Jackson's Chameleons @ Petco

[CharlieRae]

I went to get fish food today & my Petco has Jackson's chameleons! A male & female in the same little tank. The worker said she thinks they are 4ish months old, they've been there over a month. I want to take them home, they look so stressed & the male has been picking on the poor little female! Where do these cham's typically come from? Are they usually unhealthy? I got my panther from a breeder, so I'm worried about buying sick chameleons. Is this a terrible idea?

 

[PabloTheCham]

I went to get fish food today & my Petco has Jackson's chameleons! A male & female in the same little tank. The worker said she thinks they are 4ish months old, they've been there over a month. I want to take them home, they look so stressed & the male has been picking on the poor little female! Where do these cham's typically come from? Are they usually unhealthy? I got my panther from a breeder, so I'm worried about buying sick chameleons. Is this a terrible idea?

Most chams at petco are unhealthy... I would recommend keeping yourself from buying them because it helps petco and encourages the poor conditions the chams live in there. It will help those two chams, but in the bigger picture it is a bad idea.

 

[Chase]

I know the company that sells Petco all of the reptiles they sell. I can bet they are either WC or that they were born here from a gravid WC female (if they’re actually 4 months old)

I wouldn’t say they are necessarily unhealthy, and it’s really hard to tell you 100% without seeing any pictures.

 

[JacksJill]

After a month of poor care they are likely stressed and unhealthy. They are also possibly damaged by incorrect supplementation. Your best bet is to tell the manager that they are being housed incorrectly and if they can not provide individual cages you could take them off their hands for FREE. Do not pay a dime for them and do not buy any equipment there either. Do not expect them to have a full life span and prepare for some vet bills down the line.

 

[Bigsky]

The chameleons that I have purchased from Petco were healthy.

 

[JacksJill]

It is not impossible to get a healthy chameleon at a big box store. Panthers and Veiled are more resilient, montane species are not. Too much D3 quickly sickens them. The odds are not in your favor.

 

[CharlieRae]

After a month of poor care they are likely stressed and unhealthy. They are also possibly damaged by incorrect supplementation. Your best bet is to tell the manager that they are being housed incorrectly and if they can not provide individual cages you could take them off their hands for FREE. Do not pay a dime for them and do not buy any equipment there either. Do not expect them to have a full life span and prepare for some vet bills down the line.

I did call & speak with the manager about their care. Apparently I'm not the 1st to call & complain. But nothing has changed. Poor things.

 

[CharlieRae]

I know the company that sells Petco all of the reptiles they sell. I can bet they are either WC or that they were born here from a gravid WC female (if they’re actually 4 months old)

I wouldn’t say they are necessarily unhealthy, and it’s really hard to tell you 100% without seeing any pictures.

Good to know. I'll see if I can get some pictures this evening

 

[PabloTheCham]

The staple diet at petco for chameleons seems to be mealworms ?

 

[JacksJill]

Find out what their supplement schedule is if they have been giving calcium with D3 more than every two weeks they will be getting sick from it.

 

[CharlieRae]

The staple diet at petco for chameleons seems to be mealworms ?

My petco actually feeds crickets! which is surprising. But they do only offer a dish for water

 

[CharlieRae]

Find out what their supplement schedule is if they have been giving calcium with D3 more than every two weeks they will be getting sick from it.

Ok. I will ask

 

[Chase]

My petco actually feeds crickets! which is surprising. But they do only offer a dish for water

They have to offer a water dish. I asked one time and they said company wide they have to due to the amount of calls to corporate. Even though specific animals may not require it, people call and complain that they’re not offering water to their animals

 

[Edmar1023]

I went to get fish food today & my Petco has Jackson's chameleons! A male & female in the same little tank. The worker said she thinks they are 4ish months old, they've been there over a month. I want to take them home, they look so stressed & the male has been picking on the poor little female! Where do these cham's typically come from? Are they usually unhealthy? I got my panther from a breeder, so I'm worried about buying sick chameleons. Is this a terrible idea?

Funny u say that. I just went to mine also and they had some Jackson’s too. I think is awesome. They look young. But fine.

