Other Turtle Discussion :: Pet Store Reviews

Non-care related topics here.

Post Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 5:04 am   Re: Pet Store Reviews

Pet Store Name: A-1 Aquarium & Pet Supply Ltd.
Location: Regina, Sk, CA
Recommended: NOPE :x

Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: 2 (specific turtle tank was a sick joke, but they did have other tanks available - other tanks boost the rating to 5)
Turtle Supplies: 4.5 (nothing specifically turtle oriented besides a small tank and some pellets, but had a lot for aquarium supplies and decor)
Reptile Area in General: 1 (only turtles)
Fish Area in General: 6
Other Animals in General: N/A
Pet Supplies in General: 7.5 (only sold live fish and turtles but had pet supplies for many animals)

Additional Comments: This is where I bought my 4 turtles. The pet shop employee recommended a 10g tank (for 4 turtles) with gravel and no UV lighting. He continued by saying that the only thing they needed to eat were pellets... He was also a very touchy person, which can be uncomfortable if you are not. Did not seem well educated on turtles. I think commission was involved, as he kept trying to talk up his products. The store itself was fine, but his actions, lack of information and inadequate turtle oriented supplies bring down the rating.


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Pet Store Name: Prairie Aquatics and Exotics Inc.
Location: Regina, Sk, CA
Recommended: AWESOME :D

Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: 10 (they have large selection of tanks raging in all sizes and they custom build tanks as well)
Turtle Supplies: 7 (not a lot, but they have turtle oriented filters, food and vitamin supplements - they have lots for aquarium equipment)
Reptile Area in General: 10
Fish Area in General: 10
Other Animals in General: N/A
Pet Supplies in General: 8 (lots of needs for pets, not much for decor, restock time could be better, what they have is great quality)

Additional Comments: This is my favorite pet shop. There is always a large group of people working despite being a smaller business. Everyone is approachable, and if they do not know about the needs of a certain animal they will find someone who does. They specialize is fish and reptiles, and know their stuff. They custom build tanks and always carry various worms and grubs, as well as freshly made salads. They are open late most nights as well. The only con is that their importers are not always reliable and it can take time to restock items when they run out. They will put you on a waiting list and call you once your item is in. It can also be hard to know who all works there at first due to no uniforms. They care about the animals and often bring their own herp collections to the store for viewing. They also sometimes have fun contest with prizes. They help the humane society adopt out abandoned reptiles. They care about the animals well being - not the money.


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Pet Store Name: Pat's Pets
Location: Regina, Sk, CA
Recommended: Alright :)

Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: 5
Turtle Supplies: 4.5
Reptile Area in General: 10
Fish Area in General: 8
Other Animals in General: 8
Pet Supplies in General: 8

Additional Comments: Pat's Pets has a variety of all different kinds of animals and is stocked full of different supplies. Animals seem well taken care of. They help the Humane Society adopt out cats and other animals. Offers pet grooming. Workers seem knowledgeable, but not always approachable. The building is old and small and rather run down looking. There is a lack of ventilation which causes a strong rodent smell. Lack of space means shelves are crammed packed to the brim. Walkways are very close together and it can feel claustrophobic. Otherwise, good supplies and healthy pets.


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Pet Store Name: Petland
Location: Regina, Sk, CA
Recommended: Meh :?

Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: 7
Turtle Supplies: 7
Reptile Area in General: 6
Fish Area in General: 9
Other Animals in General: 10
Pet Supplies in General: 9.5

Additional Comments: Awesome for supplies. They have many things there that are neatly organized. The information they can give is generally wrong and not any good, though each employee is different. I also worry about conditions of some of the animals at times. They seem to know very little about tiger salamanders. When I first got my salamander and went there for information they thought he was a mud puppy and wanted to put him in an aquatic setup (which would have drowned him). They were also insistent that this species of tiger would prefer dead blood worms compared to the preferred live nightcrawler/redwriggler staple diet. They also insisted that my sal wouldn't be able to eat a hornworm. They did not realize that tigers grow up to 13 inches and that my 10 inch tiger loved to be treated to a hornworm every once in awhile. Live food options are limited compared to other stores. They have a lot of turtle oriented supplies which is awesome, but do not sell turtles (which I think is for the best).


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Pet Store Name: Pet Smart
Location: Regina, Sk, CA
Recommended: Meh :?

Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: 8
Turtle Supplies: 6
Reptile Area in General: 6
Fish Area in General: 8
Other Animals in General: 8
Pet Supplies in General: 10

Additional Comments: Another store that is awesome for supplies. They have a lot of turtle oriented stuff and many tanks and aquatic supplies. There tank specifically advertised for turtles goes up to about 55g. Employees are very friendly and like to be helpful. Often times their knowledge is limited to a single species. A lot of alright looking animals health wise, could be better, but not the worst. Awesome place for supplies and decor.
RES: Ponyo, Mikey, Sherbet
Map: Riff Raph
Salamander: Hiccup
My turtles FB page! https://www.facebook.com/PonyoTheTurtle (don't know how to make a fancy link)
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Teeglor
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Jul 8, 2015
Location: Regina, Sk, Canada
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 11:43 am   Re: Pet Store Reviews

