Stupid pet smart.

[zachanderson]

So, I walked into a pet store at 11 am and saw a little Jackson's chameleon in a small glass cage sleeping. They had a water dish for him. I felt so bad for him! I finally decided that there was nothing I could do about it.

 

[stephencartolano]

walk in with a hand sprayer and run around misting all the chams and then bail out! JKJK
Guerilla misting operations!

 

[qdude46]

I understand the sadness you feel but I would refrain from putting the store's name.

 

[mirrinias]

As someone who works for petsmart...we know they don't drink from water dishes. At least, the better pet care employees do. We HAVE to have a water dish in there according to corporate policy. The reason is because people will come up to us complaining that the animal is without water and we could get in trouble for that.

That being said, they're not misted enough. I think the idea is that they'll get sold so even if the husbandry isn't right, they won't be there that long. Of course, this is not the case. Especially when someone is interested in the chameleon and I start telling them how they need a special screen cage, and supplements, and two lights (people cannot seem to grasp the idea of 2 different lights needed for them), and they eat live insects that need to be gutloaded...you get the idea. They suddenly want a betta instead.

Just keep in mind that frequently the employees' and managers' hands are tied, and that we DO actually care about the animals. If you want change, complain to corporate en masse.

 

[vgaines]

As someone who works for petsmart...we know they don't drink from water dishes. At least, the better pet care employees do. We HAVE to have a water dish in there according to corporate policy. The reason is because people will come up to us complaining that the animal is without water and we could get in trouble for that.

That being said, they're not misted enough. I think the idea is that they'll get sold so even if the husbandry isn't right, they won't be there that long. Of course, this is not the case. Especially when someone is interested in the chameleon and I start telling them how they need a special screen cage, and supplements, and two lights (people cannot seem to grasp the idea of 2 different lights needed for them), and they eat live insects that need to be gutloaded...you get the idea. They suddenly want a betta instead.

Just keep in mind that frequently the employees' and managers' hands are tied, and that we DO actually care about the animals. If you want change, complain to corporate en masse.

i agree 100%. As a former employee and pet care lead for petsmart go to corporate.When I was still working there I would encourage customers to go home and research first to make sure that whatever pet they wanted to take home was the right pet for their family.

 

[ChameleonMom]

I was actually in a pet store a couple weeks back and when I saw the baby female veiled without water and gaping from heat and the Ambilobe babies (born Oct 25th, 3 of them still together with a female!!) hanging off branches with obviously old shed still clinging to them, I tracked down an employee and asked for a misting bottle. I misted and misted so much that I had the employee fill the bottle twice!! I then proceeded to lecture him on the proper care of chameleons in a captive environment. His response? "Do you breed these things or something?"

I told him Inwas a Cham keeper and that the conditions of their cages and husbandry left alot to be desired I further told them to check out this forum for proper care instructions and to follow them, or I'd complain to their Head office and then the SPCA.

We'll see how they do! Grrrr!

 

[Psychobunny]

The rare times I go into a chain pet store it's for supplies I need fast, as I order most stuff.
But I never look at the animals anymore or even go to that section of the store, I don't even want to see.

Last time I did look at the animals, I remember seeing some leopard geckos that were at skinny as a spaghetti noodle