From these links, it seems that some Petco stores are horrible. The one that we go to, however, is nothing like those described. They have 2 huge tanks, I mean really huge...............1/3 my bedroom size, and each has 3-4 rats in it. The small one-two gallon tanks have only 1 or two mice or hamsters in it. The birds are also kept in huge glass thingies (I don't know what they are called) with ventilation, and they have clean food and water whenever I go. Last time I went they all had a bowl with seeds, another with vitamin supplements, another with millet, and another with dried green veggies. They also had cuttlebone and clean water, and there were 2-3 birds in each large glass thing, which is like 6 times the size of my birds' cage. I didn't go to the fish/reptile side, and I only glanced at the kittens that were sleeping in their kitty beds in their crate. I'm glad that our Petco is good, but its so sad to hear about their other stores. I had never heard anything like that before. All of the pet stores in our area sell live animals, and the smaller shops keep their animals in worse conditions. I never go to them because of that. I do go to Petsmart. Is Petsmart better in caring for their animals than Petco? From what I have seen in both stores, the Petco birds look healthier than the Petsmart ones. Do you think I should shop at Petsmart? There is no other place to buy my birds' food and supplies in the area besides Petco and Petsmart, and I like our city's Petco better than the Petsmart, especially after they moved to a larger store a few months ago. Grocery stores here do sell bird food, however, I don't like their food ingredients (not the healthiest options) and they only have one cockatiel options, that I bought once and my birds hated. I see no other option but to shop at Petco or Petsmart in my case.