Really sad....

[DuWeech]

No I completely understand, but I can tell you that with us as a company we do have rules and procedures to ensure we always do whats best for the pet. We have taken sick reptiles to the vet and spent hundreds of dollars on a vet bill rather than euthanizing the pet. Now that being said I do understand that not all stores are going to react in the same manner as the next. The sad truth is that no all people who work for a company truly believe or care for that matter. And about the freezing and getting credit that is not true. The only time we will ever get credit form a breeder is if the pet arrived in poor condition and didn't make it past a couple of days, after that its our loss. Like I said Im not here to change anyones mind about the company, but if you do have a legit concern about a particular situation in a store and no one wants to listen to you at a store level contact our corporate office. We do take things seriously but obviously are not aware of what happens at each and every store.

 

[ciafardo 4]

It's the same old story, the petsmarts of the world, buy in bulk for dirt cheap and main goal is profit. You will always see sick/dying animals in their stores because they (generally) just don't care.

The cold reality of it is, by buying these animals you're giving them reasons to restock and cause more harm. In some cases its better to let the animals pass to make a point. If they continue to lose their animals and no one buys, then they will eventually stop bringing in that type of animal. Its a slow process but its a start... You can also do what i've done and boycott the store all together... i haven't stepped into a petsmart for over a year and i don't plan to any time soon.

There are always alternatives, at this point with the economy the way it is, boycott the large chains and support the local privately owned pet stores if possible.



Screw Petsmart...
-koz

koz lets not forget the wonderful establishment called petco please every one boycott these stores until reptile sales are stopped unless you like the sick feeling you get when you see six veileds in a 12x12 glass box and two of the six lye motionless on the reptibark mom and pop pet stores are more likely to take advice than the walmarts of the pet world

 

[ciafardo 4]

No I completely understand, but I can tell you that with us as a company we do have rules and procedures to ensure we always do whats best for the pet. We have taken sick reptiles to the vet and spent hundreds of dollars on a vet bill rather than euthanizing the pet. Now that being said I do understand that not all stores are going to react in the same manner as the next. The sad truth is that no all people who work for a company truly believe or care for that matter. And about the freezing and getting credit that is not true. The only time we will ever get credit form a breeder is if the pet arrived in poor condition and didn't make it past a couple of days, after that its our loss. Like I said Im not here to change anyones mind about the company, but if you do have a legit concern about a particular situation in a store and no one wants to listen to you at a store level contact our corporate office. We do take things seriously but obviously are not aware of what happens at each and every store.

do everyone and reptile a favor start suggesting that your store does not carry reptiles period ! i was in a petco about a year ago they had a juv panther i knew this was bad but it appeared healthy so i was going to purchase it because i could not stand the thought of leaving it so i told a sales person i wanted it he proceeds to ask what i was going to keep it in i told him the usual screened enclosure he said let me get a box but comes back with the news that he couldn't sell it to me because i had to have at least a 55 gallon aquarium to keep it in needless to say my blood boiled i spoke to the manager she did not want to hear it so you tell me on this one story alone should anyone even buy a bag of bird seed from these companies ? i will never i mean never give petsmart petco pawmart whatever they are called one penny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sang]

do everyone and reptile a favor start suggesting that your store does not carry reptiles period ! i was in a petco about a year ago they had a juv panther i knew this was bad but it appeared healthy so i was going to purchase it because i could not stand the thought of leaving it so i told a sales person i wanted it he proceeds to ask what i was going to keep it in i told him the usual screened enclosure he said let me get a box but comes back with the news that he couldn't sell it to me because i had to have at least a 55 gallon aquarium to keep it in needless to say my blood boiled i spoke to the manager she did not want to hear it so you tell me on this one story alone should anyone even buy a bag of bird seed from these companies ? i will never i mean never give petsmart petco pawmart whatever they are called one penny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thats a pretty fair example. god damn, most the people that run these stores are corprate idiots, and there pet experience never exceeds dogs or cats, and they consider themselves animal lovers...true as that may be. Some animals should not be sold in chains. there is a female veiled at a petsmart i have seen over a dozen times, they housed a 5" male and female in a 15"x 10" x 10" tank..needless to say neither were doing well.


these companies are in it for money, simple as that and as long as they make money off of these animals they will continue to do so.

 

[DuWeech]

do everyone and reptile a favor start suggesting that your store does not carry reptiles period !

Ok well I doubt that would ever happen. Remember these are pet stores. As I said before though I do my part in making sure my store never orders any type of pet we cannot accommodate. We do not ever keep Chameleons in stock because of how sensitive they are to their environment. Chameleons and certain other "expert" type pets are only special ordered for a customer if they can provide us reasonable information that they can care for the pet. But again I can only speak for the 1 store out of over a thousand that I operate.

god damn, most the people that run these stores are corprate idiots.

Thanks for the compliment! If you are going to call people idiots, at least check your spelling. I believe the word you were looking for was corporate.

 

[Sang]

not a compliment, some times that "O" key likes to stick...most employees of the stores are kids either working a summer job, or like animals a good portion of them know very little about reptile/ amphibian / avian/ fish care....mammals are pretty basic..if you can screw them up..then something is wrong.

