remember that petco veiled?

amanda509

New Member
for those of you who have no idea what this is about, heres the previous threads :)
https://www.chameleonforums.com/well-update-mbd-cham-petco-73806/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/still-war-petco-over-mdb-veiled-e-mail-exchange-73853/

i know its been a long time, but about a month or two ago i posted about a veiled my local petco had, they labeled it special needs because it couldnt use its back legs..it never occurred to them to take it to the vet -.- i argued with the manager for weeks about trying to get the little guy/girl, but they wouldnt budge, finally they took it to the vet after i told them it was going to die..i even talked to corporate which was useless -.- they found out, I WAS RIGHT, it had mbd, badly, and they took the label off its enclosure because they could no longer sell it..i went in a couple weeks ago and they told me it died. LIARS! i recently befriended a local guy who is a huge reptile enthusiast, and he found the person who bought it!! and he is buying it from that person!!! he is not an experienced chameleon keeper, but he's no dummy either, he will deff do his research and im here to help him :) im soo relieved!!! :D as soon as he gets it, ill help him sex it and get lots of pics to u guys!

one question...isnt it illegal to sell an animal after it has been diagnosed with an irreversible disease? ..petco is crap..wish i was old enough to sue them -.-
the poor girl who bought it spent $60 on it :(
 
Last edited:
I am not sure it is illegal to sell a sick animal, but it is definitely unethical.... Shame on petco!
 
I am not sure it is illegal to sell a sick animal, but it is definitely unethical.... Shame on petco!

im pretty sure it is illegal to knowingly sell a sick animal :/ specially for a chain store..they took it to the vet and KNEW it was sick, and still sold it against corporate regulations?
 
I agree. I would be behind you all the way. I visited there yesterday to get my pup some new stuff, and thought I would stop by the reptiles and see what they had. I found a bearded dragon that looked pretty good, and then this small like three gallon tanked filled with little anoles. All seemed okay, until I found the little one on the bottom of the floor. The poor little guy was closing his eyes and they were all sunken in and he was breathing all heavy. It was so sad.
 
I considered about a week ago, making a claim with the animal services in our town against our Petsmart. He is a little veiled that's absolutely in bad shape.

Maybe someone with more business experience could say if we could do a class action lawsuit against them as a forum.
 
Last edited:
I used to stop by one in knoxville with a printed off note that I taped to every cage telling people the animals were sick and not to buy them. This wasn't petco but a similar chain. Just harass them as kindly as you can, tell any perspective buyers. I would hang out in the reptile section when my mom was next door shopping to try and preempt any perspective buyers to how poor the animals were treated from importation until resale. I was 16 and a bit more hard headed then, but eventually you tell enough people they stop buying and the store goes under. Those places never hire a specialist and are oblivious to the specialized need of every animal. Hit em where it hurts: their wallets.
 
That is awful. We just got our Panther Chameleon a few days ago from there, they gave us horrible information on her, I'm thinking I'm going to take them up on the paid-for vet visit to make sure she is okay.
 
wow, what a shame...you would think petco would know better seeing as how they're such a successful and thriving store chain! :(
 
That is awful. We just got our Panther Chameleon a few days ago from there, they gave us horrible information on her, I'm thinking I'm going to take them up on the paid-for vet visit to make sure she is okay.



that is weird i have never seen a panther sold at a petco or petsmart
 
.petco is crap..wish i was old enough to sue them -.-
(

Don't even get me started. I have respect for some of the people at my local Petco. ( the people, not how they take care of animals) but the lack of knowledge and attention to detail is scary. I walk in and see all sorts of problems with their herps and fish.

Its very upsetting. Corporate sucks. They don't really care until their a$$ is on the line, pardon my language. Once a " Care Alert " is found, then they take action but until its brought up in a serious manner, not much is done, Not atleast that i see.
 
you guys just gave a a GREAT idea im going to print out alot of poster saying "all reptiles are abused and we do not correctfully care for our animals" and then im going to tape them ALL OVER the reptile section and RUN!!!!!!! out of the store as fast as i can!!!!! and im not lying im 13 i run pretty fast so im gunna do it:D:p
 
you guys just gave a a GREAT idea im going to print out alot of poster saying "all reptiles are abused and we do not correctfully care for our animals" and then im going to tape them ALL OVER the reptile section and RUN!!!!!!! out of the store as fast as i can!!!!! and im not lying im 13 i run pretty fast so im gunna do it:D:p

Certainly dont be getting into trouble, I would rather inform and educate people then play silly games trying to slander the name of the store, at the very least, talk to all those you know , explain what these creatures need.

The best cure for ignorance is explanation and education.

I am a teacher, but more so then in my job. i love to educate people, not only on my subject ( archery) but on fish, reptiles, NH wild life, survival skills and all that good stuff ( things that i'm passionate about). But the point is, educate people and you will see mistakes like that made less often.

