Super Petz

I purchased a young hand fed love bird from this shop back in may 2015. When I was at the store the owner was very helpful in explaining his care to me and the supplies I would need. My lovebird is in perfect health now and has become very friendly! :)

When Super Petz was at its old location it was pretty much a mess. Far overstocked, could barely move down most of the aisles, and it was nearly impossible to find anyone who worked there. I only shopped there when I really needed to get foods that I knew Petsmart or similar big box stores wouldn’t carry and I wasn’t able to get out to Webber’s (which carries many of the same food types). Eventually that wasn’t enough of an impetus either when the products on the shelves were often damaged, out of date, or infested with moths.
The new location seemed okay. They were frequently closed at random times with post-​its stuck to the front window, which was actually why it took me so long to try them in their new location. I lucked out on New Years eve though when I was running errands and needed cat food — They happened to be open.
I bought 6 cans of food. When I got home I discovered that two of them were *months* out of date. At the time I was livid, ready to go back, get a refund, etc. but I’ve decided that the $ 5 wasted on two cans of food that shouldn’t have been on the shelf in the first place is the reminder I deserve to not shop here. I just HAPPENED to spot the date on the cans while opening one of them.
It was a total fluke that I didn’t feed my senior cat with kidney issues a can of super premium rot.
They’ve carried their stocking habits (moths flit around the store constantly) to this new location with them, obviously.
I love the idea of supporting a small, local, speciality pet store. This one, however, isn’t worth my support.

Very cool place with lots of supplies! The shop has small animals, birds and reptiles. It’s a awesome little shop. Just found this place too. 100%A+.

The sales lady turned her back to my husband and my self while we were asking her questions. The rudest person I have dealt with in quite some time. I will never shop there for anything. She didn’t ask if we wanted anything. My husband and I would not have bought anything if we were in desperate need for our pet. Her rudeness overshadowed our desire to purchase at that store. Sadly it was the first time we have ever been there and it will definitely be our last. The entire episode lasted less than 5 minutes. It only takes a minute to alienate a customer. We highly discourage anyone shopping there.

I have to agree with the other customers about customer service in the old store. It was hard to get help, However, if you go in with a good attitude (animals! yay!) and be patient, you’re sure to get help. Talking with them and asking them advice helped me get to know them a little better, and them me, and things weren’t as frustrating.
I bought many pets in the Annandale store. The first was frogs for my son. We also got plenty of betta fish (took a lot of learning before I could take care of them properly.)
But the best pet we got there was our cockatiel. She was hand-​raised. We had her for over twelve years, and she died recently of egg binding. She was the sweetest best bird ever and the whole family loved her, as did her mate. I was crushed when she died.
We live in Pa right now, but I’m looking back to Super Petz because of our wonderful cockatiel we got from them. I’d also purchased two parakeets. One died of a seizure early on (couple years old) but the boy parakeet we bought is also about 12 now. They’re only supposed to live to be about 7, I read. He’s an old man now and has been a super bird for us and the kids.
I’m online now looking up their address. because I want to talk to them about what they have available in the way of cockatiels again. I work at a bird rescue in Pa and could rescue one of the ones we have, but they’ve not been handled and have been difficult to work with. I’m not sure I want to work and work with these birds to get them to be cuddly, etc. and not sure they’ll ever be, but the handraised cockatiel we got from SuperPetz was smart, super sweet, and well loved.

I started coming here last month because it’s the only place I can find live pinkie rats and while there’s a lot of supplies crammed into a small store, none of the habitats seemed over stocked or too small for their inhabitants. The owner got me the rat I needed promptly when asked and didn’t waste my time with superfluous customer service when I said I just wanted to look around first. Even though the store doesn’t sell fish products at all She was able to give me a rough approximation of where she knew the closes freshwater fish store might be, which I appreciated since sometimes google doesn’t show all the small stores.

— cheapest crickets around, worth the extra driving. I route my errands this way every few weeks.
— knowledgeable female owner
— easy parking up front
— great array of animals from exotic birds and reptiles to the usual ones (ie parakeets to hamsters). no cats or dogs but she does carry a more select line of their foods
— competitive prices (cheapest crickets!)
— next to Safeway, can get food for pets AND people
— this is a neighborhood place, not to be compared with the big chain pet stores that have seasonal glitz and huge inventories — that place has all you need for maintenance, not clutter
— I make it a point to support it because places like this offer more personal service and gives the neighborhood more of an identity
— support you nearby small business!!!

Huge selection of small animals and small animal supplies! Most of the bunny cages are open so you can pet them. Very friendly staff and I get my cute animal fix every time I come in here.

