Pet Store Name: Petco
Location: Katy, TX s. mason
Recommended: con
Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: na
Turtle Supplies: 2
Reptile Area in General: 2
Fish Area in General: 3
Other Animals in General: 4
Pet Supplies in General: 4
Their staff doesn't know much about any animal and once I had to explain to a customer how to sex a guinea pig so she wouldn't be buying an opposite sex by mistake. The head of the fish department knows his stuff though, but can't say much about the rest of them. I've bought several fish from this location with only one case of disease in a feeder minnow, although i have been in several times with tanks quarantined for ailments in the feeder area and once in the koi tank. they take in rescue and adoptable fish that are free to a good home. once a year in the fall they have a $1 a gal sale up to 55gal. the prices tend to be higher then most stores i've been to, and their tank selection isn't very large, just one side of an aisle with 4 different stands to chose from. the turtle supplies are split up between 3 different aisles. they also have red foot torts for sale no more then 3 to a tank. the tanks are long with about the width of a 29 and the height of a 10. the live plants aren't too much to rave about either. the ones in the plastic containers with salt and the ones in the tanks are always the same ones that can't be eaten by turtles, on the rare occasion they do have something it's half dead.
Pet Store Name: Petsmart
Location: katy, tx s. fry
Recommended: pro/con
Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: no
Turtle Supplies: 4
Reptile Area in General: 4
Fish Area in General: 4
Other Animals in General: 5
Pet Supplies in General: 5
I typically enjoy shopping here for my turtle needs as the prices are cheaper then the petco on s. mason, the staff is more knowledgeable, and the selection is broader. they also have frequent sales on live bearing fish which my turtles enjoy and i'm trying to breed for food. the price for shrimp is the cheapest that i know of for a freshwater tolerable ghost shrimp (which my first turtle covets as her favourite snack). the ornamental fish i've never had disease problems with but the feeders i've had two issues in a month. once with tail rot which made my western painted sick and is now receiving a series of shots to treat, and the other i just bought a batch where one had lymphocystis and now a day later 5 of them are getting it. i won't be shopping there for feeders anymore. i do love their plants. they have a wider variety but only two that turtles will eat; however the prices aren't that great to brag about especially since my turtles demolish them within an hour. pro for selection, customer service, and price. con for the bad feeders
Pet Store Name: Everything Pets
Location: Houston, TX N. Fry
Recommended: Pro
Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: 55 or 60
Turtle Supplies: 3
Reptile Area in General: 4
Fish Area in General: na
Other Animals in General: 4
Pet Supplies in General: 4
the largest sections in the store are the dog feed and the reptiles for sale. the owner is really great and the staff is knowledgeable. they'll special order anything you want as long as it's on the market with a down payment. they carry various types of snakes from large to small, some tree frogs, chameleons, sulcatas (which i disapprove of, but one of the workers owns a full grown one and is able to advise customers on all their care needs) and different types of baby turtles. they commonly stock southern painted and RES hatchlings, sometimes they'll get in yellow-bellied and maps. on a few occasions they've supplied snapping turtles and kamens. they have very little to chose from as far as turtle supplies and tanks, but on what they do have it's cheaper then the mainstream corporate stores. between myself and my boyfriend we have gotten 5 turtles from them with two of the same southern painted hatchling shipment to die on us. they replaced them with no problem. i know they do stock crickets in the back but haven't thought to ask about any other types of live feeder; planned on doing it tomorrow actually. if you plan on purchasing a pet from them be sure to bring your own container as they tend to not keep them fully stocked. (EDIT: Nate, the owner has started stocking feeder fish starting March 29th 2012)
Pet Store Name: Petsmart
Location: houston tx bella terra on 99
Recommended: pro
Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: na
Turtle Supplies: 4
Reptile Area in General: 4
Fish Area in General: 3
Other Animals in General: na
Pet Supplies in General: 4
i put na under other animals as i haven't been any further into the store for anything other then the fish department which is in the first few rows as you walk in. their fish department lacks significantly but so far i haven't have any issues from anything i've purchased there. the reptile/turtle supplies are the same things as the location on s. fry except a lot of it is cheaper. the fish tanks are always crystal clear as well and never over crowded. the staff isn't as knowledgeable as the s. fry location but they try their best. some of the fish supply are lacking compared to other petsmarts i've been to. the only live plants they sell are in the plastic containers with salt and not much of a selection to begin with.
Pet Store Name: Petsmart
Location: houston , tx hwy6 and 529
Recommended: pro
Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: na
Turtle Supplies: 4
Reptile Area in General: 4
Fish Area in General: 4
Other Animals in General: na
Pet Supplies in General: 4
again i haven't been to anywhere else in the store aside from aquatics. the staff is very helpful and knowledgeable. when i talked to the lady about trying to figure a way to administer food to my baby res i had just adopted she gave me some needle-less syringes from the vet supply at no charge to help me along until i found a medical supplier. the fish i bought there have never had any issues, and i can't recall the plant section. the reptile selection is typical of a large petsmart location and i didn't walk by the tanks so i'm not sure but assume it's the usual selection as well. also the fish tanks may be full of snails but the staff is more then happy to "accidentally" drop some into my fish bags for me to take home to my turtles who gobble them up like no one's business.