 

[heyooocera]

I went to get fish food today & my Petco has Jackson's chameleons! A male & female in the same little tank. The worker said she thinks they are 4ish months old, they've been there over a month. I want to take them home, they look so stressed & the male has been picking on the poor little female! Where do these cham's typically come from? Are they usually unhealthy? I got my panther from a breeder, so I'm worried about buying sick chameleons. Is this a terrible idea?

The last time i was in Petco they had 6 veiled chams in a very tiny glass enclosure and one of the babies was completely black hanging stuck upsidedown on the top of the cage i told one of the employees about it and they said that he was turned that color based on the fact that he was "in a bad mood" which is 1000000000% not the case and i know better. I know people who have healthy chams from petco but that store really does not know how to care for these babies. I dont see a problem getting them from there just based on the fact that they would be in much better care outside of that place.

 

[ashdavisa]

I worked at the other Pet____ store , so I'll throw in a couple of cents.
These stores do get their animals from mills. Unfortunately, animals are often shipped regardless of the store's on-hand count when there's surplus. My store occasionally received animals that were supposed to have been phased out, and it wasn't unusual to have way too many of something. We had pretty compassionate management that allowed us to set up overflow tanks in the back instead of cramming/mixing the displays, but ultimately, at store-level the employees have their hands tied in regards to proper care. A manager that cares might forward your complaint, but the best thing to do would be to contact corporate about improper set-ups and misinformation (note that employees aren't actually required to know about the animals, they just have to know to hand you a pamphlet, which is often full of bad info).

I don't like to convince people one way or the other after being on the "bad side", because it's complicated. Even if the store wants to stop stocking an animal due to disinterest/deaths, they'll still receive them if the DC has extra (there was a wide-spread issue this summer of stores ending up with 80+ koi because the DCs just had too many and didn't care what the stores were meant to do with them. It happens with guinea pigs, hamsters, and certain reptiles all the time, too.) However, if you buy some of that surplus, it won't necessarily be replaced (by that I mean: if the store has 5 lizards when they're only supposed to have one, they should only receive a single lizard once the five have sold).

The animal's health is a gamble, but my chain (not sure about Petco) had a policy that if the animal needed medical attention in the first 14 days we'd buy it back, take it to a vet, re-hab it and offer to let you re-buy with no medical expenses on your end (I promise they don't just throw your animal out and get you a new one, that surprised me honestly).

In the end I think it is just a moral decision about supporting the business or not. Buying from hobby breeders is always best, but not without risks (especially now- I spent the first half of this week fighting FedEx about a live animal package they decided not to deliver...). I'm not trying to defend chains stores, either- I personally prefer to support hobbyists. I certainly can't criticize, because I took my little lady with me when I left that place ?

 

[Beman]

It honestly really depends on so many factors... It is a risk if you buy there. You have no prior history and current care is subpar. They could be wildcaught, could be sick, could have crappy genetics. They may live a short life or a long one. They may die after getting them due to the improper care received as in incorrect feeding, incorrect UVB, incorrect supplementation, incorrect housing, could have parasite loads as well.

Any new one should be quarantined away from other chams and make sure not to cross contaminate from one cage to the other until you get a negative fecal back.

2 of the 3 Veileds I have are petco boys. My first one I got there almost 2 years ago and he is now almost 2.5 years old. They only had him about 5 days before I brought him home. He tested negative for parasites when I got him. The last one I got there a few weeks ago and they only had him a few days prior to me taking him home. He has been quarantined though as I just got his fecal back and it was negative.

I watched them kill the last translucent they had there. I saw her when she was a baby and she was healthy... I purposely avoid Petco so the next time I saw her it had been at least 3-4 months later. She was gravid and showing signs of MBD in her jaw, casque, and one of her arms was slightly bowed. I complained. They moved her to their back room to put her in a more suitable area for egg laying. I checked with a girl I know there a week later and she died trying to lay her eggs.

This was how I ended up with my newest baby. While buying at these big box stores does nothing but perpetuate them selling more and getting more it does however save a life. I have a hard time justifying not saving a life. Just because the circumstances are not in the chams favor does not mean it deserves to die a painful horrible death.