Obsessed with this place! I was so upset when they moved locations– thinking they’d closed. They have an amazing selection of bird supplies and much cheaper than any other place I’ve seen. The owners are kind and knowledgable. The aquatic selection is not as strong as their previous locations. All their animals are handled by the staff and are friendly. If you have a pet in the DC metro area, super pets is the place to go!

I want to like this place so bad, but it is a hot mess of a pet store.
Cons:
–Owners aren’t friendly or helpful. They seem to avoid customer interaction. In fact, they seem downright annoyed with humans in general.
–The pet store is stinky.
–A lot of birds seem unhappy.
–It is cluttered and disorganised.
Pros:
–Lots of cool animals available, including many species of birds.
–Tons of pet supplies to check out. They have a lot of bird toys (the only reason I shop here).
I’d like this place way better if the owners didn’t have sticks in their behinds.

Today I had the heater go out on my saltwater tank so I thought I would head back out to Super Pets and pick up a new one.
I drove to their «old store» thinking it was still there (on John Marr Drive behind Popeyes)…well, it’s not. Now that location is a Partyco store.
After getting their new address online, I drove to the Port Royal location. Sadly, it is a much much smaller store, squeezed into a strip mall. After taking a few moments to check out the store, I noticed that they really only had small critters in there… rabbits, ferrets, some really magnificent macaws, a cockatoo, a bunch of parakeets, really cool looking dragon lizard thing, two small pond style aquariums with koi/​goldfish in them and about six aisles of supplies for these types of animals.
While I’m not a bunny rabbit kind of fellow, I do have to say… they had a few in there that were like big fluffy persian kitty cats… they looked amazing!
So, as you notice my two star rating, it’s not because the store was bad, it was clean, and the sales associate I spoke to was very polite and courteous. I just can’t give the store anything more than two stars since they are nothing like their old store location and while more specialized… I had to go to Petsmart to get the heater I needed.
If on the other hand you want a small bird, large bird, dragon lizard thing, fluffy bunny rabbit, or playful little ferret… this would be your type of store.

If you care about animals, do not shop here.
I visited Super Petz at its old location in Annandale before they moved to Springfield, and after seeing the level of neglect they treated their animals with (empty water bottles, once a dead rat left in a cage with other rats, etc), refused to shop there again. I went to their new Springfield location (not realizing it was the same store owned by the same people) and am sorry to say, things have not improved.
I counted three cages where the water bottles were dry. Two rabbit cages and one rodent enclosure, believe it was a hamster or gerbil. I went to the front and let the woman know, she didn’t look up and said ‘ok’, then went back to whatever she was doing. There were no customers, so I would imagine that she would hurry to make sure these animals in her care had water. Nope. Not for the rest of the 10 minutes I was in the store, anyway.
The rabbits in the store did not have hay. None in any of the several cages. Rabbits need hay ²⁴⁄₇. Also, the rabbit bowls were filled with litter… I actually felt so bad for them I opened one of their cages and scooped out several handfuls of wood shavings so that they could get to their food. When I did this, I noticed one of the rabbits had an infected, weeping eye.
In short, do not give these people your money if you care about animals. They clearly do not care for the animals in their care, which they have proven time and again. And for the love of god, NEVER buy an animal from them.

Obviously this doesnt apply to everyone, just people with specialized pet needs. If you need frozen rats in the DC area, this is the spot to go. The selection and prices (on snake food) are far better than anyplace else I’ve found.

This place is pretty small but it’s packed to the ceiling with supplies! The prices are fair, some are cheaper than avg & some are slightly higher but nothing ridiculous or outrageous. The selection for birds is immense following up is small animal & reptile/​fish. The selection for dog & cat here is the smallest. The owner is knowledgable but certainly not a pleasure to speak to lol. This place was the only walk in store that had the particular substrate I was looking for & open on Labor Day! I will definitely keep this place in mind for the future when my local aquarium supply store isn’t open/​out of stock.

They definitely have gone down hill since moving to the new location. Their old location in Annandale was HUGE. This new location is not big at all. They don’t really have much fish stuff compared to before. I would say maybe ¹⁄₅^th of the selection? I wouldn’t go here for fish stuff. maybe small reptiles/​animals/​birds. that’s about it.

