Petsmart dragons?

[traildrifterphalanx]

However, I wonder if he's a bit younger than they actually told me

Petco definitely lied to me about the age of my girl when we got her. They said "4 or 5 months" when in reality, she was probably more like 4 or 5 weeks. She was 5 inches long and skinny as a rail. I didn't discover this until much later.

Long story short, they have no clue.
I asked what gender my first dragon was and she goes "we only stock males" and Simon was discovered as female months later.
If no one holds them accountable, what difference does it make? :roll: They could tell you the dragon shoots eye lasers and nothing would come of it...

 

[YoursTruly]

Exactly. I had to stop in at a Petsmart yesterday to pick up something for Thane. Big mistake because I nearly punched the girl working. Well... not really. But I wanted to. I saw two TINY beardies, possibly only two or three weeks old. These guys couldn't have been more 5". How do they get away with selling them that young?! Also, the basking temperature was only 90F. No wonder they looked so cold and sad! I wish I could take them all home with me. At least their viv was clean, but still... I said something to the girl working about the temperature and she comes back at me with, "well, 90 is acceptable for basking." Actually, no, it's not. I wanted to scream at her but it would've done no good and they're just going to continue doing what they want anyway.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

Right, there's no point arguing.

In all fairness, they are likely adhering the the guidelines set by the company, in addition to lack of personal knowledge. Watching someone have legitimate questions about beardies and watching an employee try and answer them is cringe-worthy.

Pick up one of the pamphlets for beardies when you're at either store (petco, petsmart) and be ready to be annoyed. They recommend a coil UVB on the other side of the tank, opposite the heat light, sand substrate (debatable with some,) and recommend mealworms as a staple. Beyond that, I am unsure, as that's when I put it back in disgust.

I personally take my dragons to Petsmart with me when I get emergency crickets, most of the employees know me because of this, and I've had employees start either asking me about what else I feed them or in one case start trying to tell me how to feed them. ("They really need to get some veggies, too. I use kale and collard greens." I didn't even bother getting into the kale debate, just said yup I mix their salads up and left it.) I've had employees ask me if mealworms are bad for them, to which I said yes, and ask what is best. Most there also own a dragon, but it makes me fear what conditions they are in based on what knowledge the petstore provides.

Sorry for the rant......

 

[YoursTruly]

What's funny (or terrifying, however you look at it) is when I bought Thane at Petco, the guy who sold her to me owned a beardie himself. He actually got quite a few things right. He told us no sand and no mealworms. He said the dial thermometer was junk, too, so we got a temp gun right off the bat. But we went with the kit anyway, on his recommendation, and we had a coil bulb for quite some time until she developed eye problems. She also had ADV upon purchase, too. That's when we did our own research, and ended up here. After countless hours of syringe feeding, getting eye drops from the vet, a Reptisun 10, natural supplements to boost her immune system, a better basking bulb, and better feeders (their crickets are garbage), we finally have a healthy dragon.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

I started with a kit, too, but luckily did a decent amount of research before going in, at least enough to know they didn't need a night bulb (they tried to sell me one.) I did defend coil bulbs for some time, my dragons never had eye issues, but wanted what was best for my dragons and I trusted the advice here so switched out.

I turned to the forum right after getting my second beardie as I had relied on the site so much for changes made to Simon's enclosure I decided to give back what I've learned, and even now I'm still learning.

Back on the original topic though, I lucked out with my dragons and neither of them have any current health issues. Richter was malnourished and shakey when I got him, he's fine now, but the past few comments here just show how little knowledge these employees have (or are given) about these animals. My local petsmart and petco also keep the babies at around 80-90 degrees basking (but it's a dial thermometer so who really knows!) and I've confirmed petco at least gives them crickets, petsmart is always a bowl of dry kibble. I've never seen a cricket in there.

The plus side is when my dragons come in, the employees at petsmart clearly love them and will come over to pet and say hi, clearly very interested in these animals. I think they are restricted by company guidelines for how the animals are cared for in store and don't have enough experience on what is actually appropriate. A little like brainwash?

I'm glad Thane was able to overcome her illnesses and get nursed back to health. I've unfortunately read other topics on this forum where someone got a petco/smart dragon that did not end well not long after getting them home, but with dragons it's really difficult to say who is at fault.. the breeder, the petstore, or the owner.

 

[YoursTruly]

I turned to the forum right after getting my second beardie as I had relied on the site so much for changes made to Simon's enclosure I decided to give back what I've learned, and even now I'm still learning.

SAME. Any new threads I see with questions that I feel I can answer, I do. I feel that I have to help spread the wonderful knowledge here that saved my little girl's life. It's the least I can do to give back for all you guys have done for her!

I think they are restricted by company guidelines for how the animals are cared for in store and don't have enough experience on what is actually appropriate. A little like brainwash?

Right. I don't blame the individual employees as much as the companies, which seem to turn a blind eye to proven science and experienced breeders. Then you get the response "we have a team of scientists, blah, blah, blah!" Well, your scientists are trash (or paid off), then.

