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Mark's Ark

3.2
62 reviews
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id: 27821818
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4875 S Redwood Rd
Salt Lake City, UT 84123

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(801) 261-0466
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Mark's Ark - Salt Lake City, UT
Mark's Ark - Salt Lake City, UT
Mark's Ark - Salt Lake City, UT
Reviews
( 22 )
( 12 )
( 3 )
( 4 )
( 21 )

Best

Being a professional dog trainer, I am very particular where I shop for dog food and supplies. I couldn’t be more pleased with the service and quality of products offered by Mark...

Worst

Wish I would have read some of your reviews first. Thought I had to get a tetanus shot after leaving the store. Have these guys ever cleaned the store? Sure they have a larger sel...

Mark's Ark Inc is bad 12/11/2009

I too bought a puppy from this horrible place in November 2009. I did not want to do it but I felt so bad for her. I had to rescue her from the horror. She too has been diagnosed with Kennel Cough and was given antibiotics and it?s been a few weeks and she still coughs a little bit. I hope she will be alright. Please don?t buy any animals from this place and please someone shut this place down so no more animals will suffer. I think they keep the place horrible so you?ll feel bad for them and buy them. more
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Mark's Ark Inc is TERRIBLE 12/8/2009

My brother got a yourkiejack from marks arc.. Well, The dog came home with kennel cough And my basset hound is now sick with kennel cough. They sent (elli) home with clavamox which is for kennel cough.. Which they assumed she had!! with out a vet saying what she was sick with in the first place!! Are you kidding me?? This dog could have parasites and parvo!! I don't understand. As far as I'm concerned that place is a sh** hole and I am telling everyone not to shop there. Marks ark also said that the only have a 48 hour guarantee for their anamals. WELL THE CLAVAMOX DOESN'T WORK FOR A WEEK!! SO IF ELLI DOESN'T GET BETTER WE'RE SCREWED ANYWAYS. OH and they aren't even sure she has kennel cough. That was not a veterinarians word!! That was some UNQUALIFIED kids guess! I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH!! DON'T SHOP THERE. more
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We like it! 11/8/2009

My boys and I love Mark's Ark! We are going to the store today to get a new heat lamp as a matter of fact.\r \r The smell in the store is because of the crickets they keep for sale. We have been to the store many times and I've never seen any horrible conditions. Yes, it's crowded, it's a small building.\r \r We got our Mali Uromastyx from Mark's Ark, and had some questions at first, and they were very helpful. Scrabbles is almost 2 years old and is doing fine.\r \r more
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Horrible pet store 9/21/2009

Mark's Ark should be closed down. The store is filthy and the animals are in filthy overcrowded conditions. The water bowls are filthy and full of mites in the snake and lizard enclosures. It is beyond me why they have not been shut down. The smell when you walk into the store will knock you over. This is the worst pet store I have ever been in! If I could give the store a negative star rating on here I would. Cons: Clueless staff, filthy conditions, over crowded animals more
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BUYER BEWARE 9/20/2009

Wish I would have read some of your reviews first. Thought I had to get a tetanus shot after leaving the store. Have these guys ever cleaned the store? Sure they have a larger selection of pets, but most are in poor shape. BUYER BEWARE. more
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An outstanding Store 9/8/2009

Marks is by far the best "pet shop" i have ever been in. The staff is friendly. The selection is off the chart.. ONE THING: a little more attention to the animal cages and the displays would be nice. The amonia smell takes your breath away. more
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Clueless staff 8/20/2009

I agree with the other posts about the state of the store and the poor living conditions of the animals. The staff was friendly but clueless. \r We went to Mark's Ark to buy a tortoise. We wanted a leopard tortoise and ended up with an African spur-thigh tortoise (G. Sulcata). The sales guy said they are, basically, the same. \r These are NOT the same animal. \r The leopard tortoise grows slowly to its max size of ~100 lbs over 50 yrs. The Sulcata tortoise will grow to 80 lbs on 5 to 10 yrs! That is a HUGE difference! \r The sales guy told us that both species of tortoise have the same diet but that was wrong. In fact, if you feed the Sulcata tortoise fruit, which is a staple of the leopard tortoise, your Sulcata will become disfigured (shell pyramiding) and die!?! \r It’s a good thing I did my own research because everything the sales guy told me was wrong. \r We are happy with our tortoise and would recommend this species to anyone with pet allergies (and enough space). They can roam around your house like a cat or dog. \r sulcata-station dot org Pros: wide selection Cons: Poor treatment of animals, clueless staff more
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Great pet store!!! 7/20/2009

