Hoffer's Tropic Life Pets

Please do NOT shop here. We went to go pick up our leucistic rat snake from here, and if we waited any longer there would have been a VERY good chance our snake would have suffered a respiratory infection. They had multiple snakes in one tank, and there was literally a dead snake with the tail of another snake hanging out of its' mouth. There was mold growing in MANY of the other snake tanks, and the turtles had no water. The boss responded with, ""Well, it costs money to hire people to clean this place, what do you want me to do about?"" HOW ABOUT DO IT YOURSELF SO YOU DON'T KILL YOUR PETS OR SELL PEOPLE SICK REPTILES?! It's more about the profit and less about the welfare of the creatures here. We also showed him the turtles were covered in flies and had absolutely NO water for days (because we stopped in there several times in a row) and he said it was normal for turtles to live in those conditions. more

Shady, Dirty, Rude employees. Stay Away from Hoffers! Pros: Large store with a nice variety of pets and accessories Cons: You will Pay the extra price. Customer Service Poor! more

Not one of the best places, expensive pet supplies. I had a small purchase just under $10 and didn't have any cash on me so when I pulled out my credit card I was chastised by an older male employee stating it costs him 90 cents whenever someone uses a credit card, well then, don't accept credit cards! I didn't appreciate being scolded in front of my daughter for something so stupid. I also question those times they've had tiger cubs in the store for the public get photos with, what's that all about? Where did these cubs come from? I don't like their antics and I don't think they really care about animals very much, only money. more

First of all, Hoffer's has some of the MOST RUDE employees I've ever come in contact with. I've seen positive reviews where people said they were more knowledgeable than a high-school petsmart employee, and that may be true, but they do NOT know the first thing about taking care of their animals OR customer service. PS, you can't return anything you buy here... I never had to, but it's good to note. I shopped at this store for probably 6 months and USUALLY I had to stand around and wait for more than a half an hour before going back to the front of the store and asking for some help, because NOBODY asks you if you need help or have questions. There were THREE girls (all teenage or early 20s) who were consistently nice to me here and seemed to know what they were talking about... to an extent. Today I went to Hoffer's and I pointed out a small black rat sitting by himself with his eyes closed in pain, ruffled fur, and who was rocking back and forth in a corner. The girl I spoke to was kind - and smart - enough to remove the rat from that cage and put him in a quiet place. However, this is just more proof that their animals are sickly. God forbid you do have questions because they don't know the answers. A rat we bought here three days ago has Mycoplasmosis, a very painful respiratory disorder that is EASILY transmitted to other rats and mice. I know for a fact that there are other rats in there who also have respiratory problems (I saw a saleswoman explaining this to another customer, about an older rat who has lost her hearing) and these illnesses are spread through the air. Likely, ALL OF THEIR RATS AND MICE ARE SICK because of this. I told one of the men that works there (did not get his name unfortunately) that our rat has Myco, and his response was ""what?"" HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT WAS. Then he tried to tell me that he was sneezing ""because of the bedding."" I have three rats and I KNOW the difference between ""new home sneezes"" and wet, coughing, painful, fluid-y SICK sneezes - sneezes so huge they were causing my rat to cry with discomfort. I also explained to him before he said this that veterinarian DIAGNOSED him as having myco. Likely the people giving them positive reviews talked to someone who was confident and looked like they knew what they were saying, I doubt that any of them have the expertise that others are saying. I at first admired them for breeding their own animals, but now I realize that they don't know the first thing about breeding an animal responsibly. They mix and match rats from different cages and different litters all the time. Usually there are 10 or more baby rats in a cage, sometimes with two adult rats. In a 10 gallon cage. Ridiculous. You don't have to know that rats need 2 sq. ft. of space each to know that it is TOO MANY animals in one cage. The same goes for gerbils, mice, hamsters, degus, birds, and pretty much everything else. Yes, a lot of people like this store because it is huge and interesting and has a wide variety of animals, it's ""fun for the kids."" Please don't continue to give your business to them because of this. There are many other stores that are much more worthy of your time and business and will be more polite to you, as well as cheaper - their prices are sky-effing-high. The first time I brought home two rats and all supplies it cost me almost $200! And then I was told by someone who didn't even know the first thing about rat illnesses that if the rat is sick it doesn't matter because they only cost $8 (and female dumbos are actually $11.99). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE look for an unwanted animal on petfinder or at the humane society before rushing to give your hard-earned money to these nincompoops. Your animal will probably be sick and miserable, the way they treat them is no better than a mill. more

They have a large variety of healthy fish. I got a upside down catfish and a couple cichlids and they are doing great. The staff is very nice and helpful. more

Hoffer's reptile dept is horrible. The staff is rude and will not answer questions. The reptiles are kept in terrible conditions and are way over priced. If one were looking too aquire reptiles they would be much better off getting them from reputible breeders. Two excellent places to look is LLL reptile and BHB Enterpise. Both websites have excellent customer service and high quality reptiles. Even with shipping costs the prices equal out to what you would pay at Hoffer's. Cons: everything more

A few years ago I went to Hoffer's to purchase a baby bearded dragon. First of all, it took me about 15 minutes just to find someone willing to help. I said I wanted a female, so the employee told me the specific dragon I got was a female. Well, it turned out to be a male.. he lied and said that just to make a sale. Anyway, he gave me all sorts of bad advice.. REALLY bad, actually.. so bad it could have cost my bearded dragon his life. They told me to buy their expensive reptile sand and feed him about 20 crickets a week. I later found out that if a baby ingests that sand, it can cause impaction and kill them.. also to feed about 20 crickets a DAY, NOT a week. I confronted them about both issues, they denied it giving them problems, and refused to take the sand back.\r \r Anyway, going back to the day I bought my bearded dragon.. after spending about $300 on him and his supplies, I never even got a word of ""thanks"" from anyone. I've also gone back several times needing important supplies that they're always sold out of.. and they'd always lie, saying the item would be back in stock a few days later, which was never the case. It ended up being for the better though, as I found the supplies for half the price at other stores such as Petco.\r \r Their animals don't seem to be in the best health, either. One time I went and saw that a baby bearded dragon was lying dead in its tank.. I told the employee, and she looked pissed, saying stuff like ""ugh those are expensive, too"", never showing any signs of actual sadness that one of their animals died, or even stopping to think that maybe the dragon died because of THEIR care.\r \r Long story short: BAD and unfriendly customer service, BAD advice, BAD prices. I suggest going there only if you absolutely have to buy something that no other store sells. Pros: Big selection Cons: Rude employees that gives poor advice, bad prices more

I enjoy going to Hoffers! They have friendly workers, a great selection of animals, and most of the time the workers can give you pretty good care tips!! The cages are clean, the animals are happy, and the customers like me are pleased! Pros: So many lovely animals to choose from!! Cons: The place is so big you can get lost in there! more