Petsco or Petsmart?

[bigbuck270]

I'd love to do business with a small local shop but I cannot find one within 100 miles of me. It seems I am going to have to deal with a "big box store".

Just curious to see if you have found one to be generally better or less expensive? Any thoughts?

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

What are you planning on buying? If it's a gecko, why not take advantage of all the great breeders here on GeckoForums.net?

 

[Ccrashca069]

I would buy from neither. Sometimes you can find some good ones but alot of times they are not healthy or well cared for. I would buy from a breeder here. Any breeder here would gladly take the time and explain anything you want too know.

 

[yellermelon]

Yeah for the price your gonna pay at the big box stores you can get a really nice, healthy gecko from a breeder on here. look at the top of these pages for links to their websites

 

[rhino43grr]

even at small pet stores a lot of times the geckos aren't in such great shape... missing toes, regrown tails, etc.

you said in another thread the gecko was to be a christmas gift for your son if i remember correctly... was it going to be a surprise or does he already know about it? if he already knows it might be fun to go to a reptile show together when/if one's in your area or check online in the classifieds here, the breeder sites on top of the page, or on kingsnake.com's classifieds.

 

[SteveB]

Small petstores are often worse. They can't often can't afford to take sick animals off the sales floor. Petco and Petsmart both do make efforts to remove sickly animals from displays. Some stores are better than others, of course.

 

[geckoluv2187]

Are you talking about buying a gecko? Or buying supplies? Because as far as prices go, Petsmart is definitely cheaper than petco. But I would never buy an animal from either. Buying supplies online is the best way to go- lllreptile.com or reptilesupplies.com

 

[ALGeckos]

Geckos- I'd get them from a breeder. There have been too many cases of sick geckos coming from "big box" pet stores and the small pet store by my house doesn't keep their reptiles in satisfactory living conditions. I've always purchased my geckos from breeders because you'll end up saving money in the long run from vet expenses.

Supplies - I prefer getting mine from PetSmart because they have a larger selection than PetCo (well... the ones around my house). Prices are pretty similar though.

Feeders - You can always buy online from breeders or from pet stores. I found it cheaper to bulk order online if you have many geckos. If not, find the cheaper prices. The smaller pet store by my house sells their crickets cheaper than PetSmart or PetCo.... so you'll have to do a little bit of traveling and research to find the better deal if you want to stick to getting feeders offline.

 

[StinaKSU]

Which is better for pretty much anything is going to depend on the individual stores. Go to both and decide which is better. I agree with the others for animals, you are best off getting your animals from respected breeders.....even from stores that the animals are genuinely cared about and cared for as best as possible (taking into account store policy...)...you cannot guarantee health. We take good care of our animals at the Petco I work at...but the suppliers very clearly don't...so we end up with animals that we simply cannot help sometimes...and we do end up unknowingly selling ill animals occasionally (b/c they have not yet started exhibiting any symptoms).

 

[ReptileMan27]

I agree with the above post, it can really depend on the individual store. To many people think because the one in there area is bad that all are bad. If your careful you can get great healthy geckos from them. I agree with the others though that buying from good breeders is always best.

 

[MSMD]

*double post

 

[MSMD]

I definitely agree with the above posters. The breeders on this site have some GORGEOUS and HEALTHY animals! If you want an animal, I would definitely go through one of them. Shipping is not that big of deal. I have some lovely, healthy, well traveled leos from all over the country in my gecko room! The time and care put into breeding and raising them definitely shows!

 

[KHGeckos]

Def. would recommend getting geckos from breeders here. I dont think I ever went to a pet store to even buy supplies, mostly because the internet is so convenient, lol. Seriously though, the quality of animal here, the helpfullness and willingness to help, over all a great experience getting to know some of the great breeders is worth it.

 

[MSMD]

Yes, I forgot to add that with a reputable breeder you also get a lifetime of support!

 

[rubym]

My sister in law bought my husband a hatchling Gecko from a Petsmart. He is luckily very healthy but she paid too much for him. She paid $70.00 and we are not even sure yet what he is going to be ( sign at store said Albino). She could have gotten us an older one from a breeder and been sure of his morph. I would definatly ask around on here and see if you can't find the perfect one for you before I shop at either petco or petsmart. Now I do buy some supplies from petsmart. I have even found them to be cheaper ON SOME THINGS then some of the online stores. For insects I buy mine at the shows and online. I can't afford 12 cents per cricket or $3.99 for 50 mealies.

 

[goReptiles]

I have an article about purchasing reptiles from retail stores that you may want to check out.

Buying Retail Reptiles

It discusses the pros and cons. Although, it may be quick to purchase from a pet store, not all the time is it the best choice, but you must make the evaluation per store.