petsmart or petco

[leolover2]

Ive only ever been in one petco. It was in the valpo area and I was impressed. Their herp area was actually clean and they had some nice geckos at good prices.

there was a petco near me that opened up not to long ago and they keep pretty good care of the reps. i saw one leo that was moving around alot and i was thinking about picking him up.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

1. No shipping costs
2. Impulsive & "pity" purchases
3. Free advice from breeders/hobbyists here
4. People don't realize that VET BILLS easily exceed shipping costs

Did I miss anything? LOL

You got it, Paul!

is it true that usually chains like petco and petsmart sell wild caughts?

There aren't any wild-caught leopard geckos in the USA. Too bad, because they would most likely be healthier than most chain pet store geckos.

 

[LeosForLess]

[sarcasm]I would say just buy from both[/sarcasm]

 

[ReptileMan27]

is it true that usually chains like petco and petsmart sell wild caughts?

If your talking about any WC herps, then yes they do sell WC herps, alot of the herps they sell you can really only get WC. The leos are CB but can be in pretty bad shape after being put on calci sand etc.. I think to many people see one bad petco or petsmart and assume their all bad and thats not fair or true. The petcos here have always been pretty good, the petsmarts use to be bad but have gotten better. The worst pet store I have ever seen was a local reptile pet store, it was so nasty and smelled so bad, that I wanted to burn my clothes after being in their. Herps were in small cages that you could tell wernt clean or right set-ups for them, the one cage had a ball python in it that was on sand in a 10 gallon tank, you could tell it was recently a set-up for hermit crabs that was never cleaned out and the poor ball python was put in their . If that wasnt bad enough, they had big tanks of feeder mice that didnt have any food or water, and the their were dead mice in the cage that were being eaten by the live ones:main_no:. Very sad

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Keep in mind that PetsMart and PetCo buy their leopard geckos from gecko mills like Gourmet Rodent, Reptile Industries, and C.R.A.P. (Ron Tremper's 'other' business aka Center for Reptilian and Amphibian Propagation). CalZoo gets their animals from them as well. These leos are mass-produced by the literal thousands, kept in deplorable, crowded conditions, and sold in massive quantities to PetCo and PetsMart when they are only days old and haven't even eaten their first meal yet. Crypto, coccidia, amoebic and protozoan infections, other parasites, and bacterial infections run rampant, and the hatchlings have absolutely no defense against them. The stress on these poor little babies is astronomical, and hundreds die during the shipments.

Combine all this with chain pet stores that don't bother to house them properly, don't know or don't care about their proper care and husbandry, and see them simply as inventory items.... well, odds are it's a recipe for suffering and broken hearts. It doesn't matter how 'good' any of these stores are when they receive little geckos in such poor condition.

The only REAL way to stop this is to thwart the 'supply and demand' by not buying animals from stores that specialize in pet food. Stick with a reputable breeder that actually cares about their animals, and invests countless hours and has true dedication to the welfare of the geckos they produce. Hey, some of us even love our geckos... go figure!

 

[leolover2]

there is no breeders around me and i cant pay for shipping... i no one pet store around me a very little one one really goes there but they take care of there reps really well i will get one there

 

[Kotsay1414]

there is no breeders around me and i cant pay for shipping... i no one pet store around me a very little one one really goes there but they take care of there reps really well i will get one there

I'd just wait till you can pay for shipping...

 

[okapi]

I'd just wait till you can pay for shipping...

Or go to a show :main_yes:
See if there are any breeders that will "meet you half way" at a show. Thats how I got quite a few of my leos and all of my AFTs :main_thumbsup:

 

[unbakedbrownie]

I don't see why anyone would choose to buy a gecko from PetCo or PetsMart when they could get a beautiful, healthy, robust gecko from the many fabulous breeders here on GeckoForums.net.

I agree.

I was in PetsMart today (shopping for my cats, one of which has been missing for 48 hours. ) and saw their geckos. Now, I'm NO expert but these poor babies looked so sickly.

 

[ReptileMan27]

I defently feel its good to buy off a breeder but that always isnt a option for all, I have no herp shows near me , and refuse to pay $50 for shipping when I can get healthy CB leos here and not pay shipping. I only got a few of my leos from petco but the ones I have gotten from their, I am very happy with and have and plan to breed them again. Herp shows are the best place to buy any herps IMO, lots of breeders their, good prices,no outrageous shipping prices, and you can see and handle the animal before buying.

