When you walk into a
store like Petsmart or Petco, what is the first thing you do? If you gave any
answer other than looking at the animals, I am now calling you out for being a
liar.
These exciting pet store
visits are how most people are introduced into the reptile hobby. Unfortunately
a good chunk of people that start out this way don’t realize what they are
getting into. You see that cute little ball python? Well it will grow up to be
anywhere from 2 - 5 feet long, and that little blue iguana is actually a green
morph. Like your typical green, it will become huge and will trade that pretty
blue color for brown. AND don't even get me started on the deflation of my bank
account!
I was partially one of
these wannabe reptile owners, who thought pet store employees knew best.
Luckily, because I wanted a reptile so badly for Christmas, I had done a lot of
research before hand. We were not, however, prepared when I found my leopard
gecko that I adopted in Petsmart (See My First Reptile: The Adoption that Started a Lifestyle).
Not planning on bringing
a gecko back from our Easter break, we relied on one of the Petsmart employees
to make sure we bought everything we needed. Luckily, he was knowledgeable and
I can say we walked away with only things we needed, nothing more, nothing
less. Zephyr came with various
lights, tank decor, and sandy substrate, so there wasn’t too much left to get.
Still to this day I am impressed with the knowledge of the employee helping us.
Right away he started with, “sure you can keep a leopard gecko in a 10 gallon
enclosure, BUT they really should be kept in a 20 gallon, so that is what I
would personally recommend”. He showed us Calcium sand, in case we wanted to go
the substrate route, but also showed us the reptile mats, which he suggested to
avoid any chances of ingestion of and compaction by sand. He told us about
crickets vs meal worms, and made sure we left with a meal worm bowl and supplies
for our crickets..
Our little Zephyr went
from being malnourished and living cramped in a 10 gallon with sand, to living
the luxurious life in a 20 gallon, where he got the food he needed, gut loaded
with calcium. Now 4 years later, he has fattened up and is living the life!
 |
| We like to watch skating together. |
I got lucky, but many do
not. As someone in a major revolving around the behavior, ecology, and
conservation of animals, you bet I’ve got classmates that work in these stores,
so I have heard first hand the wrong information that one may be provided with.
I believe the #1 problem
where misinformation lies, is lighting - and that’s not even completely at the
blame of employees. There are so many different companies and kind of lights,
that even as someone that has researched lights for months now, and joined
Facebook groups dedicated specifically to reptile lighting, there are still
many questions left unanswered.
HOWEVER → There is not
understanding the various companies and wattage, and then there is completely
failing to provide a basis of reptile needs. I have seen and heard many Petsmart employees fail to mention the necessity of a UVB light for various
reptiles, and something like that is crucial for some of them!
In addition to lighting,
is the lack of information revolving around humidity and nutrition. The cute
little iguana you plan on bringing home will not live to its’ highest potential
on that petsmart commercial iguana food. I understand that as an employee, you
don’t want to scare away money making moments by providing customers with the
harsh truth of the cost of keeping a reptile, but we are talking about a live
animal here.
People want what's best
for their dogs and cats, so why not for their herps too? They need good food,
vet visits, potentially medications, and extra financial commitments, just like
your fur babies.
I would like to end my
rant by saying there are people out there that understand what those animals in
the pet stores need, or are more than capable of and want to learn. With the
high competition for jobs in these places, these stores should be able to
employee people that have an understanding of proper animal husbandry. It
should also just be part of the training routine that employees be supplied
with guides to the PROPER care for all of the animals being sold in the stores,
that way no misinformation that could lead to the animal not living a happy and
healthy life will get out and passed around.
*A special note to those
of you pet store employees that value and uphold sharing proper animal care instruction
- like the man that helped me shop for my gecko - We herp parents thank you :)
*
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