Other Turtle Discussion :: Overheard at the pet store

[Starchick]

Gotta love Ack's exotic pets. The owner, Carl, seems to be overrun with customers asking crazy questions about their animals. The guy ahead of us in line was buying some feeder insects and turtle food and talking about his RES.

Customer: "We rescued him from this kid, and we've been trying to feed him some chicken."
Carl: "Yeah, boiled chicken's okay, they need other stuff too but just plain boiled chicken is good for them."
Customer: "Oh, and baloney too."
Carl: "Ok, well that's not good. Even people shouldn't be eating baloney...that's definitely not the best thing to be feeding him"
Customer: "Okay. Well the kid we got him from was feeding him swedish fish..."
Carl: "WOW. Okay, that's TERRIBLE for your turtle. Where did they even get that idea?"

The last time we were in there some guy brought in a tarantula he had bought someplace else and was worried because its leg fell off. "And the weird thing is, after it fell off, he ate it!"

We also went to Petland today, where they had very cute baby chameleons. A little girl was begging her parents for one, so I went over and told them that they ought to go up the street to Ack's, where they could see a full grown one so they know what they're getting into! The little ones are cute but it sucks when the pet stores don't really give you any indication of how huge they'll get!

[megcornell]

Haha swedish fish. That's not funny, it's sad how stupid people are. Did you tell them to look at this site? That poor turtle has quite a diet coming his way.
And good call on the chameleon- I hope they listened. It's just like the cute fuzzy puppies that in three months are 80lbs and completely untrained.

[roseK]

i love the chameleons cuz i think they are adorable, big and small, BUT bugs scare me

but yea, when u go into a pet store its best to know what ur getting cuz the people that work there dont

[DavidY]

If those were the Old World chameleons (with the independant eye turrets and very slow moving) they can be extremely difficult to raise and are definitely not a beginner reptile.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Several times in pet stores I have had to make certain parents w/kids aware of how big those tiny little green turtles actually get. Once the parents find out that they will eventually have to buy a 100-gallon tank for a 10-12 inch turtle, they want nothing to do with them.

[Safdar]

Lol, why do they let so many stupid people work for them

[Tattoo]

Thats like hiring a truck driver that doesn't know how to drive.

[DavidY]

Good analogy, tattoo!

[industrial_girl_2000]

Yeah, good one, Tattoo!

[Tattoo]

Thats how I felt when the pet store sold me my turtle. GOOD thing I found YOU PEOPLES on this site!

[tissigirl]

Several times in pet stores I have had to make certain parents w/kids aware of how big those tiny little green turtles actually get. Once the parents find out that they will eventually have to buy a 100-gallon tank for a 10-12 inch turtle, they want nothing to do with them.

I've informed many friends, co-workers, etc. about the tank size and the amount of money involved with turtles. And just like you as soon as they hear they want nothing to do with them! They usually mention how they've been interested in getting one when I am talking about Mr. Turtle. At least i've probably saved a few turtles' lives!

[Tattoo]

Honestly if I knew what I was getting into I wouldn't of got my Turbo. But since I got him with little info from pet store, it was my duty to hook Turbo up with a great home once I found out what I had was harmful and useless.

[phil519]

Lol, why do they let so many stupid people work for them

I'm not defending the practice - but it did cross my mind that SOME of the people aren't stupid but trying to make a buck at the expense of the critter.

Seems to me most shops make their money on those purebreed dogs and cats and the supplies that come with it. Fish, reptiles, etc. are mostly an afterthought.

Anyone read about the 6 foot boa / snake in NY? Someone had it as a pet and it grew too big so they released it in the park. It was stuck in a hole/rock and would have died had a jogger not noticed.

I dunno what's more surprising...taking a walk thru the park and seeing a huge snake, or fixing your garden in N.D. and finding 44 baby snapping turtles!!

[Safdar]

Haha very interesting
I myself will try out at Petmart and sign up for theyre Reptile Department
Hopefully i get it

[Starchick]

I'm not defending the practice - but it did cross my mind that SOME of the people aren't stupid but trying to make a buck at the expense of the critter.

You know what's weird though, a good turtle setup can easily run 300 dollars, and more often than not, the pet store employees fail by not telling you everything you need. How many people here were initially told that they didn't need to spend the money for a uvb lamp? How many were sold a turtle along with a tank that was way too small? Then they do push the unnecessary stuff, like vitashell and those sulfa blocks...and gravel. I think it's mainly a matter of poor training and misinformation.