I recently shopped here and was able to pickup a nice aquarium setup with all the supplies I needed cheaper than a big name store. The staff was really helpful and patient with me. Sure there's an aroma to the place, but it's a "pet store". Even the big box pet stores have an aroma. This place has been around for years and I hope will continue for many years to come. Quite a busy little store, the place was packed there and the staff was taking the time with their customers to answer questions.My Grade: A+ more
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Mark's Ark Inc is the most over-rated store on the planet 6/14/2009

Very dirty and not very helpful. Their selection is over-rated when you can't buy an animal without mites or a respiratory infection. I have heard estimates from snake experts that I know estimating more than half the cases of mites in the valley come from this store, which is a great way to spread disease. As a matter of fact, a good friend of mine worked there for 3 months and found snake mites in the carpet! In the fish section! I have taken my snake and spider business to Pets and Such in West Valley and Rockstar Pets in Tooele. I could go on for hours on stories that I have heard and experienced from this store, but there is a 5000 word limit... more
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Best Ever! Great news! 4/5/2009

They Try their best to keep things together. I have been going to this pet store since I was a little girl and every time I have been impressed by the MAJORITY of the staff knowing what they are talking about. The smell is only due to a small building and when every you have that many animals in a space it tends to smell just like the animals. I have gone to numerous other pet stores (petco, petsmart, bird world ect.) and never had a good as discount or knowledgeable individuals around. The animals that are sent to the bigger stores arrive in Crates and boxes thrown or dumped into cages If you hadn't noticed when its time to refill the cages.\r A previous comment states that "if you love animals don't shop here" I would say if you do you should only because they take and help resell or breed their own animals and don't have them shipped and arrived scared senseless. \r If you have been and find the state deplorable then I have 2 things to tell you, Buy there TO save the animals more
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Mark's Ark needs new Ark 3/14/2009

I have shopped at Marks' Ark off and on for several years, not always a good experience. The store is loaded with a variety of oft needed pet supplies including supplies for various birds, reptiles and fish. I was very disappointed a while back when they discontinued their very good supply of salt water fish. Their reply was that it just wasn't cost effective, yet they carry some very costly fresh water species. Their overall prices are competitive with other pet stores. The dogs are are kept in an enclosure that is way to small, It really needs to be enlarged. The building is in dire need of a remodel and does tend to smell.Customer assistance is non existent, if you need help good luck.I wouldn't recommend Mark's Ark. There are other pet stores in the area that offer as much at better prices in a cleaner and larger store more
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overcrowded, dirty, inhumane 1/28/2009

Being new to salt lake i went to mark's arch to check out lights for my tortoise. What I saw there will give me nightmares for months to come. Animals were overcrowded, dirty and unhealthy looking. Please don't support these people. They do not have the animals best interest at heart. Pros: none Cons: dirty, overcrowded and inhumane more
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I Go but I bring Nose plugs ROFLMAO!!! 12/9/2008

Seriously!! They tend to have an awesoem selection when it comes to Fish and Reptiles.. The store as stated in previous reviews is GROSSLY over crowded and under staffed!! \r \r My wife has to stand at the doorway for a few minutes to become moderately tolerating of the smell that almost knocks you into last week!! The smell exploding from this store could mame!!! I mean we walked in and our hair color changed!!!! 8O\r \r \r But We still go as we love the selection of fish :) Also We like to see the many different kinds of peopel that walk in.. Only if they would allow us to record the reactions of noobs that have never opened the doors to this place yet LOL!!! \r \r The owners and staff are fun and Knowledgeable :) Pros: WIDE SELECTION!!! Cons: PUNGIENT SMELL!!! FOR MILES!! more
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great customer service and selection 10/8/2008

