Pet store enclosure concerns. advice needed :)

[cassie55]

Hey guys! I decided to post this in here cause this section get's the most views.

I went to the petstore tonight to get some butterworms and crickets for my cham, I usually go to one by my house but decided to go to one by my work tonight. Once we got our bugs we decided to check out their reptiles. I'm no chameleon enclosure expert, but I've read these forums enough to feel pretty confident that these aren't suitable!! I snapped a few cell phone pictures and would really appreciate your opinions on theses enclosures and what (if anything) I should try to do about it. Thanks so much, I appreciate it!

Picture 1:
This poor girl, she had a handful of plastic fish tank plants in the bottom of her tank and 1 lone vine going straight up for her to climb. she looked miserable and not too healthy either. she kept trying to get up and off the ground but couldn't.

Picture 2:
They had 3 tanks like this. A few vines for climbing, substrate in the bottom (These guys were pretty tiny too) they don't mist- just have water dishes, there was a few plastic plants, a dish FULL of worms, most of which were dead or in the metemophosis stage and they were all covered in poop.

Picture 3.
This poor poor mellers. He couldn't move or open his one eye at all and it was SO sunken. It actually looks better in the picture than it does IRL. When I asked the "reptile expert" about his eye she tried her very best to avoid answering my question and said "Uhhh.... the misting thing just ran out of water" then walked away!

I know it's kind of long, but thanks so much for reading and your advice!!

 

[pbveiled]

You can try to educate them about the proper needs of a cham but it probably won't do much good. If it's a big chain store, they have 'policies' on how they are kept and the stores won't break them even though they are wrong.

I have boycotted the petco store in my area due to the way they keep their reptiles.

 

[Elizadolots]

That looks terrible. The Meller's not only has a sunken eye, it has a severely swollen eye...I'm not sure what organization you should contact but minimally, the local Humane Society should be able to help you address this.

You might see if there is a herpetology society in your area and, if so, alert them to the issue. Some may be willing to step in and rescue the animals.

 

[pbveiled]

I've wanted to 'rescue' so many. Unfortunately, they'll just replace it with another. If people keep buying them, they will keep replacing them. If people stop buying them, then they may stop selling them due to lack of demand.

 

[Elizadolots]

From what I've read here, when an animal is that bad and someone with the "aura of expertise" walks in, that person can arrange to take the animal off their hands, not buy it.

 

[pbveiled]

From what I've read here, when an animal is that bad and someone with the "aura of expertise" walks in, that person can arrange to take the animal off their hands, not buy it.

They would still replace it with another to suffer the same fate

 

[Elizadolots]

Not if they don't get money for it. Any animal they have to give away is a loss for them so encourages them to not sell that type of animal in the future.