Look for this at Petco

[acpart]

I stopped in at Petco the other day and the leos were on sale. There was a sale sign on the cage with a printed sign: "Did you know that leopard geckos require 10-12 hours of incandescent light every day?" I know it probably won't do much good but I did get the manager and let him know that this is wrong. I'm sure the sign comes from the corporation and if you can stomach going into Petco you may see the same sign too and can talk to the manager. And if 5 people do it, it can become a movement . . .


Aliza

 

[eyelids]

That's a slam in the face to any semi knowledgeable reptile enthusiast! It's basically translated as, "We think you're stupid."...

What a sham...

 

[Nigel4less]

Wow I just feel bad for the poor leos.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Aliza, that is pretty much true, leos do need a day night cycle and incandescent lights are a good lighting source that do not provide a lot of heat.

Now granted, Im sure it was a way to sell more of these bulbs but the fact is still true of them needing 10-12 hours of light, they just chose to add on the type of bulb that would not produce much heat and make them money.

 

[herplover92]

I dont know if this has been posted in any other petcos, but it is shure not posted on mine, actually my petco is awesome for geckos. I have 4 geckos from petco, none have problems. they are all over 30 grams and very healthy, and active. I know petco sucks, but mine is good for leos and cresteds.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

That's a slam in the face to any semi knowledgeable reptile enthusiast! It's basically translated as, "We think you're stupid."...

What a sham...

Why? DO you not give them a day night cycle? So the pet store tried to market on a type of bulb but the info for that buld is still correct.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Wow I just feel bad for the poor leos.

Why? They do need a day night cycle of 10-12 hours day and the store did pick a low heat bulb (Im sure to make money) but its still good advise.

 

[The Gecko Guy]

Petco treats their geckos horribly. I went to one petco and the gecko was skinny. I felt so bad. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Petco/petsmart etc more than sucks but as long as people buy leos there, they will sell them and they will kill some, let some die and sell some half dead.

Its really not all their fault, they are stupid and sell crap and people still buy their crap. As long as they make money off of their reptile sales they will still sell them.

When they stop getting sales and the entire population of novice and all keepers and buyers stop buying them and they make no profit from reptile sales then maybe just maybe they will stop and maybe not even then.

 

[goReptiles]

in a way i believe that it's not the fault of the employees so much the companies themselves. i say this because I just quit my job at a large corporate petstore. all of our employees knew enough about the more sought after reptiles (leopard geckos, afts, ball pythons, bearded dragons, cresteds, etc), but corporate does a lot of stupid things and buys from bad wholesale companies, which are usually noted for their parasites and whatnot. i know where i worked, i never heard anyone say put you leo on sand and feed your crested waxworms religiously, or anything like that. i have heard some advice that wasn't needed or 100% correct, but nothing that would seriously harm or injure the reptile. i dunno...

 

[acpart]

About the lights: I was careful to say to the manager that of course you can't keep geckos in a windowless basement where it's dark all the time, but I do feel that any room that has changing light is adequate and that geckos don't need their own special incandescent lighting. Otherwise no one would keep their geckos in racks, right?

about Petco: There are at least 6 Petco's and 2 Petsmarts within 20 miles of me. I have occasion to visit nearly all of them in the course of the year and while they all have their babies on sand (corporate policy), there is a great variety in how well they do with their reptiles. At the one I like the best, although the geckos are on sand the babies are all healthy looking and a good size. During the spring I saw a juvenile I was interested in and when I went back a few days later he wasn't there. I asked about him and it turned out that a day or so after I saw him, the employees noticed that he had a blister on his eye (he didn't have it when I saw him, so they must have caught it pretty fast). They had immediately isolated him and taken him to the vet.

Aliza

 

[bethanboys]

Sort of the same with the Petco we have here. They have signs up and stickers saying how their animals have all been checkout by vets and are certified healthy, and how they have high standards for where they receive their animals from, etc. etc.

Again - babies are kept on sand. yuck yuck But I've looked at their babies numerous times and have never seen a sick one, never seen any missing tails, etc. They are young - like 2-3" but seem to be okay just at the first look.

And the two I've gotten from there - my 11 mo old tremper albino and my est 4 week old ? (he/she is about 2-3" long) hypo or super hypo tang seem to be pretty healthy.
My 11 mo old albino I got there as a very little baby as well, and she's never had an issue.

Anyway - that's just my local Petco. I probably wont buy any geckos from them anymore anyway just because I want to breed someday down the line, when I feel I'm ready for that, and I want some proven bloodlines to do so.
However if I see another really neat find - I may just give in. I've heard of some crazy morphs being found at Petco before.

 

[yellermelon]

Once again, when you get on the petco, petsmart subject...lots to say, lots thats already been said. As far as the lights I think 420 was talking about the UVB aspect, I could be wrong but thats how I took it. Ive always read(somtimes arguements) leopards do not need UVB. Mabey they need some form of day/night, but not the uvb that most other daytime reptiles need to survive....as I would take the sighn at Petco saying.

 

[Double LY]

Ive always read(somtimes arguements) leopards do not need UVB. Mabey they need some form of day/night, but not the uvb that most other daytime reptiles need to survive....as I would take the sighn at Petco saying.

Having a sign that says "incandescent" light is not the same as UVB. An incandescent light is basically like a house lightbulb. Of course, some manufacturers market incandescent bulbs for reptiles, but basically you just end up spending more money for a lightbulb as they don't do anything special (like UVB output). There are people who keep their leos in basements or rooms that don't get enough natural sunlight that do need artificial lighting to create a day and night cycle.

 

[PaulSage]

This thread is being locked until further review.

Please remember that in the TOS it specifically states that commentary on individuals' or companies' business practices and ethics are no longer allowed on GeckoForums.net--INCLUDING retail pet store chains.

C'mon guys... you know better.