Ugh petco and petsmart...
- Thread starter Gabriellehernandezxxx
- Start date
bottom of first picture... 20%
The Wild One
Chameleon Enthusiast
That translucent is beautiful though, hopefully it’ll get a good home.
Ares05
Chameleon Enthusiast
Just got back from 'dog school' for my Great Dane pup. There was a tiny little chameleon. Employees were checking it out. I was watching, and the little guy had an obvious RI, sores on a back foot, and multiple healing broken ribs, along with sunken eyes. They normally take decent care of their chams there (aside from lighting and cage size) but this one just looked miserable. It really is a shame.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
One of the reasons I got Stella is I had to go to Petco for 2 consecutive days. Both days she was digging in the mud of her tank, same dirty water bowl with empty dripper, same dead mealworms in bowl. Talked to manager 1st day who gave me company line BS. 2nd day talked to employee who gave me more BS. Being freshly vulnerable from human ignorance killing a beautiful and protected tortoise, I caved and bought her half price. No regrets (love my Stella) but I can’t/won’t go into or buy from those stores anymore.
Ares05
Chameleon Enthusiast
What I meant by " they take decent care of their chams there" is they handfeed, mist properly, no waterbowls, branches and fake foliage. much better than I have seen before, and they seem to genuinely care about them, despite improper cage size and lighting. Their chams normally look physically okay, but this specific one looked very sick. Though I would never buy a cham from there, nonetheless.
Gabriellehernandezxxx
Avid Member
This is where I got my girl too! But I had no idea about chams then, I learned everything from here. But now I’m so glad I was able to take her in and give her a better life!
Ambilobe123
Avid Member
Never get fish from petsmart either- got fish three different times, all died within a month after buying. Same species from petland lived four years.
CHIMP
Established Member
I will be honest, I go all over the place and see situations like this all the time in pet shops, not just big box stores. I see females eggbound, In small glass enclosures, without proper lighting, hydration, humidity, and so on. I have gone to reptile expos and seen chameleons with deformities, and breeders with no clue what they are doing. Its sad but what can you do? Its best just not to buy from these people/places. Not every place is bad and not every person is bad. It is up to us as educated consumers to stop them by stopping the market. how do we do that? just do not buy from them. without a market they will stop because they do not make any profit from it. Of course that is easier said than done because so many people buy without educating themselves first. Petco and others are not bad places either they are just not equipped for "special needs pets". I still shop at them for quick supplies. I just do not buy animals there. I also do not see anything wrong with them selling other things like leopard geckos that do not have the same level of difficulty. Even then though I would still not buy because you have no idea on its lineage. Breeders are still the best way to go for reptiles but even then you have to take caution.
