Animal House

I went there because of this big shin-dig on Craigslist about this place. Id never been before since i just recently moved here. But with all the commotion i just had to check it out. The place smelled really really bad and it was SO cramped. The people were rude and followed me around, and I can see what people are saying about those animals. Unfortunately i dont think theres going to be much anyone can do until someone gets hurt or someone takes home a diseased animal or something. I wouldnt reccomend going there. You can get a lot better service and heathier animal from another retailer or bigger chain.

I've been to this particular pet store twice. Once because we saw it there and decided to just check it out. The second because I needed a feeder mouse for my ball python ASAP and my regular pet store was out.

My first journey there was very unpleasant. I found everything to be cramped and unwelcoming. When I made my way towards the back after noticing some of their rodent species, I came across their variety of reptiles and such. I wasn't impressed. Their husbandry is very horrible and conditions the animals are kept in are unacceptable. (For instance keeping a year old ball python in the size enclosure that you'd keep a hatching in, is not acceptable.) Then I noticed two very large McCaw birds in the back, with large warning signs around the cage saying that they bite. Alright. They bite. Fine. My boyfriend was talking to the woman about them, and apparently I was walking too close to their cage, and was rudely approached by her, and was rudely told to move. Funny Those lovelies weren't even paying attention to me.

This evening I was forced to go there again. My boyfriend and I have been in the process of moving, and wasn't able to make it down to Pet-Supermarket in time to get one of their mice before they were sold out. Our only other option for our python was Animal House. I wasn't happy to go there. I was approached by a young boy, maybe 11 or 12 years old. Very pleasant kid, well manors, etc. Unfortunately his younger brother was bouncing around behind him. Normally I'm great with kids, but with a sleeping ferret in my arm, I didn't appreciate a child pulling and tugging at me (literally hanging from my arm) to get to my pet. The older child tried to stop him, but it didn't help. He apologized for his brother. I said it was okay, that kids will be kids. He said Yeah, I know but a lot of times he takes a few steps over the li

I am a aquatic hobbyist who keeps around 25 tanks at all times. i have always found the owners to be quite pleasant and knowledgeable in a world where you go to a pet store and are waited on by some idiot who doesnt know the first thing about tropical fish. i highly suggest going to the shop and checking it out for yourself. i dont know about the reptiles or mammals, but their fish are healthy, and well conditioned and i have never had a problem. i live an hour an a half from lex and make it a point to drive there at least once a month to see the selection.

Being new to Lexington, we were happy to find a pet store close to our home. We had only seen one review of the store that made it sound like a wonderful family owned business.

But what a shock when we first walked in.

The smell of ammonia (from the urine) about knocked us over. Having worked in several pet stores and veterinary clinics obviously I knew that anytime you keep groups of animals in confined spaces, some amount of oder is to be expected. However, the stink in that store was stifling and showed a lack of basic hygiene and absolutely inadequate ventilation for the business they are trying to run. Especially on a Saturday morning which should be one of the busiest days everything should have been in order in anticipation of customers. We were the only ones in the store, and that kind of rank smell takes days of wet bedding to accumulate (fresh pet urine does not smell like ammonia unless the animals are sick).

As for the animals, they were kept in small cages stacked on top of each other. (What they had, the only exotic animals they had were a few guinea pigs, rabbits, and a chinchilla) The mice and other smaller animals were kept away from the visitors in an enclosed section making it impossible to view. There were large amounts of each animals in little shoe box size tanks (the kind you'd keep a single hermit crab in). Thank God they didn't have any dogs or cats. The tanks were small, dirty, and lacked good lighting. I worked in a pet store with about four times the number of tanks, and one employee can keep all those clean easily. There was just no excuse for the quality of their tanks, except laziness and disrespect of their animals.

Another thing, when I go to a business, I'd prefer an adult employee to help me with my selections, having 11-year old Pugsly Adams follow me around the store was pretty creepy, and made me feel like I was not welcom

I have been shopping at Animal House for the past fourteen years, and I can't believe the reviews I just read. I have always found them to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable, and loving towards their children. They do have their children with them all the time, and they do homeschool, but if you talk to their older son, you will see that it has paid off. He is extremely knowledgeable about all the animals, as well as being able to hold a conversation on any number of topics. He is eleven, but is smarter than most adults that I know. The younger son is three, and really wild, but they discipline with love as well as punishment. I have never seen a dead anything, fish or animal and I think they house their animals appropriately. They sometimes have a bad day and may be a little short (concerning the birds -- they are their family members and so they are protective if someone is teasing or seems to be teasing). They do not live at the store, they run it with pride. They have a home away from the store they just put their hearts into their business because that is what it takes to make a small business work in these times of corporate squashing. Overall I have always had a wonderful experience and really enjoy supporting the little man. five stars aren't enough for this family.

