I thought they were sleeping...*Warning graphic pic*

[AntMan612]

...and then I felt sick to my stomach.

This is what I saw at a major pet retailer this afternoon. I was outside of my local area out of curiosity for what the other stores had in stock. Ironically, the Humane Society was also in the store for a pet adoption day. How can this happen? How is it right? Is this just going to be the way it is because there's no profit in selling live animals?

I was so traumatized, I had to go home to check on my geckos asap.​

 

[shadowx362]

That looks Just Like how the pets were taken cared of in the P store in modesto,ca. Out of 5 geckos I tried to "save" from them only 1 made it and it was because the shipment just arrived. I seriously hated going there, but I just went out of curiosity too and it also happens the Modesto shelter is there every weekend adopting out pets . I once complained about a dead ball python and she just acted like she was going to open it and check if it was ok and I went to look at something else but still peeked to see if she was even checking. She didn't even check and told me it was alive! it was all twisted and laying on its back and I doubt it was alive. I think shelters dont do anything because they benefit from the store putting adoption programs.

 

[AntMan612]

In this case, I'm sure the store was also ignoring the reptiles. There was a fresh dish of wiggly mealworms with no mealworm shed in the tank. (Just doing the minimum, changing out the food.)

Oh, and below the leopard geckos was (emphasis on was) a New Caledonian Crested Gecko.

 

[AntMan612]

*Note: Moderators, you are welcome to delete this thread if it is at all inconsistent with the TOS. So, I tried to keep it anonymous, but felt it was important enough to at least raise an awareness within the GF community that this is happening.

 

[malt_geckos]

OMG!!!!! That is horrible. Was the crestie dead too?!

 

[AntMan612]

OMG!!!!! That is horrible. Was the crestie dead too?!

Unfortunately, yes. All of these guys looked really gross, either because the cause of death was bad health or a post-mortem thing...

 

[T&KBrouse]

Oh no... that is horrific! I don't blame you for feeling sick. I do too.
Those poor, poor little babies.

I'd be forwarding those pictures to Fish and Wildlife AND Department of Agriculture and any other agency that could (hopefully) do something about it.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

You guys need to call the police when you see this kind of stuff!!! Id either of you bring it to the attention of the store owner?

 

[Bridget1569]

I have two sisters that are Animal Control Officers in my city and it just makes me sick that there's nothing that can really be done. I've argued about this same thing with my sisters for years over 2 chain petstores and 1 locally owned petstore (this one is even worse than the other chain stores)

We live in Iowa and here all we can do is call DNR or Animal Control. Animal Control will go out and do a "welfare check" and report finding to the DNR. IF the DNR gets enough complaints the petstore "might" get fined. Unfortuanly the fines don't happen very often

 

[AntMan612]

You guys need to call the police when you see this kind of stuff!!! Id either of you bring it to the attention of the store owner?

Marcia - At the time, I felt so much more grief about the geckos than a desire to report the issue. Like I said, I was compelled to just get home to make sure mine were okay. Then I questioned why am I so different than the people that work at that store. Are geckos as expendable as feeder mice and rabbits? What makes them more special? Is this really what's happening across the country? I was naive; this was my first experience.

 

[NickOC]

Marcia - At the time, I felt so much more grief about the geckos than a desire to report the issue. Like I said, I was compelled to just get home to make sure mine were okay. Then I questioned why am I so different than the people that work at that store. Are geckos as expendable as feeder mice and rabbits? What makes them more special? Is this really what's happening across the country? I was naive; this was my first experience.

I think more appropriate questions could have been directed towards the GM.
I hope you find the conviction to go in there and try to help them become aware of the seriousness of the situation. Pet stores can be nasty places, its up to proactive individuals to help correct situations like that.

 

[gothra]

That is horrible. I feel so bad for these little guys.

 

[Greyscale_Geckos]

Oh my gosh.

That is sooo disturbing. Definitely do report it when you get the chance.

 

[Mel&Keith]

Sometimes you can find a customer service email or phone number on the store's website. Even something as simple as sending an email is better than nothing at all. Next time take note of the person's name who "checked" on the herps and thought they were ok. A general warning to the store is one thing but when individuals start getting called out they're more likely to not want to get in trouble again.

 

[Halley]

That is so wrong, and disturbing. I know that there aren’t very strong laws against things like that, but there really should be.

 

[AntMan612]

I made a return trip to big anonymous retail pet store (BARPS). The manager was not working today, but I had a chance to speak to one of the reptile care employees. Since the bodies had already been removed, I showed her a copy of the picture. She was off yesterday, but was surprised it happened because they looked okay a couple of days ago. I gave her a few care tips, while she removed the remaining leos to the wellness room for observation. I found out that their corporate P&Ps prevent them from correcting problems, like the use of sand, inadequate enclosure space, poor temperature gradient monitoring and control, etc. etc. (Apparently, the BARPS P&Ps must be followed even if it is detrimental to the animals.) I also found out it would be difficult to determine if the cause of death was pre-existing. But, they originate from a BARPS-certified supplier (which I hope means more than just cheap).

I left the copy of the picture, my name & number for the manager when she returns.

The last thing I corrected was the free care sheets on display in the store. BARPS developed a Leopard Gecko care sheet, dated 2004, then issued a newer version (posted in their website) in 2006. Most of the BARPS stores I have visited still have the 2004 version on display. While it is still not perfect, it’s significantly more correct than the 2004 version. (e.g., They have removed the requirement for fluorescent lighting and the option of edible substrate.)

Thanks for reading and your feedback

 

[skyline]

I was at *store name removed by Admin* today and there was only one leo in the tank and it was skinny and had it's eyes closed, It looked horrible it was a pretty Hypo tangerine. It made me sick, the thing is every time I stop by *store name removed by Admin* there is a new selection of sick looking leo's. I'm not sure if there just bought out fast or they are dying but none of the geckos look good at ALL. what made me sick the most was there was a beautiful baby savanna monitor and it was so skinny I could see it's bones and and was laying on the ground and it was breathing real slowly and i came back the next day and its cage was still there but it was'nt. That made me mad because savanna monitors live for so long and it had a long life ahead of it and it was cut short due to poor care. Something needs to be done about the care given to the reptiles there. What I am going to try and convince my parents to let me buy all the leos there (considering there is any) and bring them back to health. Because they get some beautiful collerd geckos and they deserve a shot at life. I managed to save one little sick tramper I saw at *store name removed* he is doing great now. I just hope I can do that for all ofthe geckos there. The care given to the reptiles at the store is little to none and something has to be done about it.

 

[KelliH]

Please remember that we do not allow any posts with the name of the store in them, although I am sure most are aware of the name anyway. Thanks.

 

[Bridget1569]

This situation is a real double edged sword. All we can do is repeatedly turn them into the correct authorities and hope they do somthing about it. But what we'd all realy like to do is save everyone of those babies. BUT... the kicker there is that if we buy them we're doing just what they want...Buying geckos from a crapy chain store. Then they just turn around and do it all over again

 

[AntMan612]

I am quite saddened by this tragic reality. It would be wonderful if there was a structured advocate organization (with proper legal representation) that could petition for new laws protecting the reptiles at BARPS, but I don't know that one exists. I am very new to having reptiles as pets, but I just don't understand why they don't have the same rights as cats and dogs. Imagine the public outcry if this example was a cage of kittens. Not a single die-off would be acceptable in that case. What's the difference here? PETA and the Humane Society should be out in force.