Unhealthy Chameleon at Petsmart

[PhxKarma]

My job requires me to make fequent trips to various stores to buy items for people, and today I was at Petsmart so I ventured by the reptile section, and to my surprised they had a veiled chameleon.

He appeared to be about 3-4 months old, and in poor condition. He was scrony, and being held in a tiny 12x12x12 enclosure, the humidity guage showed 20%!

What do you guys usually do in this case? I wasn't sure if I should have said something to the eployees or if that would just be wasting my time.

Eitherway I felt horrible for the little guy!

 

[Syn]

You can try talking to someone but there isn't much they can do. It's corporate that tells them what to do and how to do it... why not go to Pets Inc off Mill? They are a lot cheaper and they take care of their reptiles.

 

[Thompson]

Talk to the manager about care for the chameleon, he/she probably won't listen though. I would be tempted to buy it but they just restock so there really is no point

 

[Dez]

Happened to us as well.. we saw a veiled cham at petsmart in very very poor condition..if not dead already

We grilled the employee about cham care who, surprisingly, knew quite a lot about them. He told us he hated when the store got them in because they where not set up to care for them and that he had told his manager not to stock them.

Its a catch 22... you can't save them by buying them because that just encourages the pet stores to stock more

 

[pssh]

Best thing to do is to politely inform the manager of it's care. It may also help to say that if they kept it in the proper set up they would make more money selling all the items that it needs. There are rules that they have to follow, but if the manager cares they may try to improve it.

Do not buy it or anything from them. The easiest way for you protest the way they treat their animals is to not buy anything and inform your friends about it. The easiest way to turn your back (if you're having trouble with that) is to think about how you would be contributing to the mistreatment of thousands of animals accross America that are in other petnos/petstupids.

 

[boj3434]

Theres not much to do. With a store like petsmart theres almost no chance that they will improve the care of one or any of their animals because someone has told them they are wrong. They most likely know they are not taking the best or good at all care of their animals. They just dont care. It sucks but you can try. Good luck.

 

[Elizadolots]

Do you just have to buy stuff for people because you're like me and if the boss says "go get me a pair of socks" you say "what size, color and fabric?"...or does your job entail the routine purchase of substantial product from PetSmart...because if it's the latter, that does give you some leverage.

"Hi, I buy dog food and supplies for a local doggy day care and have been spending an average of $200 a month in this store...I notice you are not giving this chameleon proper care. (hand them a real care sheet....see the ones here). If this isn't corrected, I will take my business to PetCo down the road."

As satisfying as that would be, I'm guessing you're not in a position to make such a statement...however,you are a customer and listening to customer concerns is important for any retail store. I would have no qualms in calling for a supervisor and giving them the lowdown.

If you really feel strongly, you might point this out to your boss and ask if it's possible to stop going to PetSmart until they change their practices. If she/he agrees to that, make sure you contact the person you spoke with at PetSmart and inform them that, until they change their practices, they have lost a customer.

I will say I've found PetSmart employees remarkably uncaring when it comes to customer satisfaction. The ones at the store closest to me seem to be very hostile toward the store and view complaints from customers as validation of their positions...

However, the angry employee might take delight in informing his/her superiors that their animal care policies have cost them a customer.

Just as I always compliment good service, good food, a particularly friendly employee (always fun to ask for the supervisor and watch the kid's face go from horror to joy as she/he realizes I'm singing praise), I always point out problems.

 

[DJ Richey Rich]

Contact your local animal humane society they have to check on a complaint. This is a great site that explains what you need to do http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty/reporting_abuse/pet_stores.php

 

[ShaunaLynnA]

It's sad when you stunble upon this issue at many stores. Unfortunetly you find yourself in a tough place and unable to do much. Like many say it is a catch 22 because they will jusy buy more if you buy so...Try to politely talk to the manager as a caring customer and see if that gets any change. If nothing gets done this way then there is always the humane society who can check in on a complaint made and hopefully help make it better. I would use this as last resort though. Good luck on whatever you decide to do!

 

[james L]

I was in my local petsmart some time back and they had a cage that said jackson chameleon $100 but what caught my eye was that the lizard in the tank was a mt. horned dragon. I told somebody who worked there but they could of cared less. I hate petshops.

