Petco or Petsmart or neighborhood petstore

[SuperGecko]

i wanna buy a baby leopard gecko but i dont know which petstore to buy it from i dont know if the petstore in my neighbor hood sells leos yet

 

[Wild West Reptile]

Why not try buying one from one of the breeders on this awesome site!

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Local pet chain stores are all different, so if you want to check them out, just walk in and look around. See if you find something you like. Just make sure they aren't skinny or sick looking, look for plump tails and decent living conditions.

If this is your first gecko on limited budget, local pet stores may be your best bet. But you got to go in and look since nobody here can tell you if your local pet store has anything good or not.

 

[SuperGecko]

i heard petco geckos have impaction from sand

 

[BGalloway]

I'd say go local, but only if it's a reptile specialty shop, a nice little independently owned store. Or you could wait for a reptile expo in your area. Or you could click on one the links at the top of the page.
Oh, and have a nice setup made and ready to go a few days before you get your leo, just to make sure your temps are good.

 

[SuperGecko]

the local petstore is called by land & seapets

 

[Pinky81]

hmmm I wonder if they sell trolls???

 

[SuperGecko]

im not trolling

 

[fl_orchidslave]

There is no possible way for us to know the pet shops in your area. The name you gave comes up in at least several locations in the US. I agree with what others have said, buy from a breeder on this site (look at site sponsor links up top and classifieds section) or attend a reptile expo. A lot of small scale private breeders vend at shows, as well as bigger breeders in the area. Maybe you have great pet shops in your town, we have no way of knowing, but you will get no history on your potential pet at the big box stores. Why not buy from someone who has bred your animal and cared for it it's entire life, and can tell you everything about it..............

 

[hotnickles96]

My advice. Buy from a breeder. You will no EXACTLY what your getting yourself into. The extra money for the reassurance is worth it. I purchased two petstore gecko's and I'm paying for it. I will never buy a petstore gecko again.

The decision is yours, but this is just my advice.

 

[Gecko977]

Go with the local pet store or breeder. I happened to get lucky with my pet store gecko but I went back to the same store the other day and all of their geckos look ill and about ready to die. It depends on you chain store but I was extremely saddened by what I saw at what I thought was a good store. My local pet store only has 1 gecko per tank and if I get another gecko I will definitely go with them. Just depends on the store. Breeders are one of your best options too. Just look around and don't buy on impulse.

 

[Russ S]

Just look around and don't buy on impulse.

Some of the best advise I've seen on this thread.

 

[Kat&Rin]

yah I got lucky with Rin. Bought her at Petco (would you believe they were on sale for $15-$20 each???) and the next time I went they had like 20+ babies all in one *maybe* 15 gallon tank with a quarter of them missing tails and looking unhealthy....very upsetting and frustrating. Out of curiosity I've been going through the links at the top of the page to see what kind of pricing there is for great leos and I think its all very reasonable. I'd definitely recommend taking a peek at the links above. But as Gecko977 said, NO IMPULSE BUYING!

 

[rchase54]

My two leos came from petco, and they're in almost perfect health (except one lost its tail because of a stupid error on my part) My advice is if you're going to buy from petco or petsmart, if it looks sick and weak, don't buy it. Just use common sense. And be sure it has immediate use of a non-impaction causing substrate so it can work the sand out of its system without introducing more. Good luck on your leo hunt!