Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My family and I were in the Mall yesterday and we happened to see a young dragon in a tank in the "Petland" store. This baby looked so stressed out and unhappy....

I waited until the "reptile specialist" was done telling a customer all about nile monitors and leopard geckos, etc and then said in a "nice" way.. "That dragon looks a little stressed and it is very dim in that cage". She got all up in my face and was practically yelling at me about the fact that she used to work for one of the biggest reptile breeders in the world!!!!! That dragons do NOT need high light, they just require high heat and blah, blah, blah! I told her I was a breeder and that they do indeed require a lot of light, etc. She just kept going on and on about working for this "Huge breeder" but never gave me a company name LOL. She said how the dragon had a great appetite and ate 10 crickets a day... I just started laughing and had to leave. BUT... before I left I threw over my shoulder "maybe you did used to work for a huge reptile breeder, but obviously you didn't learn very much... maybe that is why you don't still work for them and are now working here?!?!?" LOL

Sometimes it just doesn't matter what you know, or who you try to help..... they simply feel they know it all and are never wrong. I certainly do NOT know it all and I will never claim to either! I just wish that sometimes people would actually listen BEFORE getting all defensive.... ahhh what a world that would be! LOL

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Lisa
www.beginnersbasics.com

You know, I completly sympathize. I work in a pet store, and I often get it the other way around. People will come in, ask me a question, and then get pissed off that I didn't give them the answer they were looking for. It's never THEIR fault that their pet is sick/fat/shedding/full of fleas..... it must be my fault, after all I MADE them feed their cat two cans of treats a day....
Or, the best, is when I have people try to tell me how to do my job... I've had customers interupt me while Im helping someone else, and tell me that the advice that I'm giving the other person is wrong.... ie: 'iquanas don't need vegetables...they can live off dog food! This lady is just trying to sell you a lot of fancy products, don't listen to her!' etc. I had an argument the other day with a lady who claims that her cockatiel is 30 years old, and has lived off of sunflower seeds it's whole life, and she was trying to tell another of my customers that they shouldn't buy the extruded pellets for their cockatiel, just feed it sunflower seeds... k, first of all, I breed cockatiels, and anyone here who knows birds, (and thats a lot of you) knows that cockatiels VERY rarely live past 20 years, and it certainly wouldn't have lived that long on only sunflower seeds...it would be a medical annomoly. I hate when people think they know everything, and try to give others advice. I always feel so bad, because then 2 animals will be receiving crappy care, instead of just the original 1.
*sigh* but we can't help everyone.
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proud caretaker to: 0.0.1 beardie, 1.0.0 leopard gecko, 1.0.0 African grey parrot, 1.1.0 cockatiels (and some eggs), 1.4.0 doggies (husky, husky X, border collie, aussie shepherd, german shepherd)

I had an interesting experience at one of the local PetCo's the other day.
Yes, PetCo. I still shop there when there are items I need. I don't beleive in any accross the board boycott as many have suggested or pleaded.
Now, having said that..back to my story...lol
This is a little off topic species wise but on topic otherwise.
I was picking up some pinkies for a few of my corn snake hatchlings and the clerck asked how many snakes I had.
Well, he did something I have never seen happen at a chain store, before.
He asked advise on properly caring for the snakes in that store.
He asked about temps, humidity, frequency of feedings, size of food items and different types of habitats he could suggest when customers ask. We spent over an hour ( in between him waiting on other customers) going over everything I could think to tell him and he could think to ask.
Although we could have touched on a lot more I was glad to see a kid at a chain store take the initiative to learn as much as possible to care for the animals and to learn different ways to advise people on proper husbandry once they purchase the animals.
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Remember, my posts are MY opinion only.
Jimmy (draybar)

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God Bless, Beardie Dreams, & Peace!
Pogoniacs

I work in a pet store too and sometimes it's the way someone makes a "suggestion" that hits us wrong.

