Do You Own A pet store gecko??

How is your pet store leo doing?

  • I own a pet store leo and I have had no problems thus far.

    Votes: 366 65.9%
  • I own a pet store leo and have had heath problems with it.

    Votes: 50 9.0%
  • I have owned a pet store leo and they have passed away from the pet store care.

    Votes: 35 6.3%
  • I have owned several pet store leos and have had no problems thus far.

    Votes: 121 21.8%
  • I have owned several pet store leos and have had health problems with them.

    Votes: 35 6.3%
  • I have owned several pet store leos and they have passed away because of the pet store care.

    Votes: 14 2.5%

  • Total voters
    555

Bellalee

New Member
Messages
1,682
Location
Around.
In light of recent conversations I just wanted to make a little poll. This is not a thread open for discussion, I'm just curious to see how many people have owned/do own one and how they faired with them.

There is multiple choices, so if you had 1 pass away and 1 do just fine then check em off.

As for health problems, they have to be because they were purchased at a pet store and had sub par care. Health problems can be, but are not limited to, various types of parasites, MBD, emaciation, failure to thrive.
 
Last edited:

sklr

New Member
Messages
32
i got all my geckos from the pet store, i got two normals from some exotic reptile store i got an albino at ***** and i got a murphy patternless at a little family pet store.All look fine and normal just a little too skinny when i bought them all other than that they were just fine
 

lillith

lillith's leo lovables
Messages
1,923
Location
Land of the Rain and Trees, WA
My first two geckos came from a mom and pop pet shop that took ridiculously good care of all the animals they bred. I still have them, 8 1/2 and 9 years old this summer.

I love my Drake and Pyra!
They've never been anything but healthy to the point of practically indestructible.
 

leogecko88

New Member
Messages
389
Location
Tennessee
I got both of mine from pet stores. Yoshi came from a chain store, and Peanut came from a small reptile store. They are both healthy and problem free.
 

gitrdone0420

Gotta catch 'em all!
Messages
2,664
Location
Jacksonville, Fl
I have gotten several from big chain pet stores. They were really pretty so I couldnt help it. =D lol. And they are doing fantastically. I was just looking at them last night and saying to myself how fat and bright they were getting =] They are still juvies.
 

Khrysty

New Member
Messages
2,650
Location
Oregon, IL
5 of the 12 geckos I care for (8 being mine, 1 being my sister's, and three being my boyfriend's) are pet store geckos. Of them, I've seen three thrive and grow, and am waiting for the other two to recover from their very rough starts.

The first pet store gecko we bought (Spike, a SHTCT), is now a year and a half old. She was malnourished at the time of purchase, but has since grown into a beautiful 78g adult. Her length is slightly shorter than that of my other geckos and I attribute that to the poor start to her life.

The second gecko (Drogo, a patty) is nearly 5 months old now and weighs 38g. He was a healthy hatchling when we bought him and he's right on track as far as weight and length go.

The third (Guinivere, a Tremper) is around, I would guess, five or six months old. She was slightly underweight at the time of purchase but is gaining weight rapidly and is showing no signs, whatsoever, of poor prior treatment.

The forth (Camille, a jungle hypo tang) looked healthy upon purchase. I would guess she is around 5 months old as well, but it's possible her growth is slightly stunted, as her head is just a bit large for her body. She developed a seemingly unprovoked wicked infection in her tail, eyes, and mouth following a bad shed. After dropping the infected portion of the tail, her mouth and eye infections have begun to clear up. We aren't confident that the slight deformation of her eyes and mouth will completely reverse itself, but we look forward to her full recovery.

And the fifth, an unnamed patty, is the youngest we have so far. She's extremely emaciated so it's difficult to be sure of her age. She's very lively, so we're confident she'll make a full recovery. We've been working on getting the sand out of her system (her poops are completely clear now and the blockage appears to be out of her system -yay!-) and now we're attempting to coax her to eat mealworms. She still will not eat on her own and we've been forced to give her Jump-Start just so we can be sure she's receiving some form of nourishment. That being said, she's gained nearly half a gram since her arrival last Sunday. We consider this an achievement.
 

Bellalee

New Member
Messages
1,682
Location
Around.
That's so good to hear!

I made this poll and I'm the stupid idiot who didn't finish voting before submitting.

I have owned 2 from a pet store.
One, my Lea, is almost 4 years old. We got her from a large chain store. I don't rememer what she looked like as a juvie, but now she is around 95 g. And she had sub par care from me for the last 3 years of her life until I found this site. She was 46 g. as of May. :) I think that proves proper care does wonders!