 

[Oliver]

My local petco had two male veileds housed together in a glass aquarium, the temperature in the cage was 80 F, no UVB and obviously no reall heat bulb, the water in the dripper was brown, and all they fed them was lettuce because they apparently didn't "like" crickets. Then i went to ask about the poor little guys and the lady couldn't even tell me what kind they were or how many they had!
The sad thing is, that most people that will buy these chameleons will end up housing them in the same conditions as they were kept in a store: a cold, dry, glass terrarium. Sad sad story

 

[DuWeech]

not a complimen, some times that "O" key likes to stick...most employees of the stores are kids either working a summer job, or like animals a good portion of them know very little about reptile/ amphibian / avian/ fish care....mammals are pretty basic..if you can screw them up..then something is wrong.

Your'e right many of the associates in the stores are younger. This does not mean they can't learn. No one is born with infinite knowledge, It is learned. The problem is not everyone gets the proper information. "The more you know, The more you know you don't know."

My local petco had two male veileds housed together in a glass aquarium, the temperature in the cage was 80 F, no UVB and obviously no reall heat bulb, the water in the dripper was brown, and all they fed them was lettuce because they apparently didn't "like" crickets. Then i went to ask about the poor little guys and the lady couldn't even tell me what kind they were or how many they had!
The sad thing is, that most people that will buy these chameleons will end up housing them in the same conditions as they were kept in a store: a cold, dry, glass terrarium. Sad sad story

Again this is why I will not allow Chameleons to be kept in stock. We don't have adequate accommodations.

 

[ciafardo 4]

ok so they can learn how buy the expense of how many chams do yourself a favor go into work and quit your better than that

 

[DuWeech]

ok so they can learn how buy the expense of how many chams do yourself a favor go into work and quit your better than that

Ok I joined this forum because I believed I would be able to get useful information and have good dialog with other Cham owners. So far I have found a plethora of useful information, but it's sad to know that I will get childish responses because of where I work. Now you make it seem as if I should be ashamed to work for a company who has helped adopt out more than 3 millions pets(including small pets,reptiles, birds, etc...), A company who just handed over 13.8 Million dollars to LA county to implement a spay/neuter program, who after any national disaster is always helping feed and care for the affected pets. I can go on but why? most of you wouldn't care anyways.

So explain to me how quitting would help?

The way I see it I have the ability to make sure that in my store all of our pets are cared for, that when we bring on a new associate the qualities we look for are a genuine interest and love for all creatures. I have the ability to ensure that by giving the associates under my roof proper training and always having information accessible to them, they can give educated advice to each other and the customer. By expecting nothing less than 100% out of each and every associate I can feel good knowing that at the end of the day my team did something that benefits our customers and their pets. It is in my ability to change things inside of a retail pet store, even if it is just one. So tell me how have you helped change anything?

Back to the original reason I posted on this thread though. RachelRiot if you believe the veiled at the store is in bad condition go and talk to the Store Director, he can authorize an adoption to a person capable of providing the pet adequate care. (its not always about money.)

If the Store Director won't do anything you can always contact the corporate office and explain the situation. It can and will be resolved.

 

[BocaJan]

Thank you for your even tempered response to a slam to your profession. As you know many of us care very deeply for the plight of chams in pet stores. It sounds like your store does a good job of caring for their animals. Through managers like you the plight of these delicate creatures can be improved. Thank you for your input.

 

[jernlee]

And thank you for teaching your people. If everyone would just read and try to do right. It would be a better world. I have been to parrot breeders houses or places of business and it was terrible. So stores or breeders, their are sorry a$$e$ in both.
thanks again
jerry

 

[Oliver]

If all of these corporate pet stores were concerned and organized like yours, we wouldn't have this problem. It seems as though you are in the business because you are passionate about animals and helping others to be passionate about them as well. This is how all pet stores and breeders should be. The pet industry (especially reptiles) should be to help teach others about these magnificent creatures and to help conserve them. it should not be about money. The stores and breeders that do this for money are the ones that give all pet stores a bad name.

 

[summoner12]

Lets try and be supportive

I think a lot of people here are missing the point. DuWeech joined to better his/her knowledge of chams and to teach his or her employees better care of the animals we all love dearly. Why are you people attacking him/her? Get a grip, you can't save the entire world of chameleons.

By attacking this person it is really showing you ignorance. Please try and be a little considerate. People don't attack you when you come to the board for help about your cham's food selection or the lighting or the temps or WHATEVER you may have a question about. We are all here to learn from one another. Yes I don't like seeing chams in petco or petsmart. I have a veiled I 'saved' from the petsmart I used to live near. Yes I can tell you the same horror story the next person has about the care he was receiving. I didn't stand there and tell them how much they suck at keeping chams. I just purchased him and left knowing he would be in a better place.

Unless you guys are going to be supportive of the hobby by going to your local pet store and acting in a mature fashion, talking to the manager and explaining proper care and encouraging the sale of the animal to someone competent, stop talking crap. If you won't take the time to try and teach others you don't have a leg to stand on.

DuWeech, I wish you luck in your search for proper care and keeping of these animals in your store. Check out the ChamErg website as a good resource. Feel free to contact the owner of that site for personal info via Email. Not saying I know all about chams but you can also PM me for info and references. You can also check out Brad Ramsey's website, Raising Kitty.