The Making of a PW Haunted House

Here is a little behind the scenes view of the making of a Pet World Haunted House!! A little day by day from the first day of 'building' through the tear down after Halloween! This year's theme is an Abandoned City after the ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE! Complete with a theatre, hospital, city hall, a school and much more - come tour the city on halloween night but BEWARE it's been overrun with zombies!

LESS THAN ONE WEEK UNTIL HALLOWEEN!

 

The start of our neighborhood area
These are from a little over a week ago, but the start in our 'neighborhood' area.

These real old farm doors really make these sets creepy
These real old farm doors really make these sets creepy!

Begining to get creepier
Begining to get creepier!

Our black light room is always fun
Our black light room is always fun.

Begining to get creepier
We start to get a little weird the more hours we put into decorating and building the sets.

decorating

Working on the hospital sign on a nice afternoon
Working on the hospital sign on a nice afternoon.

Mariah painting bloody handprints in our hospital room
Mariah painting bloody handprints in our hospital room.

Getting the sign put up for the outside
Getting the sign put up for the outside!

Mariah and Megan decided to go over the door in handprints, too
Mariah and Megan decided to go over the door in handprints, too!

Erin working on the City Hall sign
Erin, former PW Manager, working on the City Hall sign!

She's painted all kinds of stuff for PW
She's painted all kinds of stuff for PW - from Haunted House stuff to the mural in our Education Room!

The City Hall to our abandoned city
The City Hall to our abandoned city!

Inside City Hall
Inside City Hall.

The bell one of our fabulous customers loaned to us
The bell one of our fabulous customers loaned to us!

It's PERFECT! Only the brave will get to ring it on Halloween!
It's PERFECT! Only the brave will get to ring it on Halloween!

Prepping for makeup
Prepping for makeup!

Makeup in progress
Makeup in progress.

A more mild zombie
A more mild zombie...

and a more gruesome one!
...and a more gruesome one!

Some of the wadrobe hung up for our actors to look through
Some of the wadrobe hung up for our actors to look through.

Years and years worth of makeup and prosthetic pieces
Years and years worth of makeup and prosthetic pieces!

 

7 Days Until Halloween

 

Our abandoned court house is coming along
Our abandoned court house is coming along!

Abandoned houses in our zombie haunted house
Abandoned houses in our zombie haunted house!

 

11 Days Until Halloween

 

Amy working on painting the outside of our hospital
Amy working on painting the outside of our hospital.

Megan and Jackson worked on the graveyard
Megan and Jackson worked on the graveyard!

The first of many things to hang on the dead trees in our graveyard
The first of many things to hang on the "dead trees" in our graveyard!

A box of hanging props
With as many props as we accumulate year after year, there has to be some organization! Here's a box of hanging props.

Megan's Pet Sematary in our graveyard
Megan's Pet Sematary in our graveyard!

Little ghost
Sometimes, the cutest decorations put among scary stuff end up being the creepiest. This little ghost always gives me chills when it's sitting somewhere!

 

12 Days Until Halloween

 

Work on our zombie pen went late into the evening
Work on our zombie pen went late into the evening.

We're lucky to have such dedicated staff and volunteers
We're lucky to have such dedicated staff and volunteers!

 

14 Days Until Halloween

 

A before shot of the progress so far at the start of Day 3
A before shot of the progress so far at the start of Day 3.

Tim and Sherry's yard starts to get piled with panels like these
Tim and Sherry's yard starts to get piled with panels like these - we reuse sets from previous years.

Pillars from the castle set and various other materials
Pillars from the castle set and various other materials.

Megan and Christian dragging over some branches
A neighbor up the street was having a tree cut down. We needed branches to make dead trees! Megan and Christian dragging over some branches!

Sherry dragging branches. It took 5 or 6 trips to get enough
Sherry dragging branches. It took 5 or 6 trips to get enough!

Tim, Bob, and Christian working on a new panel with a door in it
Tim, Bob, and Christian working on a new panel with a door in it.

Some of the outline of the cemetery scene
Some of the outline of the cemetery scene. Branches are zip tied to the fence.

Tim, Christian, and Sherry working on putting up panels in the courthouse
Tim, Christian, and Sherry working on putting up panels in the courthouse.

Sherry, Tim, and Christian trying to attach the roof of the courthouse
Sherry, Tim, and Christian trying to attach the roof of the courthouse.

Finally!
Finally! Our goal was to get the sign up on the front of the courthouse! At the end of a 6 hour day of building and creating sets, we achieve just that!


15 days until Halloween

 

Tim and Bob discussing the construction of the city hall in our abandoned city
Tim and Bob discussing the construction of the city hall in our abandoned city!

City hall construction going nicely on day 2
City hall construction going nicely on day 2!

 

16 days until Halloween

 

Russ helps paint a few of the hospital panels
Russ helps paint a few of the hospital panels.

City hall construction going nicely on day 2
City hall construction going nicely on day 2!

Young Jackson is assisting
Sherry and Amy working on measuring before stakes are put in to hold the walls in place. Young Jackson is assisting.

Young Jackson helping us hold the walls up in the wind
Young Jackson "helping" us hold the walls up in the wind. (His mom, Megan and PW Owner Sherry were actually holding up this wall.)

Fishroom Remodel Spring 2014

The 2014 remodeling our fishroom!

