Pretty gross

[SaintJimmy]

I keep seeing threads about how people go to petco/petsmart and then complain about the crickets.

Normally I get crickets from a ma and da type store downtown and you know, there's the occasional dead cricket leg or something..

This time we ran out of crickets and were on the way to my brother's baseball game. Oh shoot! Monty needs food.

Petsmart is the closest place.

Go there, get some pre packaged ones, there are 24, no biggie, looks clean, right?

I went home and took off the cover and already there is cricket crap flying out of the little holes in the dumb container.. I can't see any more though since the bottom of the container is covered by an egg crate cut to fit inside the box.

Today my tupperware was finished washing so I thought I'd transfer them into a bigger "cage".

Took the egg crate out, shook the crickets into it.

Oh my god.

Disgusting.

Show and tell, guys. This is what pretty much every one of those crickets I've been feeding my cham was sitting around in all weekend.

I used to think people were making a big deal about the crickets but come on this is disgusting. Is it really that hard for a petco employee to just scoop the crickets up, and maybe shake off the egg crate (to get rid of the mass amounts of dead crickets that probably were there for four months anyway)?

I seriously want a job at petco or something now JUST so I can take good care of the stupid reptiles. I mean the care of the reptiles there is horrid anyway, but now the crickets? How much more lazy can they get?

How many other people have had bad experiences like this? This is just disgusting.

 

[ChuWuti]

Pretty lazy. Two days ago I went into PetsMart to buy dog food. As I was walking past the reptile display, I noticed a ball python in a very odd position. I studied it but couldn't decide whether it was alive or not; I couldn't see it breathing.

I went and got my dog food; as I came back by, I noticed the BP was in the same position.

I bought my dog food, took it out to my car, then went back into the store to look at the BP again. Same position.

I stood there for several minutes and could not see any breathing, so I got the manager (whom I know). I asked him how many times a day the herps are checked, and he told me "5 times a day." I told him what I had observed of the BP, emphasizing the very odd position (one I've never seen any of my snakes assume). He came and looked and said, "Oh, that looks bad, very bad." He immediately had someone bring the key to the display, opened it, and picked up the BP.

As he picked it up, there was no change in position--rigor mortis had set in!!!

Five times a day my A**. Maybe they look at the display five times daily, but they do NOT physically check each animal anywhere near that often.

ARRHGGHGHGHGGHGHGHGHGH!

Sandy

 

[ChamHoudini]

I feel ya and I will never buy the containers like that. The petsmart by me sells those and crickets they put in a fish bag. I will buy the ones that are in a bag but not those in that type of container. Those containers here are sealed and the employees can't open them :/

 

[qdude46]

a large chain pet store(Dont want to say the exact name) is only a mile from my house so i have to get them from there but always ones "fresh" from there bin but im thinking of trying to start a cricket breeding project

 

[Sinfulintent]

You guys may want to refrain from naming businesses. Just a heads up

 

[qdude46]

oh thank you i guess ill edit that

 

[SaintJimmy]

Pretty lazy. Two days ago I went into PetsMart to buy dog food. As I was walking past the reptile display, I noticed a ball python in a very odd position. I studied it but couldn't decide whether it was alive or not; I couldn't see it breathing.

I went and got my dog food; as I came back by, I noticed the BP was in the same position.

I bought my dog food, took it out to my car, then went back into the store to look at the BP again. Same position.

I stood there for several minutes and could not see any breathing, so I got the manager (whom I know). I asked him how many times a day the herps are checked, and he told me "5 times a day." I told him what I had observed of the BP, emphasizing the very odd position (one I've never seen any of my snakes assume). He came and looked and said, "Oh, that looks bad, very bad." He immediately had someone bring the key to the display, opened it, and picked up the BP.

As he picked it up, there was no change in position--rigor mortis had set in!!!

Five times a day my A**. Maybe they look at the display five times daily, but they do NOT physically check each animal anywhere near that often.

ARRHGGHGHGHGGHGHGHGHGH!

Sandy

I was just waiting for that. Yeah exactly, five times.. Yeah right.

I feel ya and I will never buy the containers like that. The petsmart by me sells those and crickets they put in a fish bag. I will buy the ones that are in a bag but not those in that type of container. Those containers here are sealed and the employees can't open them :/

We were in a rush though. At least I put them in a cleaner environment with my beetles that eat the poop.

a large chain pet store(Dont want to say the exact name) is only a mile from my house so i have to get them from there but always ones "fresh" from there bin but im thinking of trying to start a cricket breeding project

I'm attempting to breed isopods with no luck, I would breed crickets if only I had the time and space. Plus I know they won't get the attention half the time (half and half custody with my parents)

You guys may want to refrain from naming businesses. Just a heads up

oh thank you i guess ill edit that

Petco is okay though.. lol

 

[qdude46]

oh god i wish my parents would help me with my pets, my mom isnt really fond of any reptile and the same with insects. shes lucky that im not brave enough for dubia roaches. i have to rely on my friend to help me with any pet probs unless its rats. my mom and i love rats

 

[Trace]

Meh. That’s not too bad at all. I see some chewed up cardboard and some shed exoskeletons. It’s what insects do. There are no dead crickets, maggots, wetness or anything else to indicate they were in horrible conditions.

