NOPE, NOPE, NOPE....I'm livid!!!

Peachypink

Peachypink

Chameleon Enthusiast
so went into the pet store(no need to say the name, y'all already know) this morning to get my son some new fish decor and against my better judgement I went looking in on the chams they have. And what do I see....this poor guy with severe MBD!! I politely asked for a manager and took her to the side. I was livid furious but, it's better to be nice and get more done. I told her I wanted to privately let her know that this cham has severe MBD and needs to see a vet immediately. And that he possibly has a broken leg. She was like "really?!? We were just working with him this morning(whatever that means) and he's walking fine." After pointing out exactly what I was looking at with his legs and explaining what causes it and that their nature is to act as normal as possible because of predators we was like "oh goodness". Then giving the benefit of the doubt I said that it probably wasn't anything they did that it takes months of improper care for this to happen she said it actually probably was because they've had him since he was tiny. She said she would be talking with her care manager and see what they will do. Then she goes, "you seem like you know what your doing and talking about, would you want to take him if they decide to just adopt him out". Crap, I don't really need another one but I don't think I can just walk away now. So I left her with my phone number. We shall see what happens. But man, this gets to me!!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_8867.JPG
    IMG_8867.JPG
    265.3 KB · Views: 352
Lizzie The Chameleon said:
You might be surprised if you really looked into how they care for them... They don't always show physical signs of illness, it could take a long time to show and by that time it's probably already critical
Click to expand...
Local pet stores had the chams in screen cages and they were actually decent sized too! Feeder and everything, but i guess i was surprised because i dont really go to 'chain' pet stores.
 
phantomchameleon said:
Local pet stores had the chams in screen cages and they were actually decent sized too! Feeder and everything, but i guess i was surprised because i dont really go to 'chain' pet stores.
Click to expand...
Well that's good that they at least had a decent cage! My petsmart didn't even mist or have a humidity gage or lights and didn't even dust their food!
 
Peachypink said:
so went into the pet store(no need to say the name, y'all already know) this morning to get my son some new fish decor and against my better judgement I went looking in on the chams they have. And what do I see....this poor guy with severe MBD!! I politely asked for a manager and took her to the side. I was livid furious but, it's better to be nice and get more done. I told her I wanted to privately let her know that this cham has severe MBD and needs to see a vet immediately. And that he possibly has a broken leg. She was like "really?!? We were just working with him this morning(whatever that means) and he's walking fine." After pointing out exactly what I was looking at with his legs and explaining what causes it and that their nature is to act as normal as possible because of predators we was like "oh goodness". Then giving the benefit of the doubt I said that it probably wasn't anything they did that it takes months of improper care for this to happen she said it actually probably was because they've had him since he was tiny. She said she would be talking with her care manager and see what they will do. Then she goes, "you seem like you know what your doing and talking about, would you want to take him if they decide to just adopt him out". Crap, I don't really need another one but I don't think I can just walk away now. So I left her with my phone number. We shall see what happens. But man, this gets to me!!
Click to expand...
This is so awful....I was just at the pet store ....and noticed a Cham and looked in this little 10x10 cage was 4 medium sized chams I was so pissed....told the manager and she said yes we have been thinking they need another cage....
I wanted to take them all home!! So sad!!
 
I briefly worked at Petsmart in the pet department. It was horrible. You should see how they house and care for the animals in the back that you don't see. I used to call the sick room the back room of death because once an animal went in it was lucky if it came back out. The new arrival room wasn't much better. They would cram 6 guinea pigs into a 1x2 ft plastic bin and stack them on top of themselves in racks. Only get cleaned once a week. It was dark and smelled.
 
Nursemaia said:
I briefly worked at Petsmart in the pet department. It was horrible. You should see how they house and care for the animals in the back that you don't see. I used to call the sick room the back room of death because once an animal went in it was lucky if it came back out. The new arrival room wasn't much better. They would cram 6 guinea pigs into a 1x2 ft plastic bin and stack them on top of themselves in racks. Only get cleaned once a week. It was dark and smelled.
Click to expand...

I don't think I could work there. I would get so angry and I'm not very good at holding my tongue.
 
Not surprised at all when I was looking into getting a cham I walked in to Petco and noticed the sine said 3-4 in juveniles but these guys were huge then my wife points out a white growth on one of them then I notice that it's on all of them so I assume it's just a cham thing and I get the (reptile guy)to explain to me wat all I would need to care for one (I now know he could not have been more wrong with his advice) so I ask if the growth on them is normal he's says it's a common chameleon pox virus and the reason the chams were so big was that they had been in the back so called being treated for the past 8months and were now getting worse from stress from ppl tapping on the glass and wat not and I would also like to point out that there were 6 of them all housed together I'm sure that didn't add to the stress and they had a bowl full of mill worms (the worst feeder) but on the other hand my local PetSmart only keeps one at a time and the ppl there really care about there animals not saying that the company does but the staff is defiantly animal loving ppl
 
First, good on you for saying something! Sometimes it falls on deaf ears but at least you said something! The pet store by my house always house a bunch of chameleons together with one vine to climb on, still water, and most times dead bugs. It's terrible. I try to avoid walking by but they have them up front with no coverage or anything. It's so sad, but people keep buying them so they won't ever change their tactic. Chains are the worst.
 
