mad at the pet store-what to do?

[bb7551]

At the pet store, I see what can be considerd crule in my eyes, they have a nurse shark, in a 180 gallon tank, it was on sale when it first opend but a year after that they took the sign down because noone was buying it. It has grown about a foot in the last two year and they are hardly feeding it because it is really outgrown the tank, they don't know what to do with it, so they are just keeping it in the 180. The also have a HUGE red tail catfish in a 180 as well, it REALLY has a hard time turning around. What should I do? thanks, John

 

[laudluvr]

Help 'em sell it. Ask around and post in message boards like you just did.
Or buy it. I'm sure they will give a great price on it now.

 

[bb7551]

I would buy it, and they would give me a good price, but unfortinatly, I don't have the money for a 2,000 gallon tank, you know? NE body need a nurse shark and have a tank big enough, or can build one, the shark an't going anyware anyime soon John

 

[laudluvr]

What about a reef/aquarium place like Seaworld or a local zoo? I wonder how hard it would be for both sides to come to some barter? Maybe some free advertising for the pet store for their donation? A plaque on the wall?

 

[novice150]

They will have a very hard time persuading a public aquarium to take this shark. Their tanks are stocked and most don't have room for a potential 14' shark. Furthermore, if they did want one of these sharks, they have all the connections they need to allocate a perfectly healthy shark. Most of them do not need to rely on a hobbyists donation of a $40 shark. Last but not least, I wonder how many 100's perhaps 1000's of times they have been asked to take an overgrown nurse shark. My guess is WAY more than they would like.

 

[daniel411]

No one should ever receive a plaque, or thanks, for cruely attempting to keep something they knew they couldn't. Its just animal cruelty.
Just like baby caimens/aligators, bermese pythons, and some sharks/fish... somethings the majority of us simply can not keep in a healthy long term way.

 

[grouperhead]

As a huge herp freak, the main problem with burmese pythons isn't housing usually, but feeding. When your burm get's 16'+, it's gonna eat a lot. Guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, etc. will be required to feed it. Large pythons are a lot more manageable for most people than sharks, and a lot cheaper as well. I have absolutely no problems with people keeping caiman either, as long as they have the appropriate enclosure, which usually means a heated indoor pool. Bo

 

[daniel411]

Oh, don't get me wrong! Just for most people, how many of us are willing to devote a small bedroom, or large walk in closet. Of course I had a 3' tegu living in my kitchen, awesome buddy, but a spazz when it came to feeding time! Out of curiosity, any idea what size area is recommended for a dwarf caiman? I've been looking for one. Thanks

 

[grouperhead]

Check this forum out, you should get a lot of answers there. http://forums.kingsnake.com/forum.php?catid=40
What species tegu did you have? I personally like the Argentine reds, but they are all cool. I'm big into the Morelia python genus....Bo

 

[azeritis]

FOR NOVICE
Afriend of mine and myself donated a few fish to the New England aquarium a few years ago (1997 I think) because we were moving back to Greece and had to dismantle the tanks. An emperor angel. a harlequin tusk, and a couple of mare ( I do not remember exactly which ones they took and which ones we gave back to the lfs)
But they did come the our appartments, and they were really happy with the donation. It never hurts to ask. You just do not know what will turn out.
I believe that they told us they reason they are interested in donations from hobyists was that these fish have been kept in captivity for some time and have survived. Far better than introducing animals that they are not always sure how they are collected, and if they will make it....

 

[azeritis]

I am just making the point here because the N.E. Aquarium is well known and when I came up with the idea my friend told me that they would not even bother. BNut they did bother to visit, and we got a few free passes....
I haven't been in Boston since 1998, but this is probably the second place I am going to visit (after family,etc)

 

[laudluvr]

They will have a very hard time persuading a public aquarium to take this shark. Their tanks are stocked and most don't have room for a potential 14' shark. Furthermore, if they did want one of these sharks, they have all the connections they need to allocate a perfectly healthy shark. Most of them do not need to rely on a hobbyists donation of a $40 shark. Last but not least, I wonder how many 100's perhaps 1000's of times they have been asked to take an overgrown nurse shark. My guess is WAY more than they would like.
Maybe so, but the Pittsburgh zoo has several species of Red Devil's that were donated. How many people do you know that have sharks to donate? I know of none.
No one should ever receive a plaque, or thanks, for cruely attempting to keep something they knew they couldn't. Its just animal cruelty.
They would not be receiving a plaque for being cruel. They would be receiving a tribute for getting the shark a good home. It would save the sharks life AND be a charitable act. A little publicity would be worth the donation. How much does a shark that size cost? Call them and see. It would never hurt to ask.

 

[daniel411]

Grouperhead,
At the time all I could obtain was a columbian tegu, really wish I could have picked up an argentine. Theres a dutch couple raising them down in (I believe) alabama who are pretty famous (can't recall there names right now) in the herp world, and selling them as juveniles for $125, but I hear theres a waiting list. Sadly, I don't think I could keep a tegu that gets that big while renting a place. Have you seen any of the "designer" tegus they have now? Crazy rainbow color combinations!
When I do get a place though, a in-wall jungle lagoon with a large monitor or dwarf caimen is my plan!

 

[tony detroit]

Fifth Ave Ballroom pool hall and bar in Novi, Mi had a nurse shark for a while. It was between 5-7' when they finally got rid of it. It was on the news and everything. It took them one heck of a long time to get rid of it.

 

[tony detroit]

Fifth Ave Ballroom pool hall and bar in Novi, Mi had a nurse shark for a while. It was between 5-7' when they finally got rid of it. It was on the news and everything. It took them one heck of a long time to get rid of it.

 

[tony detroit]

Whoops, sorry tried attaching a pic. Can somebody please tell me how to attach pictures that are always said to be to big.

 

[novice150]

For azeritis and laudluvr:
No where in my post did I state that Public Aquariums would not be interested in "any" fish donations, or "any" sharks for that matter. I was referring to nurse sharks, and nurse sharks alone.
I have personally spoken to a few public aquariums about this very thing. It is my opinion (and that of the rep's I spoke to at the aquariums) that accepting a large and "very" common nurse shark, is quite different than accepting angel fish, snappers, Red Devils, etc... The point azeritis brought up about fish already used to captivity is a good one, and I was told the same. Furthermore, I believe there are situations where a public aquarium is offered a rare, or show size specimen (fish) from a private party, and are very happy to accept. Nurse sharks are a bit different.
IMO nurse sharks are all to often collected, and then sold to parties which do not realize their growth potential. How many times have you heard this very topic come up? "Need home for overgrown nurse shark!" I've heard it plenty.
Sure there are certain sharks which public aquariums may be interested. I learned this when speaking to them about my black tip.
laudluvr: How many people do I know that have sharks to donate? A few actually. Myself included.

 

[laudluvr]

NOVICE,
Fair enough. I don't have any background, so I didn't know any better. I was just tossing ideas around in my head and that was one that stuck.
Thanks for the understanding.

 

[birdy]

I do not normally post here, but this thread was interesting to me, I was a zookeeper for 5 years we would get hundreds of calls from people who were trying to get rid of pets they no longer cared to take care of usually because they had gotten too big. As a general rule we always said no, even if we may have been looking for just that animal. Most zoo's and aquariums do not take these pets because all it does is encourage more people to buy these animals as babies because, "the zoo will just take it when it gets too big".
That being said, occasionally we would take pets off peoples hands usually if there was a very good reason, other than, "it was so cute as a baby, but it just got too big". So you might want to call around maybe you can find an aquarium that will take it since it was not your blunder.