This is a good thread!

My heart breaks every time I go into a pet store. I hate seeing the puppies dying for attention in tiny cages (which they probably never get out to go for walks) and your not even allowed to touch them unless you are interested in them. I know they don't want them to get sick from anything, but come on, that is rediculous.

Probably one of the things that bothers me the most is pet stores trying to sell CATS!! ARE YOU BLEEPING KIDDING ME!?!?!?! I have 11 cats (had 16 a while ago) and every single one was a stray or a kitten of a stray. My family fixed every single one! That is thousands of dollars - and they are trying to sell a kitten for $50!?!?!?!!? .... I'm just going to stop there with the cats.

They also always think they know everything because they are a pet store.. I always tell them I've had basically every animal you could have as a pet and I know a lot about animals. I don't want to act like a "know it all" but compared to them I basically am lol. I've only just been introduced to the frog world (besides having a couple water frogs as a child) and I've already learned so much in the past couple weeks - a lot more than they know in the pet stores. If they'd just take the time to research every specific animal and train their employees it would do so much good.

I too also like to point out things that are done wrong in pet stores - just loud enough for someone to over hear me. Some stores near us house tarantulas in horrible conditions.. I'll say "Well she hates her substrate she won't even touch it, it's too wet!" for example. I also like to say when I'm talking about T's in a pet store that I have 13 of them - yeah, I'd like to think my boyfriend and I know quite a bit about them lol. We've done a lot of research ever since we got our first T a couple years ago.

I wish they would listen to people and take advice if they don't really know about a species. I too have seen turtles that can't turn around in tanks, amongst many other animals who you feel so bad for.

Here's the thing. We could rescue them all so they can be healthy and happy. But if we do, they'll just get more animals in that will be in crappy conditions. So what do we do? Rescue them so they can get more, or walk away and hope they can't sell what they have so they don't get anymore in? It's a hard decision. Sometimes I walk away, sometimes I save.

We already had a bunch of Ts and saved an avic avic who was in what looked like an ant tunnel. She was at the very top trying to climb but had nothing to climb. Avic avics are tree spiders, they don't want to be in an ant tunnel! No matter what T they get they always put it in the same thing.

And of course Haiku, the red eye I got yesterday. Doesn't know the difference in night and day, was dark green from stress being housed with other species of frogs and too much heat lamps above his head in his short enclosure. He's already a brighter green today!

I kind of can't believe all these pet stores can get away with doing what they do. Even animal welfare people don't know exactly how every single species should be kept properly.

So I guess sometimes pet stores are a necessary evil. I have to buy crickets from them and accessories. Sometimes pets too if I can't find a breeder.

If I do breed, I don't think I'd sell to pet stores. Even if they had good conditions for the frogs, how do I know they won't sell it to some idiot who won't take care of it and it'll end up suffering to death? =/