put the snake out of her misery as quickly as possible, there was no way I could return her to her tank and wait for her to die. But it was an awful experience, she looked at me so reproachfully as I was putting her in the bag. Thankfully she passed within 5 minutes, she was ready to go and be out of pain. All this time she was her sweet self even though she was in the worst pain she could ever experience. She was a sweet girl who did not deserve her fate. My manager and district manager's response was "Life happens, after all it was just an animal". I left the company shortly after that. I still have nightmares about this, and I still get very sad when I remember what happened.
I do realize that not all box pet stores are the same, but I was way too traumatized to want to support what I personally think of as cruel and inhumane stores.

That is absolutely terrible! And come on, I would understand if a normal person was scared of touching it, but the VET?
 

TortMom6

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That is absolutely terrible! And come on, I would understand if a normal person was scared of touching it, but the VET?
Right. And she was super sweet. She seemed to enjoy being held, she never struck at us, or tried to bite. I even had to unstick a mouse from her mouth once and she didn't try to bit me.
 

TechnoCheese

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Messages
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Lewisville, Texas
My experience working at a Petsmart: This is why I refuse to shop these box stores and prefer to adopt or buy from a reputable breeder.
Up until a year ago I worked at a Petsmart for 3 years. There was very basic information available to employees about the care of the animals offered, especially the reptiles, and most of it was wrong. I spent countless hours doing my own research and would tell customers what I knew to be right. It was heartbreaking the conditions most of the animals were forced to live in. Some of my major complaints were reptiles living in sand, only getting pellets to eat, and having way too many animals in an enclosure. Also, the veterinary care was poor to non-existent. There was a vet on site who was supposed to see the pets for sale if they became ill, but had no experience with exotic animals.
-- WARNING: THE REST OF THIS POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS THAT ARE TROUBLING TO EVERY HUMAN WITH A HEART, CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK --
I finally reached my breaking point on day when a piebald python (sweetest, most charming, inquisitive snake I have ever met) got stuck in a round hole on the back of its tank. Employees were to keep tape over the hole to prevent escapes, but someone forgot. I found her when I started my shift. She was stuck at about the halfway point of her body. She was squeezed in there so bad that she had ripped her scales and underlying skin completely off of an area that went completely around her and was approximately 6 inches long. Muscle and bone was exposed. I was able to get her out of the hole and ran her (literally ran through the store) to the vet. The vet and her staff on duty had no clue what to do. They were afraid to even touch her. I made a phone call to a reputable exotic vet and explained what happened and sent some pictures. The exotic vet said the snake should be put down, there was too much exposed muscle and bone for it to survive and make a recovery, trying to attempt it would cost thousands of dollars and the snake would be in excruciating pain, and its chances of survival the vet said were less that 5%. We decided the best course of action was to put the snake down. All this time she had been in my arms, she never once tried to bite. The vet at the Petsmart was too afraid of the snake to inject it with the solution that would put it down, and she said she had no idea where the heart was or how to find it. I was then given a choice, I could take the snake back to its enclosure and wait for it to pass away on its own, in excruciating pain, or I was told I could put it in a plastic bag and basically chloroform it. I would have to be the one to do it because the vet and all her assistants were too afraid to touch the snake. I have never been so mad and sad before. I made the choice to put the snake out of her misery as quickly as possible, there was no way I could return her to her tank and wait for her to die. But it was an awful experience, she looked at me so reproachfully as I was putting her in the bag. Thankfully she passed within 5 minutes, she was ready to go and be out of pain. All this time she was her sweet self even though she was in the worst pain she could ever experience. She was a sweet girl who did not deserve her fate. My manager and district manager's response was "Life happens, after all it was just an animal". I left the company shortly after that. I still have nightmares about this, and I still get very sad when I remember what happened.
I do realize that not all box pet stores are the same, but I was way too traumatized to want to support what I personally think of as cruel and inhumane stores.

Would you mind if I shared this story on a reptile site I moderate? We’ve been looking for statements from pet store employees about their experience with their job recently(both positive and negative points of views about the stores), and I think this a very good(and terrible)thing for some people to hear, because we have a lot of of people who want to work for a chain pet store and think it will be fine and dandy the entire time.
 

TortMom6

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Citrus Heights, California, USA
Would you mind if I shared this story on a reptile site I moderate? We’ve been looking for statements from pet store employees about their experience with their job recently(both positive and negative points of views about the stores), and I think this a very good(and terrible)thing for some people to hear, because we have a lot of of people who want to work for a chain pet store and think it will be fine and dandy the entire time.

Yes, please feel free to use it. More people need to be aware of what really goes on behind the scenes.
 

TortMom6

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Messages
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Would you mind if I shared this story on a reptile site I moderate? We’ve been looking for statements from pet store employees about their experience with their job recently(both positive and negative points of views about the stores), and I think this a very good(and terrible)thing for some people to hear, because we have a lot of of people who want to work for a chain pet store and think it will be fine and dandy the entire time.

And it wasn't all horrible. Myself and another employee convinced the manager to take down the sign that said goldfish can live in bowls. We showed her the evidence that goldfish need at minimum 29 gallons to do well and she let us tell customers that and try to convince them a goldfish wasn't the right pet for a bowl, they need filter and lighting and room that a bowl simply cannot offer. She was astounded to learn that with proper care a gold fish can live for 25 years.
 

TechnoCheese

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And it wasn't all horrible. Myself and another employee convinced the manager to take down the sign that said goldfish can live in bowls. We showed her the evidence that goldfish need at minimum 29 gallons to do well and she let us tell customers that and try to convince them a goldfish wasn't the right pet for a bowl, they need filter and lighting and room that a bowl simply cannot offer. She was astounded to learn that with proper care a gold fish can live for 25 years.

Thank you, I’ll include that!
 

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