Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just wanted to add in a few things without making everyone read through the list... In my experience, dealing with pet stores that sell reptiles it is most often the case that these animals have some sort of problem with them. Often they are turned out by the thousands by "lizard mills" similar to "puppy Mills" and "Kitten Mills" which turn out dogs and cats by the thousand in cramped quarters and filthy conditions. Now, many reptiles..especially the smaller ones that are food for other animals, don't show signs of sickness until its too late to do anything about it. Its a survival mechanism... Now, Petco is one of the worst..Indeed some of their animals can be healthy but very few are when they're bought by people...no matter how well they look, there's the possibility of disease. With buying from a breeder, especially well known ones, you're liable to find that these breeders got into their hobby with just a love of reptiles...Not for the money inherent in it..because believe me, most breeders just barely break even when it comes to costs of housing, heating and feeding. So when we tell your son that animals from petco may be sick, we're going on experiences we've been through.. (I, myself, purchased a Savannah Monitor from a large chain pet store at one point when I was younger. He died 2 weeks later despite vet visits of a Respiratory infection that he had when I got him)Its not to scare your son out of wanting a reptile, its to allow him to make an informed choice as to whether he wants to risk buying an animal that may die at a later date from some illness it contracted due to stress, improper heating and temps or lack of quality food. In the end, we're trying to help minimize the possible problems and maximize the owner/reptile experience.

I've been reading this board for a good while now and I can't even being to count the amount of posts regarding unhealthy animals bought from Petmart etc. Of course not every leo is going to be sick but with the current track record why would you want to risk it?

People here are in no way trying to dampen your son's spirits or lessen his experience, in fact they are trying to prevent that from happening. He seems a bight young man eger to learn how best to care for his new pet asking god knows how many questions about every thing and any thing to do with Leopard Geckos. I think it would be a very bad thing for him to pick a posibly unhealthy leo from a supermarket only for it to cost $100's in vet bills or simply waste away in front of him.

At the end of the day I couldn't careless to be honest I don't know your son buy from where you like. But just keep in mind if things start to go wrong with your new found supermarket leo who do you think your son is going to blame? You?, The supermarket? or even worse Himself? Quite simply why take the Risk.

Regards

Jil.

I agree...believe me, I have watched more animals die before the age of 12 than most kids will experience in their entire childhood years (I was forcefeeding ammoxacillin to my dying parakeet at the ripe old age of 11; he died in my hands. I tried to administer emergency care to my dying rabbit who had obtained multiple bee stings by jellow jackets at the age of 8; he never had a chance. I watched as my other rabbit suffocated on a hairball, I couldn't do anything. I found my cat ravaged by a coyote (luckily he made it)). You want the kids to worry, to know how frail life is so they can experience pets as little miracles. Diseases like crypto and coccidia are especially cruel to watch as they take hold of a beloved pet. That's why we pushed the "avoid petco/petsmart" idea, lots of us have been hurt by watching sick animals waste away, and we wanted your child to start off with the best possible chance of avoiding what so many of us have seen happen to our beloved friends. We weren't saying "it will die" we were saying that coming from a chain store, it will have a higher chance of getting sick, which is true. Even pets from reptile stores and breeders often need vet visits as well (my two leos did). So like I said, if he is really worried, that means he is responsible and we have done our job in showing him the risks that these animals face (I know we sound like jerks, but we are just sharing opinions that are based on alot of hurt).

Cleo
1:1 leos (7 eggs cooking)

I agree...believe me, I have watched more animals die before the age of 12 than most kids will experience in their entire childhood years (I was forcefeeding ammoxacillin to my dying parakeet at the ripe old age of 11; he died in my hands. I tried to administer emergency care to my dying rabbit who had obtained multiple bee stings by jellow jackets at the age of 8; he never had a chance. I watched as my other rabbit suffocated on a hairball, I couldn't do anything. I found my cat ravaged by a coyote (luckily he made it)). You want the kids to worry, to know how frail life is so they can experience pets as little miracles. Diseases like crypto and coccidia are especially cruel to watch as they take hold of a beloved pet. That's why we pushed the "avoid petco/petsmart" idea, lots of us have been hurt by watching sick animals waste away, and we wanted your child to start off with the best possible chance of avoiding what so many of us have seen happen to our beloved friends. We weren't saying "it will die" we were saying that coming from a chain store, it will have a higher chance of getting sick, which is true. Even pets from reptile stores and breeders often need vet visits as well (my two leos did). So like I said, if he is really worried, that means he is responsible and we have done our job in showing him the risks that these animals face (I know we sound like jerks, but we are just sharing opinions that are based on alot of hurt).

Cleo
1:1 leos (7 eggs cooking)