Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if prehistoricpets.com had decent animals, I wanted to buy a blizzard from them but I had a very bad run in with buyin g geckos off the net last summer.
I bought a super sick and deformed blizzard from a well known reptile site and it died a few days later, it had parasites so bad.

Go for this: Ask specific questions about the animals health. Don't just ask "are they healthy?". Be direct and ask if the breeder has dealt with parasites (internal and external), is he sure his animals are parasite-free, ask if he has a reptilian specialist to consult concerns with, and ask him to send you a picture of the animal he'll send.

I think I once e-mailed that business and when I asked those questions they only answered one, something like this: "Well, they all look pretty much the same, what in particular are you looking for?"

Buy from a smaller breeder instead, and make sure the person is no vet-phobic. A lot bash reptilian specialists, and those are the ones you should avoid.
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Well I would but there aren't any that have blizards around here..everyone is all about snakes. The last reptile show I went to had NO geckos at all just all snakes and insects.

I had a good experience with the only transaction I've done thru them. I bought a young Amel AFT well over a year ago that has turned out just beatiful. they were quick with email replies and the gecko arrived well packed in great condition. I was looking for a male and it turned out female but I don't blame them, they didnt guarantee male. I myself would buy from them again.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.15 Tokays
1.4.10 Leos(13 albino)
1.2.0 AFT's(amel male)
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

If you wait a little longer, there will be blizzards everywhere. The mothers are laying eggs and they'll hatch by the summer. Then, you'll see them even in your local Petco, for gawd's sake... Which, by the way, offers a health guarantee without extra shipping charges
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Your local PETsMART can order them for you . . . te cost about 59.99 as Juveniles. AND they're normally from reputible places like C.R.A.P. (which is Ron Tremper) or Sandfire Dragon Ranch.

Unless you want to pay alot for them tho, I would wait until you can find them at a show. I got my adult Blizzard for $50. PLus you really can't sex the Juvies that easily either.
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Trish
2.0.0 Tremper Albino Leopard Gecko "Lyle" and "Thor"
0.1.0 Hypo-Gold Leopard Gecko "Goldie"
0.1.0 High Yellow Lavender Jungle Leopard Gecko "Lucky"
0.1.0 Super Hypo Tangerine Carrot Tail Leopard Gecko "Storm"
0.1.0 Blizzard Leopard Gecko "Ice"
0.1.0 Normal Leopard Gecko "Cosmo"
0.1.0 Cockatiel "Jewel"
0.1.0 Pitbull/Golden Retriever "Guiness"
0.2.0 Cats "Athena" and "Violet"
0.1.0 Horse "Arian Gold Karma"
And who knows how many fish

Well, hatchlings are $20 and this week they're 15% off, to begin with. Tremper's "crap" puts out some gorgeous tangerines, hypos, carrot tails, baldies, every once in a while when you make a discovery at that price, and to be honest, I've never purchased a gecko infested with pinworms, mites or what have yous from Petco. I have from some "known" online breeders, though...

In fact, my local reptilian specialist, the best in the state for decades, is Petco's avian/reptilian vet too...

So, at least my local ones, are good places to buy animals from, at fair prices, and with a health guarantee. If your local one does not abide by those standards, contact the manager and make them... As simple as that, rather than wasting time bashing Petco online.
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In your fairy tale world that is fine but this is the real world and 98% of Petcos are crap. I have dealt very closely with Petco for many years and know all of the [bleep] that goes on there. In local stores and on a corporate level. There are some good people that work for Petco I will not dispute that but the majority are bumbling idiots who don't know a leo from a gourami.
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Jeff West

Where the hell do you get your information? Petsmart and Petco are probably two of the worst places to buy anything that is alive and breathing but then again only about half their animals do that after a week. Just talk to Prehistoric about the animals you may e surprised at their responses. There are so many reputable breeders if you wait a couple months they will be plentiful and you can wait until you find a breeder you feel comfortable with. Or if you want to buy some breeders rejects that have been improperly cared for and starved by all means go buy one from Petco or Petsmart. Petco and Petsmart are the equivalent of all of these "puppy stores" and their "puppy mill puppies" from "reputable breeders" thats a load of BS and so is the fact that petco and petsmart buy from breeders.
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Jeff West

I "the hell" get my information from my own experience, buddy.
And where have I bought the sickest animals I've had? from online, and show breeders.
Have an ongoing complaint with the IFCC now, against a "nice guy" that sold me lizards infested with ectoparasites. Talk about getting improperly cared for animals!

