Pushkin":15uq1yqy said:My Petsmart is actually really great when it comes to their animals. At most, they'll have two baby beardies in a tank and they always look alert and happy. Several of the girls who work in that area own beardies, and one even ran a rescue for a while, so they have given me good advice (that this site and others have corroborated.) In the end, I think it's less about the chain itself, and more about the people who work at each store!
Ofthelime":2ttxpdd2 said:Not all the Petco and Petsmart stores are bad but an overwhelming number of them are. Most of them ignore a lot of basic needs of the animals such as UVB, and misinform people. The prices are also outrageous on many products.
CooperDragon":33w5q58z said:I agree, the issues stem from many people experiencing problems after being sold improper equipment (sand, improper lighting, improper food/supplements, etc). Several people have seen dragons in dirty, overcrowded tanks with improper lighting as well. I'm glad to hear that your store goes to great lengths to properly care for the animals. I think a lot of the issues come down to lack of knowledge and/or resources at certain stores. I highly encourage you, your coworkers, and customers to use this forum to learn as much as you can about proper care for bearded dragons. The more knowledge and experience everyone has, the better. Feel free to use the care articles listed on the site and to ask us any questions you have about dragons. The people on this board are happy to share our experience with you. It's good to have a caring, knowledgeable employee at the store so your dragons can have the best life possible right from the start =)
Taterbug":25qfiilc said:I have a couple problems with petsmart. One is I'm sure entirly region specific - that is lack of good husbandry. It's not nearly as bad as other chain stores but I've still seen sick, emaciated, or otherwise improperly cared for animals and filthy cages. Many stores also sell animals way too young, IMO. This contributes to one of my other complaints - they become impulse purchases.
Baby lizards are adorable, they are accessible and in the next isle over are "starter kits" to take one home right away. Some of those kits are mediocre at best, while others are downright inhumane. Bearded dragons are not particularly challenging reptiles to keep but they still have very specific needs, and pretty large space requirements. The assortment of products that exist only to fleece money from customers really upsets me, but not much you can do about that I know.
I'm curious how quickly the animals pass through the stores, some of the husbandry problems (such as lack of uvb or overcrowding) are a little more excusable if they are only at the store for a few day to a week or so. But improper husbandry paired with the stress of being in a high traffic area of busy store is sure to compound any health issues.
And to be fair, I have perused the literature at petsmart and while it's not complete by any means, nor cutting edge - it's not as misleading as many people claim. Though plenty of people show up here with "the pet store told me..." followed by poor or inaccurate information - again this will depend on the employees but I've overheard some pretty questionable advice (not just on lizards).
Do you know the supplier of your dragons, by chance?
So anyway, rant aside - petstores really set an example of care of the animals. Very few people on the street understand exotic pets or their needs. I still get asked if a (snake/fish/lizard) will only grow to the size of its cage. (My answer is yes, because once the cage is too small it will die) The dirty cages, nasty dried up food, overcrowding and poor choices of furnishings and lighting can send the wrong message about what is ok. If there is anyway to make sure customers take home the literature for the speicies and suggest they check out a few care sheets online as well. Stressing the importance of good UVB lighting, gutloading insects, using supplements, one lizard per enclosure at their forever-home.
DeltaElite121":3cmqcy21 said:Unfortunately it's both. There's a great Petsmart over by me and they do the absolute best job I've seen in a commercial pet store. The problem is, corporate tells them a certain daily routine for said animals, and they're expected to follow policy. Yes, that means that unfortunately the baby bearded dragons get fed meal worms at a young age and often times get subpar temperatures/lighting/space requirements. I've spoken with the store manager here and they admit they do the best they can and KNOW/tell the customers everything they need to know, however they are stuck with what they have. It's a sad situation, but also very admirable (in the same token) in stores like the one near me. I still buy animals from them, but so far I've bought mostly frogs because those are often very healthy there unless they are underfed like my Pyxie frog was.
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