We were at Petsmart a few weeks ago. There was a sign outside saying of you bring in your ticket stub from the movie Rango, you would get $10 off a reptile purchase. I was fuming. As a former reptile keeper, any reptile is a HUGE responsibility. Keeping the temp right, providing proper diet, and having an environment big enough for the animal (not a 10 gallon tank) is very expensive. Not to mention who knows if these herps are wild caught or captive bred.
There is a local mom and pop shop that sells pet supplies, fish, captive bred reptiles, and birds. We went in there the other day and to our amazement found rabbits. We played with all of them, but my daughter and I made a special connection with one. The staff was able to tell me name and address of the local breeder, sex, birthdate. We weren't planning to get our rabbit until the end of the month, but this little guy was special. We went back the next day and interacted with him again (he licked my daughter's arm- OMG bunny tongue- cute!). The last step was to bring my husband to meet him to see if he was right for the whole family. We got there and the little guy had been sold 15 minutes beforehand. My daughter held it together until we got back out to the car. Then she lost it. Not because she didn't get her rabbit, but because she was worried that whoever got him would just keep him in a cage, never take him to the vet, and otherwise not care for him properly.
I do think the movie is having an effect. One of the local pet shops (who gets their bunnies "shipped from corporate" and has no idea what sex they are) had some baby lionheads I saw the other day. The woman there was saying how there has been a "bigger rush" and it's started earlier than usual before Easter. They are expecting another "shipment" next week to keep up with the demand. The "rabbit starter kits" they were selling were absolutely horrid.
Same with all films with cute pets.
