Why do some people get pets without doing research?

[mayulsa]

Well, I guess this is a bit of a rant. I recently made an Instagram account for Neptune (who I think may be a he!) and I've been following other bearded dragon accounts. Some people post pictures of their setups. One person had NO basking light and a coil UVB light. I thought that they might not know that bearded dragons require certain things. I let them know and they told me that the pet store said that they didn't need it.

Another beardie was so obese that it's stomach dragged against the ground. The comments were mostly "aw!" and "wow, such a fatty! so cute!" Someone commented that bearded dragons have different metabolisms than humans and it's so unhealthy for them to be THAT heavy. Mind you, the comment was kind. They were only worried about the dragon. The person who originally posted the photo attacked them. Why would you attack someone who is simply concerned for the well being of your pet?

Rant over. Also, if this doesn't belong here, I apologize! I guess I just wanted to get these words out.

 

[DaisyDragon123]

Sometimes people just make you want to give up.

 

[kingofnobbys]

This is a result of the pet market in your country being a free-for-all with no effective regulation where a person can simply walk into a pet shop, pick an animal that takes their fancy (often on a whim or even based on some fashion impulse) , show their credit card or hand over some cash and there are no questions asked , no permit/licence to hold these animals as pets, and they can then simply walk out with the animal in a box.

This is also what happens when you allow people to buy special animals like lizards (bearded dragons) on impulse from pet shops who have little or no knowledge themselves about how to properly care them and are only interested in fast turnover and profits.

What you need is a permit / licencing system similar to the ones we have in each state here in Australia where you must apply for and pay upfront to obtain a keeper's permit from the state government authority responsible for this ( native reptiles , frogs, birds, etc here in Australia , imported animals are strickly forbidded) , and when you decide on an animal you wish to buy you must produce your permit/licence number and exchange your permit details with the seller (nearly always a breeder here , very few pet shops are allowed to sell reptiles and frogs here) so an out of the blue uniformed impulse buy is next to impossible here.

What you also need is for very tight controls on the retail pet shop trade wrt reptile sales and shops to employ staff who are knowledgeable rather than know-nothing-commission based salespersons who could care less about the wellbeing the animals held and are not qualified to advise customers properly on these animals' care and environmental needs.