 

[Tay And A]

Plain and simple we cannot trust big chain pet stores to keep their animals and insects healthy. A lot of the employees don't care becuase they only get paid minimum wage.....

 

[Psychobunny]

How come U guyz dont buy your cricks mail order bulk from some place like Ghanns or Armstrong's??

Even if U only have one cham, you can order like, 500 and they will last you a while, and U will save a lot of $$$

 

[ChuWuti]

You guys may want to refrain from naming businesses. Just a heads up

oooops. Sorry. Maybe an admin can edit out the name? "A large, national chain pet store . . . "

Sandy

 

[SaintJimmy]

Meh. That’s not too bad at all. I see some chewed up cardboard and some shed exoskeletons. It’s what insects do. There are no dead crickets, maggots, wetness or anything else to indicate they were in horrible conditions.

I just counted through the card board flakes. There are like 5 dead little crickets. pinheads. not intact though, just the body or most of it..

Plain and simple we cannot trust big chain pet stores to keep their animals and insects healthy. A lot of the employees don't care becuase they only get paid minimum wage.....

Exactly

 

[SaintJimmy]

How come U guyz dont buy your cricks mail order bulk from some place like Ghanns or Armstrong's??

Even if U only have one cham, you can order like, 500 and they will last you a while, and U will save a lot of $$$

I don't know how to take care of crickets that long. It would be a good idea but seriously I am not old enough for paypal so I can't.

 

[Jon114]

That's actually nothing compared to my last trip to petco. I had run out of superworms and didn't feel like feeding any off from my breeding colony, so I went to pick some up. At first glance, they seemed to have everything in stock. Then I checked all the worms. All....dead. Every single one of their 50 mealworm/superworm containers were full of dead, horribly smelly worms, and maggots and flies. Not too surprisingly, all of their pre-packaged crickets were dead too, but these were dry, crickets were only in parts, and seemed like they had been on the shelves for ages. It was like they ordered these feeders 1-2 months, left them to die, and never replaced/took them off the shelves. I spoke to the nearest employee, and he said "Must have been a bad batch, come back next week", and literally walked off. Come back next week? Hah...right.

 

[Sinfulintent]

When I go into the petstores I make sure to get the crickets out of the larger bins that they have set up. Not sure if yours do or not but mine have a nice large bin that house hundreds of crickets then they put them in a plastic bag like you'd get with a fish and a piece of cardboard, they last much longer then the crickets-to-go thing..

Also check out your worms before you buy them, they usually have no problem with this, mine has gotten used to me there and I will ask them or I will sift through the meal worms or what ever I buy to make sure there are none dead, if there are I ask for a new container or when they sift through it for me they usually pick out the dead ones and put live ones in there for me.

Your experience may vary

 

[SaintJimmy]

That's actually nothing compared to my last trip to petco. I had run out of superworms and didn't feel like feeding any off from my breeding colony, so I went to pick some up. At first glance, they seemed to have everything in stock. Then I checked all the worms. All....dead. Every single one of their 50 mealworm/superworm containers were full of dead, horribly smelly worms, and maggots and flies. Not too surprisingly, all of their pre-packaged crickets were dead too, but these were dry, crickets were only in parts, and seemed like they had been on the shelves for ages. It was like they ordered these feeders 1-2 months, left them to die, and never replaced/took them off the shelves. I spoke to the nearest employee, and he said "Must have been a bad batch, come back next week", and literally walked off. Come back next week? Hah...right.

That is horrifying.. I definitely won't be buying crickets from them.. even if I really need them and the ma and da store is closed.

When I go into the petstores I make sure to get the crickets out of the larger bins that they have set up. Not sure if yours do or not but mine have a nice large bin that house hundreds of crickets then they put them in a plastic bag like you'd get with a fish and a piece of cardboard, they last much longer then the crickets-to-go thing..

Also check out your worms before you buy them, they usually have no problem with this, mine has gotten used to me there and I will ask them or I will sift through the meal worms or what ever I buy to make sure there are none dead, if there are I ask for a new container or when they sift through it for me they usually pick out the dead ones and put live ones in there for me.

Your experience may vary

The bin is better but still not good.

 

[Sinfulintent]

Not saying it's the best option out there but the definitely seem to outlast the prepackaged ones.

 

[SaintJimmy]

Not saying it's the best option out there but the definitely seem to outlast the prepackaged ones.

Yes because packaged have been sitting without food and water for a while..

Bin crickets are just as bad because they still come from petco which gives them 0% attention