Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone! I just started working for the herp world's arch enemy (Petco). They hired me because they needed someone who knew reptiles, but I have never owned Anoles before and I was wondering if you could give some tips that only an experienced owner would know. This store carries Knight, American green, and brown anoles, so any info pertaining to them would be great. I've got all of the basics (food, temps, humidity, etc) so I was just wondering if there was anything not written in the books that I could do to make these guys happy. Oh, and just to clear things up, I hate Petco. The only reason I decided to work there was because I thought I might be able to help a little. Thanks!

Well, for first things, MALES SHOULD NOT BE KEPT TOGETHER... MOST ALL PET STORES DO THIS< AND IT STRESSES THE ANIMALS. PLEASE TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS...when they eat, try to make sure they ALL get smoe food. also, make petco spend a little money and buy the anoles a waterfall ($30). it will greatly reduce the level of stress, and the anoles will be able to drink whenever they need to. and that is just for starters... good luck on helping these guys!
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Thanks,
Matt
Owner of:
1.0.0 Brown (Bahaman) Anole
0.1.0 Green Anole
AND ON WEDNSDAY!!!!
0.1.0 leopard gecko!!! (tempature sexed)

whats bad about petco? i was guna go there to buy some stuff for my anoles tomorow. should i go to petsmart instead? (i have a 15% off cupon =D) or i dunno!

Petco just mistreats their animals Eg: 30 anoles in a 15 or 10 gallon... Most reps that come from there have some sotr of parasite, and you end up spending alot of $$$ on vet visits ... Petco is fine for rep supplies, its just that petsmart is better for well... pets... But dont get me wrong, petsmart isnt much better at keeping animals... you are much better off getting a rep from a breeder... good luck tomorrow
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Matt
Owner of:
1.0.0 Brown (Bahaman) Anole
0.1.0 Green Anole
0.2.0 leopard geckos (tempature sexed)

well i went to petsmart today and they were realy halpfull. And im happy to report that they had 3 anoles in a 10 gallon tank not 30(like petco) =) thanx for the advice

hmmm... you should still use the 10 gallon rule... but you are right... it is MUCH better than petco. I'm glad they could be helpful.
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Matt
Owner of:
1.0.0 Brown (Bahaman) Anole
0.1.0 Green Anole
0.2.0 leopard geckos (temperature sexed)

I commend you! But I am guessing your tongue is really sore from having to bite it all the time!

I was just in one yesterday and I had similar thoughts - "could I take a job here so I can make a difference?" PetCo is SUCH a big chain therefore much politics. That's when I couldn't keep my mouth shut and would get fired!

On the cham forum we have a few posters that work for chain pet stores and I just cringe at all their frustration! So again, you're a better person than I when it comes to this...I'll just try to make a difference in other ways

I have to say, too that the Concord store and the Portsmouth store (NH) vary a lot. The Concord store is nicer, cleaner, the reptile area is right out in the open and looked much better. However, they had some pretty large herps in some small cages. Surprisingly the anoles had a double enclosure so they had more room. There was one anole in there, obviously older, who was very skinny and sickly looking - it just broke my heart. I thought of taking him just so he could live his last days with some dignity! UGH!!!!

As Matt said the males together is a big problem as is the food. It was obvious that some were getting the food and others weren't. Some were nicely green, plump and then there were the skinny, sick ones. The employees don't even KNOW if they are male/female so how can they separate? So you may want to really learn up on sexing so you can at least make an effort to keep them separated. You can point out that if females are in one setup and males in another the customer can choose what they want. This also gives the impression that they can all be housed together. So Mom, Dad and the kids take home three, one for each kid, and it ends up being 2:1 then they wonder why there are problems, why one is always hiding or not eating. The other problem with them all together is that you may very well send home a gravid female much to the dismay of Suzie's or Johnny's mother when little ones begin to appear!!

Oh, I COULD go on...sorry. OK, one last thought. When people buy reptiles, they should be in the CORRECT habitat that the new owner needs to setup at home. They should be able to look at one (because in theory the animal should be setup right) AND they should not leave the store without all the proper setup so they know the true cost of a $5 pet is...now I will stop.

PLEASE keep us posted and pop over to the Cham forum sometime to chat with some other pet store workers. Best of luck to you and again, I shake you hand "virtually.” Please keep us posted!

lele