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

[dim&shell]

OMG that is absolutely awful - it took me a while to work out that they were actually dead how can anyone let an animal in their care get into such a way? Do they not have a conscience???? :main_thumbsdown:

 

[Halley]

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.

Your right, I try to hold all animals in the same level of respect. Although I do go kill a couple thousand mealworms a week. Lol

 

[rubym]

We have a small locally owned pet store in the town where I live and they are HORRIBLE about the care of their reptiles. I have called the local humane socitety several times and to no avail. This store is a big supporter of the local humane society and they do alot of fund raising for them. I typed up a care sheet ( info from this and another forum) for the beardies and leos but nothing was changed. I even called the state Humane society and was told that it would be looked into.....it wasn't. I am surpried that they haven't asked me not to come back in the store. LOL. I am never rude to the owner but I never fail to inform them of what they are doing wrong and I never make a purchase. They probably just say I am nuts after I leave. I figure that if someone comes in week after week telling you that sand, no heat matt, salad mix and UVB lighting for a leopard gecko is wrong...maybe eventually they will fix it if for no other reason then to just shut me up. These people do not even have the excuse that it is corporates fault. You can bet that if these were puppies or cute little kittens something would be done!!!!

 

[moosassah]

Simply a suggestion here...

Next time any GF member witnesses something of this magnitude, get the pictures & then call the local paper. Corporate cringes at negative print/publicity. It's probably the fastest way to get policies changed.

 

[DLS Reptile]

This is a shame. Why are reptiles held in a different light than a dog or a cat. I know most people say they are not cute and cuddly but they are still living things. These pet stores make me sick. I am glad I did not see that. I probably would not have been welcome back. The very sad reality is this will keep happening as long as reptile laws are the way they are. The down side to all this is the more this is pushed the more it will affect the good guys who bend over backwards to take care of their reptiles and give them top notch care. The laws will not go in our favor. It is really sad..

 

[BluGnat]

I was in the local *ahem* this weekend for mealworms. Always optimistic, I checked out the leo enclosure. They were all WAY too young - they looked like hatchlings - and starving. They were alive - but when they're purchased by a non-expert keeper - there's no way they're going to make it.

I remember a thread on here a long time ago regarding the age that they ship the babies to the store for retail sale (can't remember if it was part of a different thread, or a topic itself). Way too young. Obviously not old enough to have a solid foundation of eating well.

 

[AntMan612]

I found a couple of websites with tons of good information and advice:
www.petstoreabuse.com
www.anapsid.org/pettrade/

 

[Tanner505Geckos]

ive seen the same stuff at pet stores its sad and messed up last year i went to a pet store to get some supplys and there was a fish bowl full of baby leos that were all about half dead i yelled at the store manager and he gave me the babys i went home and fed them repta aid and a few weeks latter they were gaining weight and doing very well now there full grown and i gave them to a friend that really wanted some leos.

 

[RoyalCityReptiles]

Not sure about the US, but up here in Canada, herps, inverts, and fish are not looked at as animals (for the most part, in my experience), by the 'authorities'.
If I were to see something like this in a pet store, I would not leave the store until the animals were removed from the enclosures... and I definitely would speak my mind to the manager or owner, nothing works quite as well as public humiliation...On top of that, I would stop by fairly regularly, and invoke some fear into them...

we really need to have some sort of reptile licensing implemented. Way too many animals are dying for no reason, in the hands of inexperienced keepers, 'pet stores' and just plain imbeciles...

-Nate

 

[Keg34]

I live in Canada too. This is just a small town and our petstore has no clue about Leo's. They take care of every other reptile properly (i'll give them that one). The Leo they have now has absolutely no heat or light. He is in a very small based tall exo-terra tank. When they first got him he had an eye infection. I told them how to fix it. I went back a week later and it was worse and he had skin stuck to his head. I then told them how to fix all of this. It wasn't until today that I went in there and he looked decent. My other concern is that they have him on coconut shells. His feces are mostly made out of coconut shells too. So hes impacted and all he has in the tank is a bowl of water and a rock.

Also around Christmas time I sold this petstore 3, 3 month old Leo's. One was sold in about 2 weeks, the next in a month and third was never sold. One day in february I found him half eaten by crickets . This was the sadest thing I had ever seen. This was my favourite and most tame hatchling I had ever had. The thing was he was smaller in february then when I sold him to them in early december. I came to the conclousin that he had parasites and was very ill due to his living conditions. I have swore to my self that I will never sell another leo to this store. They are obviously too caught up in there cross breeding mut chihuahua's.


