Pet (Store) Peeves, if you'll pardon the expression

[Madkins007]

A recent post triggered one of my Pet (Store) Peeves- some of the junk they sell for tortoises, or indeed any pet, is just such pure garbage that it amazes me they have the gall to sell it.

This rant was triggered by one of those fake hollowed rock feeding dishes. While I think they are pretty dang dumb for any reptile, I think they are especially dumb for tortoises.

Functionally- you put food in here and set it in the habitat, now the tortoise has to reach its neck over the intentionally jagged edge, and root out food in odd corners because the designer thought it would be more natural somehow to make it a weird shape.

A flat piece of slate or tile works so much better, or you can get some thrift shop small plates and rotate them each meal. Personally, I use a double page of newspaper folded in quarters so I can just toss it with any waste.

The fake rock food dishes (and water dishes) would not bother me so much if they got rid of that stupid jagged edge and made them rounder or oval- they would hold more and be easier to work with.

There are a LOT of other things at the pet shop that drive me bonkers, but let's hear about YOUR favorite piece o' junk items!

 

[wellington]

I don't know if this really pertains to pet stores or more the pet food that stores carry. The colors and shapes they put into dog and cat food. That is my biggest gripe. The colors bother me more than the shapes. Many years ago, about 18 years ago, I was working for a veterinarian/ dear friend. We would have many cases of dogs having skin problems. When asked what they were feeding, it was always the same answer. I certain few dog foods that had lots of colors in it. We would advise them to switch to a natural, no color dog food and their problem would probably clear up. Low and behold, every time, the skin problem would go away. Yes dogs can see some color, no they are not totally colored blind, but they do not care what color or shape their food is. That all has to do with us dumb owners that buy into the colors and shapes. The shapes won't do anything, but the colors may cause your dog skin problems. My pet peeve, colored dog food!

 

[Shelly]

Dog or cat food that costs more than people food.

 

[Jacqui]

The hot rocks even with years of reported damage done to reptiles.

... thinking I should leave before I tell MArk I have a few of those dishes he hates so much...

 

[nikki0601]

The dishes they make for tortoises I find ridiculous as well, not only is the shape odd but the height is dangerous for babies as we have seen in the thread with all the turned over Sullys, poor things couldnt even get to eat without tipping over.. I use a piece of tile flush with the substrate, I rinse it and its like brand new daily

---

Another thing that drives me crazy about the pet shops in this area is how they house soft shelled turtles, in a tank mixed with many other species where they can easily get injuried and with a gravel substrate, if they dont get injuries from the other turtles they are sure to once a baby softshell tries to burrow into gravel rock

 

[Madkins007]

Now, now, Nikki- let's keep this about products. General gripes or pet cares would be another thread- and lots longer than this one!

I know these are popular, but the 1/2 log hides bug me, especially for tortoises. Wild tortoises hide in snug places where they can feel like a predator cannot reach them. The log hides and similar options are open boxes, and usually not even all that light tight or deep. To me, this is more like a tortoise garage than a bedroom.

And it REALLY bugs me that they sell small bags of some kinds of substrate for more than you can get a giant bag for in the home centers.

 

[tyler0912]

The hot rocks even with years of reported damage done to reptiles.

... thinking I should leave before I tell MArk I have a few of those dishes he hates so much...

I have one too...... ugh ohh....

Now, now, Nikki- let's keep this about products. General gripes or pet cares would be another thread- and lots longer than this one!

I know these are popular, but the 1/2 log hides bug me, especially for tortoises. Wild tortoises hide in snug places where they can feel like a predator cannot reach them. The log hides and similar options are open boxes, and usually not even all that light tight or deep. To me, this is more like a tortoise garage than a bedroom.

And it REALLY bugs me that they sell small bags of some kinds of substrate for more than you can get a giant bag for in the home centers.

i have a bendy log hide.....am i in trouble?

 

[Neltharion]

I hate the repti-carpet. The plastic grass that was originally designed to be artificial surface for sports fields. Certain smaller clawed animals like leopard geckos and bearded dragons have gotten claws stuck in it. Its label states that its safe and animals will not ingest it, yet I've seen tortoises and iguanas try to bite it. If you cut the edges to custom fit it but don't burn the fringes down, the frayed edges are dangerous. If you're going to use repti-carpet, you might as well save your money and just use paper towels.

 

[dmmj]

I hate the fact that they sell a aquarium/vivarium or try to at least for every tortoise they sell ( my local pet store) and they know since they claim 25 years experience of keeping reptiles that the tortoise is most likely gonna outgrow it in a year or two.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

Hot rocks, turtle lagoons, and reptile carpet. Without going into details (which I've shared in other threads already), those three pretty much sum up my pet store peeves.

 

[Lulu]

Lately I've been seeing fake plastic tortoise shell hides at the pet store. Who are those marketed to? What animal hides under a tortoise shell? They're just creepy.

 

[ripper7777777]

I agree with Lulu those fake tortoise shells are really creepy.


I have some of the rock dishes, they worked well for small lizards and hermit crabs, I tried one for Peanut but it was way to hard to bury it so he could get in it. I use tupperware lids from the lunchmeat tupperware for feeding.

I HATE Food coloring for animals and kids, animals want food kids want sugar neither care about Red Dye.

