Scales 'N Tails Englewood — Local services in Englewood

DO NOT surrender any animals you love to this store. Yesterday my 18 year old son called me all upset because he had just surrendered his spotted gecko, Randall to this store. My son is moving to Florida Wednesday to take care of his grandparents and according to Florida law, it is illegal for him to bring Randall, so he was doing what he thought was the responsible thing to do. I asked him if he had asked his older sister if she wanted Randall. In the rush of getting everything ready to move, he had not thought of asking her. Turned out she would be thrilled to take Randall! Called this store and even offered to pay them to get him back and for the inconvenience. We were told it was no problem, they understood, we could come get Randall. I would not be able to make it there before they closed but was told tomorrow was fine. I was able to pick up Randall at least. They handed him to me in a small plastic tub. What about the terrarium we brought him in? I was told they had already sold it. Now this is not about having to buy Randall all new things, not at all... this is about a poor, scared little baby being stripped of the little pink coral house he loved so much and his bridge, his home. It's traumatic enough for an animal to switch homes and people. My son was so upset because he said the look Randall had on his face when he left him was like he knew he was being abandoned. my son's only solace was that at least Randall would have his familiar belongings with him when he went to a new home. What an awful place to do such a terrible thing to a helpless animal. I am thankful we got him back, regret that I couldn't get him that very night and relieved that he didn't die from the shock. This place does NOT care about animals. I included a picture of Randall when I picked him up and one of him a couple weeks after with my daughter....he is so happy to be home! And we were able to find his little...

I have been going to scales and tails for years now and have had nothing but bad experiences at this location. Quick note... don't waste your time at the Englewood location... it is the worst location of the bunch... The Lakewood location is by far the best in the area and well worth the 45 minute drive for me.

Pros: Not the dirtiest Reptile shop in Colorado. Not that many malnourished/dead animals

Cons: More often than not; the owner Adrian has an attitude along with the rest of his staff. The staff is either not very knowledgeable or his plain lazy. The owner treats the place like his personal daycare fitted with toys laying about and a less than well behaved child pestering the customers. A far cry from a clean and presentable reptile shop.

Today was the last straw when Adrian got an attitude when I asked if he had any adult dubias... then I asked to see their millipede which was dead when they pulled it out. Adrian looked at the creature and said "I guess we're out of millipedes" with out an apology for a dead animal or an offer to order another one.

Also there was a small brown spider in the bag of crickets which I thought may have been a recluse; I called to give the employees a heads up and not looking for a refund or anything. Still I was berated because the girl on the phone didn't believe me and wanted proof.

I will be taking my business to Scales and Tails Lakewood...

I'm in love with this place. I came in to check out some snakes and I was very happy with their wide variety of snake species, and especially the ball python morphs. I've been wanting a ball python for a while now, but as 12 year old it's a bit hard to convince my parents. The employees were very kind and seemed well educated on the snakes. I've spent well over 8 hours educating myself on ball pythons, and the employees were telling me all the same information that I had learned myself (which is a great thing!). The lady that was helping us (I didn't hear her name, sadly) let me handle all the snakes I wanted, even though I had no experience handling snakes whatsoever. I got to handle 3 ball pythons, and I found an extremely friendly one that got used to me real quick. I didn't get to buy the snake, mainly because I'm going on a long trip next week and it would be stressful to find someone to check on it. I'm praying that it'll still be there when I come back from my trip. All snakes seemed healthy and well cared for, except for one that had a bit of stuck shed (which was the only visible issue, so overall they have been doing an amazing job with these snakes). I will definitely be back, and I hope to buy my ball...