Petco Black Friday 50% off all Reptiles (that means tortoises!)

[ulkal]

AW: RE: Petco Black Friday 50% off all Reptiles (that means tortoises!)

Thank you for relating your experience and giving your pov. Its interesting to read observations from the 'inside'. hopefully,this can make any petco discussions a bit more nuanced,or put in perspective where the problems are. I partially agree with you. Although I think that employees should.be able to explain the 'basics' and point to further sources. But it IS the responsibility of any pet owner to educate themselves further. Heck,people read tons of reviews before buying new gadgets and then they rely on one pet store employee (no insult intended) when they buy a living creature? One thing I agree on is that pet store employees should admit if they dont know. Its nbd,but maybe a lot of them think it is unacceptable in service culture?
StarSapphire,do you have any possibility to provide higher management with the updated infos,so they might reassess tgeir care instructions?

Sorry,if I went a bit off topic.

We set up our habitats, feeding guidelines, etc. based (mostly) on the word of one vet, who also helps create the animal care training modules. But if the info is old and outdated, and he's not keeping up on cutting edge stuff...well then employees who don't keep those species and bother doing homework on it are taught outdated info. It's not even that many employees are "lazy" or "don't care" but that the company is teaching them outdated information which they then pass on to the customer. Our store encourages us to do "homework" in our free time, we check out the books we sell in a library system too. And if I learn something and a coworker learns a different method, we talk about it and learn about it. We can even submit care suggestions to corporate. There's lots of wrong ways to care for an animal, but there's also no 100% right way. Animal husbandry for many species is constantly changing and evolving, and I don't think many animal lovers realize all the zillion things we already have to learn about and care for as an employee...keeping on the cutting edge of all the animals is physically impossible. My brain feels ready to melt most days already. Most of us have a few animals we specialize in, a few we know mostly about, the basics about some, and then there's usually one or two we know pretty much nothing about. We get help from our coworkers when there's an animal we aren't too sure about, or aren't sure about a question's answer. For instance, people come to me for torts and goldfish and bettas, because those are my specialties, and I've put in lots of time with their husbandry and biology and anatomy and all that jazz. I feel comfortable selling snakes, freshwater fish, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats, mice, ferrets, and turtles for all but the most advanced questions. I know the basics for most of the other reptiles and birds. I know nothing about saltwater fish and scorpions. But that's ok because we have someone who's a saltwater goddess, and another who's a snake nut, and someone with 5 ferrets, etc. etc. Most store's failings aren't because they don't care or are ignorant, but because they don't play to their team's strengths and admit their weakness and ask for help. If you have a question about corals, I will honestly tell you I don't know and find someone for you who does. If know one working knows, which happens once in a while, we'll try to look it up for you, point you towards a reliable resource, or tell you when our saltwater person works next. When a store associate gives you bad information, it's slightly because the company teaches old info, but mostly because that person can't or won't ask for help and admit they don't know.

BUT it's also not really our job to educate you on how to care for your pet. We can definitely answer a few questions, tell you of our own experience, recommend/educate on products, give you care sheets, and point you towards good resources, but I shouldn't need to spend an hour with a customer telling them everything they need to know on tortoise care. It drives me nuts when I see a thread on here that says "I saw a super cute tort at Petco so I brought it home, and the associate told me everything wrong, and now my tort is ______ , and thank god I found this site" and then everyone jumps in and says "Oh yeah, never buy from Petco, they shouldn't even be in business anymore." Shame on the associate for not deferring to a more knowledgeable source, but more so, the customer shouldn't be impulse buying an animal they know nothing about, "winging it", and then blaming it on the store. RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP is the OWNER'S job, and not one you should be making an associate do for you. I saw cute torts at work. I read a book on mediterranean tortoises to see if they were really what I wanted. I found the book intriguing, so I went online to do more research...and I found this site. I researched husbandry, and different species, and responsible breeders. I set up a habitat in advance. I monitored my temps, etc. And then, and ONLY THEN, did I say I'm ready for my tort, let's bring one home.

There is definitely work to be done within chain pet stores, I won't deny it. And some people have genuinely had BAD experiences that is no one's fault but their store's/that associate's, and that is truly a shame. HOWEVER, I think Petco/Petsmart/etc. are much less to blame in many circumstances than people make them out to be. Completely blameless? Rarely. But also rarely 100% to blame.

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Sorry, that was a bit ranty. I've been needing to get that off my chest for a while.

Matt, I'm so glad you love your little Harper and that she's doing better in your care. You should totally check to see if your store has some in stock! You can't pass up 50% off, and last chance to get one at that price!

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[MichaelL]

I know people don't have the best opinion of them, but as they have for the past 2 years, Petco will be selling all reptiles for 50% off on Black Friday. I bought Harper (my oldest Redfoot) 2 years ago at such a sale, and, after a little TLC and treatment for very minor shell rot, she is now the friendliest and most approachable tortoise in my entire herd. Stock usually varies, but count on either Russian or Greeks being there. I've only seen Redfoots the one time I went, so you may want to call ahead or scope the place out a few days before.

I remember getting there around 9am and the people looked at me liked I was a little nuts for coming in so early to buy a tortoise. I was practically the only one there.

I did the exact same thing with mine, you save sooo much and still get an overall usually healthy tortoise.

 

[Shorty]

I know people don't have the best opinion of them, but as they have for the past 2 years, Petco will be selling all reptiles for 50% off on Black Friday. I bought Harper (my oldest Redfoot) 2 years ago at such a sale, and, after a little TLC and treatment for very minor shell rot, she is now the friendliest and most approachable tortoise in my entire herd. Stock usually varies, but count on either Russian or Greeks being there. I've only seen Redfoots the one time I went, so you may want to call ahead or scope the place out a few days before.

I remember getting there around 9am and the people looked at me liked I was a little nuts for coming in so early to buy a tortoise. I was practically the only one there.

On a side note... I was once looking to purchase a red foot at one of these such places... He had shell rot really bad!! I kept telling them and they didn't believe me... Once a vet check it out he went into quaritine for a few months then they sold him without telling me..I'm thankful your Lil tort has a good home!!