I HATE those stupid Turtle Lagoons and Painted Shells for Hermit Crabs.

I hate unneeded products like Shell polisher or other vitamins and so call needed nutrients the animals would never get in the wild.

I also hate the cost of substrates, I expect to pay more for stuff at a small pet shop but at one of the large chains like Petco it should all be cheaper, when it actually seems to be the same or more than the Mom and Pop stores.


and one last thing I hate and this applies to the Chain stores, I hate stupid loyalty cards, just put the stuff on sale.

 

[Cherbear]

Lagoon (death bowl). I saw those shell hide things too. It is pretty gross.

 

[Kristina]

Goldfish bowls, or any small tank that depicts goldfish on the box.

Betta bowls or tanks smaller than 5 gallons.

Hanging lamp stands. What drives me nuts is the price. I can build one for $2, seriously. Why pay $20+?

Calcisand and Reptibark. Nasty stuff.

Complete set ups for tortoises - the stuff in them is JUNK and the tanks are too small.

All these nasty freeze dried and other crap foods that have no nutrition or purpose.

You know, I could go on for years, seriously.

 

[tortoises101]

Shell conditoner. 'Nuff said.

 

[Kristina]

Shell conditioner isn't THAT bad. It is just lotion, though, and a money trap. It won't hurt them.

 

[Madkins007]

Shell conditioner isn't THAT bad. It is just lotion, though, and a money trap. It won't hurt them.

Which is why it is on MY pet peeves list. Plain white unscented (baby) lotion does the same thing at a fraction of the cost.

That is a big 'generic' pet peeve of mine- when a boutique or speciality store takes something that costs 'pennies a pound' if you bought it elsewhere, but they charge a premium for the 'specific' packaging.

Some examples:
- Substrates are already mentioned. Cypress is the worst.
------ T-Rex Cypress Bed from PetSmart, 10 qts (about 0.4 cubic feet)/$8.99 ($0.90/qt)
------ Generic cypress mulch from Home Depot, 2 cubic feet for $2.87 (about 50 quarts, so $0.06/qt!) (Granted, the T-Rex is a finer grade, but that does not really matter to most torts.)
- The lotion mentioned-
------ Vitashell from PetSmart, 2oz for $4.99 ($2.50/oz)
------ Lubriderm unscented lotion, 16oz for $8.49 ($0.53/oz), and you can use even cheaper stuff, or even a dab of olive oil!
- Calcium powder-
------ Repti-Cal from PetSmart, 4.1oz for $8.49 ($2.07/oz)
------ NOW brand calcium powder from Drugstore.com- 8oz for $5.99 ($0.74/oz)
- Mazuri- $6-12/lb in 1 or 2lb bags from the pet store, a little over a buck a pound at the feed and grain store,
- Heat-resistant dome clamp light fixture-
------ 10" Fluker clamp light is $17.99
------ Home Depot 11" heat-resistant clamp light is $12.99

 

[Jacqui]

!

I know these are popular, but the 1/2 log hides bug me, especially for tortoises. Wild tortoises hide in snug places where they can feel like a predator cannot reach them. The log hides and similar options are open boxes, and usually not even all that light tight or deep. To me, this is more like a tortoise garage than a bedroom.

I love the half logs myself, so far for the hingebacks they seem to work better then anything else I have found. I also like they can climb on them, plus as a human, I like the visual appeal.

---

I hate the repti-carpet. The plastic grass that was originally designed to be artificial surface for sports fields. Certain smaller clawed animals like leopard geckos and bearded dragons have gotten claws stuck in it. Its label states that its safe and animals will not ingest it, yet I've seen tortoises and iguanas try to bite it. If you cut the edges to custom fit it but don't burn the fringes down, the frayed edges are dangerous. If you're going to use repti-carpet, you might as well save your money and just use paper towels.

I like these, but to use for taking pictures of the tortoises on.

 

[Madkins007]

!

I know these are popular, but the 1/2 log hides bug me, especially for tortoises. Wild tortoises hide in snug places where they can feel like a predator cannot reach them. The log hides and similar options are open boxes, and usually not even all that light tight or deep. To me, this is more like a tortoise garage than a bedroom.

I love the half logs myself, so far for the hingebacks they seem to work better then anything else I have found. I also like they can climb on them, plus as a human, I like the visual appeal.

Have you tried just a big chunk of flat bark laying on the substrate propped up on one corner? I have one that is as wide as the habitat (the bark is about 20" wide and about a foot long) and I prop one end up on a small pile of substrate. Within a couple of days, there are paths and 'snuggle pits' under it for each tort. I rake the pits out every could of weeks when I 'fluff' the substrate.

They climb on it all the time, often defecating on there. There is a CHE near one edge and they like to bask under it. I've ran several hide options in the habitat, and this seems to be the favorite, but I know that a lot of things affect hide choices- both on the parts of the tortoise and the keeper.

(I got several really big chunks of bark off a dead tree in a nearby park. I let it sit in the sun for a while, but found a slug before I put it in the tank. Talk about a nice bonus snack for the torts!)

 

[starjess81]

I really dislike when you ask for advice or help and the employee says "I don't know" or "if its not on the shelf we probably don't have it". I've learned more reading in this forum than anything else. I would rather buy online because 1. You can get good deals and 2. You don't have to deal with a half high teenager who could care less about there job.