HELP! Neglected Jackson at local petstore!

[lysinlight87]

Do you have anything like the RSPCA? Here you can make a complaint to them & they send out an officer to check the situation. If an animal is being kept in unsuitable living conditions, they can prosecute.

I'm fairly sure pet shops are closely regulated in the UK, there are various rules and regulations. Is there no way for you to blow the whistle on them?

 

[lysinlight87]

don't get me wrong though- I've still seen chameleons in petshops here who aren't in 'perfect' conditions. There's usually lots of little things that need correcting.

 

[pssh]

Don't buy it (as all that does is support the store and allows them to buy more to mistreat.) Talk to the store manager and employees. Voice your concerns. Don't shop there anymore if you are unhappy with the way they treat the animals (if they wont fix anything.)

don't get me wrong though- I've still seen chameleons in petshops here who aren't in 'perfect' conditions. There's usually lots of little things that need correcting.

Keep in mind, pet stores are supposed to be very temporary homes and they need to be kept in a cost effective manner. That said, they should be kept well so that they do not die or become sick too! Some things they need, and some things are optional.

 

[NosyBeT360]

At my local petsmart they had a jacksons that was in poor health.... I complained to no avail... The next time I was in the store I dragged a worker girl over to the cage and explained the unhealthy signs and conditions.... After looking sheepish she told me she knew the conditions were not right because she had kept chameleons before but wasn't sure what to do... I told her I would write her up a care sheet for chameleons that she could share with her co-workers... Since doing this the little jacksons made a recovery... Ive been checking on him each week when i get more crickets, he has more than doubled in size, his eyes are no longer sunken, his food is hand fed besides the worms required to be left in the cage and he gets misted 3-4 times a day.

The corporations petsmart and petco set up really poor conditions for there animals, its true!!! But instead of attacking the people working there try and reason with them!! You're bound to find a.compassionate staff member who cares for animals as much as you!

Anyways the little fellow has been living (i won't say well cuz his tiny enclosure but he is still living!) For over 5 months now in a petsmart!! Thats got to be a petsmart record!

 

[Psychobunny]

When I need to go to a pet store, I avoid looking at any live animals.
I buy whatever supplies I need and I'm out of there!

I know if I spend the time and look, I will get upset, and there is really nothing
I can do about it.

 

[clarkrw3]

Honestly it sucks! BUT it happens at almost every pet store no matter how good. I have learned to try my best to ignore it. I was just at LLLReptile this past weekend, what I consider to be one of if not the best Reptile store in the country and they had a whole clutch of veileds that either were dead on the substrate in the bottom of the cage or sitting with eyes closed. It really bummed me out! I expected better from them. Who knows maybe they got them all from a customer or wholesaler in bad shape. They also had a verrucosus baby that looked close to death.

I really am not trying to blast LLL I really like the store and buy stuff from them all the time I am just saying if it happens there it happens everywhere, it's just a pet trade thing and it SUCKS!!

 

[lysinlight87]

Keep in mind, pet stores are supposed to be very temporary homes and they need to be kept in a cost effective manner. That said, they should be kept well so that they do not die or become sick too! Some things they need, and some things are optional.

Oh, I agree with you. The chameleons I've seen in my 2 local reptile showrooms have all looked very healthy & have had adequate living arrangements. There have been a few instances when I've wondered, like there was a jackson (not on display) in a very small cage, no heat bulb, but a UV bulb...but he might have been sick & hence seperated from display. I didn't ask & I don't know enough about jacksons to make any criticisms.

I was just wondering what regulations US pet shops have to follow in terms of animal wellfare. Could someone with a complaint (& sadly, bags of money) not have a legal standing?

 

[Carlton]

Sadly it's a known fact in the pet sale industry that something like 40% of animal sales succeed because customers pity the animals' condition in the store.

 

[lysinlight87]

I also realise taking on a giant chainstore is just a tad unrealistic lol. I'm asking questions cos it feels like you guys are really 'banging your heads against brick walls', & I don't know much about what you're up against.

 

[shineru]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday my fiancé and I were picking up some new crickets for our veiled Thomas. He had already told me the pet store got some juveniles, so naturally I was very excited to see them.

However, once we got to the terrarium, I got the scare of a lifetime! There were two very small chameleons, who one of the salespeople told us were 6 months old. Yet, Thomas was very small when we got him at six months and a reptile specialist told us he was either underfed or at most four months old. The same things seems to have happened again with the new juveniles. Aside from that, I was shocked to see that one of the juveniles was so brown he seriously looked purple/pink or lavender. The other one was bright green and looked better (you can see in the photo).

Now, I am new at chameleons (we've had Thomas for about a month and a half), but this doesn't look normal to me. Does it to you?

I'm afraid to even say anything to the salespeople or owner, because they seem to feel they know everything about chameleons (I think two of them took a small course in chameleon health and keeping, the other people just take them out forcefully whenever they like). One of them got mad when I came back the day after picking up Thomas because he had forgotten to provide us with UVB or basking lights. I was ready to just buy the little guy and get him to a vet, but my fiancé wouldn't let me. What should I do?

Do it! scam them & get ur money back for them! i mean think about it if they got at least one female in there you can save her for thomas? well i already came across the sistuation and bought myself the jackson i saw, but i refuse to go inside a pet store now specialy if they got chameleons. besides stuff online are cheeper and bettter

 

[kmc80]

I went back to the petsmart yesterday to check on the jackson and she was gone. I asked where she was and an employee told me someone bought her! I'm surprised because she was in bad shape...I hope her new owner knows how to care for chams!
I'm still going to write a letter letting them know how discusted I was

 

[Trillian]

It is an awful problem, for some reasons the neglected Jacksons upset me more than the neglected Veileds. Took these yesterday.

 

[KirbyTheCham]

It is an awful problem, for some reasons the neglected Jacksons upset me more than the neglected Veileds. Took these yesterday.

Those poor Jackson's look so unhappy and dehydrated ;(