Big Name Store Or Family Owned

[Murphino]

Now i was recently shopping for my first Beardie and noticed a few thing at petco and petsmart.
1.Both stores had their Beardies in tropical enviroments.
2.Both stores had substandard care for all of their lizards Beardies included.
3.Both stores were cheaper than any family owned buisness i could find.
I did however want to be fair so i checked out a few family owned/local pet stores.here are some key difference between the big chain and local stores.
1.All but on local store had their Beardies in a properly sized enviroment.
2.All of the Beardies here looked healthier and more well fed.
3.All of these Beardies were at least $10 more than Petco or Petsmart.
Now i prefer local pet stores because though they charge more they use the money to invest back into their own animals. Some people think that the money you save is worth the things these animals are put through I'm just asking for some other opinions.

 

[beardy98]

I love family owned pet stores. There is one in Burlington NC with all kinds of animals including reptiles, spiders, amphibians, birds, rodents, fish (including my favorite the saltwater parrot fish), in the spring they have prairie dogs, ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, you get the point. It is called dubey's pet store. The cages are proper. They have nice adult beardies. It is my favorite pet store.

 

[nursejones813]

Where I live, there are only 2 pet stores in town. Petco, and a locally owned store. I would have to say, that both lack in the husbandry of their reptiles. Both have tons of baby Beardies together in a small tank. Both have improper lighting and sand substrate. Petco feeds their babies meal worms. However, they do give them a variety of veggies. The mom and pop store only feeds giant crickets to its babies. And, at least petcos tanks look like they have been cleaned periodically. Oh, and the mom and pop store has 2 adult BD's also. They are housed together in a 10 gallon tank. Nice huh?

 

[Firebonbon]

All the petstores in my small down go belly up because Petsmart gets all the business. :\

 

[emleebee]

There's a local pet store that specializes in lizards, snakes, and fish (although they do have some small furries) near me and I really like it. They had a couple of beardies that they do get from a breeder (I know, could be lieing, who knows), when I was there they had one adult beardie for sale, one clutch of reddish 4 months old (I think about 8 of them) and 1 3 month that was labeled as a citrus. The different types were all in seperate cages; the adult in a much larger enclosure. All were given both crickets and fresh greens (I think they might not have gotten quite enough crickets, but not far enough from optimal to be really concerned) and seemed to have the correct lights and temperatures. The reddish ones were about $10 more than at my local petco/petsmart which would be worth it to me as they were much larger and were a 'cooler' color and the citrus was another $20 more. (I, of course, got the citrus because I liked her color the best...forbid I actually ever like the less expensive one). Yes, they were a little bit more expensive, but with breeders you pay for color too and they were older, which you pay more for older, so it seems reasonable to me. Prices for equipment seemed to be a bit more pricey although not much. Honestly, I bought the terrarium and some supplies such as the lights at the chain because they were on sale and less expensive and I was on a budget. I got the dragon and some of the decorations at the local store (the local store had a great big grape wood branch that I have in her cage). I continue to shop at both to try and support the local pet store and keep my budget.

 

[Siren]

Sadly not all stores are created equal. If you see substandard care at a Petsmart or Petco, please report it to the company. Not by Facebook, but by going to the official website and sending them a letter or email.

I work for a Petsmart, in grooming. Honestly, for the most part, my store has it right. But I have seen bad Petsmarts too. The worse big box store I saw was a Pet Supermarket in Orlando who had iguanas and bearded dragons in the same tank with just a light plastic divider panel, which had spaces open wide enough for the sand and mulch to mix and feet and tails to poke through and get bitten off. It was BAD. I reported it to both the company and local animal welfare organizations, as well as animal control. No idea if they made changes though. Just glad my local Pet Supermarket doesn't have ANY reptiles. My Petsmart is also lucky enough to have a Banfield with one vet who is very good with reptiles and another who knows basic reptile stuff. They have time and again helped pet care with sick animals.

IMO family owned or private breeders are usually best. No matter what you choose, as for the feeding schedule from the last month or for the time they have had the animal. They should be able to provide it. A good store keeps this record to ensure their animals are properly fed.

But in the end, not all big box stores are created equal. However I feel unless you know someone on the inside, avoid them. Just in case.

 

[Teage29]

I would get the beardie at the small mom and pop store. The one i go to knows me and all i have to say is the normal for food and they know what to give me. They will get to know you if you go there enough. My local pet store also keeps one beardie per tank and everything is proper as if i would keep it at home. That's just me $0.02 for you.

 

[Siren]

Something else to consider....

I worked for 3 years for a mom/pop pet shop. We got all our reptiles and small pets from a large scale dealer. Petsmart opened in town, and I work for them now....they get their reptiles and small pets from the SAME dealer.

Not all mom/pop pet shops will have animals from private breeders. And openly questioning here they get their animals from will get you no where since at both stores, we are not allowed to say.

Either type of store, I would find out their warranty/return policy and bring the animal to a vet before it expires to check for parasites and the illness. Just to be sure. Like I said, when it comes to pet stores, best to get to know the employees, have an in. If they trust you won't get them on trouble, they will be more forthcoming about information.