I have read the other reviews and thought about leaving mine. I was in there to purchase an item for my new pet and was trying to discuss a product with the mother/owner when her son threw something past my head, almost hitting me. I didn't really care little boys have too much energy to be spending in a store anyway. The mother/owner stopped our conversation and started to spank her son repeatedly, then when she got finished the father/owner began to spank him all the way to the back of animal house. All the while the father was telling him how sick he was of him. Spanking is one thing; however, when you own a business professionalism is another. I ended up purchasing the product quickly just to leave and then felt guilty for making the purchase. I honestly wish that I had just bought it from somewhere else. So it wasn't the smell, the look of the animals, or anything else it was the fact that they treat their children so poorly that makes me disgusted with this store (Animal House).

The Animal House is the WORST place to go to purchase anything. There store stinks horrible! There fish are always dead in there tanks, there birds always look sick. They torture there reptiles by putting them in VERY SMALL cages. They once had a ADULT bearded dragon in a 10 GALLON TANK!!! THATS RIGHT! A 10 GALLON TANK!!! That should be against the law!! They are always cramming animals in very small cages. When you walk in the store the smell will knock you down!! I once saw huge giant cockroaches crawling all over the floor when I was looking at there fish!! Please take my advice, and everyone elses advice on here! STAY AWAY!! DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM!!

There prices are WAY higher compared to other pet stores. If you ever ask them any questions, they act like you are stupid, and they act like they must have a 20 year degree in college for selling animals lol. The family that owns the store actually LIVES IN THE STORE!! IT IS THERE HOUSE!!! How gross is that?? To raise your family in a pet store?? They are WEIRDOS!!! Go elsewhere to purchase your supplies! DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!!

This place is cluttered and smells bad. The people are nice and its conveniently located but I couldn't find anything when I went there.

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I have a close friend who told me that they had a terrible experience. My friend went into the pet store with his two children, they noticed the two parrots and decided to interact with them because they are bird enthusiast and they are very experienced with parrot's because they have had one for 18 years. While communicating with the birds in a non-physical or harmful way the owner(man) approached and accused my friend of teasing his parrots, the owner then grabbed my friends arm in such a hurtful manor that it caused bruises the next day. After the owner attacked my friend he defended himself and preceded to keep the owner at bay while he swung at my friend. The owner then screamed to his wife to call the police all the while, the son didn't move and stood their and had a grin on his face as if saying, Go get him Dad. This is VERY concerning because the children appear to never be away from their parents because they are home schooled by his parents. My friends children use to visit the pet shop regularly for years and every time they came the boy waited on them, this was during school hours. The wife chose not to call the police but my friend did because he felt assaulted. The police came and after a long discussion, my friend decided not to press chargers because after talking to the cop there appeared to be too much red tape that would end a judge saying just to stay away from each other. The police officer also told my friend something very disturbing, he said the owner told the police that the owner has a gun in the store with him. My friend said the owner told him to never come back and the police officer said I don't understand why any owner would want to treat their costumers like this. There were no other costumers in the store at that time. I would highly recommend to never go in this store but if you happen to do so make sure you're wearing a bullet pro

I had been going to Animal House for 5 months, pretty regularly for aquatic purposes. They seemed knowledgeable and helpful. They knew appropriate concentrations and compatibility; they tested your water samples for free. They keep the fish in individual tanks and overall, appear to have a quality fish store.

When first setting up my tank, I spent about an hour in there every weekend for a month or two. Because they were so busy, they took about 30 minutes to get to me (and I just looked at the fish and contemplated which ones I wanted in my tank). Then I'd talk to them and learn about the fish and basic care/maintenance of the tank for 15-20 minutes.

Today I walked in and returned some fish because they were extremely aggressive towards the rest of my community and when I explained my reasoning and that I had talked to other fish stores (for second opinions), that I became the person that had most offended him [the husband] in the 30 years he'd been there.

Because I had sought outside advice - which contradicted his opinions, this implied that [he] knew nothing. This prompted a dialog of about 15 minutes of him CURSING at me in the presence of his 3 children (all under 12) and his wife. I received numerous THREATS and a barrage of INSULTS. I was told never to come back.

I had said nothing, while he was on his rant, but just look at him. His wife constantly tried to calm him and defend me but he was OUT OF CONTROL.

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

He is fortunate there were no other customers in there or they too would have immediately left and taken their business elsewhere.

In the 5 months that I had been there, I have done nothing but spend money and learn. Apparently (as what came out in the yelling), whenever I come in, all I do is waste their time.

So, if you want to buy fish/supplies and not interact with the people; if you do not want to learn a