Anyone have a petco cham?

[Shawnschamelion]

I got my Jackson's cham from petco. They use substrate on the bottom and yes the humidity is on the low side. They only feed meal worms in the corner in a dish . They have had a female Jackson's cham there for about 9 months. I always check on her weekly as I go to petco a lot. I always go around the corner and peek around a shelf to check her out.. she gets enough eyes on her daily and that's the least I can do. My cham "fudge" has done a 360. He was lame when I got him and always dark and not much movement. He now sports his bright green as he patrols his large enclosure looking for his favorite food, crickets. I think with proper calcium, calcium with d3, vitamins and a larger choice of food he's much happier. To be honest when I bought him I thought I was buying a cat. The guy ripped him out of the cage and was showing him off which now I know is terrible. Well with a lot of research I was able to provide him with a proper home and plenty of love. Of course without touching though..lol..

 

[serenaj25]

Before I knew any better, I purchased Blue, a female juvenile (at the time) veiled Cham at petco. She is now an adult and healthy and happy as can be! Haven't had any issues with her.

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

Before I knew any better, I purchased Blue, a female juvenile (at the time) veiled Cham at petco. She is now an adult and healthy and happy as can be! Haven't had any issues with her.

Blue is a beauty .

 

[serenaj25]

Blue is a beauty .

Thank you! Judging from your profile picture so is yours!

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

Thank you! Judging from your profile picture so is yours!

Frances is a character lol . She's our Grumpy little beauty . She's a true pleasure !!.

 

[Beelinn]

I had a PetSmart veiled many many years ago. She lived 3 years before getting a puffed up eye. We had it lanced by a vet, but a month later that was it. I loved her so much. I recognize that this was likely a deficiency of some sort, but I didn't know any better, and the internet wasn't what it is today. I'm armed with infinite knowledge at my fingertips, so hopefully that helps this time around.

 

[bobbydigital]

Don't even get me started with petco. My gf is a head dog trainer there and manager as well since they're under staffed. She's brought home two bearded dragons one with an amputated hand and another with horrible mbd. They're huge now doing great. Fish,mice and turtles have been brought home (All had issues) also since she can't stand to see an animal suffer.

I got my first panther cham named Vera from Petco, she needed to be rescued. She had a respiratory infection and a few other issues. She bit off her tongue and died two weeks later in my hands due to complications. I've posted her story on another thread on here about Petco, If you're that curious.

A month later I picked up Moe. He had a hard time as a baby ans needed to be force fed or else he would have died. He was about three months old when I brought him home. He had a respiratory infection, which I took care of. He had worms and now has gout and I have to administer oral meds every day, for the rest of his life. Despite his conditions and recently being unable to use his tail at All, he's doing as well as the circumstances allow. I'll post a photo of both. Moe is almost about a year old now.

The other day my gf had to send 4 baby veiled to the vet and they never came back. They had substrate in their eyes and all had respiratory infections. She soaked them and got the substrate out. I'm assuming they All died. After that they got another batch of 4 and one died the same day. He got substrate stuck in his mouth and died. She hates the way they keep their reptiles and agrees Petco should not be allowed to carry them. At a corporate meeting she has brought up husbandry issues for chams, snakes and others. They don't care. They have to have substrate and meal worms in their enclosures. Its ridiculous. She got the job because we rescued a baby bird and we love animals. (We have 12 cats, all rescues found in plastic bags,trash cans, gutters etc. As newborns). She's there to help the animals but at the same time can't do it all on her own and can't help but feel guilty for supporting the company. It's a double edged sword. She also rescued a veiled from there as well last week. It never ends.

 

[opheliaeatsbugs]

Yep, I have a Petco female veiled. Ophelia has rocked my world. It has been the worst 6 months of my life... like I don't have ANYTHING better to do than wait on her every possible need. And since I had no idea what those would be, I have suffered greatly, and no help from the big box store. I did not intend to come home with a pet - we just like to pop in to kill time and love on the beardies or rabbits, etc. The keeper showed actual concern because she was getting to big for her little glass box and they were going to have to move her "to the back". She did not make it sound like that was a good thing. She asked if I would take her home (free) and so I did, in a tiny little box. She did not try to sell me anything (they were about to close for the night) nor gave me any advice other than to say... feed her mealworms and get her reptile lights (oh, I got a pamphlet). I didn't even have a place to put her for the night. So, for the last 6 months I have tried to learn as much as possible as fast as possible. I made her first cage with scraps i found in the garage lol. 5 months ago I found this forum (thank heavens!!). I'm not sure she would have made it this far, if i hadn't. She just had her first clutch and I'm crossing my fingers all will be well and we can move on.