Once a woman told us that an iguana had mites. We said we knew and we were treating it (this was before the natural spray came out) She came in the next day and said it still had mites and we didn't do anything and that we hadn't fed the animal. Come on, we all know how fast lettuce wilts under hot lights. She call SPCA on us, who found nothing wrong.

Another time, we had tanks with baby parrots in them. I heard one person saying they were feather pickers and sick. I replied that they were babies who were sleeping and couldn't hold up their heads for long periods. Also they hadn't grown their feathers yet to be able to pick. The woman looked at me like I was nuts.

I'm not saying we are always right but she shouldn't have yelled at you either way. I always try to listen to people (unless it is obvious they are wrong like Mondora said)

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God Bless, Beardie Dreams, & Peace!
Pogoniacs

I genuinly try to educate myself thoroughly on any animal that I might get a question about. I personally have an entire bookshelf at home full of reference books (many for animals I don't own, and have no intention of owning) so that I can answer customers questions. If I don't know the answer, I tell them that, take their phone # and call them back when I find the answer. I never pretend to know something, that only results in the animals suffering. So, have faith! Some of us pet store folk actually do try!!
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proud caretaker to: 0.0.1 beardie, 1.0.0 leopard gecko, 1.0.0 African grey parrot, 1.1.0 cockatiels (and some eggs), 1.4.0 doggies (husky, husky X, border collie, aussie shepherd, german shepherd)

Mandora good for you

In this modern age there is no real excuse for not knowing about the pet you own or care for. In most areas you can get internet access for free (schools, libraries, man power etc.) Even if one doesn't know anything about computers, there are people who can help with using search engines to find information about a particular breed of cat or dog, bird, reptile or anything.

Its good to know petstore workers/owners take the time to learn about the animals they sell and try to keep them in optimal conditions. Too many times I have gone into the local petstore to see reptiles or other animals in cramped dirty cages, over stressed and sickly.

Some of the local Petland people have asked me advice. Unfortunately their employees last an average of two weeks and the current reptile kid is a doofus. There's always next week...
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

...are severely pissing off those of us that do!" LOL!
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God Bless, Beardie Dreams, & Peace!
Pogoniacs

>>...are severely pissing off those of us that do!" LOL!
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Remember, my posts are MY opinion only.
Jimmy (draybar)

gave my daughter one that said "Yes, in fact I am a rocket scientist"

She is physically a very beautiful girl and guys just assume that she is stupid... its sad and demeaning to her.

dragons only needed to be fed every other day and she learned that in her zoology class. NOW this employeed looked about 18 if that and isn't it amazing, they don't teach bearded dragon husbandry in Vet school, but they do in high School or first year college? It's bad enough they haven't a clue what they are talking about, they then site their make beleive traingin to know this, and some people buy it!

Sad thing, these words of great wisdom are being passed to the unknowing public that buy those half starved nipped babies that have had poor heat and light and then wonder why they die in a week.......

I do not beleive that Pet Stores should be allowed to sell bearded dragons, few are the good story outcomes from them, they are death traps for bearded dragons.

I would say about 95% of the people seeking help with baby dragons come from ones bought at PetSmart (Dumb) PetCo (DeathCo) and PetLand(PetGraveLand)

Two of those locally here we have tried to help and get the nasty attitudes all the time, yet they OFTEN have dying babies or dead ones in the tanks in their store, their repsonse... reptiles die easily........ YEAH, THEY DO....... in their store!!!!!!

" their repsonse... reptiles die easily........ YEAH, THEY DO....... in their store!!!!!!"

That is amazing, because most reptiles are actually VERY hardy critters LOL That is how some breeders are able to give a 30 day guarantee on their dragons, etc. Unless it is something plainly stupid done by the new owners, it takes a while for a dragon to start to decline and then die.
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Lisa
www.beginnersbasics.com

How reptiles should be kept, how they are kept as pets, and how they are kept in non-pet environments are not the same thing.

