Send copies of your letter to the following:

The Pet Store
The Head of the Chain (if there is one)
The local Consumer Affairs Department
The local Department of Animal Regulation (usually animal control, or the health department)
The USDA's APHIS department (if the store sells exotic mammals or animals to other businesses)

Click here for a list of important addresses.

Writing your letter

Store name
Store street address

Include in your letter:

The date you visited the store (and if possible the time of day), and the names of employees you spoke with.

Explain your complaints, giving reasons:

"There was a week's worth of feces in the corn snake enclosure. Feces can harbor disease and parasites. It should be removed from enclosures daily."

"The leopard geckos, which are nocturnal animals, had no hiding spots. When nocturnal animals are forced to sleep in lighted conditions, they can become stressed - stress in reptiles leads to illness and infection."

"The hamster enclosure smelled very strongly of amonia from the build up of urine. Amonia can irritate an animal's respiratory tract and cause infection."

"I saw a dead bird in the cockatiel enclosure. The rest of the birds seemed to be unhealthy. Some were sitting on the bottom of the cage; all had discharge around their eyes and crusted vent feathers. These are signs of serious illness."

"The fact that the water bowls have not been attended to in some time is evident by looking at the lines of evaporation in the bowls."

"A pair of box turtles were being housed with three leopard tortoises. These animals are from different habitats and are not compatible: box turtles require humidity levels around 80 percent while high humidity can cause health problems in leopard tortoises."

"Low-wattage light bulbs were being used in the reptile enclosures. This is not adequate as most of the species require ambient temperatures in the upper 80s and basking spot temperatures in the upper 90s. Without reptile heat lights, poor food digestion could become a problem."