Pet to the co

[Jace]

About how much longer will leos be available at *****? I almost have enough to get one. I already have everything I need. I just don't want to wait another year if they all stop breeding or whatever

 

[JordanAng420]

They never stop breeding. The wholesalers that ship to those stores make sure they produce year-round. They'll always have leos available.

Why don't you use one of the breeders that contribute here? Lots of them have geckos at great prices. You'd probabbly end up with something much nicer & healthier for just as much as you'd spend there. Just something to think about.

 

[ajq1540]

+1

 

[Chewbecca]

They never stop breeding. The wholesalers that ship to those stores make sure they produce year-round. They'll always have leos available.

Why don't you use one of the breeders that contribute here? Lots of them have geckos at great prices. You'd probabbly end up with something much nicer & healthier for just as much as you'd spend there. Just something to think about.

x2.

I don't want to "toot my own horn" or anything, but to me there's NO comparison.
I don't know about the Pet stores where anyone else is at, but at all of the ones near me, the geckos look SICK.
They're about the size my hatchlings were when they first hatched out of the egg. But they're about 3x the age!


Please buy from a contributing breeder here. Someone that you pretty much KNOW you're getting a healthy gecko from.
I'm not saying that those that suppy leos to pet stores do not care for them, but once the geckos are in the store's care, well...I have not seen any do well in my local area.

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

I don't know about the Pet stores where anyone else is at, but at all of the ones near me, the geckos look SICK.

I can't tell, because from what I can remember, I've never seen a pet store leo outside it's hide.

 

[Adinar]

Isn't that the truth.

I went into my local store today to get crickets for my guys. I usually scope out the leo set up while I'm there. For the past few weeks there's been a poor soul who's had major shedding issues. I was relieved to see last week that they FINALLY got the shed of it's face. Crappy thing was after them having left it on for so long, the poor thing has major facial deformities now. (Eyes mishappened, nose is smashed in... looks more like a water dragon rather than a leo.) I was so angry of seeing this for week at a time that I went and reported them to their home office. Nothing was done. I happened to be chatting with the girl who was dishing out the crickets and asked in the round about way if they did adoptions. She thought I ment I had animals that I wanted to get rid of. I then told her point blank. They're not going to be able to sell the poor leo like that. She told me the only thing they could do was discount it because of the deformities. A person offeres to take a problem animal into their care, give it the attention that it obviously needs...and the only thing they care about is profit. The only thing they offered to do was discount it because of the deformities. It's all about the profit, not the well being of the animal.

I'm still not sure if I should just go buy it and continue the vicious cycle.

Anywho... after a misplaced rant...

I'd agree with what they said. A breed usually takes great care of their animals. Check out the classifieds and adoption section of the forums. Sure, you may get a gecko for the low price of $30, but who knows what else it comes with? Parasites? Infections? Something worse?

 

[Jace]

OH MY GOODNESS
I haven't seen anything like that
the last time I went to ***** they had a pretty yellow gecko that was much more lively than the others
the others were not nearly as bad the ones you guys see
now I'm just ticked off at all those dumb pet stores
maybe the yellow guy will still be there in a few weeks

 

[Jace]

Why did it block out *****?

 

[Jace]

I'll say pet to the co so no one gets any wrong ideas abou it censoring

 

[herpencounter]

They never stop breeding. The wholesalers that ship to those stores make sure they produce year-round. They'll always have leos available.

Why don't you use one of the breeders that contribute here? Lots of them have geckos at great prices. You'd probabbly end up with something much nicer & healthier for just as much as you'd spend there. Just something to think about.

x3

 

[Mel&Keith]

Why did it block out *****?

Because too many people couldn't follow the rules about commenting on the husbandry practices/ethics of the big chain stores. The store names were blocked to help aid people in following the rules.

FYI, you can just say "chain store" instead of trying to get around the asterisks. People will still know what you mean.

 

[paulnj]

About how much longer will leos be available at *****? I almost have enough to get one. I already have everything I need. I just don't want to wait another year if they all stop breeding or whatever

Why not just buy from a breeder who knows the genetics and care of thier own animals? Small breeders do this for love of the animal and a loved pet is far better than a on sale pet.

 

[HugeGenes&LoLa]

Jace, I'm not sure where you live, but if you're looking for a *healthy* gecko at ***** price, you can PM me. Adoptions and Classifieds are also a great place for you to find geckos.

I'd hate for you to get a leo at a chain store and have it wind up being sick. That being said, I hope you find a wonderful little gecko friend soon

 

[lisa0668]

DEFINITELY go with a breeder! We got a baby from a pet store and the poor little guy got sick and died within a month - he just literally wasted away. We got our latest from a breeder, and she is beautiful and healthy and worth every penny we paid.

 

[gekko.gurl]

I'd say if you can afford it go with a breeder...However, a few of my leo's have been bought from petstores. And they're healthy, great personalities, and I basically have no complaints regarding the leo, itself.. Granted the store I dealt with, is a locally owned and is the only one. It's not from a chain. So I cannot speak for those stores. I think it just depends on who you deal with. P.E.T.L.A.N.D is one of our biggest chain stores here and I have NO idea where they get their continued supply of animals, kitties, puppies etc.

Either way, just watch what you are getting. My leo's were all active and ate right away when offered food. They had spunk and I haven't had a issue with them at all. Breeders you can get specifics. However if you would have to figure out your payment plan. Either way, good luck!

 

[Bellalee]

Breeders are not that expensive.. ! Especially if you go to a reptile show.. Or find a breeder that is close to you. Some people get lucky with pet stores/ most people do not.. And btw.. I think they may be a smidge overpriced. Just mho. Anyways.. go with a breeder! It's heartbreaking to lose an animal... so dont subject yourself to the possibility.

 

[prettyprincess3690]

Play it safe and go with a breeder; you can just check out the breeder sites listed above or check out the classifieds. They may be a bit more expensive, but at least you know that you will receive a well cared for leo, which will ultimately SAVE money (vet bills, etc.) and heartache.

 

[Hiccup]

I agree that it's probably better to buy from breeders. However, I bought a really expensive gecko from one of the site contributors. It started acting very sick the week after I brought it home, and has not gotten better. It has been sick for months, and the breeder has been no help even though they sold me a sick gecko. It is also quite nippy.
The two leos I bought from a chain store are happy, healthy, and friendly as can be. So you just never know.

 

[jandsfannon]

I went into a local big pet store and was looking at their tanks of Leos, when I got to a third tank right in the front there was a little one completely in shed and not moving at all. So I got the employee and of course the little one was dead. They were like I saw it alive a few hours ago, I dont know what happened. I left SO upset!

 

[RocksMama77]

I think a healthy gecko is most important, not where you get it. I got one from a breeder and the poor little thing was scary skinny. She was an adoption but still very skinny. She is now a decent size with a huge tail but she can't stand to be held. I also have a time feeding her. She only eats a little at a time if she eats at all. My two other girls I got from chain stores and the are awesome eaters and one loves to held and the other is getting there.

I think you should probably look around and find one you really want whether it be from a breeder or a store. If it is from a store ask for the leo to be fed before you purchase it. If it attacks the food with vigor that is a good sign. If not keep looking. You can pretty much trust breeders on here and alot run specials so you can get a great gecko shipped without having to pay too much. Any way you choose I wish you luck. Geckos are truly amazing and awesome animals.