stupid things petstore employees say

[CourtneyAndCarl]

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?

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

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

 

[DrewsLife727]

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

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

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).

 

[kathyth]

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

 

[allisonwonderland]

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

 

[wellington]

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

 

[Kerryann]

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.

 

[wellington]

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.

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

 

[mira_kaylee]

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.

 

[jeninak907]

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...

 

[Edna]

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.

 

[FLINTUS]

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?"

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

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

 

[kimber_lee_314]

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!

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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."

 

[Yvonne G]

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?

 

[Edna]

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

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.

 

[SBeanie]

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)

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

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.

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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]

 

[SBeanie]

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.

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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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Hahahahahahha that's great.