This is very much an individual decision and you will get everything from no don't do it to here are the risks.

Getting Nationwide pet insurance is a good idea as well. They have whole life with wellness for $20 a month and a $100 deductible they then will reimburse you 90% of the bills. All three of mine have this. And this one covers not only urgent but preventative care. Vet bills get very expensive very very fast.

 

[CharlieRae]

I worked at the other Pet____ store , so I'll throw in a couple of cents.
These stores do get their animals from mills. Unfortunately, animals are often shipped regardless of the store's on-hand count when there's surplus. My store occasionally received animals that were supposed to have been phased out, and it wasn't unusual to have way too many of something. We had pretty compassionate management that allowed us to set up overflow tanks in the back instead of cramming/mixing the displays, but ultimately, at store-level the employees have their hands tied in regards to proper care. A manager that cares might forward your complaint, but the best thing to do would be to contact corporate about improper set-ups and misinformation (note that employees aren't actually required to know about the animals, they just have to know to hand you a pamphlet, which is often full of bad info).

I don't like to convince people one way or the other after being on the "bad side", because it's complicated. Even if the store wants to stop stocking an animal due to disinterest/deaths, they'll still receive them if the DC has extra (there was a wide-spread issue this summer of stores ending up with 80+ koi because the DCs just had too many and didn't care what the stores were meant to do with them. It happens with guinea pigs, hamsters, and certain reptiles all the time, too.) However, if you buy some of that surplus, it won't necessarily be replaced (by that I mean: if the store has 5 lizards when they're only supposed to have one, they should only receive a single lizard once the five have sold).

The animal's health is a gamble, but my chain (not sure about Petco) had a policy that if the animal needed medical attention in the first 14 days we'd buy it back, take it to a vet, re-hab it and offer to let you re-buy with no medical expenses on your end (I promise they don't just throw your animal out and get you a new one, that surprised me honestly).

In the end I think it is just a moral decision about supporting the business or not. Buying from hobby breeders is always best, but not without risks (especially now- I spent the first half of this week fighting FedEx about a live animal package they decided not to deliver...). I'm not trying to defend chains stores, either- I personally prefer to support hobbyists. I certainly can't criticize, because I took my little lady with me when I left that place ?

This is great info. Thank you so much!

 

[CharlieRae]

It honestly really depends on so many factors... It is a risk if you buy there. You have no prior history and current care is subpar. They could be wildcaught, could be sick, could have crappy genetics. They may live a short life or a long one. They may die after getting them due to the improper care received as in incorrect feeding, incorrect UVB, incorrect supplementation, incorrect housing, could have parasite loads as well.

Any new one should be quarantined away from other chams and make sure not to cross contaminate from one cage to the other until you get a negative fecal back.

2 of the 3 Veileds I have are petco boys. My first one I got there almost 2 years ago and he is now almost 2.5 years old. They only had him about 5 days before I brought him home. He tested negative for parasites when I got him. The last one I got there a few weeks ago and they only had him a few days prior to me taking him home. He has been quarantined though as I just got his fecal back and it was negative.

I watched them kill the last translucent they had there. I saw her when she was a baby and she was healthy... I purposely avoid Petco so the next time I saw her it had been at least 3-4 months later. She was gravid and showing signs of MBD in her jaw, casque, and one of her arms was slightly bowed. I complained. They moved her to their back room to put her in a more suitable area for egg laying. I checked with a girl I know there a week later and she died trying to lay her eggs.

This was how I ended up with my newest baby. While buying at these big box stores does nothing but perpetuate them selling more and getting more it does however save a life. I have a hard time justifying not saving a life. Just because the circumstances are not in the chams favor does not mean it deserves to die a painful horrible death.

This is very much an individual decision and you will get everything from no don't do it to here are the risks.

Getting Nationwide pet insurance is a good idea as well. They have whole life with wellness for $20 a month and a $100 deductible they then will reimburse you 90% of the bills. All three of mine have this. And this one covers not only urgent but preventative care. Vet bills get very expensive very very fast.

This is good info, thank you! Do you pay $20/animal?

 

[CharlieRae]

These are the best pictures I could get of them. Poor babies?