Petsmart dragons?

This is Spike, a PetSmart fancy beardie that we've had for almost a year. We have not had any issues with him until the last week which I think is probably brumation.
And…apparently I don't know how to attach a pic but he is pretty cute.

I don´t know about your petsmart but the one near where I live had a big chart for future reptile owners with each animal´s needs. The bearded dragon chart had lots of incorrect information and said it was even approved by a certified vet. It said they needed heat pads and that one of the best substrates was cali-sand which for me it is wrong.

I got a fancy from pet smart 10 years ago. He is still going strong. When he's happy he turns a really bright orange They said the name was due to the more vibrant colors they show. I have since bought 2 more bearded dragons with the non fancy lable both of them are not as colorful.

I got my baby bearded dragon from PetSmart and we have been very lucky with him. I took him to a reptile vet who stated he had no parasites. We have had him for almost 3 months now and has more than doubled his weight, from 8 g to 24 g, and has gone from 5 inches to 8 inches. Don't know how to put a picture of him on otherwise I would. He is sleeping on me as I write this now. Good luck!

I'm in NB Canada. Petsmart is literally the only shop that sells dragons locally. That being said - one of the staff I deal with regularly has her own beardies, and water dragons, etc. She is great with them and when she told me Charlie was healthy and spunky I trusted her. She's right - almost a week in and Charlie is a feisty one! Here's hoping her health stays that way. She needs to eat more...ugh.

A rule I follow is...don't ever listen to any pet shop employee. They are trained to sell products, they will fill your head with jibberish to sell them.
They never have anything other than aspen chips (not for the dragons) I need anyway...better deals on Amazon.

Actually, Charlie was on repti-carpet. I didn't want or intend to buy from Petsmart, BUT I fell in love with Charlie. She's spunky and I finally figured out this morning why she wouldn't eat - I've been taking her out to eat in a bucket type thing - she wanted to be fed in her enclosure. She gorged this morning LOL! The employee I was speaking about is one I've dealt with for over a year - she's never tried to sell me anything I walked in telling her I wanted Charlie (after talking to my husband), and she was laughing that Charlie was the spunkiest of the three they had gotten in together - and that Charlie would often puff up at her haha. I asked if they ever got anything other than crickets and between her and I, she was not keen on the fact that crickets were it. But I watched Charlie eat before I took her home and she had a great appetite there.

Charlie's my 5th beardie. If her health gets funky, I know what to look for. Evee taught me a LOT. The employee I dealt with also had a rescue from the SPCA - he was too far gone though and she was devasted when she lost him. She's the only one I trust there to be straight with me as she is experienced with reptiles. I've had a different employee try to tell me stuff and I just stared blankly at them - and then corrected them. I agree that many employees at pet shops only want to sell stuff, but not all of them are like that. I think it really depends on the rapport you have with them and their own life experience.

It's just my rule....there are probably exceptions. I have gotten into heated debates at pet stores before. Even got banned from one...
I only go to Petco to get their brand of aspen chips. It's cheaper than ordering SaniChips online.

I agree with Rankins. I know there are exceptions to the "No Petsmart/Petco" rule, but I feel that there are more horror stories than good ones. Of course it is wonderful if you have a good employee to work with, and if you've purchased a healthy dragon from one of these stores who actually cares for their reptiles properly. But after what I went through with Thane, I would NEVER purchase a dragon or any other animal from one of those stores again.

I don't even get crickets from them. The only reason I'd go in there would be for vitamins, cricket feed, or decor. They overcharge and the damn things die after a few days. I am lucky enough to have a great reptile shop nearby that sells banded crickets, which are meatier, healthier, more active and last much longer than house crickets. If you're unable to get these (or any healthy cricket) nearby, I'd suggest ordering online or starting a dubia colony.

Oh, I totally get that - I really do, I assume my local Petsmart is an exception as they happen to have an awesome employee. Unfortunately, where I live I have really limited options - I either mail order and pay a mint for shipping (insects - we're talking over $20 or $30 dollars just in shipping) or I go to Petsmart or PetValu.

It sucks. At Petsmart, the small crickets are 0.12 each (Canadian), the large ones 0.13 0r 15 (can't remember), the hornworms are ridiculously priced - no matter the size they are $1.45 each. Highway robbery. PetValu is about the same.

I wish we had someone to go to OR that I could start raising feeders on my own, but I have MS and my husband has Parkinson's and we have 3 kids (2 teens and a tot) - I dedicate my time to my family and my pets - raising insects just would not work. At least when I am having a 'bad' day I still have the energy to do what I need to care for Charlie and the others. Having insects to clean up after etc would be too much. I hate it.

Before finding Charlie I had planned to 'rescue' one posted on kijiji when the time was right...but she really caught my heart strings and I lucked out.

Wow...MS and Parkinsons really does have an impact on how much you can do.
Raising bugs is more time consuming and nearly not as much fun as raising reptiles. I use to breed thousands of crickets each month...but it was a pain and took up a lot of room. Roaches are easier...but still not much fun, especially when bin cleaning.

I'm fortunate that my MS is considered mild and I can still work full-time and do; but my husband can only work part time. Yeah, I would love to raise silkworms and supers but I've read up on doing it and it just isn't feasible time/energy wise for us...the energy I have is in high demand lol.

I tried keeping crickets when I had my first two beardies 10 years ago - but they just stink so much and they never seemed to survive long enough. Still can't figure out why. I try everything, but they just are not survivors in my house LOL

I really wish there was a more affordable option for mail ordering them, but in the winter it cost more due to the need of heat packs and some places just won't ship due to the cold. *joy* I'm about 3 hours from Bangor, ME, so it's not like I'm in the arctic, but we might as well be service wise as far as feeders go.

MCHRKiller":1rk8h9cx said:

I finally got all of my "stuff" in to keep a beardie. I have a 100w basking light, deep dome mini, 2x16" ceramic tiles over a reptile carpet(easier to spot clean), some nice grapewood, natural rocks, 24" t8 reptisun 10.0 mounted inside the tank, infrared temp gun from Lowes, and a hygrometer.

I was browsing the reptiles at Petsmart and noticed they had in some "fancy" dragons...these look very much like the pet quality Citrus I had planned to order from a breeder. My question is who has had luck purchasing a lizard from Petsmart? Do these dragons grow up to be nice looking adults? Anyone have pics of their grown up Petsmart beardie?

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Beware!!! I bought a juvenile bearded dragon and she has adenovirus, worms, ring worms, and other contagious parasites. All from Petsmart. Do not buy from them!!!!

So far my beardie from pet smart is doing well. I took him to the vet to get checked for parasites and he was clean. They do have a two week return policy. Dead or alive. However, I wonder if he's a bit younger than they actually told me;he doesn't seem to be growing that much even though he eats well, is shedding, and poops well!

Elisa":35w7rkh3 said:

However, I wonder if he's a bit younger than they actually told me

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Petco definitely lied to me about the age of my girl when we got her. They said "4 or 5 months" when in reality, she was probably more like 4 or 5 weeks. She was 5 inches long and skinny as a rail. I didn't discover this until much later.