S & S Exotic Animals Inc — Attraction in Aldine

It’s with a heavy heart that I share my experience with S&S Exotics, a store I can no longer support or recommend in any good conscience. I will be completely frank in my saying that I had always had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right whenever I visited; the overcrowded enclosures, visibly distressed animals, and questionable husbandry practices were hard to ignore. Still, I continued to visit occasionally for supplies like feeder roaches and enclosure decor, giving them the benefit of the doubt…. The real turning point came when I brought my partner in for his birthday. He was eager to get his first ball python, and we were simply planning to browse. Instead, we were talked into adopting a female albino black pastel. She was beautiful: but the issues began as soon as we brought her home….. Within the first week, she was infested with mites. Thankfully, even though she was our first snake, we have experience with reptiles and were able to act quickly. A vet-administered treatment, a full deep clean, and quarantine measures were in place and did get rid of the mite infestation (though it was no easy feat: this took a LOT of effort to effectively treat her tank and quarantine her.) Shortly after, we noticed a distinct wobble in her everyday movements, something we later learned is a neurological issue related to bad breeding... Our vet was concerned by her condition and commented that her poor health was likely due to substandard care prior to adoption — he said he’d experienced many pet owners that had issues with S&S Exotics and suspected this was the primary source of her health concerns. Unfortunately, his concerns were validated: she began to regurgitate regularly, even the smallest meals. We were told by S&S to feed her live rat pups, to which our vet stated that this was FAR too large for a snake of her age and size. Following our vet’s advice, we switched to appropriately sized frozen-thawed fuzzy mice, and while things seemed to stabilize briefly, her health continued to decline. She entered her first shed with us and had a terrible experience. By this time, we had adopted a second ball python from a reputable breeder. With identical care conditions, that snake thrived: perfect sheds, regular feeding, active and alert behavior, very social, no wobble. The contrast was heartbreaking. Our girl from S&S refused food for weeks after her poor shed. We regret not taking her back to the vet sooner, assuming at the time that post-shed refusal was normal. When she finally accepted a pinky mouse, we were hopeful. But a week later, we noticed severe bloating and near-translucent skin. Her body was gelatinous, and she could barely lift her head or move her body. We scheduled an appointment with our vet for the next morning, but she didn’t make it through the night. We believe she likely suffered complete organ failure.. Honestly, this entire experience has been devastating, to say the least. It’s painfully clear to us now that S&S Exotics prioritizes profit over proper care… Their animals are kept in unacceptable conditions, shipped out with little regard for health, and sold to customers without honest disclosure of their condition or needs. PLEASE: if you're considering adopting from this store, I urge you to do your research. Speak to experienced keepers, read other reviews, and most importantly, prioritize the welfare of the animals. I wish we had looked deeper before trusting them with our first...

First of all when every single employee in the building is good at and loves their job...you’re doing something right!!! Our fun began this week by just walking into the shop and taking a look around. We were considering getting something other than just a hamster for my girlfriends daughter who’s birthday is coming up this next week. The idea was concieved when we were all watching some videos online about sugar gliders and flying squirrels. I used to have a pet flying squirrel and he was one of the best things with fur that ever happened to our family growing up. S&S Exotic Animals Inc was one of the only places in Houston that came up as potentially having these little critters when we searched the web so that’s where we ended up with an open mind and a million questions. Unfortunately, my favorite animal wasn’t available at this time so Adriana spent some time showing us the fun selection of sugar gliders that they have. She was patient and kind and answered our questions one after another with no frustration or sense of needing to be somewhere else more so than with us. We left with plenty to consider...but honestly spent the next few days trying to find a place that had some Flying Squirrels...I was even willing to get on a plane and travel to Tennessee to get one or a pair if I could. Anyhow, we ended up coming back into the shop with her daughter and we were ready to go home with something that day. Robert picked up on us right away and even though I’m sure by the looks of us he knew he was in for an experience with “one of those customers” he didn’t skip a beat. With a smile on his face and ready to get to know all three of us first, he went to work right away doing what I realized but the end of our time together was something that he’s one of the best at. I say this because he didn’t just answer our questions or show us the animals we wanted to look at...he took the time to find out what little guys would be the best for us right now and for us in the future. We ended up deciding on two of the sweetest and most precious little ferret baby girls. At checkout Katy joined up and made sure she spent time with Robert and I figuring out everything we would need for the new family members and explaining all of the paperwork(birth certificates), health needs, shots, and other specifics. We were able to buy everything we needed there at the store so it just added to the ease of being able to do everything in one place and get these young ladies home and the environment for them set up as soon as possible. These two ladies have been happy and healthy and loving and friendly. They’re the perfect fit for my girlfriend and I, her daughter, and our dog(who is as thankful for them as we are)...this only happened because of the time that Robert and the rest of the crew spent with us making sure that this was right...not just another sale. I will be a customer and friend of S&S Exotic Pets for as long as they’ll have me. THANK YOU AGAIN Adriana, Robert, and Katy....you all made the difference and I hope to see you all...

This is a terrible store, and I’ll go more in depth later, but let me just say in advanced that you shouldn’t ever come here for anything. This is the shadiest place I’ve seen in a while. Go to everything pet, Fish n pets unlimited, Pets a plenty, heck even pet smart or petco are better than this place. This looks like a pet store you’d see in a third world country.

So now I’m gonna elaborate. This is an animal mill, a place where they mass breed tons of animals and ship/sell them around the country and at conventions. The “store” seems like a side business. It’s a rundown shed in the middle of nowhere. Look at the pictures of the outside.

The drive to get here isn’t great, and when i got there, i saw a sick looking cow and sheep together in a dirty looking outdoor enclosure. It was the first thing I saw. I entered to store and right when you walk in, there are enclosures everywhere.

Geckos and chameleons in small enclosures. Then you see the reptile area. Here I saw a large 1ft and a half tortoise in a twenty gallon. Snakes, insects, and frogs in tiny enclosures in groups of 3-6. Then, worst of all, two axolotls, in 2 INCHES of water, no filter, and nothing but a rubber ducky in their tank with a heat lamp on top. These guys were skinny to the bone, and they were charging $100 for these scrawny, tiny, clearly unhealthy axolotls.

Next was the mammal section. There was an armadillo, a kinkajou, sugar gliders, hedgehogs, and to the left, a bunch of birds.

Here’s the thing. In the mammal section, there’s a huge window, but it’s been covered. I think it was blacked out? This window is supposed to show the back of the store to the outside where they have a camel, some goats, a porcupine I think, and they used to have a sloth. You can also see the rest of the property where they supposedly breed most of their animals and hide the ones the don’t want people to see. But the windows were covered up now. Strange.

One thing to note is that S&S exotics has a lion, which you could see through a different window which they have also blacked out. They also had a tiger in the back. They have cubs too. But what kind of pet store has lions and tigers? Go on their Instagram. They have pictures of everything I’m talking about, including their Tiger, front and center on their website. Now every window is blacked out and they have a huge fence blocking the back area. You can hear noises of different animals when you’re outside, and I can only imagine what other animals they have that they’re hiding.

So please don’t go to this store. Don’t give them your money. Don’t visit their booth at repticon and don’t shop at their animal mill of an establishment. Most animals here have mites any ways, and as many other people have said before, it is a surprise that this place hasn’t...