Now, yes i am frustrated beyond all belief with petco, but there is no reason to hurt your reputation in an attempt to damage theirs.
 
The way I see it....pet stores and wholesalers play the role of death for captive bred animals.

In the wild, that role is played by predators, droughts, disasters, parasites, etc.

Are you going to go into the wild and protest how a snake is eating a chameleon? Pet stores are simply a part of the natural balance of life.

Breeders, playing the role of life, have no other options. Should they let their excess stock go in the wild? Should they give their excess stock away for free? Those fates are even worse than a pet store. At least in a pet store the animal has a chance.

I have given animals away for free in the past, the ones that were 'left over' and I simply could not care for. 100% of those animals died. People who get things for free don't appreciate them or invest money into the other aspects of the animal's care.

I would choose selling to a pet store over giving them away for free. It is the only option in my mind. At least they will have a chance. If they are met with death, then at least they were given the opportunity to be bought.

The pet store is going to go on and make money with or without a specialist, or your wallet. An average sized pet store in an average sized town pulls in close to $200k a MONTH.

There are simply no other options for breeders. It's either sell them to a wholesaler or store, or kill the animals themselves.

That said, good on you for trying. More can be done corporately and I hope you lead the crusade to make a permanent change across your country.
 
All I can tell you about Petco and this has nothing to do with this issue. I will not and will never buy anything from them. Horrible customer service and that goes to the top of their food chain.
 
The way I see it....pet stores and wholesalers play the role of death for captive bred animals.

In the wild, that role is played by predators, droughts, disasters, parasites, etc.

Are you going to go into the wild and protest how a snake is eating a chameleon? Pet stores are simply a part of the natural balance of life.

Breeders, playing the role of life, have no other options. Should they let their excess stock go in the wild? Should they give their excess stock away for free? Those fates are even worse than a pet store. At least in a pet store the animal has a chance.

I have given animals away for free in the past, the ones that were 'left over' and I simply could not care for. 100% of those animals died. People who get things for free don't appreciate them or invest money into the other aspects of the animal's care.

I would choose selling to a pet store over giving them away for free. It is the only option in my mind. At least they will have a chance. If they are met with death, then at least they were given the opportunity to be bought.

The pet store is going to go on and make money with or without a specialist, or your wallet. An average sized pet store in an average sized town pulls in close to $200k a MONTH.

There are simply no other options for breeders. It's either sell them to a wholesaler or store, or kill the animals themselves.

That said, good on you for trying. More can be done corporately and I hope you lead the crusade to make a permanent change across your country.

I agree sadly, with most of what you said. I just want to add one thing. MOST people dont appreciate things they get for free. I got a free female veiled from a forum member, and im getting a free jackson in a few months. and possibly paying only shipping for another cham, and i greatly appreciate my 'free' animals. other than that... :cool:
 
for those of you who have no idea what this is about, heres the previous threads :)
https://www.chameleonforums.com/well-update-mbd-cham-petco-73806/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/still-war-petco-over-mdb-veiled-e-mail-exchange-73853/

i know its been a long time, but about a month or two ago i posted about a veiled my local petco had, they labeled it special needs because it couldnt use its back legs..it never occurred to them to take it to the vet -.- i argued with the manager for weeks about trying to get the little guy/girl, but they wouldnt budge, finally they took it to the vet after i told them it was going to die..i even talked to corporate which was useless -.- they found out, I WAS RIGHT, it had mbd, badly, and they took the label off its enclosure because they could no longer sell it..i went in a couple weeks ago and they told me it died. LIARS! i recently befriended a local guy who is a huge reptile enthusiast, and he found the person who bought it!! and he is buying it from that person!!! he is not an experienced chameleon keeper, but he's no dummy either, he will deff do his research and im here to help him :) im soo relieved!!! :D as soon as he gets it, ill help him sex it and get lots of pics to u guys!

one question...isnt it illegal to sell an animal after it has been diagnosed with an irreversible disease? ..petco is crap..wish i was old enough to sue them -.-
the poor girl who bought it spent $60 on it :(

Instead of suing them, maybe yuo could report it to your local newspaper or other news agency so that the public could see what was going on behind closed doors.
 
Yeah I'm definitely not advocating or recommending what I did by sticking the notes on cages. I could have gotten into some serious trouble. Writing a letter to your local paper, or even handing out literature to customers, or posting on a website or blog that focuses on local issues in your area. Petco is a beast of a company, they are going to continue doing what they do. Hopefully we can get our local legislatures to keep them and others like them from selling animals period. Breeders of reptiles,IMHO, and perhaps all pet trade animals that do so for profit should undergo a licensing period, inspections, peer reviews, and quality control checks before they get the hobby outlawed or give it more of a bad reputation. All those wild pythons in Florida are bad enough without junk like this.
 
Back
Top Bottom