Mealworms for beardies at Petco..."corporate policy"

[Drayco75]

I can honestly say when i worked at Petco as the Reptile Specialist I actually took care of the herp's correctly i went against corporate policy and feed them what they were suppose to be feed and made sure the temp's and substrate was safe for them. I cared a lot for the herp's there same with the herp's at Petsmart just corprate was inpossible to talk to educate them on proper herp care. :headbang:

 

[ShannyBeard]

I can honestly say when i worked at Petco as the Reptile Specialist I actually took care of the herp's correctly i went against corporate policy and feed them what they were suppose to be feed and made sure the temp's and substrate was safe for them. I cared a lot for the herp's there same with the herp's at Petsmart just corprate was inpossible to talk to educate them on proper herp care. :headbang:

If the corporate office doesn't believe reptiles deserve the proper care, then the corporate office does not deserve my hard earned dollars. As much as I think vigilante employees are great, they are few and far between, and we can't count on them working there. I know jobs are hard to come by, and I respect that sometimes people have to settle and take a job at a substandard employer, but the chain PetStores are really not for reptile lovers to work at. Sorry but they are for the puppy-kitty crowd.

 

[Aceyourface]

I can honestly say when i worked at Petco as the Reptile Specialist I actually took care of the herp's correctly i went against corporate policy and feed them what they were suppose to be feed and made sure the temp's and substrate was safe for them. I cared a lot for the herp's there same with the herp's at Petsmart just corprate was inpossible to talk to educate them on proper herp care. :headbang:

If the corporate office doesn't believe reptiles deserve the proper care, then the corporate office does not deserve my hard earned dollars. As much as I think vigilante employees are great, they are few and far between, and we can't count on them working there. I know jobs are hard to come by, and I respect that sometimes people have to settle and take a job at a substandard employer, but the chain PetStores are really not for reptile lovers to work at. Sorry but they are for the puppy-kitty crowd.

I actually had a lot of reptile and amphibian enthusiasts come to the store I worked in. A lot of people buying crickets and supplies. I have loved reptiles a long time and so do a lot of my ex coworkers. I don't necessarily agree that it's only for the puppy and kitten crowd. But I think it just depends on the area you live in and the store. But it's like you said jobs are hard to come by I was unemployed for over a year (not by choice) and they were willing to hire me. A lot of people apply there thinking they will work with animals all day and it will be a fun and easy job with nice customers because we all love animals right? When in reality that's not the case.

 

[Maxwellsmomma1989]

i was taught about the dangers of petco the hard way, i bought my first beardie demon there she was only 4 inches long if that only grew to 10 inches then got pretty sick, when i took her to the vet my vet asked where i got her and when i said petco she said sadly demon was probly sick before i got her and i just didnt know what to look for that she sees it all the time petco does not buy based on health of the dragons they buy in so called bulk to get money i have a great store just 5 miles form petco called atlantis its soo great the owners actually know what they are talking about and buy from breeders for health not just money and they are cheaper i wont buy maxs supers at petco for 5.99 i got 50 and id get home and maybe 20 were still alive horrible! i now go to atlantis only as max has never got parasites from their food for him

 

[JangoMom]

That's so sad.. I always see crickets hoping all over the place in the reptile tanks in our local Petco as well.. Oh how I wish I could just buy them all (the reptiles that is) and bring them home with me. I go there for the crickets for Jango.. I use to go to Gittler's (where I got Jango) for them but Petco is closer.. Petco is about a 30 minute drive and Gittlers is almost a good hour drive. I wish we had a Reptile specialty store around here too. .it would be so nice!

 

[Momswims1]

Drayco...PLEASE come be the reptile expert at our Petco in Spring HIll!!!!! People like you should be cloned and one employed at every Petco to take care of the reptiles!!!!

 

[Drayco75]

Momswims1 i would so do that lol but i live in AZ soon to be living in Pocatello Idaho i heard they have a Petco there maybe ill invade there store and take over. :wink: :headbang:

 

[patrickmb21]

I HATE Petco. every time i go in one i always leave angry. They do not know how to care for any animal

 

[Drayco75]

Patricmb21 some Petco's are bad but it's not the employee's or manager's persay it's mainly corporate that doesnt care and makes the employee's and management do what they tell them to do. A lot of people you find working there are like me when i worked there but there scared to loose there job do to the lack of job's in this economy so they wont go against corporate wich sucks for the animal's there. :headbang:

 

[mudskipper]

All the 3 Petcos near me in the Boston area are clueless about leopard geckos and bearded dragons. This is how they take care both species. All the no-no's you can find out within a few minutes of reading any care sheets.

Bearded dragons - sand as the substrate, mealworms in dish, no veggies
Leopard geckos - sand as the substrate, freeze-dried flies for food (wtf??), no moist hide, actually... no real hide at all except a plastic shelf thing a bunch of them piled up inside to get away from the light. Many of the leopard geckos have shedding problems. One I saw a few weeks ago was blind in both eyes.

Petsmart, on the other hand, seems to know how to take care of these reptiles. They use reptile carpets for both leopard geckos and bearded dragons, got veggies for the beardies, no mealworms for the beardies, mealworms for the leopard geckos, plenty of hides for leopard geckos including moist hides. If you are going to go to a chained pet store, go to Petsmart instead.

 

[Drayco75]

Petsmart just started using reptile carpet in the mid to end of 2011 before that they used calci sand or a wood bark substrate. :headbang:

 

[bunnyrut]

I don't have Petcos close enough to me to shop in.

Maybe there should be a petition made or everyone should write a letter to corporate demanding they either take care of their reptiles properly or stop selling them altogether.

if enough people crowd together and make a big deal about it they have to listen.

start posting in forums to not shop there. there has got to be smaller pet shops nearby to go to instead, and if you talk to the owners about what you need they will most likely order it for you.

when i first got Mr Dargon, i also had another beardie with him. following the wrong advice we fed them mealworms. our other beardie died from impaction. it wasn't until after that i found this forum.

 

[Drayco75]

That is a good idea Bunnyrut and sry to hear about your beardie that died. :headbang: