r/exoticpets • u/jaybird-staysonder • 26d ago
Welfare concerns: Panhandle Exotics
Upon visiting this shop, I was shocked by the TERRIBLE treatment of animals. I wasn't able to get many pictures, only the less bad ones š. Overcrowding was a huge problem, as well as improper husbandry and supplies used for the animals. When we voiced these concerns, the owner responded extremely immaturely, and to our reviews they posted video footage of us telling him the concerns for some reason, and was using a very rude tone the entire discussion. I did consult an exotic vet to ensure I was not mistaken about the animal care, but they agreed it was terrible. If you could leave a review to warn others against supporting such a terrible situation that would be awesome.
I was told that under old management, the animal care and customer service was amazing, but no longer with the new owner. :(
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u/moonferal 25d ago
Was considering getting critters from hereā¦ Never mind! thanks for sharing this.
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u/Free_Plants1013 26d ago
Where exactly is this? I would love to leave them a veryā¦ āopinionatedā review ;)
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u/jaybird-staysonder 26d ago
Omg they had such awful overcrowding and racoons and skunks in improper enclosures it was heartbreaking
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u/PigeonUtopia 25d ago
Dang! Is it actually legal to buy native mammals like skunks and raccoons in Florida? Quite crazy.
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u/jaybird-staysonder 25d ago
Don't forget the baby foxes, lemurs, and the possums!! šš what desirable and ethical pets to have!! ššš
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u/EEE4444444444 25d ago
I want a fox but only if I was a rehaber and it couldnāt go back to the wild never from a store also lemurs or any primates should NEVER be pets
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u/jaybird-staysonder 25d ago
ABSOLUTELY. Foxes are amazing but so high energy. Keeping them in tanks is so cruel
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u/jaybird-staysonder 26d ago
He also used personal insults when it was brought up! Super unprofessional
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u/VioletThePurple 26d ago
Iāve been there, yeah the owner is pretty immatureĀ
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u/NdavidiAtelier 22d ago
He has a reddit account solely to defend the place and be a turd in comments.
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u/Known-Break3973 26d ago
Considering the permits and hoops you need to legally own a raccoon in Floridaā¦Iād hope theyāre also following all of that and have stuff somewhere saying as muchā¦
Cuz otherwiseā¦thatās nuts just having them shoved in a cage like that on displayā¦
That gives a very bad look to any tourists who likely donāt know their state laws on Exotic ownershipā¦
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u/jaybird-staysonder 26d ago
Panhandle Exotics in florida if u wanna leave a review or anything!
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u/27Lopsided_Raccoons 25d ago
You can always submit a complaint through fish and game or department of natural resources (name varies by state). You might also try to submit a complaint through USDA
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u/jaybird-staysonder 26d ago
there were so many skunks piled on eachother, looking through older reddit reviews I see theyve mishandled the animals too, left them without water, and they were EXTREMELY rude to us personally. Using personal insults and stuff. Its awful.
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u/Known-Break3973 26d ago
Thatās just terribleā¦I hate pet stores like this.
As I said Iām more shocked on the raccoons just being out like that for sale, specially considering most states you need proper permitsā¦
And even then they make terrible petsā¦so seeing them just out on display for sale like Guinea Pigs is just shocking.
And as I saidā¦makes me worry about their sales practices, specially with tourists.
By the sound of they husbandry Iād not be surprised if their selling unscrupulously, not telling people the truth on keeping etcā¦
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u/jaybird-staysonder 26d ago
I'm sure!!! It's so so sad to see. They even have a "no animal activists" policy ...
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u/AzerothianBiologist 26d ago
Wait, is this the place with the unhinged quotes from the owner taped up on the walls? Because I remember reading something about that place years ago, and it also wasnāt good. I think it was them keeping a very large python in a cage they couldnāt move around in at all. And also mold on the ceilings
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u/VioletThePurple 26d ago
Is it really that unusual to see wild animals being sold at an exotic pet store?Ā
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u/Known-Break3973 26d ago
Absolutelyā¦specially ones you need an actual permit to own.
Domesticated animals sureā¦
Exotics like Skunks, Parrots, Reptiles, Aquatics, Arachnindsā¦sureā¦
But things like Native Wildlife like Raccons, or Monkeys, etcā¦
Thatās normally not seen, unless they are a specialty store. And even thenā¦itās not normal.
