Disgusted

[lil_timmy]

Hi everyone, now this was back in early march, but i visited a pet store called ( it is against site rules to criticise a business) QLD. I was there searching their reptiles and reptile stuff. As i was looking through their live reptiles, i came across i dead Bearded Dragon. Not only was it dead, but seems to have been there for a few days unnoticed. I took a couple of pictures, looked around the tank to see what was up and then told the staff. I told the staff that one of their bearded dragons had died and he smiled, and said "Oh yeah, he's one of the sick ones" and winked at me". I was like how can a lizard that young be dead already. It would've been maybe 5-6weeks old? and it was kept on course bark and in the food bowl it had olives in it. I dunno who feeds bearded dragons olives, but i don't. They are very fatty and are acidic aswell. Maybe it could've been sick from birth or something but just what they were kept on and the food they were being given was bad. they had no heat and very little UV either. I contacted DERM and explained the situation. they sent me an email stating that they have forwarded it onto the wildlife people yet nothing has been done yet?? This disgusts me. Has anyone ever had a problem with DERM?

Cheers,
Tim

 

[Origamislice]

from what i've heard any pet and animal wellfare agency are often pretty crap... also i wonder why they where selling sick animals if they allready new that they where sick? that's pretty cheap,

 

[GeckoJosh]

HOw was the lighting set up?
It doesnt look very bright

 

[mysnakesau]

They might not have been for sale. often, pet stores will write "Not for Sale" on the front of enclosures of animals that are showing signs of ill health.

 

[pretzels]

thats absolutely horrible! im happy to say that the reptiles iv seen at pet stores on the sunny coast have all been relatively well cared for apart from handling the snakes. they would be receiving an ear full from me if they werent! hope the stupid pet shop people are doing something about the conditions their animals are living in at that store!

 

[lil_timmy]

There was like a 1 foot UV tube ages away from the dragons. @mysnakesau, there was no sign at all, not writing on the glass saying they weren't for sale. It doesn't surprise me though. The staff that work there are bwtween 18-25 years of age and just talk about how drunk they got on the weekend and don't help customers and when customers ask for help, they either sigh or don't know what the customer is talking about

 

[PythonLegs]

I've never had a problem with DERM or the RSPCA. I expect them to be crap and do nothing, and they never let me down.

 

[souldoubt]

There was like a 1 foot UV tube ages away from the dragons. @mysnakesau, there was no sign at all, not writing on the glass saying they weren't for sale. It doesn't surprise me though. The staff that work there are bwtween 18-25 years of age and just talk about how drunk they got on the weekend and don't help customers and when customers ask for help, they either sigh or don't know what the customer is talking about

It might be worth your while to contact the RSPCA and see if they're able to do anything about it. I know they get a bad wrap sometimes and I have had an issue with them before but there have been other times that I've been very pleasantly suprised by their action eg. I reported a case where someone had a fish tank out the front of their house (with fish in it) and the water was absolutely disgusting (I mean to the point where I was suprised that anything was still alive in there), to my suprise the RSPCA were straight on to it. I also think that since it is a pet store, they will be more likely to take this issue seriously.

 

[bohdi13]

i was really thinking about this and reading some other threads with problems like this ,but certainly not as bad as this . i think it is because herp lovers will think they are not getting treated well and will buy them just a suggestion and even if it was the cause it is not a very good one ):

 

[Venomous_RBB]

Thats really sad
I honestly dont know what to say to this.... I would have gone berserk :O

 

[maddog-1979]

...

 

[user 23122]

pet shops really **** me to tears and most of them are all the same a few years ago i came across a dead central netted dragon in one of the local pet shop displays when i notified the lady shop owner not only did she insist it was sleeping but got rather defensive i just laughed at her and told her to clean up her cages which had a fair amount of **** stained marine carpet in them and walked out. Funnily enough that pet shop was closed a couple of years ago due to lack of business.

 

[littlemay]

It doesn't surprise me though. The staff that work there are bwtween 18-25 years of age and just talk about how drunk they got on the weekend and don't help customers and when customers ask for help, they either sigh or don't know what the customer is talking about

Just a small point, try not to automatically associate youth with irresponsibility in pet stores; everyone at my store is between the ages of 20-25 and we take the care of our animals very seriously, several of of our staff have studied or are currently studying animal science at university/tafe and all of us have a long personal history of experience with animals. Terrible animal care and customer service can be given by anyone, regardless of age.

 

[borntobnude]

this is obviously a good grounds for NSW pet stores to not be allowed to sell reptiles ( I could imagine some of the stores we go to treating the animals the same way !)

 

[mad_at_arms]

Thats disgusting.

 

[zulu]

If you sold a live beardy at a QLD expo the NPWS up there would have a baby,what a bunch of hillbillys.

 

[Elapidae1]

If you keep livestock sooner or later you will get dead stock. We'll have to take your word on husbandry, which is why you can't name and shame a business whether they are a sponsor or not

 

[reptalica]

Nice work lil timmy. Having the pics to support your claims further reinforces why this business should have been named and shamed. I can understand when a person sees something in a pet store they don't like and then jump on the forum as quick as lightning to post their findings that a possible exaggerated opinion may be put forward hence why the rules of the forum exist however on this occasion where pics have been produced and we all know "pics dont lie" then the OP "in my humble opinion" has merit to name said business, especially supported by the fact from the comments offered by the shop-keeper after being challenged by the customer (in this case lil-timmy).

Pretty ordinary if u ask me.

Rant over.

 

[Elapidae1]

The pics show an underexposed shot of a dead lizard which may or may not have been getting sufficient UV and heat.

Animals die!!

 

[Nezikah]

We got quiet a few babies a few weeks ago that would normally be destined for a pet store. All the babies are missing limbs (1 has only a forearm stub left). A lot of the petstore suppliers are not about the animals welfare but the dollar value. We got these little guys and spent ages feeding them up. Now they are growing like weeds, looking happy, healthy and active.

The little one in the pic looks half starved.