Christchurch - new zealand. no knowledge?!

[jayphil]

Hello

This post may fit in the Testimonials area but i am unable to post in there yet.

it appears that in my city there is not a great fanbase for Axolotls and not only are they difficult to get (same city, could get them couriered from another city but that is worrying), but the people that DO have them for sale seem to have no idea what they are talking about.

when purchasing my Axolotl from a pet store, i got told a minimal amount of information and what i did get told was so wrong that it could have put Gomez in a bad state had i not started researching as soon as i got home.

here is what i got told -

gravel is ok so long as it is big pebbles (but the ones she said were okay weren't bigger than his head at all)

frozen bloodworms are fine as their staple diet

they only need to eat every 2-3 days

you only need to condition the water, nothing regarding cycles



she did not offer any knowledge regarding cleaning the substrate after eating, healing the wounds all over the one i picked (which was in a tank with three bigger others and had been bitten and nipped), cycling the water or varying their diet so they get enough protein


the only things she was confident on were his age (3-4 months) and the temperature the water should be (between 15-18 degrees celcius)


i contacted another store to get some extra information to see if they could tell me anything different and they had NO knowledge at all.




it is so sad and frustrating that customers cant be told even the basics correctly and may go home, set up and not be able to give their wee axie the life it deserves because they havent been able to find reliable resources in the city they live.

i am upset that the pet store i got gomez from didnt try harder to upskill their staff on the knowledge of the new animal they had instore before selling it



i hope others dont run into these frustrations like i have

 

[sde]

It seems like most pet stores don't have good knowledge on amphibians. They probably just don't care.
The advice they gave you was pretty darn bad, aside from the feeding every 2-3 day one, that bit of advice is fine.

it is so sad and frustrating that customers cant be told even the basics correctly and may go home, set up and not be able to give their wee axie the life it deserves because they havent been able to find reliable resources in the city they live.

That's why this site is so awesome, because anyone who has internet and a computer can access it and get reliable information. -Seth

 

[Sweetie]

Sadly, the experience you had is very common indeed. In fact, it is the norm rather than the exception. I won't bore you with all the bad info I was given when I bought Boris at an LFS but suffice it to say, he would never have survived the first week had I followed it. Fortunately, I came straight home and found Caudata within an hour of purchase. I was absolutely horrified when I realised how appallingly I had been advised at the LFS, despite the fact that the owner was a lovely guy and genuinely tried to be helpful. (He stopped stocking axies after Boris, saying they were too difficult to care for properly, which is one good thing.)

Another LFS I visit refuses to stock axies because their facility is heated and this is not appropriate for the lotls. Again, a good attitude.

It seems, too, that many private advertisers keep their axies in heated tanks, on gravel, with fish and all sorts of other no-nos. It's heartbreaking to see some of the photos on the sites. We can only be thankful for a site like Caudata, and try to publicise it widely.