I bought another one from a franchised chain store, she looked healthy enough, until she layed eggs. I did all I could to feed her, and try to help her get better, but she wasn't recovering from being gravid. She passed away. She was not emaciated but she was not healthy enough to lay eggs. (This was also after I found this website, so I would like to think my care was impecable.
 

jess6905

New Member
Messages
38
Location
Rochester New York
Not quite sure if this counts but my first gecko was from a pet store. He was purchased by some kid and they decided they no longer wanted him just a few short weeks after getting him. My sisters friend told me about him and I agreed to take him in since the kid was going to dump him and 2 hamsters in the park if no one wanted them. I took him in got him what he needed(he came with a tank hide and nothing else) and he did absolutely great! I think what ever store he came from had to have taken great care of their geckos cause this one was put through alot and still had a decent amout of body weight when I picked him up.
 

Shera

New Member
Messages
405
Location
Ontario Canada
I have 2 pet store leos, and only by the grace of God are they healthy. Not because of the pet store though. I adopted them from DHs cousin and they were not cared for properly at all. The had only a heat rock for a long time. The started with a ceramic lamp but when the bulb broke they never replaced it. They never gave them supplements either. If the pet store is at fault, it is because they completely misinformed them, although I think people need to take responsibility for that too, and shouldn't rely on a pet store to teach them how to care for the pets they buy from them.

All in all though, I'd say they are pretty tough considering they have endured all of this neglect and after 2 years are still healthy. One has a bit of trouble shedding, and is missing all of her toe tips (was like that when I got her), but with a little soak and some rubbing with a Q-tip she does just fine now.
 

Jheuloh

Lost in the Jello Bowl
Messages
65
Location
MS
I received my friend, Khalil, from an Exotic Pet Shop called "Legs, Fins, and More." The animals there are healthy, none of them appear ill, although many of them have regrown tails, Khalil included. Looks like a product of communal housing though, rather than poor handling.
 

Tony C

Wayward Frogger
Messages
3,899
Location
Columbia, SC
It would appear that the "danger" of pet store leos, like so many other "dangers" in the hobby, has been blown way out of proportion. These little guys are way tougher than most people give them credit for.
 

valknut79

New Member
Messages
28
I got my first gecko from the pet store, but my second from a private breeder. There isn't anything necessarily "wrong" with my pet store gecko, but the other one is much more social, active, and far less stressed by...well, everything. Maybe it's just her personality.
 

GrimmyX15

Mkay-um?
Messages
761
Location
IL
I got my jackie from *****. but have nothing problem with it but i couldnt trust ***** employee because i already researched before i purchase leopard gecko. I think ***** employee was pretty surpisied when i went to get supplies by quick as possible, then i ask for picking leopard gecko for me. she told my aunt, "are you sure you have things for your new lizard?" I nodded. No heatlh problem with my jackie why? it was so young and it was shipped to this ***** 2 or 1 day ago. I think i see about 10 or 11 leos in there. I guess i was there on time.
 

GrimmyX15

Mkay-um?
Messages
761
Location
IL
Not quite sure if this counts but my first gecko was from a pet store. He was purchased by some kid and they decided they no longer wanted him just a few short weeks after getting him. My sisters friend told me about him and I agreed to take him in since the kid was going to dump him and 2 hamsters in the park if no one wanted them. I took him in got him what he needed(he came with a tank hide and nothing else) and he did absolutely great! I think what ever store he came from had to have taken great care of their geckos cause this one was put through alot and still had a decent amout of body weight when I picked him up.
That's sad. :(
what happened to hamsters?
 

Bellalee

New Member
Messages
1,682
Location
Around.
It would appear that the "danger" of pet store leos, like so many other "dangers" in the hobby, has been blown way out of proportion. These little guys are way tougher than most people give them credit for.


Why I made this poll! I just wanted to see how things turned out, obviously I did not know.

I thought there was going to be WAY more problems then there are. :main_thumbsup:
 

oceanoasis

New Member
Messages
67
Location
florida
both of my first two were pet store geckos from a big name place. my male patty has been great now for about 5.5 years
my female was from the same place, i think they were even about the same age because they were the same size-the two biggest in the tank. she has been good except for her toes. she has never been able to shed them and is missing the majority of her toe tips unfortunately. i help her with them now.
my third was also a pet store gecko but she was owned by someone before i got her and turned in to the place where iwork-we sell reptiles as well as tropical fish. she is the same as my others.
2 are babies from my store buys and 4 are bought from breeders at daytona. all are healthy and i have had no problems with any of them with parasites, underfeeding, or anything. my only death was fortunately an adoptee that was very old and it was just his time.
 

Visit our friends

Top