Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi, i just came from a local petshop so i can see geckos and other lizards in person ...they got baby geckos.. look like too little to be in the market.. they don't have fat tails but they don't look like starving either...the babies were alert and cute..
there is an older leopard gecko albino patterned one .. sleeping but don't look right.. the tail look normal but not as fat as the ones that y'all show on the forum.. but the legs don't look right the back legs looks crooked..

they were selling the babies for 50 dollars and the older ones 80 dollars but the older ones don't look like they worth that much...

they had bearded dragons.. one of them was sold so i didn't get chance to see it but it was worth 150 dollars i thought that was a bit much comparing to the prices i seen on the internet.. they were ordinary colors instead of special colors .. and there was one on sale for 80 dollars it is missing all of its toes on one front foot.. couldn't see the other side...

they had anoles... the bigger ones looks good .. the smallers ones are starving.. there are couple of striveled up ones .. dead .. ick..

the other types of geckos looks alright..

the leopard and fat tailed gecko are not housed proper.. they are on one of them real fine crystal type sand.. one of them calium sand...

i think whenever i get me a lizard i think i would buy from the internet i suppose atho i don't really have that much money...

Redestarr

Wherever you live, there will likely be reptile shows/expos in the area. Especially if you live near a big city. I'm sure someone on the forum can tell you when one will be near you. If not, you can probably find some info on the internet, or from your local reptile distributor.

Shows are a great place to get a pet. A lot of the people on this forum attend the shows and sell leos there. I bought mine at a local show and couldn't be happier with it. You can also check out all kinds of different lizards there. And they'll all (likely) be in great health. Good luck.

>>hi, i just came from a local petshop so i can see geckos and other lizards in person ...they got baby geckos.. look like too little to be in the market.. they don't have fat tails but they don't look like starving either...the babies were alert and cute..
>>there is an older leopard gecko albino patterned one .. sleeping but don't look right.. the tail look normal but not as fat as the ones that y'all show on the forum.. but the legs don't look right the back legs looks crooked..
>>
>>they were selling the babies for 50 dollars and the older ones 80 dollars but the older ones don't look like they worth that much...
>>
>>they had bearded dragons.. one of them was sold so i didn't get chance to see it but it was worth 150 dollars i thought that was a bit much comparing to the prices i seen on the internet.. they were ordinary colors instead of special colors .. and there was one on sale for 80 dollars it is missing all of its toes on one front foot.. couldn't see the other side...
>>
>>they had anoles... the bigger ones looks good .. the smallers ones are starving.. there are couple of striveled up ones .. dead .. ick..
>>
>>the other types of geckos looks alright..
>>
>>the leopard and fat tailed gecko are not housed proper.. they are on one of them real fine crystal type sand.. one of them calium sand...
>>
>>i think whenever i get me a lizard i think i would buy from the internet i suppose atho i don't really have that much money...
>>
>>Redestarr
-----
Blaine

0.0.1 High Yellow Juvenile Leo (Echo)

Wow you just summed up alot of pet shops really well. I bought my leo from a reptile show as well. I paid only $14 for him as an unsexed baby, so if you want a good deal the reptile shows are worth the wait. Even if you can find a decent pet shop, the prices may not be that good. I was at petsmart today buying a tank and looked in at the leos they had. They had about 5 or six decent sized normal juvies for 34.99 each, but several of them had regenerated tails. Other than that they looked okay. But still I paid less for a high yellow baby, and the normals at the reptile show were going for as low as ten! Even if it may be a few months until there is a show near you its worth the wait and you can still start getting the supplies you'd need and stuff like that

Sounds like that petshop should be reported to Animal Care and Control for animal welfare violations. There are laws against mistreating animals. I would definately not buy any kind of animal there. Sounds like the adult probably has/had MBD (caused by not supplementing with calcium).

The internet is always an option no matter where you live. You'll probably pay around $40 for shipping, but you should also be able to get much better prices than $50 for a possibly diseased hatchling (Petco is particularly notorious for selling diseased leos), assuming you are just looking for a normal or hi-yellow as a pet.

For example:

You can get 4-5" normals from Ron Tremper at www.leopardgecko.com for $20 shipping (no individual pics of what you will get)

Marcia McGuiness of Golden Gate Geckos has some larger sized normals/hi-yellows for $30 (she has individual pics)

http://www.goldengategeckos.com/available.html

Those are just two examples, there are many more. Many of the forum sponsors sell leos.

The point is that even with shipping you're not looking at much more than your scary pet store. Not that ALL pet stores are bad (though the one you described sounds terrible). Petsmart and Petco I would definately steer away from if you want a healthy pet and won't die and/or cost you a bunch in vet bills and heartbreak. But some places (usually larger cities) do have quality pet stores that specialize in reptiles, that do care about the animals and treat them as living creatures, instead of like staplers.

Also there may be local breeders who live near you. Post a question like "Any breeders near ", and you may find one here on this forum.

Look on the Kingsnake Classifieds under "Leopard Geckos". You can get one there online, or see if there are any breeders locally by looking at where they are from and contacting the directly.

Lastly, if you live near a big city, there are most likely reptile shows that will be in your area several times a year.

Good luck finding a healthy pet.
-----
Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

>>Sounds like that petshop should be reported to Animal Care and Control for animal welfare violations. There are laws against mistreating animals. I would definately not buy any kind of animal there. Sounds like the adult probably has/had MBD (caused by not supplementing with calcium).
>>
>>The internet is always an option no matter where you live. You'll probably pay around $40 for shipping, but you should also be able to get much better prices than $50 for a possibly diseased hatchling (Petco is particularly notorious for selling diseased leos), assuming you are just looking for a normal or hi-yellow as a pet.
>>
>>For example:
>>
>>You can get 4-5" normals from Ron Tremper at www.leopardgecko.com for $20 shipping (no individual pics of what you will get)
>>
>>Marcia McGuiness of Golden Gate Geckos has some larger sized normals/hi-yellows for $30 (she has individual pics)
>>
>>http://www.goldengategeckos.com/available.html
>>
>>Those are just two examples, there are many more. Many of the forum sponsors sell leos.
>>
>>The point is that even with shipping you're not looking at much more than your scary pet store. Not that ALL pet stores are bad (though the one you described sounds terrible). Petsmart and Petco I would definately steer away from if you want a healthy pet and won't die and/or cost you a bunch in vet bills and heartbreak. But some places (usually larger cities) do have quality pet stores that specialize in reptiles, that do care about the animals and treat them as living creatures, instead of like staplers.
>>
>>Also there may be local breeders who live near you. Post a question like "Any breeders near ", and you may find one here on this forum.
>>
>>Look on the Kingsnake Classifieds under "Leopard Geckos". You can get one there online, or see if there are any breeders locally by looking at where they are from and contacting the directly.
>>
>>Lastly, if you live near a big city, there are most likely reptile shows that will be in your area several times a year.
>>
>>Good luck finding a healthy pet.
>>-----
>>Sarah Stettler aka Starling
>>Sarah@stargecko.com
>>StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
>>Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos
-----
1.0 ball python (Caesar)
1.0 bearded dragon (Wayne)
1.5 leopard geckos (Lerxst, Gaia, Zelda, Circe, Aimee, Nova)
0.1 cockateil (Gyra)
0.1 cat (Tabitha)