Petco rescues

[BethMarie]

Just having fun showing off my petco rescues Some came without tails, though I did lose one somehow I LOVE these guys, my house is filled with tanks, and I will move soon and get a few more 40 gallons as some of these guys get bigger...
Let me know if any of these (just out of curiosity) have a morph or color name. I love them either way, but it's fun to know what they are ( I have a variety of tank sizes right now due to variety of ages) Any advice is very very accepted!!!

My most recent *adorable* petco rescue. I know it's bad to buy from there, but I just can't help it. This store had some beauties mixed in with adults...

This one is so sweet too and reminded me of pinstripes

And this one I found just striking. So soft and gentle also..

This is one of the first two I got. He is so small but won't eat many crickets when I offer them to him. He is real yellow sometimes, and a flame I think

His sister is maroon and black.

This is another pretty boy I had rescued, he loooves to chase crickets. He is quick so I am covering up part of his partial pinstripe on his yellow or cream back..

And this baby I adopted with no tail, she had trouble shedding when I first got her and is still a little jumpy. She turns almost greenish, then brownish red and had black and red dots.

This guy is in the biggest tank, as he is oldest as of now. He is a blusher I was told once... He is my only adult male, and the father of the two babies I will show at the end.

This little girl is light orange or brown with black and red dots. She is my only gecko who makes any noise.

And here is the mommy of the eggs, she is about two years old and my tamest gecko. I watched as a horrible petco employee ripped off her tail just as I warned them, and I had to take her home. She was so mistreated she bit at first, and now is a doll.

OK, and here are the two new hatchlings. This is soon after hatching, so I know they look tiny and skinny. I am putting out fruit, CGD and have pinhead crickets tiny for even then available now. Any other advice would be appreciated!
Will update when I take new photos..

 

[Jaguar Gecko77]

I start my babies out with crickets gutloaded and dusted once a week. I feed 2 week old crix 3 a day and remove survivors. I add a petri dish with MRP the second week and leave it in over night and when I see that the babies are feeding off that on a regular basis I phase out crickets. Some prefer to keep crickets and you can do this by feeding crickets once a week. When the babies hit juvie age I start feeding every other day.

 

[droogievesch]

These geckos do best kept in smaller enclosures, especially when they are young. A 15-20 gallon will house a pair or even a trio (20 for trio) comfortably. I don't know how many geckos you plan on putting in your 40, but either divide it or make sure the animals are all the same size.

 

[AlbertaGirl]

They are all very cute. I love cresties! Poor mommy gecko, getting her tail torn off. Did the employee do it on purpose or was it an accident? Either way, they should know better. In a perfect world, I guess...

 

[BethMarie]

Hi! Thanks so much for your feedback! I probably wasn't clear on the top when I mentioned I have more than one tank (of course). I have three geckos per 40 gallons, of adult sizes. The babies are in smaller tanks or critter keepers for babies of course, with siblings only until they are big enough for me to determine how to safely pair them in 40 gallons (need to see sexes etc.) And I don't mix sizes, their tanks get larger as they get larger I may end up getting some 20 gallons for individuals instead of more 40s if too many are male, etc., since many are still juvies that I have.

As for the employee, he was dumb and did it by accident. It was the classic example of an animal being scared and a biter because they aren't treated well, and the human acting like the poor animal is "mean" so making the situation worse by being scared of her and freaking her out with his weird energy. She was a biter when I first took her home since she was treated so terribly, but is now so sweet and will just hang out calmly with me.

 

[7needlesynopsis]

Is petco bad news as far as getting cresteds? I'm pretty new to the whole reptile thing and i wanted to get some cresteds so knowing where not to go would definitely help...

 

[Ira]

I worked for petco last summer. As far as getting animals from them, they aren't horrible. Generally the quality can deteriorate after they are in the store. Depending on where you're located, they do get in some really high quality animals. On the other hand, they are always mass produced. If I were you, I'd check out the forums here for ones for sale. Generally you find better deals with people who really care about the animals with a personal touch.

 

[7needlesynopsis]

Thanks leventhal,

I'm in Oklahoma so I would imagine many of the high quality cresteds would be picked up closer to a major import/export site. I have found a few local breeders I think I will go with as well.

Justin

 

[Docmurder]

I noticed that you labeled this post petco "rescues". the worst thing that you can do for animals is to purchase them from stores that don't take proper care of their animals. by purchasing that animal it only makes room for them to mistreat another animal. a vicious cycle or a catch 22. whatever you'd like to call it. why should they take proper care of their animals if people will buy poorly cared for animals because they feel "sorry" for them. you should patron establishments or breeders that properly care for their animals. No offense intended and Im sure you adore your cresties.

 

[NigelMoses]

The fact that these animals were adopted to this person does not mean that they were not taken care of properly or neglected in any way. PETCO will adopt out animals that have lost their tails/digits. They typically get their Crested Geckos from Cal Zoo, Gourmet Rodent or Allen Repashy. To say that they were not taken care of properly is ignorant. I'm sure there are some Petcos that do not take proper care but herp keepers should judge for themselves. There are quite a few PETCOs that take excellent care of their animals.

 

[NigelMoses]

Also all rescued animals at PETCO, that is the animals that are adopted out, are given to that particular person for No Charge.

 

[Animal34343]

I have bought five cresteds from the petco near me. All five were taken very good care of and all still have their tales. Three I got as babies and the other two were brought in after I got those. I watched them grow up and become sexually mature and finally caved and got another pair.