 

[Mr Wilson]

We saved our little girl from just such a situation. she was in a tank, about the same size, with one other veiled (that ended up dying). They tried to blame it dying on someone scaring it, which is possible but then how come both of them didn't die. So we had to save the other one who has since then put on weight, waited on like a princess haha and in much better health. Its sad to say though when we went back for supplies they had another 4 more veiled's all in the same condition.

 

[pssh]

Which is why you shouldn't buy animals in poor conditions. They just put more in the same situation. Impulse buys on poorly kept animals fuel the pet stores that take terrible care of their animals.

 

[PhxKarma]

You can try talking to someone but there isn't much they can do. It's corporate that tells them what to do and how to do it... why not go to Pets Inc off Mill? They are a lot cheaper and they take care of their reptiles.

Do they sell chameleons? I wasn't there for the cham, just to get dog food for someone, I just happened to walk by the reptile enclosures.

I am almost tempted to buy it just to try and save it, but like another person said, they will just restock.

 

[AReptile]

I was in my local petsmart some time back and they had a cage that said jackson chameleon $100 but what caught my eye was that the lizard in the tank was a mt. horned dragon. I told somebody who worked there but they could of cared less. I hate petshops.

Well ignorance like that on their behalf is just ridiculous..... And those are stores you just don't buy from.

 

[Syn]

Do they sell chameleons?

Yes, they do. They can get other chams in stock for you but they normally jack up the prices by 200% at least.

 

[PhxKarma]

Yes, they do. They can get other chams in stock for you but they normally jack up the prices by 200% at least.

Any idea on the price of a panther? I didn't think anywhere in AZ sold healhy chams so I was going to order online, thanks.

 

[Mr Wilson]

Unfortunately yes, they do put more in bad conditions but the way I see it is we saved her life and she is as happy as can be. We feel bad for the other ones who are at the store now but at least Rosie has a great home.

 

[Metric]

So this past summer I decided I would get a part time job at my local petsmart to learn more about their "procedures" and to try my best to improve the lives of the reptiles and other animals they carry, as a student I have a lot of spare time. I ended up getting the job in August and I learned a lot since then.

every employee I work with has an issue with the store in the way they keep their animals, and we all "bend the rules" to improve the state of these animals lives, things we do that we don't make public to management ect.

Everyone has to understand a few things about most pet stores and they unfortunately are the sad truths

1. Every petstore has different staff, some care more then others, some are there for the paychecks, and some are there for the reasons I am; to educate new hobbyists, and to improve the current state of the animals.

2. There is VERY LITTLE the average employee can do when it comes to the care, everything is mapped out and has a procedure that is suppose to be by the book.

3. The book is written and run by business men, not caring animal keepers.


For example: Our crickets are fed fish flakes, BUT procedure says to advise customers to gutload with fresh veggies like mustard greens, apples ect. it says this in the care sheets and procedures that petsmart prints, BUT we feed our crickets straight to our reptiles........that makes no sense to me, so i go and sneak veggies into their diets and try to supplement best as i can, of course out of my pocket as i have to make it discrete as possible.

A GOOD example of things that go unnoticed about petsmart, or at least my location: We will NOT carry ANY animal our local animal shelter is having issues with, its why we don't sell rabbits, cats, or dogs. AND we allow shelters to bring dogs/cats/other animals in on weekends and hold adoption events, completely free of charge and even supply the food/pee pads ect.

So i mean, everyone has their opinion about their local petstore because everyone is different due to the level of involvement of their staffs, but i know that most of the staff at my location do the most within their limits to take the best care of the animals as they can.

I'm not advocating or promoting any pet stores including the one i work at, i just want to make it clear that not everything is set in stone and that there are 2 sides to every story.

anyways, begin the flaming *puts on firefighter suit*

 

[Syn]

Any idea on the price of a panther? I didn't think anywhere in AZ sold healhy chams so I was going to order online, thanks.

$400 give or take.

 

[lisa h]

A few weeks ago I was in a similar situation in Petland. Another big chain store, similar to PetSmart. I talked to an employee there and the Chameleon's care has improved. I went back there this past Friday, and the Cham is still alive, although I couldn't find her in the plants. I did not ask to see her. Anyway, there is no point buying it/them, because the store will get more. It kills to walk away, but you are not "rescuing" anything you buy from a pet store. You are merely making space for another. Let them know a few things to make the care better. Don't give them a huge list that they won't even bother looking at. Go back a few times, and if things haven't changed, talk to a different employee each time. Easier said than done, I know.