I'm glad Thane was able to overcome her illnesses and get nursed back to health.

Thank you! I am happy as well. Exactly two months ago she was a teeny 16g. She's HUGE now! 177g and climbing! We call her "fat baby" now, like how Baymax calls the cat "hairy baby" in Big Hero 6. :lol:

 

[Elisa]

This is Potato in 12/17 The day we picked him up from PetSmart. I wish I knew how to rotate the picture but you can get an idea...

This is him now…

I apparently got very lucky with my choice. But, like I have posted before, he is still small and I think he's younger than they told me. He must've been 5 1/2 inches when I got him.he's only 9 inches now and his weight increased from 8 g to 24 g in three months. I get my crickets from PetSmart but I don't know where else there is to get them.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

He's adorable, Elisa!
I would say that the employee that gave his age likely was just throwing a number out there. Your little guy was probably only about a month old when you purchased, but being underfed at the store could have resulted in some stunted growth, too.

I'm great to see he's made great progress since being home with you!
I get my crickets from petsmart when I need bugs in a pinch, otherwise I have a starting dubia roach colony I'm trying to let get established as I purchase roaches online from ABDragons. Not endorsed, but their roaches are plump and fantastic.

 

[Zanna]

This is a great thread and I just wanted to add my two cents lol.
My son bought Lizzy from this chain of Stores in August 2016, they sold us a lot of wrong stuff and gave us a lot of bad of advice. In addition one of the girls who works there on Saturdays only gave me some great information.. has since quit the store because she raises beardies and her manager would not implement changes she knew were necessary. I've written to corporate as has she and I'm sure many others but let's face it... this chain is dedicated to primarily mammals.

If I'm honest I have also got some rubbish info and advice from supposed reputable reptile stores so I think it's a blessing that our beloved founder keeps this site up! I don't think our Lizzy dragon would be alive today without it!

 

[MCHRKiller]

I did wind up getting a beard from Petsmart; got her in mid Feb and she has done excellent. She was a "fancy" which I feel will end up somewhere in the citrus range. She really plows Dubia, and will eat some veg too. She is probably 11- 12" now counting her tail so she has doubled in size in 2 months. She isnt much about being handled, but will eat from my hand and tolerates petting for a bit before scurrying off.

 

[MCHRKiller]

I love how plump she looks in this one, lol

 

[Elisa]

Your dragon is pretty much what my Potato looks like. How many Dubia roaches does does your Dragon eat? Mine can eat 15 to 20 a day! I feel like that's a lot. They are between a half inch to an inch long. I have no desire to start a colony but they are getting kind of expensive. Where do you get your roaches? I got mine from Dubaideli.com. 500 at a time but I think I need to get bigger ones now. And he tolerates being held. Don't know if he actually enjoys it but he certainly tolerates LOL ....

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

I use ABDragons for my dubia and started my own successful colony with their roaches. They are always super plump and juicy when I get them. I haven't really tried around - I did one or two other places and their roaches were pathetic, so I stick with ABDragons.

Very glad so many of you have used this forum for research, as Zanna has stated. Pet stores do not train their employees enough in the reptile care. They're basically given a speech to follow, and most probably don't even know what a UVB does, they just know to point to the coil ones. I mentioned earlier in this topic (I think?) I've had the petstore employees ask me how I take care of them, what I feed them, etc. There's too much misinformation or assumptions regarding their care that was never corrected (looking at you, calci-sand) by large chain stores.

I also think it's worth noting that even the herp vet that has seen my dragon prefers a mercury bulb over a separate UVB/basking bulb and recommends moss as a substrate which I have literally never heard of, so I take her advice with a grain of salt... And before people start going "you need a new vet" I'm already looking into it

 

[MCHRKiller]

Mine eats prolly 25-35 5/8"- 3/4" Dubai per day. Basically whatever I shake out of the egg flats for her; I don't worry about an exact count as in the wild they would just eat what they could. I figure if she gets hungry after the bugs she can eat her greens.

I have been using Dubai deli however I was not too impressed with my last order as I got 1000 5/8" many were smaller than 1/2", lost prolly around 100 and the rest were skinny. I have since fattened them up to a good size but I think I'll try Dubia Roaches.com next round and prolly go on up to 3/4".

I did get some adults in attempt to breed but I don't think my heat pad is keeping them got enough. I'm spending about $75 a month on bugs so deflecting some of that would be nice.

 

[Elisa]

Yes, I spent $30 on one weeks worth of bugs! I just don't have the desire or motivation to build up a roach colony. One of the better reptile places I go to tells me that they could eat 4-6 roaches a day and the rest greens and that would be fine. But I know my guy is still hungry for more; as noted by his ability to eat 20 a day. He's not fat. And he is growing. It would be nice to only feed him 4 to 6 a day because that would certainly be cheaper. Any thoughts on this? I do provide greens daily that I rotate the variety but it doesn't seem to be too interested in that