Pet Store Name: Underground Aquatics
Location: Cloquet, MN (US)
Recommended: Pro

Rating (1-5)
Turtle Tank: 0 (no turtles here)
Turtle Supplies: 2
Reptile Area in General: 0
Fish Area in General: 5
Other Animals in General: 5
Pet Supplies in General: 5

Additional Comments: This is a fish store; no turtles or reptiles. it is, however, an excellent place to get high-quality fish, and there are a few tanks for sale. they also sell tank decorations and cleaning products for aquariums. There's even some dog stuff!
1 red eared slider
1 mutt
2 minnows
1 ranchu goldfish
3 sarassa comets
1 dojo loach?
3 zebra danios
1 betta
3 white clouds
3 harlequin rasboras
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Skippah
 
Posts: 158
Joined: Aug 25, 2014
Location: Moose Lake, Minnesota

Post Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 9:32 am   Re: Pet Store Reviews

Wow..... Not much I can say on pet shops directly and I will not promote any pet establishment in general from stores, direct breeders nor wholesaler. I will say that the larger chains such as Petsmart and Petco requires a 1 million dollar insurance policy for any wholesaler that they do business with on their live animals and supplies. With that stated, I know this for a fact with knowing a few of the live wholesalers they deal with personally. Over a couple decades, I met the owners and staff of these wholesalers . Yes I feel older than dirt being around that long lol.

Many of these wholesalers at least where the reptiles that Petco , Petsmart and Petland stock all over the USA , the reptile wholesalers that sell to these large chain stores their animals come from South Florida (my State of Residency) primarily in the Dade and Broward region. (3 in Dade and 1 in Broward.). The animals that come from all 4 of these places for the most part are animals usually but not all, are in poor health. I agree with many of you, less admirable even before being shipped out to the large chains and pet stores, jobbers or small dealers alike. These wholesalers rarely have a animal with them more than one or two feedings and sometimes they sell so fast that the animals do not get a single feeding before re shipped out again. I am not going to promote anyone of them by any means however I have been to all 4 of their facilities in person. The one in Broward County has the best wholesale reptile enclosures and look after their animals much better. Though their prices are also low, they buy in bulk to from the wholesalers in Dade County. Two other main wholesalers are in Orlando Florida and a smaller one in Tampa Florida. Both who rely on purchasing from the Dade County wholesalers as well. Keep in mind, many smaller pet stores like the specialized reptile store in my area claim to be wholesalers as well, but they are not. Frankly, before I known any better, I used to personally buy from the wholesalers I mentioned of course hand picking the best of the best animals they had upon the animals arrival, only to sell to pet shops direct such as the one in my current area. This did not make me a wholesaler really and surely does not make them one today.

Bottom line of my point here, if you seen the wholesalers prices which really does not require to much effort to buy from direct, most of your eyes would light up being so cheaply priced. Not only do they sell to pet shops all over the nation but also to wholesalers all over the nation as well since Dade County is the largest distribution point for America therefor, once a animal goes from place to place, city to city from there, the market value goes up. So that little red ear slider that goes for approximately 75 cents quickly escalates in price to 10 dollars or better by the time they end up in pets shops everywhere with no food or very little food intake during its travels. Most are in poor health or ok health when the wholesalers get them down in Florida but or in worse health with stress related issues and lack of nutrition once they arrive. I know the larger chains have a 1 million dollar requirement from any wholesaler they buy from but to me it is apparent that they do not do claims on the wholesalers of the reptiles who they buy from or the wholesalers in general would care for their animals much differently than they had done and still do today.

I will not promote any breeders though some stand out with truly outstanding animals in general compared to others but I do encourage everyone to do their research and spend the extra money to buy breeder direct instead of wholesalers. For the most part on proper research, you would get better quality turtles that are much healthier than what you would ever find in any pet shop , jobber or general seller. Quality breeders look after the animals they sell with care.

I will point out though, some of them do over price their animals and for those that do I mean you can go with them but there are smaller breeders who specialize on hand picking top quality to sell at more reasonable prices. They key is research as many of you are doing on these forums and social media sites in general.
Confirmed Sexed Pair of Albino Red Ear Sliders, Baby Albino and Hybino Red Ear Slider and Adult Normal Male Red Ear Slider
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Tampa Bay Turtle Fan
 
Posts: 310
Joined: Apr 1, 2016
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 4:23 pm   Re: Pet Store Reviews

PetLand
Location: Airdrie, AB Canada
Recommended: PRO!


Rating

Turtle Tank: 4
Turtle Supplies: 4.5
Reptile Area In General: 5+++
Fish Area In General: 5+++
Other Animals In General: 5+
Pet Supplies In General: 5++

Additional Comments: Super friendly staff! Turtle tank is small, but makes sense for they have only one small turtle in it. When they get more turtles, they always move the turtles to a bigger tank. SO MANY REPTILES AND FISH!!! You can also pet the animals, and they are super friendly! They have nice tanks for sale, but not a huge veriety, so I gave it a 4.5. Everything else is great! :3
Agate The Turtle<3
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AgateTheTurtle
 
Posts: 19
Joined: Feb 28, 2017
Location: Airdrie, Alberta, Canada
Gender: Female

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