Just when I thought pet store housing was bad enough . . .

[Kaianuanu]

I was picking up some crickets for Hawkeye today at my local petco when I was shocked to see this. (usually i get crickets at a more reputable store but it was out of the way) 5 chams of 3 different species together in one of those stupid glass cabinets. They had 1 adult/subadult jackson female, 2 juvenile veilds of about the same size as the johnstonii, and then 2 tiny little panthers that appeared to be barely 2.5 months old. And to make matters worse, although they looked hydrated for the most part, there was a water bowl in there. Lord knows how long they've been in there, hopefully, there was no additional chams in there previously that were sold off. FYI, this cage was 10 gallons at the most. I cringe at the thought of the kind of care they are receiving: for instance, supplementation. To make matters worse, they were priced so high that they probably won't sell for a long time considering that most people spending that kind of money on a cham have probably done their research and are certainly not looking for chams at petco.

 

[Tanner Grisak]

That's no bueno, poor chams

 

[Curtis James]

Every time I go into percolate I cringe at there reptile set ups.. Especially at the chams cage there...

 

[Curtis James]

Petco* stupid auto correct.

 

[Ladybones]

I have had to tell off a manager at petco once saying they need more humidity other then that the chameleons were separated by species, they just needed more humidity. The sad thing is the Chameleons in your post will sell, people buy on urge and will not look up the care prior to buying and the pet store workers will only tell them what they know and that's not everything right.

 

[chrisnoluck]

i took this one of two chameleons at petco yesterday. humidity was definitely too low and their only food source were mealworms in a small bowl on the bottom of the cage.

 

[Ahtee]

Wow those people in the pet shop should be crucified.

 

[TreeTopChameleons]

Wow those people in the pet shop should be crucified.

I disagree...we cannot always assume that everyone working at a pet store works there because they love animals. I would say the majority work there because they need a job, and therefor can hardly be blamed for their lack of knowledge.

The real blame needs to fall on the pet store owners, who make the decision to stock animals which they either have no idea to care for, do not care about the well being of the animals, or have neglected to educate the employees on the proper care requirements of the various creatures they sell.

The only thing that I believe makes any difference is to avoid buying anything from stores who have standards of care you will not stand for. Inform others as to what you have seen, and attempt to educate anyone willing to listen in which ways this store is failing.

People are often tempted to "rescue" an animal. The store owner does not care why you are purchasing from him/her. As soon as your rescue goes home with you, their place in the tank is already filled with another that will also require rescue.

A sale is a sale, these are usually business people who do not care about how they make a buck, only that they make a buck. Let their tanks fill with dead animals (as sad as it is) and perhaps they will then understand the need to properly care for these animals, if not because it is the right thing to do, then because the cost of losing animals regularly becomes too high to ignore.

In my opinion ignorance is forgivable-in the case of the uninformed employee, but neglect by owners is a different thing entirely.

 

[leedragon]

isn´t there any law the makes regulations about how the animals should be housed?

btw glas cages aren´t bad for chamelons, you need to get rid off that idea

 

[CLP]

I agree that many in the pet stores are there for a job, and have no real concern for the animals in their care. However, I have also run into a few who really do care.

That being said, for those who do see the kind of care that makes us cringe, I hope you are at least trying (in a calm and non-confrontational manner) to educate the staff. You may be surprised that some of them are willing to make changes once they know what they're doing is wrong. Should they have educated themselves in the first place? Yes. But that's not always the case, and sometimes you'll find that they just don't care no matter what you say. But, for the sake of the animals, it is worth trying to talk to them.

I spoke to one of the pet stores I went to about a gravid female who had been in with a male before the male was sold. They had no laying bin in for her. They subsequently put a bin in, she laid eggs, and I found out they hatched a couple of weeks ago. So, it's worth a try imho.

 

[Olimpia]

Also, keep in mind that the employees may have no choice but to follow corporate rules for housing animals. So Tom from reptiles may know that chameleons shouldn't be kept like this but Tom has his hands tied because the manager's hands are tied, because corporate sent out a memo saying "chameleons must be kept like this..."

I've met some very caring, knowledgeable pet shop employees and I've met many that were incompetent/unethical. But both have to listen to their employers to keep their jobs, so they probably have no control.

 

[deadhd5]

Also, keep in mind that the employees may have no choice but to follow corporate rules for housing animals. So Tom from reptiles may know that chameleons shouldn't be kept like this but Tom has his hands tied because the manager's hands are tied, because corporate sent out a memo saying "chameleons must be kept like this..."

I've met some very caring, knowledgeable pet shop employees and I've met many that were incompetent/unethical. But both have to listen to their employeers to keep their jobs, so they probably have no control.

Exactly. I was in Petsmart yesterday and the employee told me that they asked corporate to stop sending them chameleons as their whole staff knew the setups were inadequate but corporate send them anyway.

She told me that the stores used to control what they ordered and recently corporate took over that role in order to "standardize" the pet offering. It looks like Petsmart is going in the exact wrong direction.

 

[little leaf]

I was in a PS not long ago, and when a lady WAS going to get her son a baby veiled, I told her allllllll the work that they needed, she told me the sales person said they are "GREAT PETS FOR KIDS" I told her " HE LIED !!!" and told her to go pick up the book on chams sitting right by the cages and read it for a few..- she did NOT get one and thanked me ( but PS hated me- LOL ) I think soon they will tell me to stop going in there - I only get wax worms there

 

[DanSB]

If you are unhappy with the care of any animal at either of the big box stores don't bother getting indignant and angry, it is a waste of emotional energy.

At c p-co ask to speak to the manager on duty, explain your concerns and ask to lodge a complaint. Also ask for a contact where you can lodge a complaint with corporate. At p-smart do the same except you also want to speak with the animal care manager if they are in.

There are some small things local management can do, like turn off the basking light when it is too hot...

Ultimately if enough complaints come through something might change. Ultimately big change might only come if a store was picketed by sane rational people and a news team picked up on it. Please know I am NOT encouraging this, as it is against forum rules to organize a protest.

Also, I do shop at p-smart / co for dog and cat supplies. They do a lot to encourage proper care, training, and help in need dogs and cats and I am for that. I just refuse to buy herp supplies there...

 

[madden]

It's always upsetting to see the conditions chameleons are kept in at major pet stores, there is one near me that always has pairs of jacksons on display in the tank next to the bearded dragons, which means they're under the same lighting, and getting the same heat and humidity I'm a sales associate at a smaller, privately owned chain of pet stores, and when I talked to my management about chameleons, I was informed that we don't ever carry them anymore, since we don't have adequate housing in our reptile department. So fortunately at least some companies are paying attention!

 

[Rango2013]

Yep our veiled was a gift from grandma. Bought it a petsmart, we were told it was a male. After learning about chams over the last few weeks it's a female (something we didnt necessarly want) and very very young. The 300.00 dollars of equipment they told us we needed is completly wrong. Now were trying to save up money to get a proper size enclosure that can hold live plants. We love our new pet but had we been better informed a bearded dragon may have been a better choice for a forgetfull 12 year old.