The Jungle Exotic Pets — Local services in Richland

DO NOT BUY PET RATS FROM THE JUNGLE EXOTIC PET SHOP. NOT ONLY ARE THEY OVERPRICED, BUT THEY ARE POOR QUALITY WITH SERIOUS TEMPERMENT ISSUES—AN ADULT RAT BITE TO A HUMAN ADULT CAN TEAR THROUGH TENDONS AND BREAK BONES. Rats rarely, rarely bite unlike a lot of rodents, but if they’re getting them from the same supplier, they’re going to have a lot of customers with biting rats as their rats age, and I’ll tell you why. Let me preface this by saying I breed rats, good, quality pet rats. I know not to buy from pet shops, but I made the exception here. I went with my nephew, and we saw a lone agouti dumbo rat in a cage. I felt bad for her, as rats are very social and can become extremely depressed when alone, but what really got me was my nephew looking up at me with those big eyes begging me to save it. I gave in, deciding to just keep her as a pet and never breed her. The first red flag happened when I asked one of the workers about her. A cursory glance had told me she was most likely female—males basically have torpedos from the time they’re 4 weeks old, it’s pretty obvious, and she was an adult already. I went to ask about her, and the man said she was a male. I shrugged, figured maybe she was just laying weird. But when he went to get her out, he froze. “Oh... no, she’s a female. Sorry. Anyhow, you want her? She’s the last one we got, you’re lucky.” It was pretty apparent from his response that she had been housed with males. I knew what I was getting into—a pregnant rat. I had thought she was just fat at first, but now it was clear. I kept waiting for the worker to warn me. He never did. I was annoyed but went to the cash register to pay for her. I expected a price similar to petco or petsmart. Their rats aren’t good quality, but they’re mainly used for feeders, and are fairly cheap if nothing else. Instead I got told to pay roughly $25. My jaw nearly hit the floor. Most quality ratteries across the nation don’t charge that much for a single rat, and their rats are pet quality with excellent temperaments with health problems bred out to ensure long lifespans. But my nephew was looking at me so I handed it over and took her home. Somehow things got worse. She was scared, skittish, but I expected that. My nephew said she had bit her, and he had a small mark, but not knowing the details of the situation, I gave her the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately I could only handle her for about a week before she grew too big, and I left her alone so as not to stress her out until around 3 days after she had her babies. I reached in to pet her, and BAM. She grabbed hold of my finger, bit down, and didn’t let go. She had bit the side of the finger and her teeth slid under the skin/meat beneath my finger print. She eventually let go. It bled forever, and was bruised and sore for well over a month. I was lucky the part she bit was meaty, and I didn’t suffer any major loss of function or nerve damage. I had to wear gloves from that point forward. Even when handing treats or her babies back to her, she wasn’t interested in the food or her kids but biting my hand. She would attempt to bite me through the cage when simply changing her water. She had Maternal Aggression, a genetic hormonal problem passed from parent to baby that affects male and female rats, males normally when they hit puberty, females normally after having babies. Some females recover after having their babies, other’s do not. Her babies are long gone, but I still have to wear gloves whenever near her cage. I will sadly have to resort to euthanasia. I have children come to see my pets, including my own niece and nephew. While they are closely monitored, kids are sneaky, and all it would take was one of them going into the room while I was in the bathroom or something and reaching in to pet her to change their...

buyer beware.. Bought an aquarium heater and uve filter about 5 days ago. Asked the sales rep if I could return these items if they did not work for me. She said no problem that she knew that my daughter and I shopped there all the time. I was not sure about the items when I purchased them so with the assurance I could return them was a relief. Well as it turned out I did end up having to return the items only to be told when I got to the store by the owner that I could either be issued a store credit for the full amount or could get a refund minus a 25.00 restocking fee. The cost of the two items was 170.00 so a store credit for that amount was not something I thought I could use and 25.00 seemed excessive. To make a long story short I suffered the fee and assured them I would never be back. They have no signs stating this policy and I was not told of this when I initially made the purchase. I am of a good mind to take them to small claims court just for the principal of this. Hopefully others will read this and be warned. By the way the prices in this store are mostly over priced and you can easily find most of what he sells for 30% less online or even at pet smart for 10.00 less on most items. Never again ... so I hope he enjoys the 25.00. If I could rate this store a zero I would however the lowest I can go is 1 which is an overstatement. Oh by the way I asked to speak to the owner face to face... hung around for 15 minutes waiting and was finally told he was not available. I would be ashamed to face folks too if I was in the business of ripping people off. Someone needs to teach this guy a thing or two about customer service which is non existent...

Can't stand this place. Why would intelligent decent people import/export animals like monkeys and sell them in Mississippi of all places?!?!When people do not understand what's involved in caring for these animals, often, the reality becomes an overwhelming situation. Lets start a petition to stop the sale of these exotic animals. They should be left alone in the environment they came from. Like the ever growing snakes and reptiles, people frequently do inappropriate things like opening the door to the outside world allowing the animal to go free because they didn't understand or can no longer afford the care. This is not the rain forest! Clearly, demise will be sooner rather than later! Electric lines, automobiles and ignorance are not suitable living conditions for monkeys. Monkeys need an enormous amount of dedication and care. They don't need uneducated ignorance This place is only interested in the money these animals bring. Please don't consider owning a monkey. Please research extensively. Please say no to owning a monkey and consider boycotting or joining me in the petition to stop the sale of exotic animals in Mississippi. The blond woman is extremely rude and I feel so sorry for...