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

[Golden Gate Geckos]

For large chain pet stores, the animals they sell are simply inventory items. Nothing else. They sell reptiles, fish, birds, and small rodents as pets so you will spend a LOT more money on their habitats and supplies.

The only way to keep them from selling animals is for people to stop buying them from those stores. People think they are 'rescuing' the geckos, but when they PAY for them they are not rescuing them at all. They are simply giving them their money so the the stores have no incentive to change their ways. Why should they improve their conditions and husbandry if people will buy them even when the geckos are sick and dying?

 

[AntMan612]

Maybe pet stores that keep sickly-looking geckos is a hidden blessing within a curse. If prospective customers are disgusted by what they see, maybe they'll be turned off. Maybe they'll be disgusted by the store entirely.

 

[StinaKSU]

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

Corporate DOES care......we had ONE person complain to corporate about the ferrets a couple weeks ago (I had been gone and there were too many in the cage so it got filthy...and I hadn't been able to get to their cage that morning yet)....we got a call from corporate and district manager checked it out the next day.

I dont know when you had your experiences with things.....but there are new CEOs since a few years ago and they've been making changes in the past year.

Telling people not to call doesn't do anyone any good....at least calling is making an effort.

 

[MacularisMan]

how could anyone treat an animal like that?

 

[scottprice]

i KNOW, I literally JUST left a MONSTER pet store in my community and was greatly disappointed with how they were treating their Leos.

It's so big it's actually a tourist attraction in the already touristy Amish town. They do a major service for many pet owners in my community and I can't say enough about that, but years ago they diverged from their specialty (fish) and went into other pets, thus they don't really have a lot of knowlageable workers and save money by hiring college students from the surrounding areas.

I went into there today and they had overhead lights blazing down on all of their herps, no matter what animal they were. The Leos all had sand substrate, and there was one 20 gal w/ from my count 6 Leos inside it, all adults. Another tank had a leo with no real hides (of course none of the Leos had humid hides) They stored some of their nicer Leos in tiny Exo Terras but the one that just made me hurt was the 20 gallon, so many beautiful girls but you could see that they had no space, and they still had dead skin hanging off their faces and all over.

I wanted to take all of them home w/ me and see if I could nurse them but obviously I don't have that kind of space. I wish I knew what to do about it! :sad2:

 

[StinaKSU]

Out of curiousity, are you talking about TPP/TFP (not going to say the actual name...that could stand for anything...but I think you should know what I'm talkinga about)?...been there once....was a bit dissappointed with the reptile enclosures...but I get a feeling that not much stays there very long. As far as a 20 with 6 leos in it....honestly I don't think that's terrible...at least not if there's space for all of them to hide. The 12x12 exoterras seem much worse to me...there's no way to get a temp gradient in that...let alone suitable hiding places...that's not even twice the length of the geckos themselves....I'd be much more concerned about a gecko in 12x12 exoterra than 6 in a 20 where you can at least get a gradient and they have space to move. I've kept 5 or 6 leos in a 20...granted with lots of hiding and climbing places, and they did great...I would NEVER keep a gecko in a 12x12 cage.

 

[scottprice]

Yeah it was that place.... and the 20 gallon they just had one real usable hide, all of them kind of piled on top of each other like sardines and they didn't look very comfortable... maybe I'm just being sensitive to it? One of the stranger sights I saw was something I'd never expect to see was inside one of the other Exo Terras they had a beautiful albino Leo that had somehow managed to get itself on top of the rock wall in the back and lodged itself in the top corner, almost looked stuck (noticed it's tail almost looked atrophied, probably lost her original tail and was regenerating the new one) It almost looked like she was sunbathing, but that didn't seem quite right to me? All of their Leos looked stressed to me.

In contrast I was at a mega chain store a few days ago and was pleasently surprised to see that they were using carpet, had plenty of hides (may have even had a humid hide in the back was hard to tell) and for all intents and purposes I'd say the Leo looked relatively healthy and stress free (as stress free as she could be in an undersized enclosure with children and barking dogs annoying her all day) The toughest part of it is I do honestly believe that at least the workers in these places really love their creatures, but I don't think they're given the right information, I think probably the most blame lies on the owners of these stores, who, even if they started out in the business pationate about pets many have become focused more on their profits. It's tough, we see a lot of it here in Amish Town, this, and then of course Puppy Mills, it's frustrating.

 

[kris123lpg]

this is awful at a near by petco in san francisco there was a leo with tail loss and it looked like a hatchling all the baby leos looked like the ones on page one but they werent dead *thank god

 

[Bling_my_leo]

That's sick. Poor animals.

