Beardie from petco - Doesn't look good

Status
Not open for further replies.

ibayiish

Member
I went to petco the other day to buy a toy for my dog and of course my son wanted to cruise the store and we went to the reptile section and I saw 2 baby beardies, in 72 degrees, no basking spot, and 70% humidity. I mentioned something to the people but today I went again to buy something else and there is only one beardie. Small about 4 inches maybe 5 long, stress marks all over and very dark in color .. I have never seen a beardies look so stressed before, crickets were roaming the cage and it appeared to be sleeping. Well I felt bad, I just upgraded my big guy into a new tank and have the extra 30 gal to spare .. I'm thinking about rescuing this little one ASAP .. I'm just scared that it will die on me as soon as I get it. Any advice on the first steps I should take when I bring it home? Anything special aside from making sure he has the right type of tank, temps and food? My beardie was stress free when I picked him up from a Rep. Shop, they had a very different set up than petco, all beardies were alert and active, this little one was just there laying down, opened his eyes a few time but did not move.
 

Quelaag

Hatchling Member
Did he look underweight or dehydrated or anything like that? If that's the case then you could be in for some issues as he could also have other issues due to the bad environment. Though I think he'd have a better chance with you than in a place where he's obviously suffering. :C Poor guy. Honestly, I think by getting him out of there ASAP you'd be doing him a HUGE favor.

Personally, I would take him, get him settled and make sure his temps are good. Offer him food if you can, but if he's stressed he may not take it. Definitely don't handle him too much unless he's dehydrated, then you'll need to give him one or two baths daily depending on how bad off he is-- though if his humidity is that high, I doubt he'd be dehydrated... Other than that, to ease up his stress, I wouldn't bother him too much unless you absolutely have to while he mellows out. I'd also suggest getting a fecal test on him if you can and possibly an overall vet check up because it's possible with the humidity and temps that he could have a developing Respiratory Infection. Though they're pretty hardy so hopefully it hasn't gotten that bad yet, but if he stays there he most likely will get one.

Most of this is probably stuff you already know though since you definitely know what you're doing, so I hope I don't come off as preachy or anything.

Ugh, that makes me so mad. I hope you or someone can help that poor guy out. No creature deserves that sort of treatment.
 

ibayiish

Member
Original Poster
I'm picking him up later for sure. I kept double guessing myself because I would hate the little guy to die on me but I have to try. He didn't look plump at all but wasn't overly skinny. I plan on not handling for a few days as I was advised that when I got Taz but yes I'll do everything else mentioned, including the baths twice a day I only soak Taz twice a week so I'll do more with the little one thanks.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
It makes me really upset to hear about dragons being treated this way. Thank you so much for caring and trying to make their lives better. In addition to the helpful comments already posted, you may want to try feeding some repta boost to help get him back on his feet.
 

Quelaag

Hatchling Member
ibayiish":2wtzyn9f said:
I'm picking him up later for sure. I kept double guessing myself because I would hate the little guy to die on me but I have to try. He didn't look plump at all but wasn't overly skinny. I plan on not handling for a few days as I was advised that when I got Taz but yes I'll do everything else mentioned, including the baths twice a day I only soak Taz twice a week so I'll do more with the little one thanks.

Thank goodness. Keep us updated. And I second the suggestion that CooperDragon posted, Repta Boost should help. And if he absolutely won't eat, but you're worried about his weight and stuff, you can also try syringe feeding him baby food. Though that also depends on what's wrong with him, hopefully he's not sick and only stressed and in bad condition from the bad enclosure. Granted, that's not good either, but TLC would be able to fix that.
 

timisimaginary

Hatchling Member
the unfortunate truth is that you will probably end up with a dead beardie and the pet store will end up with your money, which will just encourage them to continue mistreating animals and selling them. it's tough to not want to help an animal in distress, but in the long run it only reinforces their business model that profits off of the selling of sick animals. if you do decide to try to rescue this beardie, at least make sure they give you a health guarantee so that you can get your money back if he dies.
 

Quelaag

Hatchling Member
If they're anything like Petsmart, which I assume they are, they probably have a two week warranty. I know it sounds awful to get a warranty with a pet, but sadly things do happen. I would definitely double check. And it's not always doom and gloom when you get a sick pet. My little Haru was sick when I got him and he has pulled through just fine. Granted, he did get help from the vet and the pet store we got him from. Our pet store had him in good conditions, but whoever bred him just didn't care about shipping him properly according to the store and so he got sick.

So there's always hope.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I believe Petco does have a warranty on them. I don't remember what the length is though.
 

ibayiish

Member
Original Poster
So I got the beardie home. I spoke to the manager, she said she has one at home and that the temps are regulated by their corporate people. Tried telling me that I read the humidity instead of the temp. but I know what I saw plus they dont even have a heat light unless the enclosure has heat or something but they house so many different reptiles in there I doubt they all need the same temps. She told me the little guy eats his veggies and about 30 crickets a day? i hope so, Taz barely eats veggies the way she explained this little one ate veggies - I wonder if she was trying to just sell him/her off? anyways I hope I can make the little one happy and he's basking right now.
1235244_860885323928414_3577517652323639187_n.jpg
excuse the sad tank but it's the extras I had from Taz, plan on fixing it up. They do have a 15 day warranty - I hope I don't have to use it but he/she has perked up with just a little bit under some heat!! I hope he eats just like the manager described too .. I plan on emailing corporate - if that even helps- because that tank was in a sad state - just glad it was empty as I walked out the door.
 

Quelaag

Hatchling Member
He looks a lot better than I imagined he looked! So that's good. He definitely looks dark/stressed, but that should hopefully go away after a while-- though depending on how bad he was, don't be surprised if it takes a few weeks for all the stress marks to go away. The fact that he's out and basking is also a great sign.

And that sounds like an awful Petco. Corporate, I would hope, would know what temps are right for which animal. Ugh. And some babies do love veggies, so she may have been telling the truth, but I doubt it. I got lucky with Haru in the fact that he's a baby who goes crazy over veggies/greens, but I think that's pretty rare for a baby if I'm not mistaken? I also doubt they actually monitored how many crickets he ate, but maybe I'm just pessimistic? Either way, I'm so glad you were able to give him a good home! He looks good so far considering what condition he was in before. Maybe he wasn't exposed to it long enough for it to do any serious damage to him.
 

ibayiish

Member
Original Poster
Ya he looks so much better I saw him and both times he looked lifeless could not see the belly since he was just flat!! And would only open his eyes. It does look like he has eaten but not today - which I know could be the new environment but he is basking again today I'll try feeding him again later ..
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Looks like a happy little guy. I wish you the best luck. Please keep us all posted on how he's doing.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,903
Messages
1,255,708
Members
75,967
Latest member
Newbeardiemom09
Top Bottom