ANGRY!!!! (pet store rant)

[lexi]

Went to PetCo today to pick up food for the dogs and to grab a ceramic heat emitter for Crowley, our Frilled Dragon (he comes home from the rescue tomorrow!!! ;D ) and as we were getting that we walked by the Beardie tank. Their temps were in the low 80's - stick in thermometer, on the left side of the tank, so who knows if it was accurate, BUT the little guy in there was so tiny, maybe the size of my thumb - they had a UV tube but NO BASKING LIGHT and no sign of any additional heat, plus he had a bowl full of mealworms in his tank!!!!! :'( :-\

He did not look well, and I wanted to just buy him right there. My husband said that if we saved all the reptiles who weren't getting proper care in the pet shops we'd have to open a zoo... and d@mn!t if I had the money I would! :-[ I do want to save them all. I tried to talk to the manager but she wasn't there.

::::::: FUMING :::::::

 

[beardielover17]

I worked for PetCo for 2 weeks before I quit. Aside from the BS hours they gave me (a manager), the way they cared for their animals drove me crazy! Here's some info for you on PetCo's reptile keeping standards.

Temps can be anywhere from 70-90 degrees inside ALL tanks and can fluctuate (they are not done according to species)

Humidity will always be around 50 to 60% no matter which species

Substrate will always be calcium sand, bark or coconut fiber (desert animals get the sand and tropicals get the other kinds)

Mealworms are a STAPLE and crickets are a treat.

They are fed once a day and only about 2 dozen crickets per tank and about 10 mealworms.

They will cram as many in a tank as they can no matter the size.

The only redeeming quality that Petco has over Petsmart is that Petco only sells the ReptiSuns and uses the 10.0 tubes for their enclosures where as Petsmart uses and sells only the Exo Terra ReptiGlos


It's absolutely nauseating the things I have seen and witnessed there and how uneducated their staff AND VETS! I am totally with you on hating them.

 

[lexi]

That is horrifying!!! I usually buy the dog food from a local pet shop (not a chain) but didn't have time to run out there today - next time, I'll make the time. I do not want to support that in any way.

 

[beardielover17]

Its understandable...sometimes we just don't have the choice but to go to these places. I really wish they would stop selling animals and just stick to products.

 

[srabeardie]

Yea, I got my beardie from PetSmart and she is much bigger now than the ones left at the store. I always check in on the others when I buy crickets and yes the stick up thermometer always says about 85 degrees.

 

[sara]

The Petsmart closest to me is about 45 miles away,it seems ok though I'm not there enough to know what it's really like. The beardie tanks have repticarpet in the and 2 or 3 babies to a tank(10 gal).Very tiny babies though and although cute,much smaller than what I have rad is a safe size to sell.It's not only the big chain stores though,the small pet store(about 15 miles from here)had 2 babies a while back,little TT was one of them,no UVB,temps in the viv weren't but around 70-80*,crickets some days,mealies the next,just veggies the next,weird diet.If a pet store isn't gonna research and find out what they have and how to care for it they need to not sell animals,just supplies.

 

[pure_addiction_05]

It's so sad....the Petco & Petsmarts around here are in different cities, and I am not there enought to know, but I know when I have stopped in to buy a light (which is usually all I ever get there) they just seem to kinda suck!!! They do need to sell only supplies really....

 

[valkryja]

I got Wrex from a PetSmart, and when I went there they had NINE baby bearded dragons in a tank that looked to be about ten gallons, at 90 degrees. All of them had beautiful red or striped coloring, but they were so thin and tired... when I asked if I could hold them and put my hand in, most of them didn't even open their eyes. Wrex was the only one that actually moved, and he tried to bite my finger. I figured that I had the best chance with him because of his spunky attitude and took him home, and he hasn't tried to bite me since. I guess he was just frustrated and stressed with that horrible environment.

I was originally going to buy a dragon from the small, local pet store my cousin worked at, but they went out of business and by the time I was ready to buy a dragon they were no longer getting animal shipments in. Their dragons were always basking or running around the cages, or banging their heads against the glass for attention. It's a shame that all of the small, good pet stores are being run out of business by Petsmart and Petco.

 

[beardie_love]

Pet stores really need to hire people in specific departments that actually KNOW how to take care of these animals properly.

Heck, just a few weeks ago, I went to this small pet store called Pet Peripherals and I went to look at the Anoles. There was about 5 in total, and I noticed that 2 of them looked almost dead. You could see every bone in their body! So I said something about them to one of the employees, and her reply to me was, "Oh, sometimes they just die." Well, somewhere along those lines. RIDICULOUS!!!!

As for the beardies, they just looked so bored lol. The ONLY furniture they had in the tank was a branch! :'( awwww

That pet store, in general, stunk. Literally.

 

[lexi]

a few weeks ago, I went to this small pet store called Pet Peripherals and I went to look at the Anoles. There was about 5 in total, and I noticed that 2 of them looked almost dead. You could see every bone in their body! So I said something about them to one of the employees, and her reply to me was, "Oh, sometimes they just die."

Um, yeah, when people don't care for them properly! Morons. :

One of the big problems with pet stores (the big chains) is that they are supposed to recommend the products that they sell (regardless of how bad they actually are for the animals). Like with ferrets for example... PetCo gets their ferrets from Marshall Farms, one of the largest commercial breeders of dogs and ferrets for pets (as well as for scientific research). Marshall also makes ferret food, which essentially amounts to crappy cat food. It does not have the proper protein or fat content for ferrets, and yet, not only does PetCo sell it, they recommend it as "the best" for ferrets when they sell them. Same with beardies and the calcium sand and other horrible things. Their goal is to make money, above and beyond what is best for the animals they sell. They are products to them, like anything else.