Pet Stores

[cushcameleon]

There is a pet store in San Diego that seriously has around 10 chameleons. These chameleons are kept in horrible condition. They have an adult ambanja who is in a 12 by 12 by 15 (my guess) and have a couple of chameleons that are a black color. They also have a baby veiled chameleon that in bad shape. Is there anything we can do? Report them?

 

[ronnie]

Over here in the UK we have the RSPCA,do you have something like that over there?i would report them surely

 

[cushcameleon]

in the US we have something called the ASPCA. what can they do?

 

[ronnie]

well if they are the USA version of the RSPCA they will send out someone to check out the conditions and may even have the power to remove the animals if the standards of keeping are not up to scratch

 

[cushcameleon]

That's good, I'm also thinking about getting a job at one of these pet stores, that way they will actually have an employee that cares about the upkeep of the chameleons. Anyone have any good or bad experiences as a pet store employee?

 

[Kent67]

I believe I probably know who you're talking about. That adult Ambanja was special ordered for me and was supposed to be a pair of Nosy Bes. So, they weren't intentionally trying to keep a 20 inch panther in those cages. If the wholesaler got the order right, neither of those animals would've been there more than a couple hours. I may have a friend interested in purchasing him later today, anyway.

As for the shop; there are a bunch of great, knowledgable people who work there. Unfortunately the store is very, very busy and the chameleons may not get as much care as they would in someone's home. That's why I generally have a 3-day-rule. If a wc chameleon has been in a pet store more than a few days, I usually pass. If you get a job there, just remember to hook me up with crickets.

 

[ScottChoc]

Have you tried to tell the store empoyees or management that the chams are being kept in poor conditions? Maybe if you presented them with a basic care sheet they would at least attempt to care for their animals. But I do understand that some people are only driven by the money and could care less. What pet store is it? I lived in SD for a while.

 

[insert name here]

I work in a pet store and the owner is very knowledgable in all areas. However, due to space contrainsts and business we are forced to keep a few veileds in the same cage. Most pet stores try the best they can while still maintaning a profitable business.

 

[DeFishy]

I work in a petstore also, we have a very knowledgable staff in all departments, but only-currently-a few of us know how to take care of the reptiles. Myself and one other co worker make sure all the reptiles get what they need. And fortuently we only get one chameleon at a time. The others dont even touch the reptiles, which is probably a good thing.

 

[Pure]

well if they are the USA version of the RSPCA they will send out someone to check out the conditions and may even have the power to remove the animals if the standards of keeping are not up to scratch

The problem with this is that IME if it isn't a dog, cat or horse. They know very little about the care of the animals so they don't get the same attention.

Reptiles and fish are often viewed as "replaceable" pets. Very sad indeed.

 

[Docility]

That's good, I'm also thinking about getting a job at one of these pet stores, that way they will actually have an employee that cares about the upkeep of the chameleons. Anyone have any good or bad experiences as a pet store employee?

Bad experiences from Petland. Reason why i just quit. The owner of the store didnt care about the care of his animals, and when i would do things to keep them in better health i would get in trouble lose hours ect. Pet Stores are a retail job, and most of the time are sale dependent on your hours. So if you are spending most of your time taking care of them rather than selling them they will quickly lose you. That was my experience, but me and an old manager thats still working there are ironing out the details of opening our own store. we are trying to run stock prices, and cage building expenses. yes we will be housing things in custom built cages in the correct fashion! screen cages for most with the exception of frogs and the like, but wish us luck in doing so!

 

[vindicatedornot]

That's good, I'm also thinking about getting a job at one of these pet stores, that way they will actually have an employee that cares about the upkeep of the chameleons. Anyone have any good or bad experiences as a pet store employee?

I work at a mom and pop pet store and its better than any around as far as i can tell. We sell dogs, birds, fish, reptiles, and small animals. No cats. The place is super clean, and All the animals are very well taken care of. i feed the dogs and and reptiles every day. Before I was working there no one really cared about the reptiles. Only girls work there (1 old chinese guy) so everyone wouldnt go near them and took pretty bad care of them. Now all the animals are happy and healthy I've been working there 10 months now. We go through some pretty awesome herps.

-Andrea

 

[warpdrive]

That's good, I'm also thinking about getting a job at one of these pet stores, that way they will actually have an employee that cares about the upkeep of the chameleons. Anyone have any good or bad experiences as a pet store employee?

first off, try to understand that this will be work regardless that you will be surounded by pets.

your mornings will probably start off with cleaning the cages.
changing litter in the hamster/mice/rat/gerbel cages.
does the place have birds? if so, then they need to be done too.

after the cages are done, a quick sweep of the fish tanks are needed to get all the dead fish out.

inventory and supplys normaly also come in the morning and has to be placed on the shelves.
any new fish, reptiles, or mamals need to be placed in the proper cages or tanks.
by lunch time you should be done with the daily maintanance of the pets and inventory just in time for your lunch crowd customers.

while the rest of your day will be more focused on sales, you still might have a bit of husbandry to do on a few animals...
feed the reptiles, give extra water to some hamsters, and so on.


above all, don't expect the husbandry to be the best or more in line with how we would house our animals.
I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm giving into poor husbandry for petstores, this is not the case at all.
petstores are more or less just a slightly better place then a wholesale breeder for pets.
it's not the job of the petstore to house animals forever, but to sell such said animals as fast as possable.
this could mean smaller then normal housing, overcowding, mixed sexes in the same cage, or animals kept in less then ideal enlosures or lighting.
feeders will almost always NEVER be feed...sad I know.

on YOUR spare time, try to mist the reptiles and do other chores to help and even bond with the animals.
but remember, it's your job to help with any sale first.
most managers or store owners will love someone who helps to take extra care of the animals in the store. but don't expect him or her to like you if you are helping the pets and not the customers first.
if you realy want to help a pet that has to go through less then ideal husbandry, SELL IT. sell it to someone who knows how to take care of it as soon as possable.

if you can grasp that this is a petstore and NOT a pet daycare place you'll be fine.
if you can't stand to look at animals in less then ideal housing and husbandry then stay away and don't take such a job.

Harry