I am on a crusade to save beardies

[DawnsNova]

Being still incredibly p****d about the bearded dragon reptihabitat sold at Petsmart, I went on their site and wrote a long, detailed, informative, strictly factual rather than opinionated, review of said product. First off, I stressed the importance of finding "an online discussion forum specifically about bearded dragons" figuring I couldn't put the actual link in the review. I discussed each component of the kit that is "good for the life of your dragon", including the topics of sand impaction in juveniles, heat rock malfunction, coil UVB lighting etc. After sending what I thought to be an honest review I was told "your review may take up to 48 hours to be displayed". I waited five days and my review still was not visible. I first called their main customer service number and explained the problems. She said she would be able to check to see if my review was still in their system. How odd, no record of it. While she was very nice but unable to do anything at her level, she directed me to the main corporate office for Petsmart. I have left several messages there in different voice mailboxes a couple days ago. As anyone that knows me personally will attest, I am very very persistent when I take up a cause.
I believe I read here, and forgive me for not remembering the poster's name, that someone went into their local Petsmart pretending to be a completely new, no research on or knowledge of the way-too-young-to-be-sold dragon they were looking at and asked a staff member for assistance, asking how to take care of the baby. I'm sure it was shocking an appalling to hear such a load of misinformation from an employee that people assume, and trust, that they are completely and correctly versed in the care of each of the animals they sell in their department. I tried the same experiment and got the same replies, shown crickets way too big for a baby that size to eat that come in small packages that would "last awhile", the sand to put in the cage, the necessary heat rock for basking etc. I decided to not waste my breath talking to a manager, or even the staff member. I just politely thanked them, said I would "think about it", and left.
So, my crusade moves along. I will end up talking to some higher-up at Petsmart at some point. I am just trying to prevent someone from making the same mistake I did, and then potentially not finding this board, and continue to have some little guy or girl get substandard, even dangerous, care only because their new mommy or daddy just didn't know any better. Or, in my case, finding the board *after* getting the damn kit, then spending as much as the kit cost to outfit it correctly and safely. For me personally, I knew enough to not use the sand, the undertank heater etc. It was the bulb that got me, I thought it was an improvement on the older tube models, that I hadn't heard of, so I blindly put it on the cage not knowing what kind of eye damage it could cause or how useless it was.
So wish me luck in keeping some new dragons safer because people can access the correct care requirements.
Big thanks to this board for *being* the source for the right information. It's you guys that keep the dragons safer, happier and healthier.

 

[morphmom]

Well done! I actually called the Humane Society on a local pet shop as their adult beardie was on it's death bed We need to speak up. All of us.
Keep on fighting, someone will have to listen sometime :wink:

 

[Ladyhawk42]

How can I help? I broke the bank buying one of those useless kits and believe my beardie was developing the beginnings of photo-kerato-conjunctivitis. I didn't wait to find out. I tossed the coiled tube and ordered two 18" Reptisun 10.0 bulbs from Big Apple and a compatible under-cabinet fixture from Amazon, which I mounted on the inside of the terrarium.

Grover kind of got a late start due to the number of changes I had to make to his cage. He's now in a 20 gallon long with adequate heat lamps, basking spots and UVB. When he gets big enough, I'll buy him a nice, big vivarium.

The employees should know their jobs. I don't care what some on here have said. They should know their jobs and do research to keep abreast of the latest news. If PetSmart has to set aside time for each employee to do that, they should be made to do so. Of course, the biggest monster is the corporation itself, but if employees know their jobs, lots of beardies would live regardless of harmful "kits"...ugh!

I would include the other animals PetSmart offers for sale. Parakeets (budgerigars) are intelligent animals and deserve a trip to the vet if they are sick. I pointed out a young male parakeet with what was probably a chronic upper respiratory infection, but the next time I came in, he was still in there, suffering with his URI. From my experience working at pet stores, this is typical. Sometimes the animal is removed to an ominous "back room" where it is treated without veterinary input and usually dies.

I'm new to this and I'm learning a great deal from this site, but I'd like to help. Perhaps the companies that make the kits should be made to change them. Certain kits (10 gallon terrariums) should be marked, "Not recommended for bearded dragons." The "bearded dragon kit" should lose the sand substrate as well as other useless / harmful items. The double deep dome still contains a coiled tube and even though it's a Reptisun, I don't trust those things. Poor Grover's eyes.