Out of curiousity i went into Petsmart and i honestly regret it.
42c4f7260f.png

It looked bone dry in there, and there was only still water. It's hard to see here but his eyes were a little bit sunken in and obviously dehydrated
And the enclosure was nowhere near tall enough
 
Peachypink said:
so went into the pet store(no need to say the name, y'all already know) this morning to get my son some new fish decor and against my better judgement I went looking in on the chams they have. And what do I see....this poor guy with severe MBD!! I politely asked for a manager and took her to the side. I was livid furious but, it's better to be nice and get more done. I told her I wanted to privately let her know that this cham has severe MBD and needs to see a vet immediately. And that he possibly has a broken leg. She was like "really?!? We were just working with him this morning(whatever that means) and he's walking fine." After pointing out exactly what I was looking at with his legs and explaining what causes it and that their nature is to act as normal as possible because of predators we was like "oh goodness". Then giving the benefit of the doubt I said that it probably wasn't anything they did that it takes months of improper care for this to happen she said it actually probably was because they've had him since he was tiny. She said she would be talking with her care manager and see what they will do. Then she goes, "you seem like you know what your doing and talking about, would you want to take him if they decide to just adopt him out". Crap, I don't really need another one but I don't think I can just walk away now. So I left her with my phone number. We shall see what happens. But man, this gets to me!!
Click to expand...

Alright, I'll bite. What exactly makes you think this chameleon is sick and has MBD? Looking at the photo, there is nothing to suggest it. He has a beautiful straight casque, his jaws are straight and don't flare and his back is smooth. There appears to be a slight bump on his front limb, but not in a way that screams a fracture from MBD, which tend to be very characteristic. The animal appears well hydrated and of a good weight, and overall looks to be in excellent shape. Do you have additional photos that show something different? This is not an animal that appears to be neglected in any way, and based on this photo, not one I would suggest has MBD or is in need of immediate veterinary care.

Chris
 
Chris Anderson said:
Alright, I'll bite. What exactly makes you think this chameleon is sick and has MBD? Looking at the photo, there is nothing to suggest it. He has a beautiful straight casque, his jaws are straight and don't flare and his back is smooth. There appears to be a slight bump on his front limb, but not in a way that screams a fracture from MBD, which tend to be very characteristic. The animal appears well hydrated and of a good weight, and overall looks to be in excellent shape. Do you have additional photos that show something different? This is not an animal that appears to be neglected in any way, and based on this photo, not one I would suggest has MBD or is in need of immediate veterinary care.

Chris
Click to expand...
Unfortunatly, I do not have a better picture and the one I did get was a quick one as the manager was coming out. You are correct in that his casque looks great and he doesn't look dehydrated but if you saw his legs from the side before he started turning they were very bowed and there was a pronounced bump on the lower part of the leg right before the joint that made me think it might be fractured. And when the leg was bent more, like it was before I took the picture, the slight bump you see looked like a second joint. I wish I did have a better picture, but I do not. Also both the front and back legs were very lumpy and swollen. The angle in the picture is not the best for showing what I saw.
 
Update: They took him to the vet. The vet confirmed MBD. They called me last week, I went in and talked with their Pet Care Manager. She said I could come and get him the week of the 14th as that is when they will be done with the 2x a day calcium and they can not release him until he is done with that as per a contract they have with the vet. Well, I just got a call a few minutes ago and they are letting me come and get him. The pet care manager said that they just feel bad that he is getting big and stuck in the back room and they would rather he come home with me where I can give him the space and proper set up. They called the vet and got the OK for me to take him now. So, I will be going over in the morning to pick him up. She also said that I can call the vet and they should be able to give me the records for my vet. She said they did have a fecal done and he was clear. I will get pictures and update on him when I get him tomorrow. I am using all my will power to keep from going and getting him tonight but I have my husband's Christmas party tonight and I have to get ready and I have to finish his temporary set up. I will be up late tonight!!
 
That's awesome! My local pet store has stopped selling chameleons but started carrying those (in)complete reptibreeze kits.. which reminds me, have to get a new uvb bulb tomorrow lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
Abandoned chameleon
Replies
7
Views
549
kinyonga
K
H
Advice for a new keeper :)))
Replies
13
Views
2K
LizardLurkin
LizardLurkin
Gusse_Gus
Please Review my Husbandry...Thanks.
Replies
8
Views
463
Gusse_Gus
Gusse_Gus
midorithecham
My baby Midori is with the angels now
Replies
6
Views
714
midorithecham
midorithecham
ehdee6
Lay cage?
Replies
9
Views
1K
ehdee6
ehdee6
Back
Top Bottom