pet store dragons
- Thread starter kayleighidkk
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kayleighidkk said:this probably won't get any response lol , but if it does , i'm just curious to know how people's pet store dragon experiences were. ( with pictures of your dragon ! ) i got mine from petsmart and he's made big improvements in only 4 weeks. so i was just curious to know how anybody else's were (good & bad)
I got Dixie at a reputable petstore that sells mostly reptiles. My bug guy (the one who sells me feeders) also supply that store with food and bearded dragons, so basically Dixie's is one of his. Great health and temperament.
Here she is at 2 months and about 6 months
My spouse got Frankie at petsmartand she was not doing good! She was 7 grams and very lethargic , I thought she has yellow fungus because she refused to eat ,fed her squash for couple of weeks. She was perking up but now eating than AHBD gave me a good cricket trick and she began to eat , now she is doing great! If I didnt know about bearded dragon and didnt get proper lighting and didnt get proper advice from this forum she would probably be dead by now
Here she was then and now , not sure the age might be 2 months now she is 17 grams!
joef
Hatchling Member
I got my dragon Darwin from Petco, and I didn't even trust them to enough to askthem what I needed to do. I did lots of research because I knew that pet stores like that wont give you all of the correct info. He was always brave though, he even jumped at my cat that was trying to get him, and threatened my other cat.YoursTruly":abhzvfnq said:
traildrifterphalanx
Sub-Adult Member
Both my dragons are Petsmart dragons and are doing very well.
(off of Oneida St, Green Bay, WI)
HOWEVER.
As much as we all know not to support the chain stores, it really depends on the individual location and the individuals staffed. Some locations don't care, some care a ton.
My oldest I got a year and 8 months ago from petsmart, the only one left, plump and active, and was about 3mo at the time, now a small 17" beardie.
My youngest I got the day after Halloween, same store, very small and underfed, appeared very fragile and unhealthy. Bought in an attempt to help him, which unfortunately encourages their sales, but I couldn't just leave him there.
Since then I have visited this store for supplies (emergency crickets, mice for the snake, etc) and had to call their attention to the DEAD dragon in one of the enclosures housing about 4 others. It was clearly dead in there for a long time as it was basically a skeleton with skin, extremely upsetting. The employees there know who I am, I'm there often (1 cat, 3 frogs, 2 dragons, 1 snake) and the employee I had to flag down was the one that helped me get my most recent dragon. I felt sick.
This Petsmart also overcrowds their enclosures (4-5 babies per 5 gallon)
The Petco is a bit further away for me, but their dragons there are all fat and plump, not over crowded (about 2 pet babies/10 gallon, 2 juvi's/20 gallon) and I've watched the employees tend to the enclosures.
At both my local Petsmart and Petco, both locations did not provide adequate heating (around 80 degrees) and both used a T8 reptisun 10.0 bulb, above screen.
That being said neither of my dragons have had any health issues (knock on wood)
(off of Oneida St, Green Bay, WI)
HOWEVER.
As much as we all know not to support the chain stores, it really depends on the individual location and the individuals staffed. Some locations don't care, some care a ton.
My oldest I got a year and 8 months ago from petsmart, the only one left, plump and active, and was about 3mo at the time, now a small 17" beardie.
My youngest I got the day after Halloween, same store, very small and underfed, appeared very fragile and unhealthy. Bought in an attempt to help him, which unfortunately encourages their sales, but I couldn't just leave him there.
Since then I have visited this store for supplies (emergency crickets, mice for the snake, etc) and had to call their attention to the DEAD dragon in one of the enclosures housing about 4 others. It was clearly dead in there for a long time as it was basically a skeleton with skin, extremely upsetting. The employees there know who I am, I'm there often (1 cat, 3 frogs, 2 dragons, 1 snake) and the employee I had to flag down was the one that helped me get my most recent dragon. I felt sick.
This Petsmart also overcrowds their enclosures (4-5 babies per 5 gallon)
The Petco is a bit further away for me, but their dragons there are all fat and plump, not over crowded (about 2 pet babies/10 gallon, 2 juvi's/20 gallon) and I've watched the employees tend to the enclosures.
At both my local Petsmart and Petco, both locations did not provide adequate heating (around 80 degrees) and both used a T8 reptisun 10.0 bulb, above screen.
That being said neither of my dragons have had any health issues (knock on wood)
traildrifterphalanx
Sub-Adult Member
Thanks SHBailey 
I love them both dearly
I love them both dearly
magpieandstuff
Hatchling Member
I got Reptar from Petco. I will never again buy a beardie from a pet store. The condition I got him in was terrible. He had a RI and an injured tail. Most of his clutch mates also had injuries. I had originally picked out a different dragon, until I saw she was missing a foot. Though, now I regret not getting both her and Reppy. I always wonder what became of her. Poor baby. Luckily Reptar was able to recover and he is a really wonderful dragon now. He is super curious and loves to explore. The only negative thing about him is the fact that he is a picky eater.
Also, it can be hard to predict what beardies from pet stores will look like when they are older. Reppy started out very dark as a baby. Then he was a bright yellow for about 6 months. Now he is mostly brown, but will turn orange when he is warm.
Baby Reptar:
Reptar back when he was yellow:
I really should have taken more photos of him during this time. He was just so handsome!
Photo from August. A week before Reptar turned three:
Poor baby. Luckily Reptar was able to recover and he is a really wonderful dragon now. He is super curious and loves to explore. The only negative thing about him is the fact that he is a picky eater. Also, it can be hard to predict what beardies from pet stores will look like when they are older. Reppy started out very dark as a baby. Then he was a bright yellow for about 6 months. Now he is mostly brown, but will turn orange when he is warm.
Baby Reptar:
Reptar back when he was yellow:
I really should have taken more photos of him during this time. He was just so handsome!
Photo from August. A week before Reptar turned three:
He's beautiful, but it almost looks like you've had 3 different dragons :wink:
I especially like the photo from August -- he seems almost color coordinated with the rainbow blanket. :mrgreen:
He's lucky he got you, but I hope you don't feel too bad about the other one. We just don't have the capacity to save them all, much as we'd like to.
I especially like the photo from August -- he seems almost color coordinated with the rainbow blanket. :mrgreen:
He's lucky he got you, but I hope you don't feel too bad about the other one. We just don't have the capacity to save them all, much as we'd like to.
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