 

[DawnsNova]

I have sent letters and made calls/left messages to all the numbers/addresses I could find for the Petsmart Corporate offices. Gee, no one called me back.... I plan to being persistent enough to get someone at a high level to listen.
I have two rescued Pit Bulls, and I have the common stereotypical problems there too. I am constantly harassed and threatened by the home owner's association about having them because they are an "aggressive, dangerous breed", even though they are very securely enclosed in a locked 6' high fence. It's gotten to the point I don't even walk them around the neighborhood anymore. One of the rescues, my very beloved Zebo, was thrown from a car, then hit by another one, as a puppy. He suffered with a huge amount of injuries, including three broken legs. He was meant for a purpose, a local vet took him in and gave him the care he needed, including amputating his left front leg that was completely shattered. I met him at that vet hospital, looked into his eyes and just couldn't leave him there. He's been in my heart, my bed (taking up most of it lol) and my life ever since. The other rescue had a very sad start as a puppy as well, and is now just as loved and spoiled rotten as his big brother Zebo.
I went into a Petco today to get waxworms. What a surprise, when I went to look at the reptile cages there was a very tiny, 4' long baby dragon, thin, wrinkled, hip bones sticking out, lying in its sand with the dial thermometer behind it reading 80 degrees. I couldn't even tell if it was breathing. I got a manager over who said "it came in like that", yet it was still for sale, she did point out that the price had been reduced by $20 because of the animal's condition. Wow, thanks, what a selling point. I could have choked her. I tried to explain that the enclosure needed to be redone, what temp it should be, and the manager asked me if I was a vet. So, I will not only be praying for that little dragon to die quickly and peacefully rather than linger and suffer, but persistently contacting the Petco Corp. as well. If I had thought that baby had even the slightest chance of living with the correct vet and home care, I would have taken it home even though my husband would have had a fit. As I said, I am not sure if the dragon was still alive. After trying to talk to the manager and getting no where but attitude, I asked her to get the dragon out and at least check on it. She said she would call the "reptile department associate" to take care of it and walked away.
What the hell??!!?? It boggles the mind to wonder how many bred dragons are lucky enough to go to good homes with owners that do their best to take excellent, life long care of them, and how many end up chewed up and spit out of pet stores to live horrible, short lives. I wish I could find the breeders that sell to these pet stores and try to appeal to them.
If I ever win the lottery, I'll have a huge huge hill country ranch where rescued pit bulls and dragons could live out long happy lives with someone that loved them.

 

[patrickmb21]

I have had the same experience with petco and petsmart. these places are not there to care for pets or give the correct information. its all about the money for them. i too bought the startup bearded dragon kit only to find out that it was a waste and had to start all over and spent a lot of money.

 

[Hemilover77]

Get em Girlllll! We have our little Hemi which was a Petsmart baby. But before our little Hemi, we got Zeus from a Petsmart. New hatchling, we were told he was about 4 months old. We bought the whole set up, which is a total waste! Not only did our precious Zeus pass one month later, we had to buy all new lighting, we made 5 trips two hours away for more supplies, they gave us wrong information everytime, and a coil bulb, two hour vet trips where Zeus didn't even weigh in on the gram scale. He suffered. We force fed him critical care, daily baths to aviod dehydration, baby food, we ordered him medicine. He suffered. I held him, and loved him, and tried everything we could. The last night he was on this earth I sat and held him in a blanket until he took his last breath. I sat there thinking, this tiny fragile being, has grabbed my heart with so much power, the vet's office was pulling for him, we gave him every chance. I whole heartedly blame PETSMART! He should never have been sold. The vet that treated him also goes to Petsmart to check the animals, said that he gets onto them every week to not sale the babies so small. Not only do they sell them way too early they give you all the wrong equipment. WTH! The vet said just that week alone he had treated 4 other babies that hadn't made it, all from Petsmart, all too little to have been sold, with less than ideal living conditions, and of course new children handling them. It is nothing but a set up for distaster. After Zeus left us, and I had fallen so madly in love with these guys, we went back and got another from where ? Petsmart So as I set here and complain,but I spend alot of money there every year keeping them in business! Hemi was much more established and health from the start. He is doing really good, but I have to set and wonder how many die every year by having the unlucky fortune to land in a Petsmart tank. We went back to get another there because I didn't even realize at the time I could order one from a breeder. I think I would speak for a lot of followers on this site..we are behind you...how can we help?

 

[DawnsNova]

Enough to make you want to vomit:

Even though it's not clear in the photo, the temperature gauge on the rear tank wall reads a balmy 80 degrees. This is where that sickly little dragon was last Tuesday.

I was at Petco again today to check on that tiny baby, still struggling with what to do. I was torn between rushing the dragon home and doing everything I could to save it's life, or basically rewarding the reprehensible practices of Petco by buying that beardie knowing it wouldn't be long before there was another ailing baby to fill the tank. I went straight to the reptile department and, for better or worse, my mind had already been made up for me. The tank was empty. My first thought was "I hope everything ended quickly". As I mentioned in my previous post, I wasn't even sure if the baby was alive on Tuesday, and the manager gaffed me off when I asked her to check. My second hope was that the dragon had already died when I last saw it, and didn't end up in little kid's hands only to die there. I didn't know whether to be livid or cry, so I did both on the way home.
I started chipping away at Petco's corporate offices today. My husband had the idea of going to the local new's channels, most have "trouble shooters" teams that look into things like unscrupulous businesses etc. I am going to try that avenue on Monday.

 

[Hemilover77]

I think you are doing the right thing. They should really be held accountable for the lives and well being of every animal they care for and do their very best to find them lifetime forever loving caring homes.