"Where the hell do you get your information? Petsmart and Petco are probably two of the worst places to buy anything that is alive and breathing but then again only about half their animals do that after a week. Just talk to Prehistoric about the animals you may e surprised at their responses. There are so many reputable breeders if you wait a couple months they will be plentiful and you can wait until you find a breeder you feel comfortable with. Or if you want to buy some breeders rejects that have been improperly cared for and starved by all means go buy one from Petco or Petsmart. Petco and Petsmart are the equivalent of all of these "puppy stores" and their "puppy mill puppies" from "reputable breeders" thats a load of BS and so is the fact that petco and petsmart buy from breeders."
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I was asking where the hell do you get your information from to the person who said Petco and Petsmart carry Tremper's geckos. It is ridiculous to think that a "reputable" breeder would sell their geckos to a pet store. I am not going dispute the fact that many online breeders and even show breeders have unhealthy animals. I am suggesting to this person to speak with the breeder personally. There will be no way to know for sure what kind of animal you are purchasing no matter where you go unless you have a relationship with a bredder that you know and trust. Petco does offer a guarantee...3 days. That will do you a lot of good, huh?
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Jeff West

"Petco does offer a guarantee...3 days. That will do you a lot of good, huh?"

Better than the "live arrival" guarantee most breeders leave it at! Yup, does a lot of good to have time to have 3 days to do testing and confirm health.

BTW, my local Petco actually gets their geckos from Gourmet Rodent, in Florida.
Some breeders get rid of their "AA x aa" rejects in numerous ways, especially when they stack away their animals in shoeboxes, producing hundreds of hatchlings in their "gecko mills", until the prized ones pop out. So, don't be surprised if big breeders sell their surplus to stores rather than post mutts in a website, dear...
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You are just backing my point...the ones you buy from Petco will be rejects no matter which breeder they come from. I said a few posts back, go ahead and buy the rejects if you want.
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Jeff West

"Rejects", or showing line-bred traits the breeder is not interested in perpetuating. And so many times they get rid of them being so young, that just ocasionally you can get a little treasure in Petco, because the trait did not show so early, and Petco required a certain number the breeder had to meet.

And by the way, I have one nearby that, seems an employee holds geckos in the back when she suspects a special trait is showing. I have seen very young babies with an older one showing snow, tangerine, carrot tail, hypo, or baldy traits. Seems the manager requires that the animal is in a tank for sale at least a day, before an employee can buy it.

Even then, you can still go to the manager and ensure you see all animals available, ending up with something far better than trash...
If ALL "breeders" kept records of the parents and offspring, then it would make a big, big difference paying extra hundreds of dollars plus shipping for a line bred trait... So until then, Petco is not such a bad site to ignore in your search...
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We were in Petco yesterday, saw an absolutely gorgeous albino baby. There were 2 albinos and one normal. We are in the market for a new little one, and as we were waiting for someone to help us we realized that there was a little kid and his mom purchasing a leo. We listened closely to the MANAGER'S sales pitch, as she sold them freeze dried mealworms, that crappy nature's bark for substrate, no calcium powder, a heat lamp and uth, she told them to put the heat light on one end and the uth on the opposite end!!! did not tell them abou a humid hide, in fact actually the store display did not have one either. The fact that it was obviously an on the spot decision to buy the gecko really pissed me off, it was obvious that no research had been done prior to the purchase, and because the manager gave all the info i am sure very little research will be done at home. The kid was about 6 yrs old and the store manager let him reach into the enclosure and pick up the leo himself. The mother obviously had no idea what she was getting into and it almost made me cry to think that the poor little leo who was barely a month old will most likely be dead within 1 month, either from overheating it or because it's not going to eat... We would've bought him too, he was absolutely gorgeous but of course that was the one the kid chose too. I'm still sad to think that Petco makes it so easy for people to buy something they no nothing about and they make it so easy to care for them improperly. As you can see, I am not crazy about Petco. I do know for sure that the sales woman was the manager. I listened as she told the kid he should not kiss the gecko because he would probably get salmonella and watched the mothers face cringe in horror, as this is something she obviously did not realize. I think most of Petco's employees must be retarded. Some of them are very intelligent and experienced, though.
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Jeff West

Yup... Now try buying from a breeder with good references in the BOI, confirms that your lizards are healthy, they arrive barely able to open their eyes, skinny and fecals show they have no internal parasites but mites are everywhere. "Good seller" won't refund or replace with treated animals.

Sorry, but Petco still beats the crooks online that brag about their knowledge and expertise, at least refunding my purchase within the same time frame, without having to complain to the IFCC, USPS, BBB, or what have you...

It is a Pandora's box, and with all the crackpots selling online, nobody can talk about how much "worse" buying from Petco is.
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HI

I bought a blizzrd het a while back (when blizzards were still new) He was perfect and healthy he lived many years until a female bit his leg which brought on a infection that even the vet couldn't fix in time. So I would say I was happy with the pruchase from Prehistoric.

Prehistoric is known locally as preinfested. Their animals all have mites. I dont know what their geckos are like, but the snakes are bad. My cal king took a long time to get over her mite infestation. But I do have to admit, they have some nice animals. So i guess its up to you.