Been here a lot before Petco opened up, and thank goodness they did! This place smells, the animals look miserable being coop up in the cages for who knows how long.
Can’t make out if they have specials going on, and they won’t tell you until you have finished paying for everything that you bought. They have a limited selection of Gluten-​Free Cat Food one Cat I have has to eat. The first time I had asked if they have any, the employee pointed towards the last aisle and said ‘Thatta way.’ I had asked if he could show me since I really didn’t know where he was pointing to, and he looked annoyed about it like I was taking him away from his little kingdom of doing nothing. I said thanks, and he just walked away like the customer didn’t matter to him.
I bring the few cans I did find there, and he didn’t even bother asking if I needed anything else or if I found everything I was looking for. He just rung the cans up and told me the amount. I left after paying for everything.
Will be taking my business to Petco where they know how to treat a customer, and help you look for the items that you are looking for. Plus they have a great selection of Fish and other tropical animals there as well. Plus they will help with grooming and other things that you may have questions about.

Went here for the first time today and will NEVER be back. In all fairness, the store is apparently in the process of moving and is in disarray with aisles cramped and blocked with merchandise. From other reviews, however, this seems to be a long-​standing issue. Moving also does not excuse the AWFUL smell of the place.
My main issue is with the live animals and reptiles. I have never seen so many poor animals in one cage! The «maternity ward» has run over its apparent allotted space, and no wonder – the whole place looks like the number of animals has increased exponentially – as if someone’s guinea pigs kept pro-​creating and they haven’t been able to get rid of them. I understand that it is difficult to sex young small animals, but if the «merchandise» is not selling (which is pretty obvious given the sheer number of fully adult animals for reduced price or for free with purchase of starter kit), then it is irresponsible to keep that many animals together and continue breeding.
I hate to see rows of stacked DIRTY cages with multiple animals per cage covered in flies right next to mangy cats, lizards and screaming birds. The phrase «puppy mill» comes to mind, except now extend that out to guinea pigs, chinchillas, cats, hamsters, rabbits, etc.
Most of the animals looked miserable and were sleeping due to the heat in the place – I realize that some creatures may require certain higher temperatures, but then why keep lizards and reptiles in the same store row as rabbits?
Funnily enough, there is a sign stating that the store may deny purchase of these animals to ensure good health of the animals.
The reptiles and fish seem to be in good condition, maybe they should stick to those. Then again, I know nothing about either, so who KNOWs what condition they are REALLY in. The whole place reminds me of an episode of «Hoarders» and makes me want to call animal control.

This store ruined my day. I saw fifteen guinea pigs in a tiny 3 by 3 cage, some pregnant because they do not bother to sex their pigs and keep them apart, with flies all around. The small animals are kept next to the parrots who squawk endlessly and all the animals seemed miserable.
The guinea pigs just looked so miserable, especially the ones kept in cages way too small. Some had eye injuries. This is terrible and the owners should be ashamed of themselves for not taking better care of them.
I really felt bad and I hope animal control does something about them. This shouldn’t be legal and probably isn’t.

My doggy got fleas from a toy I purchased here!
There isn’t a return policy printed on the receipt and staff can’t explain what the return policy is on the phone either.
I got a dog crate, it took me a week to train/​convince the dog to actually get INTO the crate. That’s when I realized the crate is an inch or two too small. I called to ask if I could return, and as explained by a staffer on the phone, «there isn’t a return policy on dog crates».
STAY AWAY. depressing cramped animals. half dead fish floating in tanks. fleas. broken/​dirty/​expired toys and treats in the discount bin (i understand it’s a discount bin for a reason, but some toys were chocking hazards and unsafe for dogs, treats were discolored from age)

Lions and Tigers and Bears. Oh my!
OK perhaps that is stretching it just a bit. But there are fish of all types, chinchillas and other various rodents, snakes, frogs, turtles, parrots and other birds, a cockatoo that I could spend hours trying to get to say «hello», food critters (crickets, brine shrimp, etc), and most importantly to me… hermit crabs.
If your concept of a pet store is the mass market warehouses of PetSmart and Petco, or über chic boutique pet emporiums, then you really should drop by here and check this place out. This is what I grew up knowing as a pet store. Creatures of every sort in tanks and cages all over the place in the front of the store.
While they carry food, toys and all sort of supplies for Fluffy and Spot, I come here for hermit crabs and various supplies for them. Where the pet megalomarts might carry maybe an aisle of items for fish or reptiles or pet rodents, Super Petz has far more variety of just about everything and at comparable cost.
Fair warning, it is chaos here. And if you bring little ones — be mindful, as cages probably aren’t the best places for little fingers to go. The aisles are very narrow and there is a cluster of freestanding displays around the register. Basically there are pet supplies stacked just about everywhere. But the staff is super friendly and always quick to ask if you need help finding something.
Its also a fantastic place to shop for gifts for pets and pet owners as you can usually find some neat unique things. I just love coming to this «wild kingdom» in Annandale and usually walk out with what I dropped by for and a bunch of other cool pet stuff that caught my eye.
(Newest crab acquisitions, hanging out in their crab shack after a swim in their «pool» —
)