These are old photos from our 2014 fish section remodel. Not even a year after it was complete, the Pet World fire destroyed everything on May 25, 2015. We repoened in January of 2016 and the current fish section is truly the biggest, best retail fish selection you'll find in the entire Midwest.

 

An old panoramic shot of one of the fishwalls
An old panoramic shot of one of the fishwalls.

An old panoramic shot of some of the display tanks
An old panoramic shot of some of the display tanks.

Plastic hung to keep debris from getting all over the store
Plastic hung to keep debris from getting all over the store.

Pulling out old tanks in the fishroom to make room for our new tanks
Pulling out old tanks in the fishroom to make room for our new tanks!

Owner Tim cleaning the floors prior to installing our new tanks
Owner Tim cleaning the floors prior to installing our new tanks.

We're remodeling but we stayed open! Alex working in the fishroom
We're remodeling but we stayed open! Alex working in the fishroom.

One of our new, open top show tanks with plants in it
One of our new, open top show tanks with plants in it.

One of our new, open top show tanks completely empty
One of our new, open top show tanks completely empty.

Xavier working on our new cube tanks for bettas and fancy plecos
Xavier working on our new cube tanks for bettas and fancy plecos!

Our fishroom staff is excited for these cool, new cube tanks
Our fishroom staff is excited for these cool, new cube tanks!

Owners Tim and Sherry talking about the remodel prior to opening one day
Owners Tim and Sherry talking about the remodel prior to opening one day.

Phill helps a few customers decide on what fish would be best for them from our new, easily accessible tanks!
Phill helps a few customers decide on what fish would be best for them from our new, easily accessible tanks!

Working hard to break up the tiles on the west side of fishroom
Working hard to break up the tiles on the west side of fishroom!

The west side is getting it's half of the makeover
Now that the east side of the fish room has been completed, the west side is getting it's half of the makeover!

One of our new, open top show tanks with plants and fish inside
One of our new, open top show tanks with plants and fish inside!

A new shot of our fishwall
A new shot of our fishwall.

Komodo Dragons

This was an April Fool's joke in 2014!

Hey Pet World fans! We've been waiting months for confirmation on this, but we're finally excited to announce that we have just been approved to start carrying and selling (give me a little drum roll here).

Komodo
Komodo Dragons!

We love reptiles and we know you guys do too. So we're always looking to diversify our selection and we've settled on these big guys for the next new thing!

We'll be getting in a shipment in the next few weeks of our first 5 baby komodos. You may be asking yourself "what do I need to take care of one of these?" well we'll have starter setups for sale by the time we get in our little baby dragons, but eventually you'll need to build something at home (we are talking about a 10ft lizard full grown here, people!). Aside from that you'll be looking at substrate, lighting, and heat just like with most lizards. A Pet World employee can help you get that all sorted out.

Here are a few komodo dragon facts to get you hyped up about the soon to be newest animals at Pet World

  • They're the largest living lizards at lengths of over 10ft and weighing over 300lbs! The average size for a male is around 9ft and around 200lbs.
  • Scientists are still studying their lifespan but they think they live around 30 years in the wild.
  • Hatchlings weigh less than 3.5oz and only average about 16in.
  • Female komodos lay about 30 eggs
  • They are typically fed rodents, chicks, and rabbits in captivity.
  • Scientists have found over 50 different bacterial strains in komodo dragon's saliva, at least seven of which are highly septic. Also research done in 2009 concluded that komodo dragons produce venom whose toxins can cause shock and decrease bloods ability to form clots - making it so you do NOT want to be bitten by these lizards!

Hedgehog Care Tips

We are excited to let our fans and customers know we're now carrying hedgehogs. Below are a few pictures of some of our first hedgehogs for sale at Pet World as well as some care information on these cool new critters!

Cages:
Use the rule that we use for a rabbit or guinea pig. They need room to eat, sleep, poop, and play. The larger cages that we carry work perfectly for them. Same bedding rules apply as well. Absolutely no Cedar. Any of the recycled paper bedding is totally fine. Just as with rabbits and guinea pigs, always be aware that there are small respiratory infection risks that come along with using a scented bedding.

Temperature:
Pet hedgehogs are a sensitive to temperature change. They prefer to be in the range of 70º- 80ºf. Some European hedgehogs will attempt to go into hibernation if they get too cold. But the domestic hedgehogs in the U.S. pet trade are African and not capable of hibernation. Their little bodies aren't prepared to go days upon days without food.

If a hedgehog is too cold, it will walk around like it's drunk. It will be wobbly and probably stumble a lot. He might stop eating as well. In the case of pet hedgehogs, remember, this is not an attempt to go into hibernation (which they can't do); it's a symptom of temperature related illness.

To warm them up, most places recommend wrapping them in a shirt or a warm towel. Other people will put them in a box of some sort with a warm cup of water to gently warm them up. We prefer to cuddle them close as much as possible and use our body heat.

Food:
The hedgehog diet that we sell is great for them. We have two different kinds right now. Either one is fine. The one in a bag, as apposed to the one in a box, is a little higher quality, though. Naturally they are insectivores, so some people choose to feed them mealworms and crickets (Both live or freeze dried) as a treat.

There are a few things that hedgies have a very hard time digesting. Avoid feeding or giving a hedgehog any of the following: Grapes, Bird Seed, Caffeine, Tea Tree Oil, Bread, Aloe, Nuts, Chocolate, and Citrus Fruit.

Hedgehog