Sick animals, worst store ever.:
First of all, this place may have an "excellent selection" and a mini zoo in their place, just because they look super-cool does NOT make them a good business. Their personnel are clueless and rude, you can stand around for hours and no one will ask you if you need help or have questions unless you go find them. If it isn't busy there it's likely you can't even find someone.
We bought a rat on Tuesday here who has Mycoplasomiss, a pre-existing and highly contagious disease for rats and mice. Because their rats are kept crammed into ten-gallon tanks (which isn't enough space for even ONE fully grown rat) it's likely that all of their rats also have myco, plus their mice, who are kept in similar conditions.
If our rat being sick wasn't enough, while I was there today I saw a small black rat sitting by himself in a corner, rocking back and forth, his fur ruffled and his eyes half closed in pain. I pointed him out to an employee who removed him from the other rats and put him someplace quiet, however, made no mention of giving him medicine or any other care. Most ailments that affect rats are transmitted through the air, so if he had something contagious the other rats in his cage already have it.
AND, I saw a different saleswoman showing one of the older rats to a different customer and explained to him that she had a respiratory infection. There's three rats in ONE week that all have respiratory problems, again, which spread through the air. I'm also pretty sure that I've seen rats with mites there. I've heard stories from other customers about finding bacteria and dead animals in the cages. It doesn't surprise me because the employees usually man-handle the small animals and when I told one of the older men that works there that our rat had a pre-existing condition he not only brushed it off and tried to tell me I was wrong, he did so AFTER he asked me what the disease - diagnosed by a veterinarian - was. He didn't even know to begin with, and then thought he could tell me that I was wrong. I don't think so, bub.
by Chelsea W. on February 12, 2011
The bug whisperer cometh!... To hoffers:
I have traveled all across the country and have visited pet stores everywhere. Hoffer's Tropic Life Pets is hands down the mother of all pet stores. It has an integrated zoo with an alligator pit, tortoises running freely through the garden pond area and live education shows like TONY'S CREEPY CRAWLY ZOO and SNAKES ALIVE.
It was awesome!!
by Tony on March 06, 2008