Inexperienced PetSmart Shopper

[viaje]

So, I was buying crickets at the petsmart I used to work at when one of my ex-coworkers ran up saying "Abby! there's a guy here who owns a panther chameleon!" this is amazing, because up till now I was basically the only person in central MN with the species- whether you believe me or not.

I tracked the guy down, to find out that he bought a gorgeous boy from FLchams... but doesn't know how to take care of it- meaning, when I asked him if he was the guy with the chameleon, he said "uhm, yeah- I have a... leopard chameleon" and was excited because "FL chams said that it'll have every color in the rainbow!"

I was devastated to find out that since I left PetSmart- there's no one there to help these people before they get themselves into these situations.

All I could think to do was give the guy my number and tell him fifteen or twenty times to call me if he has any questions, or if anything doesn't seem right


I'm still so frustrated, I feel like I didn't do the right thing- there was so much he was doing wrong that I didn't say anything about because it would have been so rude to "preach" to someone 30 years older than you...

 

[cushcameleon]

I think the best thing you can suggest to someone like that is to join this forum. I know that without this site, I would have been at a total loss just like that guy.

 

[PantherVeileD]

I'm pretty sure he did some research on the site he bought it from. Some people are just not good with names.. freaking leeeoooopard!

 

[viaje]

He doesn't have the internet, he bought it over the phone via an add for FLchams in a reptile magazine, so I can only hope that he'll do as I insisted and call me if he needs help

 

[karebear41486]

Wow...sounds a lot like MY life! I quite PetSmart last summer after three years of work...and can't even bear to go IN there anymore for the exact same reason. It really was unique that everyone I worked with in the PetCare department at the time cared SO much for animals and were very intellegent about them....that's rare at a petsmart, I believe. Anyway, on a brighter note, I am also located in the Midwest! Probably only about 3 hours or so from you. Cool...I too thought I was one of the only people in MN/WI who had chameleons!

 

[codiwatkins]

I think you did the right thing you gave him your number and offered to help him out if he needed it. The petco by my house doesnt know anything about chams either. they of course have a veiled that I find myself checking on at least 3 times a week Its funny because I ask them questions that i know the answer to just to see if they know and they will blurt out some crazy BS answer to seem like they know what they are talking abut. I mention the fact that they have the veiled in a glass cage EVERYTIME I am in there and they are alwasy like well he is still alive right?? Im like yea but its still not good for them. I asked about gut loading and they told me that you dont have to gut load your insects I if course informed them they u are suppose to and they just laughed it off and said thats is just one more thing for us to do.......We already have to take care of the animals and reptiles we arent going to take crae of bugs too.......... I was like BUT BUT BUT the bugs are part of taking care of the reptiles and chams.......I think its a lost cause...I wish it werent true but they never listen!

 

[yoza717]

LOL on the Leopard Chameleon.

I just ordered a Panther Gecko over the phone

 

[AJA]

I'm still so frustrated, I feel like I didn't do the right thing- there was so much he was doing wrong that I didn't say anything about because it would have been so rude to "preach" to someone 30 years older than you...

I have heard this situation before and here are some suggestions:

Remember you are not doing it for the person you are doing it for the chameleon.

Curb your urge to hit them upside the head (this is a tough one for me )

Instead of preaching to an elder, show your enthusiasm and say things like " Oh wow, I got one too! What kind of UVB do you use? Oh, you don't have one, oh I really recomend getting one becuase they really need it and if you pay $20 now for the bulb you won't be paying $80 at the vet.... my guy is in a so in so enclosure, what's yours in? " and contiune down the line of basics. This way you don't insult the person.

A lot of people don't want to ask for help because then they think, you think they are stupid.


In the case of the "leopard", you could of said...'oh, I never heard of that kind before, I have heard of panther ..." Leopard and Panthers are big cats, he got the jest of it.

Giving him your name and number was a great move too. I sometimes will go the extra step and write down the website and resources that I use for them ( remember most people are lazy or have too much to think about to remember what you suggested...it took me forever to find the dendrobates forum, why couldn't they just call it poison dart frog forum.

 

[warpdrive]

AJA,

I just wanted to say that you gave some great sugestions.

I think we all run into perople who didn't know much about a pet, be it some fish, birds, reptiles, and so on.
I normaly don't get too involved due to some crazy people I've ran into while working in a local pet store years ago...
but if I do see the person is truly interested, then I normaly give my phone number as well as some brief info that THEY seem to be looking for.

in other words, I don't try to be pushy.
I have learned long ago that I can't save the world, or every pet that is out there.
but if someone wants to learn, I'm more then happy to have a talk with them.

Harry

 

[Ferdinand]

Hi everyone,
I know what you guys mean about these petstore corporations, I work for Petsmart. I must admit that at first I knew little if nothing about chams in general, including the veilds that we sell at the store, but after being on here for a while Ive picked up on a few things. Its not due to not caring but rather a lack of information and training on behalf of the company. With that said, I know there must be employees out there that could care less but I try to to make it a point that we are not all like that. Trust me, Ive talked to the managers and tried to convince them not to order more chams because just like you said codi, we have the wrong enclosures and to be honest, not everyone that works here knows anything about chams. I try to make the chams that we get as comfortable as possible and I keep a real close eye on them. I try to do the best I can for them but ultimately things need to change on the corporate level. In my opinion, it seems that as long as a profit is made, they dont care about the well-being of any of the critters we have. I dont claim to be the expert but I definitely know more know than a while back. Hopefully, I can educate my co-workers and make it a better place for our chams.
Best,
Fern

 

[chequepoint]

Even in a screen cage a cham isn't going to appreciate a pet store environment. That said.. at the size I normally see chameleons in petsmart, etc. I dont' think a glass cage is the end of the world.

