Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was at super pets last night (I hate that store but I really needed a light bulb) and I saw the tiniest crested I had ever seen! It must have been the size of half my pinky. Now, I know nothing about baby cresteds so this may sound like a stupid question... Is he old enough to be selling already? He was just so tiny! I can't imagine that he was very old. I feel like I need to rescue him! They didn't even have a little hide for him in there - only branches and a gigantic water dish that he could easily drown in. I would have snatched him right up except the price tag was 80 dollars. I thought that was a litte high for such a young one and one who was completely brown. But now I feel so bad and I just keep thinking about the poor little guy! Should I buy him?

First off they are tiny when they first hatch (but not as tiny as many other geckos -- you should see a Satanic Leaftail baby!!).

It is best not to sell them until they are established and have been eating well for several weeks. Hard to say if that is the case with this one.

This is a bitter pill to swallow but it needs to be said. IMHO I would NOT buy this animal. First of all, $80 is a bit steep for a little one that you have no background on or know its general health. Secondly, it seems they are not providing it with all that it needs. To buy this one and "rescue" it would only leave an empty tank for these people to put yet another crested gecko into. So nothing will have been accomplished by your act of kindness. You would save one poor soul only to have another one put in it's place. If no one pays the price and the animal dies from neglect perhaps they will not replace it because it did not sell and they lost $$.

Steve

There is some truth to this pesimistic reply, but it fails in the aspect that they would not replace this animal should it die. It is unfortunate that so many pet stores stock these animals in bulk and do not have adequate knowledge or staffing to care for them.

Just the other day I was in PetCo and there was a severely depleted baby Leopard gecko. It was too far gone to do anything for other than humanely put an end to it's suffering. When I told the cashier about the animal, she said "Oh, we'll have our lizard guy take a look."

It took all I had not to lose control and give her my opinion of the place.

As far as the fate of this little crested. If you can afford that price, which is ridiculous, I say buy it. If it is doomed, it should see the end of it's life in the CARE of someone who is doing just that, caring for it. If it is still healthy, then there is a chance that being in a proper environ with a nurturing owner may bring it into adulthood.

On a side note, pet stores do not price their animals for their color. Most of the time, they aren't even competitively priced with other high dollar stores. They are there in the same vein as a dog toy hanging from a shelf.

That's just my opinion. Let us know what you decide to do.

Best wishes,

Eric

I agree with Eric. If you feel strongly and can afford to buy and set up a cage, then I say go for it. You may be able to give it what it needs to let it lead a good life, or at least die in a caring environment.

I did the same thing with a grandis. He was the only one of his kind in a local pet store. He looked so stressed and was set up in a totally wrong cage. The manager of the store got angry when I mentioned it. I hated to give the store money, but I couldn't stop thinking about the animal. I got mixed advice on this forum, but my gut feeling was to just buy it and give it a chance. It took 6 months of administering medication, he was very sick with parasites, but I've had him for 2.5 years and he's doing wonderful! He still has some physical and emotional scars, but he's healthy and happy.

So good luck. It never hurts to take a chance. If you buy him, I'd get him to a good vet though to check him over. Let us know what you do.
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Lisa

1.0.0 P.m. grandis (Linus)
4.3.0 P. standingi (Toby & Kona and their 5 babies)

Thanks for all of your advice! After going back and forth to the pet store at least four times, we couldn't say no. He was practically begging for us to take him home! He seems to be doing really well and is a very curious little guy! He still seems a bit confused about night and day though. I think all of the noise in the pet store interupted his sleep cycle and he got all messed up. He's awake during the day A LOT! Hopefully we can get that fixed though He also had quite a few patches of skin that he couldn't get off in his last shed left on him. I took some tweezers to him and got them all off with a bit of a fight from him. Lol.
He's living with my boyfriend right now but as soon as I get a picture I'll be sure and post it. Thanks again!!

Excellent!

It would have been my decision as well.

Good luck and I hope to see a photo soon!

Eric

Here is our Wesley!

How is he doing/adjusting?
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Lisa

1.0.0 P.m. grandis (Linus)
4.3.0 P. standingi (Toby & Kona and their 5 babies)

He's doing ok. At first he was very snappy and tried to bite us a lot (made a lot of noise as well) but now it seems like he's getting familiar with us. He has his night and day mixed up (he sleeps during the night) but I think that is because of of the store. Hopefully he'll get it right soon. He's already shed for us and it went great. He doesn't eat much but I don't really expect him to with that tiny tummy. I think he is adapting quite well. He makes our Oliver seem like a giant! I never realized how big he was (about 27 grams). Wesley barely even registered on the scale - I think it said 2.5 grams. We absolutely adore him!!!
P.S. Here's the tank that we have Oliver set up in - we are planning on getting him a mate on Saturday at the Illinois reptile show!!!!! This has become an absolute obsession for us!