Chain pet store tarantulas rant

[HungryGhost]

I was in a Petsmart store yesterday picking up something for my dogs when I saw some tarantulas for sale. A closer look at what they had sickened me. They were selling 2 G. roseas near adult size, and a 3" A. avicularia. The sickening part was how they were being kept. All were in tiny kritter keepers with no room to move complete with dirty water dishes each containing a filthy sea sponge. I was tempted to "rescue" the pink toe for $24.99. This would only make matters worse because they would restock them and more T's would be subject to these poor conditions. I think it would be better to let the T's they have in stock die off with the hopes that they would discontinue the sale of T's if they didn't generate a profit. I did not even entertain the idea of trying to educate these pimply-faced teenaged employees texting away on their iPhones. Rant over.

 

[hopeful_tarantula]

Ugh! I hate it when I see or hear about animals being kept in bad conditions...especially when staff don't seem to be bothered about the care of them

Julia x

 

[Sabeth]

Yeah, I shake my head just about every time I go to Petco for crickets...the Rosies are kept on wet sub. Every one I've seen is either stuck to the side of the cage or on top of its hide just to not have to be on the soggy stuff. It's a desert tarantula!!

 

[CrystalRose]

Yep the rosies at my local pet store are kept wet too. I always feel so bad for them. Most of them are up on the glass in a corner trying to find a way out.

 

[AlyeskaWolf]

I was in a Petsmart store yesterday picking up something for my dogs when I saw some tarantulas for sale. A closer look at what they had sickened me. They were selling 2 G. roseas near adult size, and a 3" A. avicularia. The sickening part was how they were being kept. All were in tiny kritter keepers with no room to move complete with dirty water dishes each containing a filthy sea sponge. I was tempted to "rescue" the pink toe for $24.99. This would only make matters worse because they would restock them and more T's would be subject to these poor conditions. I think it would be better to let the T's they have in stock die off with the hopes that they would discontinue the sale of T's if they didn't generate a profit. I did not even entertain the idea of trying to educate these pimply-faced teenaged employees texting away on their iPhones. Rant over.

I know EXACTLY what you mean.

 

[AlyeskaWolf]

Hence why I was almost kicked off the site...lol, for my rant.

 

[KayleesBellaDoma]

I feel so bad now, that's where I got my Rosie.

 

[HungryGhost]

I feel so bad now, that's where I got my Rosie.

Look at the bright side, you saved it from its horrible living conditions and now it can live out its life happily.

 

[KayleesBellaDoma]

that is very true. They must not have been feeding her very well, she ate 8 crickets within 24 hours of us getting her.

 

[Spidro]

I passed by a random pet shop i wanted to check out, not sure if it was a chain but it was a "superstore' The "t guy" was on holidays and the other employees were too scared to do anything with the tarantulas, so they were left in the containers they got them in pretty well... i was new to the hobby so the thought never really occured to me before that that is not normal. i bought both of my ts from there, now i plan to just order more ... sad how such a magnificent hobby is so neglected by bigger companies who just want to cover every market yet dont bother to educate to make sure their livestock is treated properly. Not saying every single chain has to be like that, but clearly its out there. Nice rant by the way lol.

 

[Spidro]

Oh and clearly they werent very smart suggesting a exo-terra for an adult t. Found that out when i came home and found my phormictopus cancerides dangling from the screen mesh by one leg. Fixed that problem permanently though. Not impressed.

 

[Leylaf]

I fell in love with my A. Avicularia, Samara while I was in Petsmart buying frozen mice for my Ball Python. Same conditions as mentioned above, she was in a tiny Kritter Keeper, with a nasty sponge water dish
In my opinion, I totally rescued her from that store. The label on the front of the "display" said Handling: Do not handle. *sigh*
Yesterday was her first full day in her new home, she has a very spacious, tall glass enclosure, and she ate 5 crickets!

 

[HungryGhost]

I fell in love with my A. Avicularia, Samara while I was in Petsmart buying frozen mice for my Ball Python. Same conditions as mentioned above, she was in a tiny Kritter Keeper, with a nasty sponge water dish
In my opinion, I totally rescued her from that store. The label on the front of the "display" said Handling: Do not handle. *sigh*
Yesterday was her first full day in her new home, she has a very spacious, tall glass enclosure, and she ate 5 crickets!

May she have a long happy life with you!

 

[scj0nes]

I had these exact thoughts the other day when I went into Petco. Over the past couple of weeks, they've had a G. Rosea for sale, saying they had recently gotten it shipped over from another store. After some weeks of thinking and convincing my dad that I need more tarantulas (I'm addicted), I finally got it. At the store, it's enclosure was very wet and too large for it, the water dish was disgusting, and they had a large heat lamp over it along with the reptiles next to it. But the worst part was probably when they took it out for me. While they wouldn't let me take it out, they thought it was surely safe to let an inexperienced teenager handle it. He slammed the cages open and ripped the T's wooden hide out from above it.

I could keep going, but I think you all get the gist of this. It was just awful.

 

[Quandry]

I'm so glad we have a good local pet store. The chain store bettas always make me so sick, too. I want to save them, but I refuse to buy them and just perpetuate the issue. All three of my bettas and one of my Ts is from the local store, where they are actually taken care of well. The other two Ts are from a breeder.

 

[Whitelightning777]

I rescued my T stirmi from a pet store. Sadly enough, they simply replaced it with another one.

The same pet store got fined for an illegal snake.

http://news.maryland.gov/dnr/2018/06/08/pet-shop-cited-for-illegal-snake/

That is where Mindy was rescued from.

 

[MassExodus]

Honestly Ive bought from petstores before, and if something catches my eye, I will again. I scored a big pretty female porteri, my male B boehmei, 3 avic versicolors, a GORGEOUS female C marshalli, and a gbb sling from petcos, petsmarts, and mom/pop petstores. Only one of those stores were keeping them wrong/poorly (a petsmart in Corpus Christi.) The rest had soil, hides and water, in large terrariums. I think hobbyist influence may be spreading, I don't see poor conditions much down here..the sad fact is there will always be people who just think of them as bugs or pests, though.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Keeping a T stirmi in a critter keeper barely big enough to turn around in on a paper towel qualifies as substandard.

Rick's does that.

 

[MassExodus]

The "horrible" treatment I read so much about is not so much in evidence around here. Tell me, do you think the vendors you buy from have their slings and adults all in nice terrariums, set up with cover and hides? They don't. The slings are in shipping vials until theyre sold. Adults are in anything big enough to hold them, and stacked like books, until theyre sold. They're fed of course, and Im not knocking dealers, but now look back at pet stores, with their avics in little critter keepers..doesn't seem so different, right? The last spider you purchased could have sat in a cup just like that t stirmi, for months. Somethin to chew on before jumping on the I hate pet stores bandwagon.

 

[Whitelightning777]

He was in that little critter keeper for weeks with a water dish that had ran dry on a bone dry paper towel. Now for a rose hair, not so great but arguable tolerable.

Still, such conditions are exactly opposite from what these guys need.

It took her a while to adapt to my new enclosure. Initially she stayed in the warmer drier part and only gradually developed the confidence to enter her g hiding place, which she adores.

She isn't too far back from the entrance and before she molted, I'd see her out and about on occasion. Now she's more reclusive which is ok.

The main issue is that if a new keeper sees one kept like that, monkey see monkey do.

Thank God she had no molting complications!! I was worried sick until I retrieved her old molt, sexed it and checked it for completeness.