Pet store rescue...warning long post

[Sierra1167]

Hi everyone. I went into my local Pet Supplies Plus store to get some emergency beardie rations on my way home from work today. I had been checking in on the two young male beardies they have had for a few weeks now every time I stopped in. I tried not too get too attached because I knew I didn't really have room for another and as much as I hate it, I can't save them all. Anyway, they had seemed like they were holding their own until today. There were no greens or crickets to be seen and one of them was lying across the food dish and looked shockingly thin. I got the mgr to look at him and I held him. He said he was fine and they had been fed this morning. He was so thin I could practically feel his spine through his belly and he weighed next to nothing. I asked again about the price ($80!!!) and he said that there was nothing wrong with the dragon and wouldn't come down on the price. I took a pic with my phone and sent it to my BF saying OMG! Fast fwd an hour or so and my BF said, I will give you the money if you want to save him. So, long story not so short, we ran to the store and I checked him for signs of an RI and concluded he is just severely malnourished. Btw, two associates showed me how he "loves the fish" by holding him up to the fish tanks. He went wild snapping at them. What they saw as cute, I saw as an obvious sign the poor little guy was starving!!! Who knows how many times they ignorantly teased him by holding him up to chase the fish!!! I didn't want to shock his system by overfeeding him especially late in the evening, but he wolfed down about 15 crickets, a few supers, and a small bowl of mustard greens. I have him in a 10 gallon tank tonight, but I am getting a 20L from my corn snake breeder tomorrow. Luckily, I have a brand new Reptisun 10.0 that I bought as a spare. All I need to get is a fixture at Walmart in the morning.Here are a few pics. The first one is how I found him and the other two are after I brought him home. Any advice or input is appreciated. Oh...and they ended up accidentally only charging me $60 for him after all because the sale price from a week ago was still in the system. :twisted:

 

[justus85]

I hate pet stores for this reason. They treat reptiles so inhumanely because they aren't a dog or cat. It SICKENS me to see the appalling conditions that these dragons have to live under. There should be more efficient government regulation of this industry because this oversight is dooming soo many beardies to a short lived life of pain and suffering. I hope your dragon that you saved makes a full recovery. There is no excuse for them to have starved him so!

 

[reptilegyrl]

Ive read other threads about pet shop workers who have said that feeding them "every few mos" was the regular feeding sched.... what??! starving them??!
I have lost so much respect in most pet stores because of their mistreatment and lack of knowledge about reptiles in general!

 

[Sierra1167]

I told my BF that I would NEVER set foot in that store again. I only go there for supplies/equipment for my reptiles and dog food because they are usually cheaper and it is on the way home from work. I will drive the extra distance to the Petsmart(who has a surprisingly knowledgeable staff and does a pretty good job of caring for the animals correctly) or just order online if time isn't an issue. I really do think I can undo the damage. From what I can see, it seems to just be malnutrition and I suspect the beginning signs of possible MBD. Thank you guys for the encouragement.

 

[reptilegyrl]

kudos to u for saving this dragon! good food and lighting and luv sounds like an awesome start for the poor thing!