 

[fallen_angel]

That's definitely the most disturbing pic I've ever seen

 

[fallen_angel]

For large chain pet stores, the animals they sell are simply inventory items. Nothing else. They sell reptiles, fish, birds, and small rodents as pets so you will spend a LOT more money on their habitats and supplies.

The only way to keep them from selling animals is for people to stop buying them from those stores. People think they are 'rescuing' the geckos, but when they PAY for them they are not rescuing them at all. They are simply giving them their money so the the stores have no incentive to change their ways. Why should they improve their conditions and husbandry if people will buy them even when the geckos are sick and dying?

I agree completely

 

[AntMan612]

A few days before I witnessed this atrocity, I had started a thread requesting a "shout-out" from the good people on the Gecko Forum that work in pet stores, provide the proper care, and also pass on the good word to prospective owners. And I applaud all of them for being people who care and love all animals.

http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=21670

I understand the pay is inadequate. But, I still can't understand why the workers in this particular store didn't have enough care in their hearts to check on all of the animals, and to ensure they were in good health.

A caring heart and 5 minutes to clean a 5-gallon (too small) dry enclosure every day is all that I would ask of them. It seems that a significant part of the responsibility is still at the local level.

But, our beloved animals are most likely regarded by those people, not just as inventory items, but even lower - to them, the lives are expendable. That is sad.

***Now, would be a good time to page over to the Funny Gecko forum...:main_laugh:

 

[Halley]

I would have to agree, it is very sad, that LIVING creatures would be treated so poorly. The other thing that gets me, is that leopards geckos are so easy to care for, I fell you would almost have to try to kill them, for them to actually die. It really is horrible.

 

[yummybunny]

I agree. They are very easy to take care of and poor care like that will seem like they tried to kill them, or just ignored them. I have bought all of my leos from pets stores--9 from small pet stores (which really do care for them) and one from a big chain pet store (can't name it). The one I got from the big pet store was a carrottail and he was in the cage with about ten more leos. The only reason why I got him was because he was a male. He was very viscious and when the lady tried to catch him, she was abusive and uncareful, dropping him and stuff. He was healthy, I guess, a new shipment. She threw him into the box and handed him to me. He calmed down after living with the other geckos for a while and being handled and mated a month later.

There was also a baby that I have gotten there two years ago. She is fine, and eats a lot, but she was very sick and was dying when I first got her. She still has a weight-fluctuating problem, but she is now three, and although she is the size of a skinny three month old hatching, she is healthy, active, and is a good pet. It saddens me of what they do to potential good pets. I feel like saving them all too and they have so many rare types for cheap--that should also tell you they do not know crap about them.

 

[jaredm3624]

One local pet chain is good here, and the other is bad. The bad on seemed to have a few that were sickly and a few that were dead. Sad to say I was in a hurry and not to give the manager a piece of my mind. But I think I might go in there very soon (tonight?) and let them know what they are doing wrong.

 

[popcikle]

D: This is horrible!!!! How could people treat any animal this way?

 

[skooge]

When I got Grimlock, I saw an imacyated(sp?) frog. That thing looked like it could fall over dead at any minute.

 

[Tanner505Geckos]

i went to my pet store you know the one that doesnt care about there reptiles and they had a whole cage full a dead leos i yelled at the reptile person and he said there alive still and he went and pick one up and said oh i didnt know i check on them weekly.its sad the food dish they had in the cage was full of dead meal worm and there was no water and a few days ago and they still hadnt cleaned up the awfual sight im sick of this its sad and cruel! :main_angry:

 

[AntMan612]

I feel as if there is something different about this season's leopard gecko inventory at BARPS versus last summer. Last year I remember selecting the smallest 2 leos from the cage because they were the cutest ones. This year, most are far from looking cute. Has anyone else noticed this?

I wonder if they switched their supplier. Or what if their supplier experienced a late breeding season and decided to ship their geckos to the stores prematurely. I know, this is all speculation... Where was that funny leo thread, again?

 

[jaredm3624]

i went to my pet store you know the one that doesnt care about there reptiles and they had a whole cage full a dead leos i yelled at the reptile person and he said there alive still and he went and pick one up and said oh i didnt know i check on them weekly.its sad the food dish they had in the cage was full of dead meal worm and there was no water and a few days ago and they still hadnt cleaned up the awfual sight im sick of this its sad and cruel! :main_angry:

you're right. It is sad and cruel. I like the idea someone had about calling the news stations and such. They would hate the bad publicity, and it might get them to change their ways. I think I'm going to talk to my pet store today since I couldn't last night.