Pet Store Name: Petsmart
Location: houston, tx, bunkerhill and i-10
Recommended: con
Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: 2
Turtle Supplies: 3
Reptile Area in General: 4
Fish Area in General: 4
Other Animals in General: na
Pet Supplies in General: 4
i bought my western painted from this location and argued for 15 mins with the lady that it's a western painted slider not a red eared slider and wanted my adoption paper to reflect i was purchasing the right species. she went as far as grabbing the shipment invoice to prove to me i was wrong, even though an employee who was there when the shipment came in said the invoice wasn't for that shipment and the head of aquatics hadn't put the sign out for the turtles yet. needless to say i bought a $40 turtle for $20 because she was being stupid. the western painteds all had some type of shell damage, i chose one with the worst case of a scute break with a mild case of shell rot to get him to the vet asap. the shell rot is all better after 3 weeks of treatment and still waiting on the scutes to heal over. the fish selection is small with some over crowding but no dead fish that i saw. the feeder selection looks healthier and the water is always pristine. they sell greek torts which i haven't seen sold anywhere else, usually it's the red footed. the aquatic turtle tank is a semi aquatic setup with water deep enough to immerse in to just past their heads but do keep a spectrum light and headlamp over them and an area to hide in. it's pretty long and only about a foot high, can't tell the depth; it can comfortable fit 6 turtles which i've never seen anything more then 7 in there and that was only when i bought my western, usually it's 3-5. the staff is abit snotty or couldn't care less and slow to respond to assistance. their supplies are also way more expensive by a couple dollars or more then the stores out near katy.
Pet Store Name: PetCity
Location: humble, tx 1960 and 45
Recommended: pro/con
Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: 5
Turtle Supplies: 3
Reptile Area in General: 4
Fish Area in General: 5
Other Animals in General: 3
Pet Supplies in General: 4
this is a great place to buy your feeders! they sell young guppies 10 for a 1.50, minnows 10 for a 100, small comets 10 for a 1.00, and saltwater ghost shrimp 10 for a 1.00
all their feeder tanks are on separate pumping systems so no disease is spread and they have a feeder club where you earn free feeder fish. i love this place for my feeders and over half the time my guppies and ghost shrimp are pregnant which my large res favours. i wish this store was closer to me as i'd go there every few days for fish if it wasn't such a waste in gasoline. their fish department is wonderful which takes up a good 3rd of the store. they have a pond set up for hatchling res with a pond pump, plenty of basking space, lots of places to hide, and as natural as they can get it with live plants and minnows in the water for natural feeding. they sell other amphibians and reptiles from different variety of frogs/toads to snakes, spiders, lizards, etc. they have some employees who are enthusiasts in the department they're assigned and some employees who don't know much but will get you what you want and be off with you. i enjoy the reptile handler and his stories, and the elderly man in the fish department. they do sell puppies there that are mass bred and i don't agree with or support and i heard from an ex employee that they illegally diagnose and treat the dogs in the back room with medications and shots. they carry seasonal animals like rabbits and prairie dogs in the spring, and they'll also carry the typical rodents, and sugar gliders, birds, mice, etc. the aquarium gravel is the cheapest i've ever come across and only buy it from their store from 1.99 and up. they have a good selection in tanks and are usually on sale trying to move product. i've never had issues with any fish i've purchased here, or any product for that matter.
Pet Store Name: Fish Keepers
Location: 1960, humble tx
Recommended: 3
Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: 1, they have 3-4" sliders wild caught in a little biodome. there's no swim space, basking area, and barely room to move.
Turtle Supplies: n/a
Reptile Area in General: n/a
Fish Area in General: 4
Other Animals in General: n/a
Pet Supplies in General: 1
as the name of the place indicates this place is a fish exclusive shop. i only mention it for their tanks. they have a great selection of tanks and will even custom build for a decent price. they're a lil' mom&pop type place that's family ran. their fish selection is pretty good. i only had one fish die on me and that was due to faults of the fish dealer they bought it from (little fishy had a heartattack while trying to net it to move from the carrier to the tank) they replaced it with no problem and the new fish is doing perfect. however the son-in-law catches wild sliders from the creek and brings them into the store to be sold as side profit. they keep them in a bio-dome that's more fit for a small frog. they have no knowledge of turtles and no supplies for the buying to purchase.
Pet Store Name: Fish DR
Location: 1960, humble tx; near deerbrooke
Recommended: 3
Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: 3
Turtle Supplies: n/a
Reptile Area in General: n/a
Fish Area in General: 5
Other Animals in General: n/a
Pet Supplies in General: 2
This isn't a turtle specific place, but the place is relatively new, independently owned, and has a set up that will eventually hold turtles. the tank is abit bigger then a normal inclosure at petsmart. he has it set up for semi aquatic with what will be a small rock land mass of 6-7x4" that slopes down to a 2" water area. idk how big of turtles he plans on selling. he doesn't seem to have much knowledge in turtles and no supplies what so ever. his fish selection is decent but the prices are higher. he is very enthusiastic to talk fish to you at any time of the day. i've purchased 3 fish from him and will not be purchasing again in the future. two of the fish are fine, however one of the original 3 died 2 days after purchase for no reason. then i got a replacement. the replacement was so sickly thin it's body was literally less then half the width of the head. it was so weak it had trouble swimming and eventually got sucked into a filter intake while i was at work. he recommends only feeding fish once a day, for 5 days a week.
that's all i have for now. i'll come up with more later for the houston and surrounding areas.