Here is a pic of him at about 1 month old. He was on the woodchips soaly for photographic reasons. :main_angry:

 

[Rhian]

some pet shops are awful there is one near us that claims to be "reptile specialists".. I know I am still learning but I was horrified when I went in there they had about 20 leos in one tiny tank, some of them had legs/feet missing and there was a dead one right at the front of the tank it was horrible, that was the day we bought Nessy home though...the man in the pet shop got him out and he had a big cut on his head and looked all wobbly and thin, the pet shop man said he was nasty and had bitten him lots... so we bought him home and now he seems to be doing much better, his head his better and hes getting a little belly now and his tails looking fatter too. And he has never bitten us. I hate pet places like that I don't know how they can let animals get in that state

 

[dim&shell]

Just a quick question, how old should they be before they're sold?

 

[thekooliest]

I've heard many things...if you want to see the changes, earlier is better...it is safer for them to be 15-20 grams...but thats just what ive heard
-Sam

 

[dim&shell]

But how old would they be at 15-20 grams? Sorry just unsure on this...

 

[thekooliest]

it really depends...
but 15 is around 2-3 months and 20 is 3-4...
usually breeders put them up as soon as they can be shipped...
and then you can buy them, and watch them grow...or wait till they are a juvy/adult and you can just have them...
your choice

 

[StinaKSU]

CALL CORPORATE. Corporate DOES care if their stores are complained about. Call repeatedly if you have to...send them the photos. There should be numbers is Petcos for the corporate hotline if you see anything negative...I don't know about other chain stores...but it should never be difficult to find a corporate number to call if it is a chain store. Just be sure when you call to remain civil but very discriptive. Complaining about problems where no one from the store will ever know isn't going to do anyone any good...complain to the people who can change it. No one ever calls but everyone always complains that things are bad.........you DO have a way to get something done. If you have to call more than once, then do...every call corporate gets is going to get the store into more trouble.

 

[GeckoGathering]

Respect

This is a shame. Why are reptiles held in a different light than a dog or a cat.

Sad but they are, especially the uncared for geckos....a pet shop here had dog issues, like the gecko conditions described and authorities shut them down. They even sentenced the owner to time in jail for dead animals on the premises .....From what I have been told (here say) but have no reason to doubt it......geckos are not of interest to certain pet shop chains. They TAKE them to be able to continue getting other high end reptiles.

 

[Halley]

Simply a suggestion here...

Next time any GF member witnesses something of this magnitude get the pictures & then call the local paper. Corporate cringes at negative print/publicity. It's probably the fastest way to get policies changed.

This seems like a great suggestion to me. I know if something I did wrong, and it was in the newspaper, I would want to change it, just out of the simple fear, of public rejection, as well as public humiliation. So would everybody else. And I can guarantee you, that if it will cost the pet-store money, they will with out a doubt change that bad habit, into a good one, and they will do it quick.

CALL CORPORATE. Corporate DOES care if their stores are complained about. Call repeatedly if you have to...send them the photos. There should be numbers is Petcos for the corporate hotline if you see anything negative...I don't know about other chain stores...but it should never be difficult to find a corporate number to call if it is a chain store. Just be sure when you call to remain civil but very descriptive. Complaining about problems where no one from the store will ever know isn't going to do anyone any good...complain to the people who can change it. No one ever calls but everyone always complains that things are bad.........you DO have a way to get something done. If you have to call more than once, then do...every call corporate gets is going to get the store into more trouble.

This is another thing that should be done, the human society has shown, time and time again, and that it is incapable of getting anything done. Either because they just don’t care, of because the laws don’t allow it to take effect action. If you complain to the people who control the store, and they think that it will cost them money, they will change things. If you want something done, you have to do something to achieve it; it is as simple as that.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Corporate DOES NOT CARE. They will do NOTHING. Trust me on this...

You need to call the police and/or animal control when you see this crap. Call the County District Attorney's office and press charges against them. This is what we had to do here in SF a few years ago...

http://www.sfgov.org/site/cityattorney_page.asp?id=25105

 

[AntMan612]

Here's just a thought. Most of us on this forum realize just how much care actually has to go into ensuring that our geckos are healthy and eating well, especially when they are young. We spend hours discussing it.

Large corporations are notoriously CHEAP - no doubt about it - and when they can get away with being understaffed, they'll take advantage of it. It helps their bottom line, their profits rise, and their stockholders and CEO's can pad their portfolios. This by no means justifies their practices, but fewer people usually equals poorer performance. Unless BARPS hires experienced reptile keepers or increases and better trains their staff, they are always going to struggle to keep their reptiles' mortality rates and health as good as we would like to see. (Apparently the Humane Society is more tolerant than us when it comes to reptiles...)

In my mind, the only thing we can do is to prohibit BARPS & Co. from selling reptiles at all. Even California's Assembly Bill 1347 passed last October is still very vague with regard to the minimum requirements as they apply to reptiles. Perhaps, we can write to our State Legislature for clearer language and amend the bill. Perhaps, other states can follow suit.

Just a thought...