I bought one of my beardies, Zooki, from Pets At Home. I was just in there having a browse of their (very small) reptile supply stock and saw him in a very poop filled viv with two other regular dragons. He's a translucent and SO gorgeous, I fell in love right then. The man that I spoke to whilst purchasing him seemed to know a fair amount, but didn't ask too many questions as I "sounded like I knew what I was doing". He also said he keeps tortoises, which are quite a bit different to lizards (we have 3 torts so we know) and he seemed to be the only person with any reptile knowledge in the store. P@H also have a checklist of things they should cover with you about the animals care, which I had to sign before I could take Zooki. However, he did not go through these topics with me instead choosing the aforementioned statement and just ticking them all off.
P@H couldn't give me the age of my lizard, only a rough estimate of about 3-4 months old. That's another thing about pet stores that bugs me. I have also seen the same lizards left in the shop for a long long time, and I feel so bad for them but I can't have anymore
And I hate all the poop that doesn't get cleared away.
I don't like the fact that they are selling the animals, however I don't like any pet stores being able to sell any kind of animal. In my opinion, all animals should only be sold by licensed breeders and pet stores should be limited to selling pet supplies. Ok, so rabbits and hamsters aren't too bad as most people know how to care for them, but exotic animals such as reptiles are far more specialist and shouldn't be readily available to anyone who doesn't truly have an interest in these animals. P@H are not a bad store, and they are just trying to keep up with times, now that reptiles are becoming more popular pets.
It is the same principle as having puppies in the window though, people see them, think they look cute and buy on a whim! It would be far better not to have reptiles in the store as people go in to buy their cat food, or look at getting a bunny, see this cute little lizard and think "Aw! How sweet, let's get it!" with no knowledge about them at all and then a month later decide they don't want it or keep it in awful conditions with the wrong food and minimal care.
I have seen worse places, and compared, P@H offer decent care to their beardies (the stores near me anyway). I would LOVE it if they would increase their reptile supply range, would be a massive help to me as they are the closet pet store to my house. As for selling reptiles, I don't think it's a great idea and hope that it won't last. I definitely don't want to see them bring more in, like snakes.
Reguarding the advice they offer, I believe it is a pet stores responsibility to make sure their customers know FULLY how to care for their new pet. Sure, responsible owners will find it out themselves (like I did), but so many people are not like this! Anyone selling an animal should do their best to make sure they are going to good homes, even if it means turning down some sales.
On P@H website it says they will turn down a sale if they believe the person is not suitable to look after the pet. I highly doubt this ever happens, though. Mostly because it's such a big pet store chain with ever changing staff who are there more than likely for the need to work rather than just for their love of animals. The shop should stick to supplies, that's their best area!
Ok, rant over