Petco Reliable Dealer?

[JeffX]

It all depends on the Petco itself and the employees. I have three of them in my area, and it's hit and miss with all of them. The managers will probably have no clue what they're doing as far as Frog care or anything "exotic." Some of the employees will have a great amount of knowledge while others have very little and are Petco-trained which means they probably don't know anything. I worked for a few years at a couple different Petco's, and the mangers and above knew jack about the Reptile Section and that goes for the higher-ups as well. I could never get them to stop feeding mealworms to the Firebellie's and I could never get them to stop ordering so many snakes and jam-packing them into those smaller cages. I did buy my Firebellies, and my Tomato frog at Petco after I stopped working there. They were in great shape when I got them, and still are. I only wish I had bought a second Tomato as they were onsale for 10 dollars.

[Kurt]

I remember that sale, got three of them for the price of one. Not all Petco locations had them.

[SludgeMunkey]

My personal stance on the Big Two Pet Chains:

Touch and Go, especially here in Nebraska, one of the few states that requires certification for pet store employees by law. I suggest to NEVER take anything one of their employees says for granted, nor would I give much weight to their "care sheets".

I have been lucky enough to have lived in quite a few states and these big chain stores are very consistent in their mediocrity.

[1beataway]

I think it's always going to come down to specific locations. The store I work at is great; I know it's not like that all over the US. My upper management know nothing about reptiles/amphibians. But my supervisor is fantastic. And it definitely shows through in our care of the animals.

You know, SludgeMonkey, it might be worth checking out care guides from the major chains and comparing their information.

[SludgeMunkey]

You know, SludgeMonkey, it might be worth checking out care guides from the major chains and comparing their information.

I have checked them out for many different species of animal. Believe me when I say that most of the sheets are scant in proper information on the care of many of the animals sold.

I agree too that the employee's knowledge and training varies greatly store by store and state by state. Sadly, the bad far outweigh the good at most locations.

My favorite to date is the PetCo care sheet for Pyxies that states feeding is one pinkie mouse per week.

[1beataway]

Just from PetCo or the other major chains as well? That's interesting.

I would definitely like to know what is off. I know when it comes to frogs I can give more information than the caresheets, but I still don't know everything, and I do use the caresheets a lot more for lizards. Can you tell me some of the issues you notice the most?

[SludgeMunkey]

The number one issue with both company's care sheets for amphibians, and many lizards, is dietary suggestions. Recommending meal worms and wax worms as staple diets is bad news all the way around.
The second most common error is temperature and lighting. While I understand the requirements for each species differs greatly; 80 F with a UVB incandescent bulb for amphibians is just too much bad information on one page to bear.
The third and most glaring error to a self proclaimed exotic pet snob like myself is incorrect, misspelled, or missing scientific names. To me this is the worst error of all as it results in complete failure should a novice herptile owner decide to try and research husbandry and care information.

Now in PetCo and PetSmart's defense, there are innumerable momNpop shops that are just as bad if not worse.

Also, I have yet to meet an employee of either store, anywhere in the country that was not eager to learn proper information about the animals in stock. This is one of the very few reasons I frequent both companies here in the Omaha area. (Well, that and I can take my pugs with me and the manager of one of the stores bent over backwards to get the volume products I need but cannot have shipped in winter.)

[scribbles]

It depends on which Petco you are buying from. I have a pair of healthy Fire-Bellied Toads from Hanover, MA Petco. The Petcos around me (Plymouth, MA, Braintree, MA, and Hanover, MA) take better care of some species than others.