Do You Own A pet store gecko??

[warhawk]

I have owned geckos from large pet stores, and from breeders. If your only after a pet I don't see any difference, the pet store is the fastest way to get started. But I do have to say some times breeders have better prices.

 

[fezzian]

I have one gecko from a chain store and she is thriving! Very healthy and a good eater.

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[eezk]

I bought my first gecko from a store, so far I've had no problems with my gecko herself, however, after doing my own research and looking through forums I've realised that I'm unhappy with the way the store deals with reptiles.

She was kept in an awful viv in comparison to the ones I've seen online and how I keep her now. They kept her on sand paper (but the kind you put in bird cages) and only had one hide - no moist hide.

In addition to that, I have no idea about her past. They couldn't tell me what her morph is (which I'm still trying to figure out), they couldn't tell me where she came from or what her diet was like before hand and most of what they told me sounded like guesswork.

I was told what I needed for her, bought everything they suggested, took it all home and consulted a friend of mine who keeps reptiles and he was horrified with the way the pet store had suggested I cared for her. He told me to return half of the things they had advised me to take and he went out and bought me the correct items from other stores.

Just a warning to anyone who buys from a store, sometimes you might be caring for your gecko wrong based on advice from someone in a pet store. Luckily I found out sooner rather than later and my gecko is very happy

 

[CrazyLeopardGeckoLady]

I have two pet store geckos, Greg was healthy and very sweet while jezabel was given to me for free from the pet store because part of her tail was off, of course I knew what I was getting into with jezabel because the woman brought her out and showed her too me but besides her tail and her being skittish she seemed healthy and a big eater


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[JunQ]

I have a gecko from large chain petstore, and she eats well sleeps well and moves well. She's perfectly healthy!

 

[crazylizardlady]

I have several from big chain pet stores mostly because Im a big softy and have a hard time leaving them there in bad condition. Knock on wood I havent had issues with any after the initial stuff. I have a couple that had lost toes and tails at the petstore before I got them and all of them were very thin when I got them but they are all thriving, fat and happy now. I have a couple from breeders as well and I have to say Ive had more issues with the breeder purchases than the petstore, the petstore leos adjusted faster and eat better than the ones I have from the breeder. Overall theyre all healthy though and doing well. Theyre all just pets for me though if I was going to breed I would absolutely be more selective and only buy quality animals for that.

 

[miguelcruzjr]

My first two leos were from ++++++++ and they were and are in great health. I have since gotten three more from breeders. Obviously this is subjective but I've only gotten health issues in a gecko from a breeder. She had some genetic abnormalities that may have been from excessive inbreeding in her lineage. That isn't to say that whoever produces the big pet chains' geckos doesn't do the same (inbreeding) but I would imagine that they wouldn't need to, given the sheer quantity they produce and the probability that they don't care too much about the looks of the animals. In my experience ++++++++ takes better care of their animals than +++++ (I would like to say this could be an over generalization but I've been to several of each of those chains' stores and the results have been similar). I think that if you see a healthy looking animal regardless of where you get it, it has the potential to be a good pet. If you plan to breed, however, you shouldn't buy pet chain geckos b/c there's no way of knowing their genetics.


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[Carson94]

I have mine from a big chain pet store they took decent care of her what id expect from a pet store and she has lived a happy and healthy life for the 5 or so years I have had her. I dont see why some people wont buy from pet stores and only from expensive breeders from what I have seen some pet stores take better care of their geckos then some well known breeders

 

[Carkin]

Wriggles.


I'm new to here.

 

[wicked gecko]

Kinda early to really say but we got 2 juvenile Leo's from 2 different pet stores Christmas eve. We got 1 from each because those were the2 we liked best and both are eating and going to bathroom regularly already and appear healthy. After seeing the awesome Leo's some breeders have I'm interested in going that route for our next one but not until late April or may after we get home from Disney. I'll let you know if anything changes with the current 2. Russ

 

[EXOBanette]

I do when I post the first pic of them someone said they look healthy and I was happy.but I forgot who said that though

 

[reptilemom7]

I have two juvie leo girls I got from a big chain. Both were skinny and one had a dropped tail. They are growing quite nicely. Stubbs (guess which one she is, lol) has fully recovered her tail and is doing great. Curry is growing well, but could still stand to gain some weight. Other that they receive lots of love, and are doing well. I also adopted two adult leos from craigslist. They were mistreated (cage prob wasn't cleaned in a LONG time) and girl had lacerations on her tail. I helped her heal and other than scar tissue she and the male are doing well. I have them all together now and they are a happy little family. I made sure Curry and Stubbs were large enough and nourished before introduction. I have also rescued 3 beardies from the same big chain. One has permanent ill effects of MBD (he almost didn't make it). He has gotten much better do to lots of love and care. Another beardie other than some permanent cosmetic MBD damage is doing great. The third was a baby that was super sick when adopted I was able to love and care for him for two weeks before he died. I also rescued a chameleon off of craigslist who was in terrible shape. He was loved and cared for before passing. I rescued a female beardie from craigslist who went through some bad husbandry. After lots of love and care she is doing great. She laid her first clutch in october and is gravid again. I also have two dog rescues not from a pet store who are doing great. I have one none rescue another dog who is an old man and is great except old dog maladies.

 

[J&M UNE]

I'm sorry to tell to guys but "rescuing" from the big chains does nothing but puts money in there pocket and puts another animal right back in its place...so if you would really like to rescue them then you need to never buy anything from them every again.. If they loose business and don't sell animals they won't buy more...there are thousands of reputable breeders that need the support way more thank the big chains you think you are rescuing from.

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[SEwicked]

I have one I bought from pet.co because he was the only baby in with some larger juveniles and was clearly getting bullied, this started my love for Leo's and he's now about 2.5 years old and thriving

 

[J&M UNE]

I leave this here for the next time you wanna rescue an animal from a chain... All your doing is keeping big wholesalers open and this garbage happing https://youtu.be/xsR-pvUFT3Y

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[wicked gecko]

Our first 2 were from chain stores and are doing well. The third I purchased from a breeder. I will say that my one from the breeder settled in much quicker and is way more gentle. He was supposed to be mine but has fast become my daughters favorite! All my future ones will be purchased through breeders seeing I want to eventually breed them and need ones with proven genetics but this experience has shown me that there's alot to be said about getting them from a reputable breeder other than just the proven genetics!

 

[eyesofmydemons]

I jest got two geckos from a pet store i am trying to fined out the morphs

 

[Kkhambre]

I leave this here for the next time you wanna rescue an animal from a chain... All your doing is keeping big wholesalers open and this garbage happing https://youtu.be/xsR-pvUFT3Y

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Thank you for this link,
My father kept asking me why I wanted the $75 gecko from a breeder instead of the $15 one at ++++++++. He couldn't understand why until I showed him this video. Thanks

 

[Christywoowoo]

All four from a pet store. 3 from one big name pet store and one from the other. The one from the different store was missing quite a few toes and was unbearably cheap. Was also too big to put a new shipment of baby geckos in with her. She's my pro pic actually.