Reporting a pet store for reptile abuse?

Hi guys.

I'm sorry in advanced if this is in the wrong section - I wasn't exactly sure where this topic would fit.

There is a pet store a town over from me and I stopped in one day on my way home from work to grab crickets for my beardie (this is not the store I typically go to, it was just convenient at the time since I was already on the road coming home from work). I always like to stop and say hello to the bearded dragons and other reptiles, so I walked over to the reptile enclosures. I was really horrified by what I saw.

There were a few tanks for bearded dragons, with two directly next to each other. None of the tanks had UV lights, they were extremely skinny (I could see ribs on one), and the sand in the tanks were covered in poop. One tank had four younger dragons. Of the four younger dragons, one was a juvenile and three were much younger. I made a mental note that the younger ones shouldn't be with the juvenile, because he/she was much bigger than the other three. But then when I took a closer look, I noticed that the two smallest dragons were both missing their left hands. They were trying to climb and kept slipping and falling and had a hard time keeping their balance on their perches.

I was really upset. I called an employee over and expressed this. She made comments about how they were all hatched together so they could stay in the same tank, despite size (even if they were in the same clutch, the one dragon was so much bigger than the other three...). She even said, "Don't worry, those are discounted." After clearly getting frustrated with me, the employee told me she would bring up the matter to her boss and see if there was anything they could do.

I don't know what to do. The animals at this pet shop are obviously in subpar conditions, and are attacking each other to the point of mutilation. I'm so heartbroken, and if only I had the money and the space I would rescue them all. I took a picture of the injured dragons so I could have proof, but now what? I haven't gone back to see if they were moved, but I'm willing to bet they weren't.

What do I do? Is there somewhere I can report this? I can't stop thinking about those poor beardies. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Ugg, I hate petstores SO SO SO much. Sadly this is extremely common throughout almost all petstores.
While you can try, chances are no one will do anything. I've said countless thigs to both PetSmart and PetCo employees, managers, and owner. Nothing is ever done.

All we can really do is chose not to shop at them, though it doesn't really matter anyway, as thousands of others will still shop there.

If your local humane society has an enforcement department like this https://www.lollypop.org/humane-law-enforcement/ then that might be your best bet. Otherwise I think pet stores fall under the department of agriculture, at least in terms of licensing, but that may vary by state.

Contact the following as well :

the local or national tv stations
the local and national papers (letter to the editor)
the local council , animal control and licensing

essentially create a lot very bad publicity and make a fuss , and keep on doing it . Only language these jerks understand is $ , you need to make profitable to do the right thing else simply put while ever reptiles are considered a disposeable commodity and no authorities enforce proper licensing and enforcing proper husbandry and care nothing will ever change.

Unfotunately i suspect sufficient pressure will only result in them "going underground" , even giving the unsaleable reptiles "the heel of a boot treatment" or being fed live to the snakes they have in stock.

Sounds like the one I saw in north Georgia. The dragons were missing limbs and malnourished and lord knows what else! I called humane society and got the polite "we'll do what we can" brush off. King is right though, look how much stuff goes viral online. Go and video and snap photos and post them anywhere you can and maybe it'll spark some outrage

Hi everyone. Thank you for the advice. I'm still very upset about what I saw but I'm trying to cause a bit of stir to bring some attention to this. Thanks again!

There is so much I wish to in this regard, its upsetting to me to no end. This is how people end up with improper setups. Through no fault of there own they figure the store must know what they are doing but sadly 99% either don't or don't care.

Why is it so hard for them to keep them properly and give a pamphlet with the proper care, in the end they would make more money setting people up correctly and getting them to change bulbs before they are even burnt out....

I feel like convincing the stores they could be making more money is the easiest way to go but I wouldn't know where to begin.

Contacting local animal cruelty prevention organisations and even the council (mayor, not sure what it is in America and other countries) would be a good way to go aswell. Ringing up a company instead of emailing might be good to so you can make sure the problem is being heard of then and there to prevent those poor little guys from being in there any longer.

It breaks my heart to hear of such a thing, poor little guys. Best of luck for finding some help and getting those beardies to better homes.