this place really got over on me bc before they moved to the most recent location I had been in the process of purchasing a lemur for our family. so me and my daughter had been going and spending time with lala the lemur just learning how to interact with them. I had been making payments on our lemur and had about 350.00 left to pay and when they moved to the valley mills drive location they said they were using a different system and they somehow had lost the info and my previous payments and never would have the owner return my calls and so I was screwed out of all that money. read more

Clearly after reading reviews I will not be stepping foot in this place. It clearly needs to be shut down, never to open again. I wish I could give it 0 stars. Just reading reviews of what others saw is totally heart breaking. read more

They sell hedgehogs, flying squirrels and chinchillas! Reasons to go: 1) They sell cool exotic animals. 2) They provide grooming services for your pets. 3) It is conveniently located off of Hewitt Dr. 4) The staff is friendly and courteous. Reasons to avoid: 1) They have a house dog that runs around loose in the store. She is sweet as can be but if you don't trust unfamiliar dogs with your little angel you are bringing in to get groomed, then this may be a reason to avoid this place. read more

Critters Exotic Pets - Pet Stores Near Me - Waco, Texas

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I definitely wouldn't buy a hedgehog from this place. my hedgehog was not only pregnant with 5 babies but she also got mites from this place! when i bought her they told me there was no possibility of her being pregnant, and look where we're at now. read more

I've never been in such a repulsive pet store in my life. The animals were dirty, there was filth on the floor. I'm fairly certain that there are illegal animals in their. They are beyond a doubt one of the worst businesses in Waco and perhaps all of Texas. Do not spend your money here - they exploit animals, and are very rude. read more

The staff is friendly, but I have to say this is probably the worst quality pet store I've ever been to. The animals are all in cramped and unclean quarters. Pocket pets are kept in fishtanks with seemingly twenty or more in one cage. There is a cat that runs loose that uses the hedgehog's cage as a litter box. Reptiles are left unsupervised with live prey large enough to seriously injure them. I would not be surprised if these animals are suffering from numerous diseases. I cannot frequent this store and live with myself. The conditions are appaling. It saddens me that places like this are allowed to exist. I hope one day legislation is passed to better regulate pet stores such as these. The animals don't deserve this. read more

I called ahead of time to ensure they had female rats. She looked through the cage and assured me both rats were female. She gave me 2 males instead. And charged $32 for just 2 rats read more

They were very knowledgeable about their extensive collection of exotic animals! All the staff was great but specifically kk was the nicest girl who told us about every animal in the store. I would recommend this place to anyone! read more

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The smell was awful there were cockroaches in the cages and running all along the shelves. My daughter was allowed to handle a python unsupervised, the employee just opened the cage for her and walked away into a different room. Although there was a sign posted to not touch the monkey my daughter was able to get close enough to the cage that the monkey almost grabbed her hair. There were animals without water or food. The cages are too small with too many animals in them. I didn't see one pet toy or any source of entertainment in any of the smaller animal cages. There were 4 hairless rats under an open window with a cold draft, the poor things were shivering. The staff members started cleaning when they overheard me telling one of my daughters how disgusting the place was, they were spraying strong chemicals in a poorly ventilated area with birds. The staff is obviously uneducated in pet care and I feel pretty confident they really don't care. I walked out of that building disgusted, angry and depressed. I can't believe that this business is allowed to stay open, I thought Waco was better than this. read more

My first time coming here and I am very saddened by the conditions that the animals are in. You can smell from the outside how disgusting and dirty it is. Every single cage is dirty and overcrowded. It was heartbreaking seeing all the animals living under such horrible conditions. The staff was friendly but the store was disgusting and animals were definitely not being cared for properly. For sure needs to be shut down. I wish I could give it 0 stars read more

Very sad situation going on at this exotic pet store. Almost all the cages are dirty, full of poop, and poorly maintained. Its not only disgusting and a health hazard that the puppies are forced to walk around in their own poop but its also heartbreaking. The entire store is filthy and the staff obviously does not care about the health and comfort of these animals. They should be shut down. read more

Completely awful customer service! I have never seen employees act so unprofessional and treat people with such disrespect.