 

[crayolaskies]

I try to buy my pet supplies from stores such as Wal-Mart, so I don't have to worry about seeing a nice looking leo at a Petco and buying it along with the risks of bringing it home to my healthy animals. So when I go to Petco to get mealies, I just sheild my eyes from the gecko cage. Or try to anyway. Fortunately, our Petco isn't that bad, but I still don't have the room right now for more leos. :main_rolleyes:

 

[Chibi Alien Monster]

PetSmart


They had reptile carpet, and the two juvenile leos looked pretty healthy, though the cages are too small.
In another PetSmart, I saw a leo that was 5-6 inches long, and it was in a cage 8-10 inches long.


PetCo

The PetCo I bought my gecko at had over ten baby geckos in a container the same size as the one in PetSmart. They were fed mealworms with calci-sand, so that was okay. They looked pretty healthy, so a few of them were uber close to shedding. :main_thumbsdown: They should be separated from the others when shedding.
Also, there were droppings all over the place.
When he opened the glass container, all of them perked up, some more alert than others. The one I got ran around a bit before the employee caught him. :main_thumbsup:
And he was extremely bright too, as though he just shed hours ago/a day or two ago.

 

[KiKi]

we got two of our leos from two different petcos, one in nj, and one in brooklyn. the jersey store was nicer

 

[nicolenadia]

Doesn't Ron Tremper provide geckos to some of these stores?

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Doesn't Ron Tremper provide geckos to some of these stores?

Yes. He has another business called C.R.A.P. (Center for Reptilian and Amphibian Propagation). Just because it's Ron Tremper's 'other' business doesn't mean the geckos that come from that gecko mill are healthy. Trust me... they aren't.

My vet actually takes the two weeks after Christmas off because he doesn't want to deal with all the crypto infected Petco and Petsmart geckos that kids get as gifts.

 

[nicolenadia]

Granted, gecko mills suck...as bad as igunana mills...puppy mills...any animal mill...

But...I got a few really GREAT looking geckos from PetCo not even trying to buy from them....I go in to buy bulbs and I see them sometimes. I do my fair share of buying from breeders too...don't get me wrong, 75% of my kids are from breeders. The first 3 I got from pet stores and they are just pets....thats what started the hobby for me.

There are some breeders I refuse to buy from though, not becuase their geckos are bad looking, becuase usually they are great...but because they have a huge ego....

The first time I got this additude was from a breeder at a show and It was my first show. I asked him what sex a particular gecko was and he snapped at me and said, "shouldn't you know, you want to buy it"....and he ignored me and wouldn't sell me one.....

But I wasn't about to open the deli cup myself and check....

so I avoid his table every show.

 

[GeckoStud]

In all honesty I keep hearing complaints about shipping costs being outrageous, and in truth you probably unwittingly spend that money that could be used for shipping on gasoline when you drive to shows or the petstores...

Aside from that I don't really see a problem in buying from petstores if the reptiles are healthy. I know from experience. Five of my nine leos are petstore buys and all of them are healthy as can be. Its all about knowledge, a good keeper knows what too look for, not only in an individual but in the cagemates. One leo in the enclosure may look great but another might not and may have a nasty bug, in that case leave it be and avoid the risk. If that leo and the others in the enclosure look and appear healthy and are kept in good conditions I see no reason why you should not purchase it if it strikes your fancy.

As for Petco vs. Petsmart, I don't really have a strong opinion of either as a whole but the Petcos in my area all have good conditions and healthy reptiles, while the lone Petsmart in my area is a disgusting mess...

 

[ReptileMan27]

I was actually at a local petsmart earlier today to get a few supplies and noticed that they are now using repti carpet for their leos. I have been noticing it more latley, maybe they get enough complaints about using stupid unsafe sand. Not saying their great but its a step in the right direction IMO.

 

[Megan1985]

I work at petsmart, so I'm not going to take part in this because but I would like to say that that if you ever in any petstore and you see any sick or cage set up that is not right or animal being mistreated...ect ect ect..then I would strongly incourage you to say something about.