Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently posted a warning about a potential disease i had found in a gecko that I received from petco. I just want to apologize to anyone I offended by that post. Some of you took it to say that these co. did not take good care of their animals, which I did not mean. I have gotten healthy animals from both these stores before. Mainly what I was trying to warn people about is the poly cystic kidney disease my gecko just died of. The problem with buying animals from these type of establishments, is that you (and often even the store manager) has no idea what the lineage and genetic makeup of any of the animals is. This is why you will find beautiful morphs for normal prices. I believe they are bought in bulk, and what they get is what they offer for sale. I was trying to let people know about the possibility of a young gecko having this disease if its bought from anyone besides an experienced breeder who can vouch for the health of their animals over several generations. (this includes myself, a first-time breeder). I just wanted to make everyone aware that polycystic kidney disease is a posisbility, and can be diagnosed (asap) by blood test, and if there is a ? about its possiblity, for new owners to get the test done before the animal stops eating and dies. Once again, soory. I have found the animals in capable hands at both stores and did not mean to imply otherwise.
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1.0 Pastel/Jungle Leopard gecko from JL (BJ)
0.4 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie, Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 TBD Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.1 Tang Nearly Paternless (Peaches)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (One snow, One red albino)

As a Petco employee (Kalispell, Mt) I would like to say thank you for the apology. I have had experience working with Petsmart and they have money making as the most important part of thier business. I can honestly say after working for both Petco and petsmart, Petco truly does make animals first priority. All of our animals are bought not in Bulk but from trusted breeders. We do have the ability to order color morphs of leopard Geckos but usually we order regular ones and a few rarer ones are thrown in accidentally. They are all checked by a local vet before ever being offered for sale. In addition to that any animal that displays signs of ill health are removed and quarantined until they can be evaluated by a vet. I can't say that every store is run this way but I can say that they are all supposed to be. If you ever see any mistreatment of an animal at a Petco then please report it so it can be stopped. I have bought quite a few of my herps from my store and all have been in tip top health when I purchased them. I appreciate the apology as a Petco employee but I urge you to let your local Petco herp specialist about this possibility of disease.

Sincerely,
Matt the Herp and Aquatics guy

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1.0 Pastel/Jungle Leopard gecko from JL (BJ)
0.4 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie, Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 TBD Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.1 Tang Nearly Paternless (Peaches)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (One snow, One red albino)

As a PETsMART employee I would also like to say thank you for the apology, but when I posted a while back I wasn't trying to attack you specifically I promiss. I just wanted people to know that PETsMART and Petco aren't horrible places that don't care for pets. Like the previous post, at my store pet health and care comes first before profits. Any ill or injured animal is treated by our instore vet right away. I'm sorry if I came off harsh, but its frustrating when one store run by complete idiots that shouldn't even be working with animals gives everybody else a bad name. If anybody has any type of comment, complaint or question feel free to contact our coporate office in Pheonix, Arizona. You can also contact coporate through petsmart.com.

Emily
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2.4.3 leopard geckos
1.1 ferrets (Oliver and Delilah)
1. budgie (Max)
0.0.1 Ring neck Parakeet (Kiwi)
1.1 German Shepards (Jake and Abigail)

www.freewebs.com/thespottedgecko

I'm very glad that y'all lucked out and managed to be one of the fortunate ones.

I only wish every Petsmart and Petco were liked that.

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
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~~The Gecko Barn~~

I wouldn't worry about apologizing... Other than to the fortunate few who have only good experiences with either of these 2 chain stores.

I have been in MANY Petsmarts and Petcos - 99% of the time, their reptiles are in bad condition. They don't know how to take care of them - either they're mislabeled (that's small-time and not that bad), or they're skinny as all get out from lack of access to food or water, or they're extremely bloated, or they're totally stressed out & sick... ETC ETC ETC

I witnessed a baby leo who was in this little box of sand, separated from his water and food by a wall. I questioned the employee in charge of the section - a very rude employee who had no clue what she was talking about - and she tried to tell me that there was a space under the wall for the leo to climb under. Now, I DO wear glasses - but I sure as hell are not BLIND. There was NO way for that leo to get through. Ask Crystal, too - she was there with me! I even went to the manager, who just shrugged my comments off. That was a Petsmart.

I went to a Petco and checked out their leopard geckos. There was this one leopard gecko who absolutely BLOATED. I mean, it was the leo equivalent of a 5'0", 600 pound human. Seriously. And it looked sick. Right next to it was the leopard gecko who had obviously not eaten in several months - its tail was as skinny as a twig, and it was a dark stressed-out brown. All the leopard geckos were VERY dry - their skins looked like they were covered in dandruff. I questioned the employee on the skinnier female, and she tried to tell me that it was just that skinny because it had just laid eggs. Ya know, I'm sorry, but I've seen females who just laid eggs. And I'm sure they put the poor thing through that. But even my female, Kali, who simply quit eating the whole time she was gravid and then eggbound, never got as skinny as this leo!!

I've got many other bad stories - some of them mammal-related, as well, but all having to do with these 2 chain stores. No good stories.

If you'll do a search on this forum for either of the above-mentioned chain stores, you'll probably find at least a hundred threads, all with VERY bad and often HORROR stories about the stores.

So, I'll stick with the idea that Petsmart and Petco are NOT good stores - not for live animals. Animal supplies, yes. Live animals, no.

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
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~~The Gecko Barn~~

Refresh my memory..(cause your old post is probably buried in the doldrums of KS)...if the gecko has this is it treatable..

Petco indeed has good animals..I was a former reptle/fish person at mine(BTW..The #2 store in the chain) for four years. I watched many excellent animals come through petco. Leopard geckos from petco has formed a lot of my foundation of my breeding stock..I have had no problems with any of them. They are some of the brightest hypo tangerines I have..

geckogod2