I really wish I could give this place less than 1 star. This place is terrible. Their customer service is horrific, the employees and manager will lie to you. Below is my experience with critters. I have been trying to get a hedgehog from here for over three months now. After the first month of me being on "a list" I went back in to find out what's going on and they told me I actually wasn't on the list because they failed to tell me the first time that I needed to put a deposit down so I payed my $92 and they promised me a hedgehog in 2-4 weeks tops. So after the 4 weeks are up I called them and they promised it would be about a week, so I called them a week later and they promised me about a week again. This has gone on for the past month and I still don't have my hedgehog and the worst part is they don't offer refunds. I doubt I will ever get this hedgehog. There customer service is terrible and their manager does not care about her customers. Throughout this hole story they have NEVER APOLOGIZED!!!! read more

This store needs to be reported to the police and investigated for animal cruelty. There was no water in any cages. I saw a cage full of ferrets fighting for the last drop of water... one ferret looked like it was minutes away from death. There was also a dog outside. No food, water, or toys. I was there when it was cold and rainy, and the poor dog was shivering next to a soaked blanket. On a dusty shelf, there were three small containers with a beta fish in each. The water was brown and one fish couldn't swim, and another one could only swim on its side. Additionally, there were two flea infested puppies and a kitten. The three of them all had no food or water in their cage, just like the rest of the cages. Lastly, I saw birds that had infected, swollen feet, and they all seemed extremely stressed. I was in Waco for the holidays, but had to quickly return back to my home which is two hours away. If I was able to be in Waco a little longer, I would have gone to the police and reported this store. This is unacceptable. The animals at this store are living creatures which should be given the care they deserve, but they are getting nothing and are being treated extremely poorly. I left that store with a pit in my stomach. All the animals looked miserable, and they desperately need help. I BEG ANYONE WHO READS THIS REVIEW TO FILE A REPORT TO THE POLICE FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY. I would have filed a report if I was able to stay in Waco longer. These animals will die if the store is not reported. Critters should be shut down, and the animals should be moved to a much better and caring environment. read more

bought a 60.00 Lizard and it died the next day. Wouldn't give my money back. I call and girl was rude. Ask if owner would call me , she didn't I will never go in the store again. I was so upset that they wouldn't stand by there animals. I have called since then and still no return phone call. I just cant believe them. Sad read more

Their selection is amazing, very knowledgeable and caring staff, and pricing is good. The quality of 'feeder' supplies is also much better than any of the other pet stores around. read more

My little brother wanted to visit to see some exotic animals and all that happened is we went and and became sad . The animals really aren't well taken care of it's sad as bad as I want those babies to get good homes we really can't support a business like this it's awful please adopt from the animals shelter down the street or buy else where these just aren't the people to support :( read more

I was here the other day and heard the animals in the back so I went to look at them and when I got back there I saw animal poop everywhere! The entire backside of the holding cage is covered in POOP!! This is absolutely disgusting! read more

The pet care Here is truly disturbing. I walk in and there's a young woman, probably a worker, playing with a ball python. Now there's nothing wrong with that, what was wrong with it is because there was a dead chameleon in the cage next to her. The axolotl's were in awful cages not heat acclimated no water filters in small containers barely big enough for them to even turn their bodies. The puppies were in wire bottom cages the parents were crammed all into a glass fish tank, but what really caught my attention was the hedgehogs. They were kept in a probably 2' x 4' cage, and there were about 30 of them in there, male and female together no water dish, some were very skinny and even malnourished , And they were all sitting in their own feces. The people who were trying to sell less hedgehogs were giving us advice for said animals that went against all of the research that I had done prior to coming to said pet store. You see, even when I came to get the hedgehog the man that was working there told me that one of the hedgehogs, that was clearly male, was a female. The workers were very condescending and rude, and we're also pushing some customers including ourselves to get more animals. Also, one of the major problems is this Serious lack of enrichment in the cages.Not to mention the overcrowding. And on other websites I've read a ton of reviews for this place and whatever the owner response they're always very condescending and unprofessional just like they were in the store. I do not recommend buying a pack from here. read more

