Allan's Pet Center - East LA — Attraction in East Los Angeles

3 weeks ago I adopted a blue tongue skink from Alan’s Pet Center in Santa Monica. When I adopted him there was another skink within the enclosure that didn’t look so hot. He had crusty eyes and was missing multiple toes. So I adopted the other one due to that one being seemingly more tame. Within these three weeks, he has eaten but has declined in health. Once I noticed he got a crusty on his left eye, I decided to take him to the vet. I also noticed that he had one toe that was raw and seemingly looked like it was hanging on by a thread (I noticed this toe when I adopted him but had never had a skink before so figured that maybe it was normal or chopped it up to there being so many reptiles that not everyone is going to get the exact same care when shedding). Yesterday I took him to the vet where they had to amputate 5 of his toes due to them looking ectopic (or like they were about to fall off). He also had to get probiotics for his eye and an xray to ensure there was nothing inside him that could be causing all of these things. I ended up leaving the vet with a skink that had to have 5 of his toes amputated, medicine and i’m still waiting on his xrays to come in. I called this pet store just to let them know that my skink was sick and that they should probably take the other skink that was with my skink in the enclosure (if he was still there) to the vet which they told me they didn’t sell him in that state to me like that. I would like to preface that i’ve only had him for 3 weeks, followed their care guides and have been feeding him a varied diet that is supplemental to him. If you know anything about reptiles, a lot of the time sickness aren’t always fast moving. It takes time to build up in their system before it’s visible to the eye. I have not done anything or could possibly do anything to cause his toes to fall off within three weeks. I’m writing this review because if anyone loves animals as much as I do it will break your heart to adopt one only for them to be extremely sick. I wouldn’t recommend buying reptiles from this place especially if you aren’t able to pay a hefty vet bill pretty soon after getting them or if you have kids (who would be heart broken to know how sick their new pet is sick) I promise to you that I have done everything I could since getting him to ensure that his quality of life is substantial. Including taking him to the vet as soon as I saw a problem. If you want to get a reptile please do your research on who you’re buying them from. Otherwise, you’ll be in my situation where you’re doing the best by your animal and the pet store you bought them from tells you that it’s your fault. I would only recommend getting reptiles from a place that actually cares about them more than the money they make off of them. Please listen to my words and make a sound decision on whether you really want to buy a reptile from here and if you have the money to heal what they lacked in care.

Update: after reviewing his X-rays, there is concern of metabolic bone disease as well as problems with the abdomen. Like I said it’s impossible for me to be able to cause such harm to this sweet skink in 3 weeks. I’m so...

UPDATE: Since the owner is spewing sarcastic, malicious and dishonest rhetoric, I feel compelled to defend my reason as to why I rated this center 2 stars originally, downgraded to 1 for unprofessional conduct. I am perplexed by this person’s false narrative that I am a customer that complained to them about the fruit flies dying off for 20 minutes and one that never properly researched about my pet, as neither of these things are true. He must be trying desperately to save his business’s face, going as far as lying which is very concerning to future customers reading this review.

The staff, as nice as they are, give the impression that they have experience and authority to speak on preying mantises which might not be the case. I've been told by the staff I can feed crickets, which have been WIDELY discouraged by the mantis community for numerous reasons. This tells me that they lack the knowledge about this specific animal and are NOT telling newbies/amateurs to pay discretion to their advice - which could lead to fatal results for your precious pet. There are numerous occasions where their advice (regarding feeders and cage supplies) went against the opinions of mantis owners on Reddit and mantidforum. Are the black soldier flies the reason for my mantis's death? Maybe, maybe not. I am not blaming the business for the death of my pet, rather the history of carelessness with their communication. Therefore I DO NOT recommend mantis newbies to rely on them for recommendations when starting off in the hobby.

I am sure the ugly nature of your responses will deter people from your business. Wishing you peace my friend.

original:

i wouldn't rely on them for advice for just any being you care for. i have a preying mantis and was recommended soldier fly larvae which i fed without knowing the risks of poisoning (many people from the mantis community discourage this prey as they may have contaminants). i found out from my own research after my poor manty passed away suddenly, close to adulthood, and the only change was the prey i was feeding him. please do your own research prior to purchasing any prey item willy nilly! it is crucial to understand the validated knowledge from the special community you come from.

edit: after reading the very bitter response by the business owner i am taking away one star - clearly they are not emotionally equipped to receive honest, respectful critique. on top of that you have no empathy for someone that just lost their pet. please understand that i am not here to disparage your business but rather warn newbies/amateurs from making abrupt decisions and relying on people that may have no knowledge about their pet. on top of that you make assumptions about who i am as a customer because i've purchased mealworms and dubia roaches from you guys... hilarious

• I will be making all future purchases from bugsincyberspace and rainbow mealworms, both of which are highly recommended by mantis community! thanks for your business but happily won't be returning :)

please refer to below screenshot for very bitter and...

This is an old-fashioned mom&pop style pet store and take my advice, for your pet needs, keep coming there. The staff are personable, friendly, answer phone calls, they are KNOWLEDGEABLE.

This pet store is the exact opposite of Petsmart or Petco. If you want to be ignored and treated like a dollar sign with a staff that knows almost nothing about the animals, it is pretty pathetic.

Allan's staff is there for the customers and for the animals. They will explain to you about the animals and they try to serve the customer's needs. They treat you like a PERSON.

I came there a few times looking for things that I could not get at the Petco, after Petco tried to make me fill out these "adoption forms" for these pets and I refused to do it. What a stupid gimmick.

Allan's are GREAT. I went to the East LA store and they were great. I have been there a few times, and I have called them, the staff are great over the telephone too. I liked being treated like a human being.

Highly recommended and I wish that there were still more pet stores like these around town, instead of the huge...