Pets at Home...again

[anna m]

I have never stepped inside a Pets at Home but they do a brillant delivery service. They are quick and if they make a mistake they fall over themselves to put it right.

As I have issues with Sainsburys I do my on line shopping with Tesco and they have never been late with the delivery of my shopping. They are so polite. So much better than the S shop. I would not give Tesco the time of day for years because of their policy of manhandling tortoise in China but we have to eat and I need a delivery because of my disability. So I have no choice.

I think Pets at Home will get the message on keeping tortoises right in the end. They do seem to care what the customers think in my limited experience

[Lou]

I agree Anna.... my thought on the tesco stuff is one I posted in that thread... different cultures, different traditions, etc etc... but the Pets at home thing.. I mean, they have actually involved two senior companies to try to get this right.... sadly , its a case of chinese whispers... and the message has been screwed up along the way..

[Kirkie]

I know the TT had a meeting with Pets a Home but I don't think it ever reached the scale of a glowing endorsment from the TT that Pets at Home could quote to the public. In fact AH has posted on their forum recently asking for feedback on the instore experience as it all seems to have gone a bit awry.

[aerofine]

Lou

I have spolen with AH who has confirmed that the TT have not advocated or endorsed any of the "advice" that Pets at Home are giving out. The Manager of the Wigan store told me that they are telling people the best enclusure is a viv, that the best substrate is newspaper and that the best food is greens, carrot and beetroot. He did say that if people ask they will tell them about weeds, but if thats the case why don't they stick that on the label above the torts viv in the feeding guide? The reason they do not openly tell people about feeding weeds and wild flowers etc is that people would then feel that is was to mcuh hassle to feed such things and not buy the torts. If they are told that they can eat bags of greens that you can pick up at the supermarket then that is a convenience!

Is it your friends husband who is the Wigan PAH Manager?

If you want to go into the store and speak with the Manager I will come with you, for sure. But I very much doubt we will get anywhere at all. I will today be phoning the customer care at PAH again.

[Lou]

hey! I went up to the pets at home yesterday. In fairness, it looked like they had taken the feeding cards down! because I didnt see any , I did hang about and tell people to look online for breeders and not buy them here .....for a start they are charging £100 for beardies and £199 for the torts. That if anything eazes my mind about the kind of people buying them.

The torts were being fed pellets when I went and the woman was selling the tort pellets (which I have to say are much better than the other foods mentioned ) the beardies set up was a good one and they are stocking live food for them to. The tort set up was the best I've seen in a pet shop. I think the best thing to do would to be positive they at least appear to be trying and listeing to positive feedback. The way we complain has a huge inpact on how things are listened to.

xx

[Steph37]

I've only just seen your post, I was writing about Pets at home on another thread the other day but now cant find it.
I saw their 'tortoise starter kits' (as if you are buying a goldfish!) I started asking questions 'innocently' to see what replies they gave me, but I got wound up and didnt do very well.
What I did establish is that 'only stores that have been well trained will be selling tortoises' yet they are selling vivs, UV strip lights (which give out so little light you may as well not buy anything) and they have this sand/substrate which is definitely not suitable. Also their info book talks about all the wrong foods, too much protein etc. I nearly went mad when I saw that the kit contained a 'heated mat' but then I realised this was the 'lizard starter kit'; which initially relieved me but then I thought how bad it was that they were not differentiating between reptiles and classing them all the same. I started asking how they can have had training (my local store will not be sellig tortoises) if they are recommending vivs cos they are no longer recommended for tortoises and havent been for some years,
I was going to write to their head office (wherever that is) Maybe we should all write individual letters to see if it makes any difference? They do have a reputation to live up to that most small pet shops wont bother about?
Steph

[Lou]

surely there is no difference between goldfish and torts? they are all animals at the end of the day. In fairness to pets at home, they are excellent at all their other animal care. Goldfish included. Advising people to buy weeds is a dangerour game. Some weeds are toxic and advising people of this could do more harm than good. If they are mentioning to people buying, then this would encourage people to look online. Advising people of bagged greens and pellets is much better than most pet shops (fruit, veg etc) and they are recommending Nutrobal. The strip UV's are something a lot of people on here use. Again, I have seen pet shops not advertising to use these.

Ultimately nothing we do is going to stop pets at home selling these torts. The best we can do is offer advice and local support where possible.... contructivly...

my friends husband btw is the manager at two stores.. St Helens and Warrington.

[Ozric Jonathan]

I don't think I can agree that there is no difference between selling tortoises and goldfish. I've never kept any goldfish so maybe I should keep quiet but I don't think their needs are anything like as complex as tortoises.

I'm in danger of sounding like a husbandry snob I know. But I think that most of the tortoises sold in this way and with that advice are going to have a short and miserable life. Trapped in a small space with no freedom of movement and no contact with nature. Subject to constant stress of being handled and poked about by children who cannot be blamed when adults encourage them to see the animal as a toy.

If the shops told their customers even a fraction of what a tortoise like a Hermann really needs they would have hardly any sales. This is why they make out its so easy. Which is not my experience at all.

[aerofine]

PAH are selling torts with starter kits in a viv. The issue I have, and I have now spoken with CS is that PAH think that the average member of the public will understand that these starter kits are to be "upgraded" for more suitable and bigger housing when the time is right. CS told me that the starter kits are only suitable for the first 18 months or so. So why sell them? Why not sell to the public more suitable accommodation that doesn't need an upgrade so soon? The reason is money - so PAH can make as much money as possible from people who know no better.

[Ozric Jonathan]

A few of the tortoises that are sold in this way will find their way via re-homing to good keepers in a few years' time. They will have some health problems that will affect them permanently. I can hardly bear to think about the rest of them.

My opinion is that nobody should take on a tortoise like a Hermann unless they are clear from the start that the animal needs a secure summer outdoor enclosure with suitable housing that is dry and freedom when to go in and out of it. As well as a large open table indoors with UV and plenty of warmth. I don't have any objection to UV tubes although it is true the UV output is low and the overall light levels in most of these set-ups is inadequate.