The animals are so well taken care of and the owner wants to help answer all of your questions. You're allowed to hold most of the animals and you can pet all of them. I loved the atmosphere and staff. it was a bit smelly but that's expected when you go into an exotic pet store. Highly recommend!! read more

I've been in and dealt with several employees while asking about an animal that was sitting in its own filth. The cage under the puppy's feet was so disgusting I really wanted to throw up! In summary: Foul conditions, foul interactions, hateful speech and an inability to take feedback from the greater Waco community. read more

Walked in a was immediately hit by a fowl stench. Drove almost an hour to come here. All these good reviews must be bought. As my parents and I were walking around, there was a dead chameleon with no water, and all the animals had no water and dirty enclosures. Please do not support this place. read more

Pretty sad place....several of the animals didn't have food or water in their cages. The wallaby had nothing in its cage and was just sleeping flat out on the linoleum floor. The ferret enclosure had huge poop piles in each corner. The poor lil blue headed bird had plucked his feathers and rubbed its beak raw on its cage...also had no food or water. The cage that the awesome lil groundhogs were in had no food and their water dispenser that's supposed to be hung up to allow them to drink was laying on the bottom of the cage. The staff is young and there is WAY too many of them for such a small business. Too bad it's so poorly run. read more

This "pet shop" is UNBELIEVABLE. I went into the shop, walked around, friendly staff, but they had at least 100 turtles in a fish tank. It was DISGUSTING. I found a dead turtle, Dying lizards, and the smell. UG. People, pet shops DONT HAVE TO SMELL LIKE FECES. If you clean, disinfect, and have an actual ventilation system it won't smell that bad. The mammals in the back were so cramped it was so sad. As the other reviews say DONT SUPPORT THIS PET SHOP!!!! read more

This store really is an interesting place and I used to enjoy going almost every weekend and taking my kids to see the animals, however, over the last 6 months the store has declined in the cleanliness of the animal enclosures and the friendliness of the employees. I've recently had a bad experience with this store, and the only bright spot was one employee there who was willing to do anything he had to in order to fix the problem. I had purchased a pet for my son and within 2 days noticed that the pet had an infection. When I consulted a vet, they advised me that the animal was most likely sick at the time that he was purchased. The management however was not so willing to help and instead felt the need to place blame on me and to flip flop between helping me and accusing me. I've also seen online reviews where the owner has responded very rudely to customers who have posted bad reviews. I have been in customer service for over 10 years, and I don't care how upset you are or how unjustified the bad review was, you CAN NOT treat customers that way. That is a sure fired way to lose your customer base. I have also purchased equipment for my pets there, such a filter for a fish tank, which was not marked as used but was missing pieces and on the receipt (which I didn't look at until I got home, 35 miles away) stated "consignment". The pump barely works and it was not marked at all that it was used. They are selling supplies and equipment for much more than the other stores around and they are often less in quality. I really hate leaving a poor review because there are a few amazing employees there, but overall I cannot give this store a better rating. Unfortunately they are one of the only stores in the area that sell the exotic pets like they do, but after my recent experience I will gladly drive to Fort Worth or Austin for my pets and pet needs instead of dealing with this store. read more

Critters has really gone down hill. It's dark in there and the cages are small. The monkey lives in a small dark cage it's whole life. Same thing with two ring tail lemurs. They're a breeding pair and not for sale so they also live they're lives in a small cage in a dark overcrowded room. It's really sad for the animals it made me cry read more

