Pet store gecko selling age

[PaladinGirl]

Hello fellow gecko lovers!

We just got our gecko about a month ago. We got him from a large chain pet store. He was pretty tiny but I never did measure him and he's grown a little bit. I'd say he's 4 or 5 inches. I've been curious as to how old he is. I even called the pet store to see if they have a record of hatch dates or something. Of course they did not, no big surprise. I think they thought I was crazy.

Does anyone know if there's a certain age most breeders wait for before giving their geckos to a pet store? Kind of like how most dog breeders will not sell the puppies until they're 8 weeks old? I am just curious.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

Some stores around here sell them as young as 2 weeks old... I did ask an employee and she did find me the info and said that they are shipped one week after hatching...

 

[Dog Shrink]

Seriously shipped ONE WEEK after hatching? that's INSANE. There aught to be laws against that stuff like there is with dogs and cats (just an fyi it's not the breeders waiting to sell them at that age, in most states there are laws mandating how old pups have to be beofore they can be sold. You can check that out here: http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ovuspuppysalelaws.htm it is sad however that only about 18 states have formal laws addressing specifically puppies. Those that don't usually work off the standard set by local livestock laws or local ordinances addressing this rather than state ordinances). Now I hate the chain stores even more.

Addressing the question to age of leos sold... most of the breeders here on this site usually wait until a certain weight rather than age, and I'm sure they'll chime in. I can't answer as I don't breed and have only seen what they said in their posts.

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

Well the nice thing at least about them sending the leos at such a young age, they do only have qualified people handling them and at the first sign of lack of food, bullying or anything they separate them and take special care of them. It's not the young age that is the bad part, it's the fact that when you get chain stores that ship at young age AND take sub-par care of the babies... That's what pisses me off...

I've made a point to routinely stopping at the chain stores, asking to see the leos and pointing out things to the employees- like how one doesn't look as healthy, or has shed stuck or anything that could impede the health of a young gecko... Most of the employees appreciate the help and will make the needed adjustments either while I am there or after I leave and then return the next week. Also when I go there, I usually get into conversations about leos with the employees and they either voice their knowledge or learn from what I say- which is mostly stuff I learned on here anyway (I just pass it along...).

 

[Pinky81]

Kel +1

I agree age isn't so much the biggy as weight. I have found that 15grams seems to be a average number looking around to what other breeders are doing especially if you are shipping. I might let one go smaller if the person was local and seemed experienced. At present I am telling all my waiting family's 15grams is my goal.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Good job Melissa... I think that's the responsible thing to do honestly. :main_thumbsup:

 

[PaladinGirl]

Mostly I was just curious so that I can tell my 5-year-old daughter how old he is. She's always talking about our 2 dogs' birthdays and thinks the gecko should have one too :-D Guess we'll use his adoption date. So far I've received age estimations anywhere from 2 to 8 months. I know he had to be pretty young when I found him at the pet store. They were all very slender, though not sickly looking. There was probably 6 or 8 of them all piled into one of those little coconut shell caves. He's grown quite a lot in the month that we've had him, which makes sense because he is so ravenous. I honestly had no idea a little lizard could eat so much! Last night he ate 2 waxworms, 6 mealworms, and some crickets but I'm not sure how many (and yes, I gut load all of them).