Sad Scene @ Petsmart

[Slave2Scarlett]

we could hang out in the reptile section and provide educated knowledge about bearded dragons until someone calls the cops

LOL that made me laugh!

 

[dragonkeeper777]

ugh this breaks my heart....I shall pray that the babies will get good loving homes SOON....why is it that we ought not look at the critters in those places yet we cannot seem to help ourselves....ugh and ugh again.

 

[TurtleG1rl]

we could hang out in the reptile section and provide educated knowledge about bearded dragons until someone calls the cops

This is an awesome idea, I could just see the papers now, Police escort needed.... for people actually informing customers correct care instructions for pet store animals. There would be uproar and hundreds more doing the same, the pet stores would never recover :lol: ok maybe not but its an interesting concept.

ugh this breaks my heart....I shall pray that the babies will get good loving homes SOON....why is it that we ought not look at the critters in those places yet we cannot seem to help ourselves....ugh and ugh again.

I know on my part I just can't resist looking at the little guys, although sometimes it really does break my heart how small the enclosures are.

 

[Lisafosc]

Lmao lets set a date! reptile do gooders day!

 

[paperplanes]

Lmao lets set a date! reptile do gooders day!

i agree

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

Actually probably all we would have to do is print out little slips of paper with BD.org and let them come see for themselves..lol

 

[dragonkeeper777]

Awesome idea!

 

[TurtleG1rl]

Actually probably all we would have to do is print out little slips of paper with BD.org and let them come see for themselves..lol

I think you can do that outside of the stores if in a high traffic area with no problem till caught (taking alot longer than normal) another quality idea, probably same headline except bd.org seems responsible for this sudden outbreak :lol:

 

[mellu]

I was at a Pets Unlimited today and there were two teeny tiny baby beardies, no more than a month old, not the size of my thumb. They were on a fake cactus plant, stacking and under one bulb, no uvb. A few huge crickets running around in the tank(which was probably 10 inches by 20 inches) and only one poop that looked like it had been there a few days and two big piles of big cricket puke. The beardie on the top looked like if it was bought right away, it could be saved but the one on the bottom was almost white and even smaller. I talked to the girl behind the counter and told her about the puke and WHY they were puking. She said she had no idea, she'd only been there a few weeks, they were low on crickets and I had just bought the last two tubs of worms. She said she'd been panicking because they actually had nothing left to feed the reptiles except for a handful of huge crickets and they wouldn't let her take what was on the shelf anyway(I would have left a tub but Mika has been eating like a hog and I'm not about to starve my baby, 100 worms is like a day and a half of meals for her, if that). That was just one pet store, we went to another to look at the vivs they had for sale and to see if they had any creepy crawlies(they didn't either) and they have two little leather backs who look about the same age as Mika but they were rake thin. It broke my heart, they are beautiful little dragons, their colours are vibrant and they're not even being looked after properly, imagine if they were. if I had anywhere to put them they'd have been going home under my shirt. That store is usually REALLY good about taking care of their beardies, it's where we got Mika. The workers there are really knowledgeable and awesome to chat with. It must really suck to not be allowed to feed those kids with what is on the shelf, I'm sure if they took one tub o'crickets and picked out the smallest ones, like I do for Mika, those beardies would shape up so fast! That is if they HAD any crickets, literally all that store had was huge supers.

That said I have an interesting question.

Both of my kids are pet store babies, the next beardie I get(once it warms up, for shipping) I was planning on ordering from a breeder because I am VERY interested in getting a scaley baby with a bit more colour than my kids have. Given the choice between buying a pet store baby and trying to save it from such bad conditions, or buying a health garunteed beardie from a reputable breeder, which would you choose and why? I realize this was discussed to some length on the last page but I want your personal opinions, what would YOU do if you were to buy another beardie right at this very moment!

 

[sweetiepie9]

I would always choose to rescue babies if possible. We have a beardie that we rescued from a pet shop, he's our youngest & is 2 1/2 yrs old. We also bought Issy, she was also 3 mo old, couldn't leave her there or she would have died. We had her for 19 mo, then she caught & virus & died suddenly. All our beardies are adopted or rescued and we have 5 right now. It's always nice to get a really healthy beardie, but it's just the mom in me that's always wanting to save beardie lives.

 

[paperplanes]

in terms of doing the right thing for a beardies life, i would buy it from a pet store. if i wanted some fancy crazy colored dragon, i would get one from a breeder.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

Honestly I think it depends on the person.. Me, sadly I wouldn't have the time or the money that it would require to rescue a beardie.. Its also kinda the same concept would you go and rescue a dog from a pound or would you get your dog from a breeder? Different people prefer different things.. If I had the time, money and space to rescue beardies or buy ones that look malnourished or sick I would do it in a heartbeat.. With that being said.. I bought Scarlett from a breeder and she's extremely healthy and lively and I haven't had any problems with her thus far and I'm very thankful for that so If I had to do it over again I would purchase from a breeder again..

 

[TurtleG1rl]

Personally I would rather get one from the pet store, we got Bra'tac from one and just a bit of care is needed really. Went to a pet store today and they had babies together half the size of our little fella, and so thin, this pet store is decent and they didn't have them a week ago when we were last there so its likely they came in from the breeder that way. This only leads me to wonder what kind of breeders they get their dragons from (before we got Bra'tac they did say they were expecting some babies from a breeder anytime so I know thats where these guys came from as this is the first lot of babies we have seen since he said that to us) as the rest of the dragons and animals in the store are generally quite fat, leading me to think well fed. Maybe its just a bad breeder but after seeing these little guys I'm less likely to ask about local breeders and save some little fella in a shop and give him the best possible life.

 

[paperplanes]

This only leads me to wonder what kind of breeders they get their dragons from

my initial question exactly.

 

[mellu]

For me, it depends. I have a tendency to see an animal, and go home with it. That's how I ended up with 7 cats xD. It's how I got Mika we had gone to the store to buy lights and I brought home a new beardie. Something about her face just made me fall in love instantly. Having bought two pet store babies already I feel less guilty about wanting a breeder beardie, we have already given two pet store beardies homes, breeder beardies need homes too!

I also fully believe in supporting responsible breeders, all of my cats were purchased from a wonderful lady here locally who loves her animals more than anything(other than her son, of course!), now had we gone to the pet store and bought a cat there, well, that is supporting them going and buying more backyard bred kittens. My boyfriend thinks I'm an "animal snob" just because I like buying pure bred animals from breeders, but there is a certain peace of mind knowing that you're not in it alone and that if anything happened, you had someone to turn to for advice, someone you could trust and someone who also cares about the animal you love so much! Plus, Persians, Lhasa Apsos, Shih Tzus and hypo translucent beardies and KYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT, hahaha.