 

[Ira]

It all depends on who is working there and how much time they spend on the animals.

 

[FireworkHarvest]

Thank you so much, NigelMoses, for defending individual establishments. I don't know what was up with the ignorant employee at BethMarie's Petco, and shame on him for handling an animal he wasn't comfortable handling. However, as far as all Petcos being "bad to buy from," I disagree. All the stores are supposed to follow the same, stringent, animal-health-focused procedures when it comes to care of animals, but it is up to the employees at each store to follow these through. If a particular Petco is bad, of course don't buy from them, but don't base your opinion of all Petcos on one bad store. I work at a Petco, and I try to care for all the animals in my store as if they were part of my own huge animal family. I won't claim to be an expert by any means (I'm always looking for new information and tips) but I do what I can so no one feels they have to rescue my animals. I don't want to offend in any way, I would just like everyone to know that there are caring Petco employees out there with happy, healthy animals in their charge!

 

[BethMarie]

I rescued these geckos from Petco, period. Yes, I paid for them just as people rescuing animals from the pound paid for those. But these were rescues pure and simple. Just because Petco uses the word rescue to define something it does when it gives animals returnd out for free or whatever, does in no way give them ownership of this English word. This is a word and I am not detained by Petco in anyway nor am I restricted from using it in an English sense and outside of petco policy uses.

These geckos above were rescued from horrible petco conditions. I have seen great petcos and bad ones, it all depends on the teenager or whomever running the place.

also, my geckos were rescued from four different petcos, some of which told me that it is CORPORATE POLICY to keep temperatures as high as in the 90s and to keep geckos on bark even when they eat crickets. so it is not just one store.

 

[BethMarie]

Nigelmoses --

Who are you to call me ignorant for saying my geckos were mistreated? 90 degree plus temps in in one case a two gallon container. Tails ripped off right in front of me, fed crickets while on dangerous substrant. One had a terrible shedding problem which ended up in tail issues, since they clearly weren't keeping her hydrated. Would you like more examples? Until Petco starts requiring their animals treated well I will tell the TRUTH about what is going on out there in multiple stores. Yes, I know it's not good to allow a place like Petco, particularly one that cares for its animals like this, to continue selling animals, but I do go there to get crested diet and a few safe supplies for my fishies, and these ones were drawn to me -- I HAD to get them, it was the case where they were like bonded to me right away. But normally I just admire their fish and animals from a safe distance.
At one point there was one kid who made this one petco near me my favorite because he really took care of the animals. But since he left the dominant "who cares" factor has taken over. Even those on here who work for Petco should want other stores to be as good as theirs -- for the animal sake. Because their bad conditions are affecting you, by making people think all Petcos are bad. If I worked for petco I would not deny this situations and get mad when someone dares speak up for these precious animals, I would try to make it better.

And I usually try not to support Petco at all, but the nicer local stores have more limited hours and I have a busy job so at times I have no choice, but mostly I go to this great local store in Tempe that seems to take good care of their pets, and they take in rescues.

 

[NigelMoses]

Beth Marie,

For one calm down, haha. I was defending you. Sorry for the misunderstanding but my original post was directed towards DocMurder. I was defending the fact that you rescued them and saying that not ALL PETCOS mistreat their animals. I was also saying that they do not require you to pay anything for adopted animals, I assume these animals were given to you by PETCO.

One again sorry for any misunderstanding I didn't like that DocMurder was going after you for getting a Gecko from Petco.

 

[NigelMoses]

Also that is a flat out lie about keeping temperatures in the 90s. I don't know who told you this but they are mistaken. Petco planograms call for temperatures in the Crested enclosure of no higher than 80 degrees. According to this planogram the Crested Geckos should be kept in the same habitat area as all the amphibians, which will require lower temperatures. As far as bark goes, the animals are also offered CGD daily and are usually too small to even have a chance of ingesting bark.

 

[BethMarie]

Nigelmoses, I am very suspicious of you and why you are saying these things. THE TEMPERATURES OF THE GECKOS I RESCUED WAS IN THE 90S PERIOD, YOU ARE NOT HERE AND HAVE NO BUSINESS CALLING ME A LIAR. Here are directions so you can see for yourself that the temperature gauges say 90 plus degrees: There was one petco at southern avenue near Dobson road, it has since moved to near the Loop 202 and Dobson Road. Another is at Warner Road just near Lindsay Drive. There is one that is near Val Vista Drive and about Ray road and the last one that comes to mind right awy among all the petcos I go to is near Gilbert Road and University Drive. I find it telling that you don't care about these poor geckos, but you are very offended by any comments that may be deemed anti-petco. Animals are more important to me than corporations.

PS, I have heard of cresties dying from impaction, even when CGD is also offered along with crickets and bark. The bark I see with the variety of sizes I see together (another bad idea by petco) is a size they can ingest, and it's just not safe or smart to even chance it. And, lastly, you are the one using harsh terms like "flat out lie" and calling people ignorant and I am responding to you, so maybe you should please calm down. I don't lie about these things, I would sleep easier at night if I didn't know what was happening at the petcos and walmarts around me.

 

[NigelMoses]

I was not calling you a LIAR. I believe you that you may have found a cage at 90 degrees in a PETCO. You stated that someone told you it was Corporate Policy to be kept at these temperatures, THAT IS A LIE! That person is mistaken not you.