Pet Supermarket : You Get What You Pay For

Being that I own several pets, I'm always on the look out for cheap pet supplies. That's why at first I was thrilled when I walked into my local Pet Supermarket located at 2320 North Dale Mabry Ave in Tampa Florida. I had was given an African Fat Tail gecko, and needed a bag of substrate for her tank, and I figured I could save a dollar or two by purchasing it at Pet Supermarket. Oddly enough they did not carry Bed-A-Beast, Reptile Bark, or any other name brand wood substrate. However, they did have a bag of Natures Bark which I had never heard, of for a little over $10.00. I was in a hurry, and thought it was as good as any, and bought a bag. I did notice at the time that they had an African Fat Tail for sale, and he was being housed on sand substrate, with a dry hide. I tried to tell the person who checked me out that African Fat Tails needed moisture, but she could have cared less.

When I got home with my Natures Bark substrate I was excited, and couldn't wait to get my little girls habitat set up. As soon as I started pouring the substrate into the tank I noticed small white bugs crawling in it. I immediately put the substrate back in the bag, and sealed it up. Not knowing what type of bugs I had just brought home, I was less then happy. I had to bleached the tank out, in order to kill any and all parasites. Then I had to go to another pet store to buy another bag of substrate (one in which I had heard of), and start all over. I admit that I was very upset over this whole ordeal.

The next morning, with my receipt in hand I headed off to the Pet Supermarket to return the bag of parasite infested Natures Bark I had bought the day before. The lady at the counter informed me that they do not give refunds, or store credit for opened items such as substrate. I tried to explain to her that the bad had bugs in it, and that some parasites are deadly to reptiles. The sales person had no interest in helping me, nor did she have any concern about the remaining product on the shelf. I was told "I'm sorry", which didn't help matters. I understand that $10.00 wasn't a lot of money, but the principle of the matter burned me.

I came home and contacted their corporate headquarters, where I was told the small white bugs were actually wood mites, and that they are harmless to reptiles. They also contacted the store where I bought the bag of Natures Bark at, which lead to me receiving a full refund. Even though I had to make yet another trip to the Pet Supermarket store to receive my refund, I was very pleased at how their corporate headquarters handled things.

I'm not saying that the Pet Supermarket store located at 2320 N. Dale Mabry Ave. is all bad, I'm just saying you should expect to get what you pay for. They carry a lot of off brands that other stores do not carry. They do have an assortment of items for a variety of pets, which is nice. Some of the items near the front window has serious sun damage, which means it's been there a while. However, most of these products are on sale, or marked down. I have not ever bought any pets from this store, however I can tell you that they're over priced on most of them. Then again, most pet stores are.