Pet stores aren't designed for the long term housing of any of these animals..
Every day a pet stays in the store, they have to feed it, use employee resources on maintaining it, electricity, etc. So the purchasing agent needs to judge his market, if chameleons move quickly, he'll keep ordering them.. if not, and they have a few die on them or stick around past the point of profitability, he'll find more valuable use for the shelf space.

 

[viaje]

Hi everyone,
I know what you guys mean about these petstore corporations, I work for Petsmart. I must admit that at first I knew little if nothing about chams in general, including the veilds that we sell at the store, but after being on here for a while Ive picked up on a few things. Its not due to not caring but rather a lack of information and training on behalf of the company. With that said, I know there must be employees out there that could care less but I try to to make it a point that we are not all like that. Trust me, Ive talked to the managers and tried to convince them not to order more chams because just like you said codi, we have the wrong enclosures and to be honest, not everyone that works here knows anything about chams. I try to make the chams that we get as comfortable as possible and I keep a real close eye on them. I try to do the best I can for them but ultimately things need to change on the corporate level. In my opinion, it seems that as long as a profit is made, they dont care about the well-being of any of the critters we have. I dont claim to be the expert but I definitely know more know than a while back. Hopefully, I can educate my co-workers and make it a better place for our chams.
Best,
Fern

About trying to get them to stop ordering chams
It's sad that they don't listen to you, but perhaps you could look through your stores labels (the pile of tags with the price and picture of the animal, etc) and see what is possible to get. Some of them will probably be from like, 15 years ago, and PetSmart won't be able to get it in, but if you try to ring it up on the register and see which ones are still in the system you can see what your options are- try saying to your manager "hey! I think this would be just as popular as a chameleon, and it would thrive in our setup!"
If I'm not mistaken -however I haven't kept the species before- PetSmarts reptile enclosures would be very well suited for Pygmy Chameleons, which might be a big hit.

Just try to suggest some alternatives to your manager, I've heard that some of the regional guys from corporate are up for new ideas, too. The next time one visits your store you could ask if you could do a chameleon setup "to draw attention to the animals" you'd have to make it worth his trouble- so it would have to look awesome. But just remind him that chameleons need a lot more money put into them then people realize- but people are willing to do it if they see it done. Just make sure he knows that people will want to buy everything in the setup so they can have the incredible animal inside. He won't know that you're just doing it to get the cham out of the glass cage.

I learned a lot about PetSmart in my time working there

 

[Ferdinand]

That sounds like a great idea. Ill be going into work tomorrow to teach my dog training classes and Ill look around the catalog to see if we can get some other alternatives. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Best ,
Fern

 

[boxdgm]

just wanted to say hi as im from st paul, mn. twin cites reptiles has a blue bar panther female last time i was in there. i was suprised to see one in a pet store.

 

[viaje]

just wanted to say hi as im from st paul, mn. twin cites reptiles has a blue bar panther female last time i was in there. i was suprised to see one in a pet store.

yeah, they've been getting in one at a time for a while now- I saw her, she looks really healthy! Although, I'd never buy a panther without seeing it's bloodlines.

Do you attend the MN herpetological society meetings? I don't go to many, but the author of 'The Lizard King' is going to be our speaker on May 1st, so I'm not going to miss it!

 

[Docility]

we dont make money off of our reptiles, but we do make money off of the items we sell with them. think of a cham as the turkey on thanksgiving. now would that just be a lame thanksgiving only a turkey!? so what we do is sell 30 other things to go with it. thats how the money is made. our sister store cant get reptiles in anymore, because they keep killing them due to lack of knowledge. the owner of the 2 is a very dumb man with only business on his mind. doesnt listen to me, or anyone else. its rather funny i have to trick him into learning from me ill ask a question such as UVB, and he will tell me his crap, and i will be like well i read that blah blah, and this vet, and this herpetologist support this claim, and he actually takes it in then, but straight out advice haha he wont do it!

 

[viaje]

we dont make money off of our reptiles, but we do make money off of the items we sell with them. think of a cham as the turkey on thanksgiving. now would that just be a lame thanksgiving only a turkey!? so what we do is sell 30 other things to go with it. thats how the money is made.

This is exactly what I was getting at about convincing the corporate guy to let them set up an appropriate cage- the guy will think it's a great idea where people will see everything they need right in front of them- and buy it all! (but the setup is really just so the chameleon is healthier in the store)

Fern, if you're going to do that- it has to be the most beautiful, professional looking setup ever- make sure there's no stray cords (corporate doesn't like those) it also needs to be very clean, and no live plants- everything needs to be from PetSmart. I'm pushing the idea because if you pull it off they'll do it across the country.