Yesterday my minor daughter went into this store and they sold her a guinea pig without question. When i called them to explain that she was not able to have this guinea pig. Justin the store manager was extremely rude informing me that they don't refund pet purchases. But we can donate it back to them. What so they can rip off another kid by selling them an animal without parent approval. To top it off this animal seems to be very young possibly to young to be away from its mom and looks poorly. Beware of this store read more

I recently brought my 2 dogs in to get groomed by the groomer Nathan. He did such an AMAZING JOB with both of my big long thick haired dogs. My dogs were so EXCITED when i came and picked them up. You could tell they felt so much better, cleaner, and happier. So i really recommend this place for getting any grooming done for your pet. read more

We were so looking forward to seeing all of the exotic animals in this store, but instead were shocked and saddened at what we saw walking around. The conditions that the majority of the animals we saw can only be described as gross neglect. The store was staffed with three employees who were not engaged in any meaningful tasks besides braiding each others hair. Most of the reptiles were in spaces far too small - so small in fact they could not move out of their own feces. The lemurs were visibly stressed and despondent. Most disturbing was the tiny room referred to as the "aviary." The smell of ammonia from the rabbits housed in this room permeated through the door and became intolerable once we were inside. Both the umbrella and Moluccan cockatoos were housed in enclosures half the size of what large breed parrots require. The cages were lacking enrichment activities and toys to occupy these animals and it became clear this lack of mental stimulation has already taken a psychological toll. The parrots were provided with a water dish which had not been refreshed for days which shows a blatant disregard for the welfare of these beautiful animals. The exotic pet industry is at best tricky waters to navigate. When seeing an establishment like this where the animals best interests are clearly overlooked, one must wonder why we continue to allow it to operate. This business must step up its efforts and consistency, without question. The owner's responses to previous comments of a similar nature are far too combative. Talk is cheap, if you truly care then take the steps necessary to fix these problems. I guarantee your reviews will improve along with your animals welfare. read more

Where do I start!! They do not even deserve one star. They ruined my daughters 7th Birthday!! So the person who took down my information and took money from me did not put our name down in the book!! So our party had to be shared with another party!! There were too many people in such a small space!! The animal encounter was supposed to be an hour and was maybe 30 mins. We had no help with the party, no table for the kids to eat their cake at, so seven year old had to hold their plate and stand up to eat cake. We had to ask for trash bags, no one checked on us during the party, and most of all her party was shoved into one little corner of the building. We did not even get half off the party like they told us they would!! Called back to talk to the owner but owner is never there and won't call you and just tells her managers to handle it but they are rude!! Teenagers working at the party were on their phones and a boy and girl working there were rubbing each others arms and flirting!! Total bad experience!!!! Thanks for ruining my daughters 7th birthday!!!!! Oh and they offered me a free 1 hour party.....a birthday party is something you can't redo!!!!! read more

poor pet care, no refunds (even on sick or dead animals). The staff has no idea what they are doing. Most of the staff are young teens who are rude. Reptile care is absolutely horrid, with reptiles getting lost frequently. read more

Absolute disgrace! Nothing close to a pet store! More like a concentration camp for exotic animals. Extremely inexperienced staff with large numbers of helpless volunteers. I have never seen a pet store in such disarray! At least half of the animals enclosures were absolutely disgusting and needing to be cleaned while the staff sits around and does nothing. The birds had no food, rubbed their beaks raw, and plucked most of their feathers. Most of the snakes in the shelving had little to no water or a flipped water dish which is detrimental to the healthy growth of the snakes. Also, the snakes were carelessly being handled by multiple people at once causing pandemonium and undue stress on the snakes. I personally witnessed a younger boy putting a medium-sized ball python in his pocket to carry it around. Not acceptable! The wallaby was probably the worst off animal in the store. It has no bedding and was lying directly in the floor with feces surrounding it. I will most likely never return and would not trust this store to supply me a healthy pet for a respectable price. read more