I've noticed that everyone says bad things about pet stores and their bearded dragons. The one that I went to today had a reptisun UVB lamp and good heat lamps. I don't know what they were fed, but they looked like a good size for their age. They looked very healthy, with a large tank too. Maybe all Petcos aren't bad.
I'm glad you posted. Not all pet stores are bad. Small, weak dragons are a direct result of the supplier letting them go too young, so they can make a fast buck. No, the pet store should not take them that tiny, but many stores are starting to catch on and they deserve praise for their effort. I'm very pleased to hear you found a good one!
I go to Petco in Holyoke, Mass (that's where I got my beardie, Jace and where I'm getting my second one, a leatherback, from on V-Day) and they all love the animals there. Most of them own a beardie or another animal and have been a great help. I think for every good there is a bad...like Dave's Soda and Pet Food City in Agawam.... They should be shut down for the treatment of their beardies alone.
There are quite a few PetSmarts and PetCos right where I live, each one so different in their reptile care than the other. With the stores that have been around longer, I've noticed that the condition of their reptiles is poorer compared to the stores that are newer. The nice thing is that none of the stores I've been in use sand substrate. They have the carpet. But basking temps are always off by 20-30 degrees and the last time I was in PetSmart, the basking light for their normals was burnt out. I notified a staff member and she immediate replaced as I was looking at the two leatherbacks they had in stock. One of the thermostats for a python had also fell off the wall, so she fixed that too.
It did annoy me that all of their new beardies were super small... Around 4" and their food supply is pellets. And the fact that the sign describing the animal lists beardies as "okay to keep in pairs."
But the one leather they have is super adorable. Its almost white overall, but has a nice strong normal pattern on its back and tail. It took reminding myself again and again that I simply cannot afford a second beardie nor do I have the time for two (plus two cats)! I can see how easy it is for people to get more than two. They are addictively adorable!
That's terrible!
The Petco I go to, all the employees treat the animals as if they are their own and really care about them. The leatherbacks have been there for a while, and they said that they were really happy and sad that I was getting one of them. Happy that he'll finally have a home, sad to see him go. The employees there don't get enough credit. I have no doubt that there are other Petco's that don't treat them as well. I just got lucky with my locations.
My only problem with my Petco having uromastyx and leatherbacks, is that they're too expensive for the customers they have and not a lot of reptile people go through so they get stuck there longer. They have a rare colored iguana that's been there since before November. They're going to have a problem housing him if he stays there any longer lol. The beardie's cages are small, but the beardies are usually sold so fast that they don't get too big for the cage.