Example: My iguana is fed every day, twice a day. So is my bearded dragon. The local university, who by the way has one of the leading global herpetologists in residence, feeds its green iguanas twice a week. Are those igs fine? Technically yes. Are they happy? Probably not. So a girl may learn something like that in an educational environment, including world class ones, but that doesn't mean its ideal for the animal or appropriate for pets.

every other day your going to have partial baby dragons..... in ANY setting..... they get hungry, they will eat each other at minimum toes, feet and hands.

I wasn't talking about what is right. Nor was I talking about baby beardies. A young girl was saying she had learned certain facts from an educational institution, for which others here were commenting. What *I* said, and I was not talking about bearded dragons, or beardie babies, was how reptiles *may* be kept in large and reputable educational institutions by global authorities, and it may not match what is appropriate for the pet environment. In fact, I said I didn't agree with it at all.

What was your point, and how was it relevant again?

if they don't know what they are talking about!!! I have a situation that just drives me crazy. I don't claim to know it all and there are lots of people in this forum who probably have read my pleas for help but I know of a person who's son is 'taking care' of a dragon for a friend. My friend (this persons sister) called me and told me that this dragon is supposed to be about 8 or 9 months old and is only as big as my 2 month old babies, and looks like it is starving to death. She said they only feed it ONCE a week and it will gobble about 20 crickets at that time. They have it on a type of small substrate just a little coarser than sand. I asked about the heat and she said that her sister didn't like to leave lights on a lot during the day. I told her to put the dragon on paper towels, feed it crickets at least once a day with greens every day as well and get the heat on. When my friend went to her sister and told her what I said her response was that she was doing what the pet store employee told her too!!! I gave her care sheets so she would have specifics and told her that if they didn't want to take care of this dragon the way it needs to be taken care of, that I would or I would find someone who would. I know that if she isn't leaving the heat lights on it definitely doesn't have UVB. I get frustrated because I know this little guy could be happy and healthy if given a chance!!!

Most people who buy animals at petstores don't do much if any of their own research. So, because they are completely uneducationed on reptile care, they assume the petstore owner/workers know everything there is to know about the animals they sell.

If you want to know how to properly cook beef, you don't ask the cashier at a grocery store, you go ask a cook or buy a good cookbook. Makes me wonder why there isn't stricter regulations for animal care for petstores. If you raise and sell cows you have to get them vet inspected regularly...why not petstores? (course it would cost to do this and thus, petstores would raise the price of their animals. Then again maybe people would be less inclined to by reptiles from petstores because of the higher price and get them from breeders).

Most people if they want a pet bad enough they will find where to get one that they can afford to buy. I wanted a bearded dragon and did my homework on them then I did the long grewling task of tracking down a breeder in my area. Found one listed right here in the city I live in, but it turns out she disappeared off the face of the earth (number in the listing now belonged to somebody else, only person matching the name in the phonebook was disconneted) so had to broading my search. Finally found one within driving distance who had babies at a good price. Drove down, checked out how she kept her own animals and the health appearance of babies and adults, and bought my little dragon.

I did nearly the same thing for the cornsnake I bought recently (just didn't spend as long researching as this time I didn't have to wait till I moved out of my parents place).

This is just sad. Yes, I do work in a petsmart. No, I don't work in the animal department. I do get questions from people though. I only know about reptiles, and not about all reptiles. If I know it I answer it, if I don't I call someone else to do it. We're lucky in our store that we generally have one person who knows a lot about each type of animal, so we can always manage to find someone who actually knows what they're talking about.
I just found out today, one of my managers used to work in petco. I happened to go in that store a few years ago and ask where the beardies were from. The girl told me wrong, so I contacted the person who she said they were from. He said the guy came in the store about it. Apparently petco gets their dragons from sandfire dragon ranch, if anyone wanted to know.

That's why I can't stand going in a pet store anymore. It just makes my blood boil. It's actually gotten to the point that I now buy ALL my supplies online because I just get so disgusted with the people I come across in the pet stores. I'm sure there are some good ones? But I havent seen any in my area. And our so called "reptile shops" are the nastiest of all. It really is ashame and would love to see them shut down.