I stopped in today to return some gravel. I bought too much last time I was in. The gentleman at the front desk, terri, let me know that it was not a problem to return the gravel for in store credit and then proceeded to show me some fish. Terri was very knowledgeable! He knows his fish and their behaviors. He knew exactly what fish I wanted and worked with my budget. I liked how he didn't try to bull me into buying the expensive specimens. Ive shopped at corporate pet stores probably 20 times in the past year. There is a huge difference between this mom and pop store in selection and staff knowledge. It may smell a bit and the building is a little older but its not that bad. One thing I think could be improved is the dog section. I hate to see animals living in such a small area. more
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Worst pet store in salt lake 9/9/2008

I have shopped off and on at marks ark for years for things like supplies, fish, tarantula?s and rabbits to name a few and rarely have I been happy with my experience. The staff is unfriendly and not helpful. Several times I have been given bad information. The store smells and is dirty. Recently I tried to express my dissatisfaction to the owner and he told me I was not worth the money. I will not be shopping from them again even to save money. more
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BEWARE 9/6/2008

These guys had me drive to their store because they wanted to buy my animals, we agreed on price and when I arrived they said "sorry dude" and offered half!!!! 30 minutes after they just told me to come down and offered me the price!! I've been shopping there for 10 years at least!! I told them i would never go back and they just shrugged! Read reviews about this store anywhere, they are all bad. They often say the staff is far from friendly, store far from clean and animals far from happy. It's hard to run a store like that, old and small, on the scale they do, so everything suffers, but on top of it they are liars too!?!?! in my book they owe me gas money for making the damn drive! \r \r They cant afford to lose customers but they are too stupid to see that they are throwing them in the toilet. I know i've spent thousands there, and i'm just getting more stuff these days, so they can kiss that profit goodbye. They aren't special in any way so why bother getting screwed? The worst t more
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THIS PLACE IS AWFUL!!! 7/12/2008

So upon arriving I could already smell the feces of animals and mold growing everywhere... We stepped in and immediately wanted to leave! I was in shock at how these poor animals are kept day after day! Dogs in kennels topped upon each other no blanket no toys just in these small cages that you would see in a pound simply because in a pound there are so many to care for! This Mark guy is only in the business of Profit!!! Otherwise he would have moved somewhere else to accommodate the animals that he has taken on! It was so dirty I picked up my daughter and would not let her touch anything, I just wanted too leave, I have been in several pet stores and this is by far the worst I have been in! The need to be shut down and build a better place for these animals! So Sad!! Do not support this company if you truly are an animal lover! more
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Great Selection of exoctic animals 5/5/2008

The staff here was very knowledgable. The exotic animals seem to be well cared for. The dog area smelled unkeep though. We bought a frog and recieved lots of good information on caring for the animal. If you are looking for frogs, snakes and spiders this is a good location. more
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Good selection of Amphibians - REALLY dirty store! 2/18/2008

This place truly has a great selection of tree frogs & other amphibians, and their selection of fish is ok. However, I found the staff to be short with me, and not very friendly.\r \r Most of all, though, this store SMELLS SO BAD. It doesn't seem like it's kept very clean at all, and I even saw a dead fish floating in one of their tanks. I immediately applied hand sanitizer the minute I left the store, and was afraid I would smell for the rest of the day having just spent a few minutes in there! more
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poor people zoo 2/11/2008

I have a friend that refers to Mark's Ark as the poor people zoo, because of the vast selection of animals and well....us just hanging out there to see them all. While it's true you should try adoption first and breeding is very unethical, they have a pretty good selection of reptiles and some interesting rodents, last time I was there there was some sort of African r@t (the actual word has been banned by the nanny editor on the site) that was pretty neat. The smell can be a little off-putting, but if you're truely an animal person, that will not bother you. The animals are a little crowded and sometimes share cages, so mislabelings occur.The staff is always friendly and knowledgable and they sell used cages, which is a bonus on the eco-friendly factor. more
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Utah's Most Exciting Pet Store

Owner Message

  • At Marks Ark you will find quality service and quality product. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. They are dedicated to giving the best care to their animals while in their possession and teach their customers how to continue that care once they are taken home. You can find traditional pet products as well as unique items such as lizards, chameleons and ferrets. Come step inside Utahs most exciting pet store and see for yourself why their customers keep coming back.

Additional information
  • Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-7pm; Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 12pm-5pm
  • Payments: Master Card, Cash, Discover, Visa, American Express
  • Neighborhoods: Taylorsville
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