She is the sweetest thing, so mellow, never hisses or bites. Rolls with all of my newbie efforts and mistakes with her funny, upside-down "meh" face. We are quite the pair. I love her so much! She has been good to me, no health issues other than a few pinworms we're treating right now. I feel very lucky. I would have drowned for sure if she'd been sickly.

My heart breaks, now that I know what I know, and the box stores do not get my business for anything at all. I also share O's story with others to hopefully influence a few kids on their future reptile pet choices.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Why did you even bring up petco...

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

Yep, I have a Petco female veiled. Ophelia has rocked my world. It has been the worst 6 months of my life... like I don't have ANYTHING better to do than wait on her every possible need. And since I had no idea what those would be, I have suffered greatly, and no help from the big box store. I did not intend to come home with a pet - we just like to pop in to kill time and love on the beardies or rabbits, etc. The keeper showed actual concern because she was getting to big for her little glass box and they were going to have to move her "to the back". She did not make it sound like that was a good thing. She asked if I would take her home (free) and so I did, in a tiny little box. She did not try to sell me anything (they were about to close for the night) nor gave me any advice other than to say... feed her mealworms and get her reptile lights (oh, I got a pamphlet). I didn't even have a place to put her for the night. So, for the last 6 months I have tried to learn as much as possible as fast as possible. I made her first cage with scraps i found in the garage lol. 5 months ago I found this forum (thank heavens!!). I'm not sure she would have made it this far, if i hadn't. She just had her first clutch and I'm crossing my fingers all will be well and we can move on.

She is the sweetest thing, so mellow, never hisses or bites. Rolls with all of my newbie efforts and mistakes with her funny, upside-down "meh" face. We are quite the pair. I love her so much! She has been good to me, no health issues other than a few pinworms we're treating right now. I feel very lucky. I would have drowned for sure if she'd been sickly.

My heart breaks, now that I know what I know, and the box stores do not get my business for anything at all. I also share O's story with others to hopefully influence a few kids on their future reptile pet choices.View attachment 183809 View attachment 183810

She's a beauty!!. I know how you feel with the love . I would move fire for Frances . It sounds nutty but I don't care she deserves the very best and we get so much Joy with our Miss Grumpy !!. We also have a very handsome healthy panther whom came from @Matt Vanilla Gorilla whom is also in love with Miss. Grumpy .

 

[GregJD]

Gary is a PetCo Cham. I got him in November and He's still going strong (mostly thanks to this forum). Every time I go in and show pics to my favorite employee, he tells me how happy he is to hear Gary is still alive and well. He doesn't say so, but I catch the vibe from the other employees that most of them died. I go back for the dogs and the occasional terrarium accessory. It is the nicest pet store I have ever been in, and that's other PetCo's included.

 

[tayguac]

Not petco, but I got my veiled at Petsmart.... I'd been fighting getting a chameleon for years and I went looking one day just to see what my local stores had in terms of enclosures etc..one of the employees asked what I was looking for, and I told her I was considering getting a cham and she rushed me over to the sick room and showed me Guac. His enclosure was tiny, the UVB light was wrong, there was nothing for him to climb on..and he was blind!! My heart broke. I took him home later that day, it was rushed but I knew he needed a home. I'm happy to say now, a month later, his eyesight is back (almost) completely in both eyes and he is a happy eating machine!!
They have a new baby veiled there now and I sincerely hope they don't treat that little guy like they treated Guac.

 

[ali9021]

My male veiled came from PetSmart. He has been very healthy so far, but he's a mean little monster

 

[jamest0o0]

My male veiled came from PetSmart. He has been very healthy so far, but he's a mean little monster

I love their grumpy attitudes. Idk why hah. I'd almost rather have that than my panthers insisting on crawling all over me and everywhere else that they can.

 

[Sugybooks]

I love their grumpy attitudes. Idk why hah. I'd almost rather have that than my panthers insisting on crawling all over me and everywhere else that they can.

Yeah my cham is grumpy if I stick my hand in to adjust his dripper he does the body lean and snaps lol