Found this in pet store this morning? Thoughts?

[oxhhxo]

Hi everyone, went to collect some earthworms that I'd ordered to my local reptile store and came across this, it kind of made me angry, even though I'm a new owner myself... I know this is so wrong in so many ways, they had 2x about 4" axolotl in this vivarium! not tank, vivarium. With gravel, and only a couple of inches of water and their only diet is crickets....
They wouldn't let me take pics to show properly what they looked like, but found this on their Facebook page, tried warning them about impaction and that the little ones prefer more water and that there was no need for a dry land area as they won't use this etc, but got told I was wrong and they knew what they was doing etc.....

 

[oxhhxo]

Also found this little fella in my local Dobbyes lol
Look at his little leg

 

[Smoxolotl]

If all they're doing is slinging axolotls and cashing in on them, then yeah, they know what they're doing. If they truly cared anything for these creatures, they would listen to advice and learn more about them. I hate to imagine how many other creatures in there are needlessly suffering.

 

[Elliriyanna]

There is a store near my friends that takes GREAT care of their fish they are knowledgeable and have species you can not find anywhere else

But when they have amphibians its sickening ... A tiger sal on paper towels with a single teeny plastic plant to hide behind ... skiny baby lotls on gravel ... And a little orientalis with only 3 legs I asked what happened they just said he came like that ... We also brought up the gravel with the lotls ... he said they never keep them long so it does not matter.

 

[auntiejude]

The problem here in the UK is that many axies in large chains (Dobbys) are imported from Europe and they arrive in terrible condition. Independants rarely know how to care for them.

This is why the recommendation on this forum is to deal directly with a breeder if you can - you can at least have the confidence that the axies has been well treated by someone who knows what they are doing.

I personally only sell my axies to small independant aquarium specialists, who I trust to take goos care of the axies, and I leave care sheets for them to give to prospective owners too.

 

[Ted]

You go into a pet shop,especially one in a mall,and it's run by part time teenagers who will look right at you and make stuff up. What's worse is the complete disillusionment that they know everything.

 

[Smoxolotl]

I got pretty lucky with my lfs but I definitely learned more, way more, from these forums old and new!

 

[Enginehouse]

The problem here in the UK is that many axies in large chains (Dobbys) are imported from Europe and they arrive in terrible condition. Independants rarely know how to care for them.

I managed to arrange for Dobbies to get a specific type of Axolotl for me and for me to collect the small creature directly as soon as the consignment arrived and while still in its transport bag. No problem. Lorry was a half hour late but we were home with him and he was into a prepared and matured tank within an hour. No hitches at all and he was eating on day two with no signs of stress. Fitting up and test running the tank cooling fans went well and so we now have a nice golden five inch long and apparently very happy little (possibly) female guzzling worms and the occasional prawns. Our branch of Dobbies is staffed by youngsters who quite honestly are very helpful indeed, if somewhat a little short on technical know how. It has to be said that the exceedingly poor standards of knowledge of many shop staff is no real excuse for the customer researching the needs of the desired purchase before going out and buying it in complete ignorance as so many do.


Cheers.

Roy H

 

[kcoscia]

One of my LFS has a facebook and I saw they had gotten in their first set of axies. Prior to me even entering the axolotl world, I saw two HUGE red flags. Gravel and a heater!
People were posting many things in the comments, like "How do I care for these?" and I immediately JUMPED on it and posted links to axolotl.org.
To everyone's surprise, the owner thanked me and made the changes. That is how I know he runs a good(well, he should have researched first) store.

 

[Irenea]

Also found this little fella in my local Dobbyes lol
Look at his little leg

We bought ours from Dobbies, Braehead, Glasgow. Also in poor conditions. Gravel substrate, no hiding place and in bright light. We just had to take him/her home. I voiced my concerns and also sent email to head office.

 

[speckles]

They're two lfs in my area that sell axolotls. One keeps them in an aquarium filled with about 5 inches of water for a 8 inch long lotl and it was kept on gravel with a pleco. The second place is where I got mine at. I talked with the owner for a bit and he actually did the research before he got the two in that I bought. I talk to him about them every time I go in.

 

[Bellabelloo]

I have just returned from my local aquatics shop. As I walked around I was surprised to see that most of their tanks were filthy, usually they are lovely and clean. In the last tank I saw this sorry sight. Two juveniles with noticeably stone filled bellies and one starving to death with a fungus covered leg stump. The owner was present so I mentioned the poor state of the little skiny one. I expect he will do nothing despite my advice. He did ask me when it's leg will grow back and I had say it was unlikely it would while it was starving to death..he was a little surprised. I won't be selling any of my animals through his shop again.

 

[Skudo09]

:O poor little lotls

 

[pennyroyals]

That's so sad.

We don't have axolotls in the LFS here, but there's some guy in the mall selling 'live aquatic dinosaurs' or something equally ridiculous sounding, which I assume are actually tiger salamander larvae in tiny, gravel-bottomed <1gal plastic tubs. Some of them were getting big enough that I don't think they could comfortably turn themselves around.

The two LFS we have in our town are pretty incensed about it - while neither regularly have axolotls, one of them has had them before & seems generally knowledgeable about care requirements, and they're both aware that he's mismarketing them as neotenic and he's also apparently telling people they can stay in those containers indefinitely.

Apparently people keep buying them and then going to their stores with questions.

 

[Boomsloth]

The lfs near me keeps selling axolotls while telling people the wrong info. They keep all their tanks at tropical temperatures and when I went, I saw a small axolotl with crayfish and a betta fish. The lady tells people they are fine at 75-80F.

 

[Skudo09]

oh dear...

 

[IsaacNewtonsMum]

Also found this little fella in my local Dobbyes lol
Look at his little leg

Hi, I bought Isaac from Dobbies, Warwickshire. He only had one full leg, two stumps and one pretty non existent leg, but no fungus or obvious infection. Apart from that he was in good health with all his needs met (apart from bright light). He was just being bullied by a slightly bigger axolotl. I'm a sucker for a runt so just had to pick him. His legs grew back in time 'almost' fully, but he definitely would qualify for axolotl disability allowance!
Anyway, not all Dobbies are bad, just the mean axies that like munching legs!

 

[kjnorman]

I used to work at a vet that took care of the the puppies and kittens from the local pet shops. The managers in general were nice people who cared. The staff in general were ignorant part time teenagers who were full of incorrect information, and the owners in general didn't care at all about the animal welfare. It was frustrating. So many sick puppies because staff transferred germs around all the time...

Anyway, I would suggest writing a letter the manager or regional manager if it's a chain store. Include some documentation of the proper way to care for axolotls and remind them that providing improper care may count as animal cruelty and that they are not doing their business any favours by selling people animals that are potentially ill or injured as a result of improper care.

Maybe nothing will come of it, but at least you'll have done what you could, and certainly nothing will change if you do nothing, so it's worth a try

 

[Skudo09]

To add to pet shops having sick cats and dogs they usually get their puppies and kittens from puppy/kitten farms which are breeders who do not care at all for their animals and are just out to make profit. The breeding animals live in filthy conditions often with dirty water and often see no sunlight. They live in their own faeces and do not receive proper veterinary care. Never buy cats and dogs from pet shops. Adopt an animal from a shelter or reputable registered breeder.