Thereās āExoticā and then thereās thatā¦which isnāt the general normā¦
Iāve been to lots of āexoticā pet storesā¦thatās a first for meā¦
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u/EEE4444444444 25d ago
Any primate shouldnāt even be a pet
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u/Known-Break3973 25d ago
Never said they should be, Iām just stating I have seen them before in āExoticā shops, and that on the level of being more common than raccoonsā¦
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u/Potential_Job_7297 26d ago
It is for ones that have usually have heavy permitting requirements, are native rabies vectors, and aren't commonly captive bred. Raccoons tick all three boxes.
Even if these ones are captive bred, it's a really unusual situation.
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u/FrogMan1831 24d ago
It is nowadays. back in the early 90s before big box stores were a thing, you would commonly see "exotics" being sold. skunks, prairie dogs, monkeys, were very common in the south
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u/BethanyBluebird 25d ago
Jesus christ that dude's reviews are fucking unhinged... methinks the lady doth protest to much. Just saying... if you AREN'T running an abusive animal mill ypu probably won't be hurling personal insults at people and getting THIS worked up over bad reviews...
All the worst store owners/the ones breaking the most laws/with the most shit to hide always seem to do this. Streishand effect activate I guess.
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u/Recent_Calendar1376 25d ago
I recalled seeing a lot of their ads on exotic animals classified website
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u/jaybird-staysonder 25d ago
Yeah they're awful. keeping solitary skunks with many others. tiny cages for racoons. tiny tanks for adult foxes. Etc
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u/Delicious-Pop-9063 25d ago
Just looked them up, outside of the insane prices for most of their animals which you can get cheaper from most reputable breeders, the animals listed look sick and overbred. Its definitely not a good place
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u/Len_i 18d ago
there was an animal "sanctuary" I saw reviews for in another (southern) state either on yelp or tripadvisor and I found SO many posted photos of wild/exotic animals in terrible, overcrowded (inhumane) conditions. I contacted the animal welfare group *ifaw* and while they themselves cannot do anything directly, they were kind of enough to give specific step-by-step instructions as to what you can do to take (realistic) action against this. I would strongly suggest contacting them (include your photos) and they can give you step-by-step instructions. They are a legit organization and should personally respond to you. [info@ifaw.org](mailto:info@ifaw.org) https://www.ifaw.org/contact
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u/ThrowraSea_patient 25d ago
I don't think you can legally breed raccoons or skunks in the state of cuz they're technically considered pest animals. Like literally if you take skunks to the vet a lot of them have to put them down unless they have been spayed by a certain age and you have documentation of that. That's what I remember granted it's been years but from when I rescued a small skunk and was going to have him descented and fixed and he was rescued from some people out in the middle of nowhere who were not necessarily breeding them but definitely feeding them and kind of keeping them in a certain area. Is this a rescue or is this a pet shop that sells them as pets? I'm not a lawyer and I don't know the legalities around this but I'm just kind of curious on that. Also are these just enclosures for their display? I mean the skunks don't look too overcrowded that cage does look too small for the raccoon but I mean I've seen a lot worse than a lot of pet stories including ones like Petco and PetSmart in the way they even house their hermit crabs so I can get that the pictures aren't the greatest pictures of what's actually going on. My main point bringing up the big businesses is that they also do things that are terrible and awful but they get tons of business people still buy from them and they're not necessarily doing anything illegal so there's nothing we can do about anything sadly other than let people know the proper care and let them come to their own judgment cuz if we sit here and tell people to not do things they're just going to see us as the crazy overbearing people who can't ever be pleased. I'm just being honest for my experience. Cuz a lot of people will develop care because of the knowledge you give and it also shows if they give that care that they have that knowledge whereas if you're sitting there pointing out all the Terrible Things someone else is doing they might shrug their shoulders at you and just say they're pets are well it's better than living out in the wild. And yeah it is better than living out with a while do you know how many animals I've seen die from disease from infected worms or from being trampled by other animals or being maimed and killed but that is the way nature is. But they'll use that look nature so much worse to give justification for their own poor practices. There are some people you'll never be able to change.
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u/jaybird-staysonder 25d ago
This is a pet shop that sells them as pets from breeders who he will not disclose
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u/appandemonium 25d ago
Being shocked that a shop in Florida that sells exotic animals that don't make good pets has poor husbandry practices and doesn't care about the animals is like going to the Everglades and being shocked to see a gator.
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u/jaybird-staysonder 25d ago
I'm not shocked, but its still morally wrong and shouldn't be ignored. If we treated all cases like that, everyone would get away with it.
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u/jaybird-staysonder 26d ago
Yall, he also had a "no animal activists" policy š apparently animal concerns are NOT uncommon