rockwork Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 this is a tale about our 5yr old male beardie, lionel. he started his life in a local pet shop and lived there for 4yrs. he lived alone with no company and noone to play with. he was brought from the pet shop by a very caring lady who gifted him to us, as she could no longer stand seeing him there. we were going to purchase him ourselves, but the price they wanted for him was out of our price range at the time. when we got him home he was so skiny and dull in colour we were not sure if he was going to survive. he was calcium deficient and had a servere under shot jaw and he had to drag his back legs. we had to force feed him baby food and puree veges through a suringe for about a month to help him get his strenght back. he would only eat live mealworms and even that was a struggle to get him to eat. he could hardly walk due to the lack of calcium and he had a hard time eating due to his jaw and lack of teeth. we have had our very special boy for a year now and im happy to say his is alot better and happier than ever. he has two beautiful girls liveing with him and he eats more than ever. he still has trouble with his back legs as they still drag behind him sometimes but this does not seem to bother him anymore. he is well on the road to recovery. here is a picture of our boy it breaks our hearts to see that the pet shop lionel is from has another beardie that is going down the same path that lionel did Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 there are so many pet shops out there that just dont give a dam and they go through there staff that no one is tought to care for these reptiles properly,they chuk in food now and then and thats that :evil: there is also a beardie in a pet shop close to me that everytime i go in there i tell the staff to feed it its vegies its ment to be the same age as mine(8mths)but its only the size of a 3_4mth old and its got a sore eye and a bent tail the shop tell me it ate heaps(6mealworms)and doesnt really eat salad so they dont put it in,but after i told them to try it ate its salad fine i cant aford to buy it but it needs tlc so i just visit it heaps and make sure it gets fed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 Good to see lionel in good hands now :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockwork Posted November 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 thanks chilli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucid Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 Thanx to loving, caring people like you, Lionel now has a great and happy life to live. Mystic and I have been to see him, and hes got a beautiful setup to live in, and his girls are gorgeous! Hopefully you will be seeing some wonderful 'Mini Lionel's' very soon too! You guys are awesome Reptile Keepers with so much knowledge of these wonderful animals. We are very impressed how well he has recovered, as we remember seeing him in that 'Chain-store City Petshop' years ago. It used to break our hearts to see him there, but was way out of our price range also. It actually discusts us to hear and see they have another in there, and having the SPCA say that they "cant do anything about it due to it being a store so its a 'in and out' senario" makes us wonder what sort of a price they put on these beautiful creatures lives. Its a beautiful 'rare' animal in NZ, that deserves to be taken care of more so because of what it is. Mystic has fallen in love with Lionel and his girls, and to see him 'bobbing' and kissing his girls today was a wonderful site! Best of luck with him, and hope to see more of him in the future. Lucid & Mystic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 Get the SPCA onto them before its too late for the next one! Good to see your guy is recovering well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizardman Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 there is also a pet shop in pukekohe that has the same problem. they have had this guy since he was a baby and now an adult in a very small tank setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 I've met lionel in a palmerston north pet shop I think! (you got him in) what a small world! :lol: :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockwork Posted November 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 I've met lionel in a palmerston north pet shop I think! (you got him in) what a small world! :lol: :bounce: hae phoenix that was lionel sister that died a couple of months ago. he is the only 1 left out of all that batch, they did have 4 but 2 died very young and diago died not so long ago. we have contacted the SPCA and they say there is nothing they can do as they are a 'retail shop'. appartently this means they dont have to care for them the way they should be looked after. the SPCA said that because they are only there to be sold on they dont have to have the right sized enclosure or the right lighting. the little one is nearly a year old and very very small for his age. we have seen his brother at another branch of this pet shop and he is alot bigger and happier. this may be because the manager rang us for help when it came to setting him up and she always rings us if there is any problems. i am going to ring the SPCA again today to lay yet another compliant but i may need some help as we are not realy welcome in the pet shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 we have contacted the SPCA and they say there is nothing they can do as they are a 'retail shop'. appartently this means they dont have to care for them the way they should be looked after. the SPCA said that because they are only there to be sold on they dont have to have the right sized enclosure or the right lighting. I find that very hard to believe, I bet if there were dogs or cats being kept there in unacceptable conditions they'd be there in a flash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockwork Posted November 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 yep that is what i said to them but they still said there is nothing they can do. i had to email them links to sites about how to care for them and what they need. i thought this was shocking. they were ringing me to ask me questions on what was right and wrong as they do not know anything about these wonderful reptiles. this is a quote of the spca website What are the more common offences? Failing to provide an animal with adequate food, water and shelter. Deliberate acts of cruelty towards an animal. Failing to seek necessary veterinary advice. i am going to contact them again to complain and hopefully i will get somewhere this time. if people or places dont know how to care for these beauties they should not be allowed to have them, they are completly different to have a cat or dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockwork Posted November 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 this is a link for complants to the spca http://rnzspca.org.nz/contact/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogod Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 there is also a pet shop in pukekohe that has the same problem. they have had this guy since he was a baby and now an adult in a very small tank setup. Is that one still there, mananger told me he was going to sort it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockwork Posted November 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 lol they al say that the same with the one that had or boi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varanophile Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 hae phoenix that was lionel sister that died a couple of months ago. he is the only 1 left out of all that batch, they did have 4 but 2 died very young and diago died not so long ago. we have contacted the SPCA and they say there is nothing they can do as they are a 'retail shop'. appartently this means they dont have to care for them the way they should be looked after. the SPCA said that because they are only there to be sold on they dont have to have the right sized enclosure or the right lighting. the little one is nearly a year old and very very small for his age. we have seen his brother at another branch of this pet shop and he is alot bigger and happier. this may be because the manager rang us for help when it came to setting him up and she always rings us if there is any problems. i am going to ring the SPCA again today to lay yet another compliant but i may need some help as we are not realy welcome in the pet shop. PM me name of shop. If we all go thru the official channels on these things nothing ever happens. Nothing like a loud proclamation of all the stuff they are doing wrong during a busy saturday afternoon...use your imagination people and grow some balls!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 anyone keeping or selling animals has to comply with the animal wefare act, even retail shops amazing how many people have not heard of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockwork Posted November 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/publ ... 49664.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaM Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 I know that with the SPCA down here, if anyone has a concern about an animal/fish/reptile in a pet shop, then they can ph SPCA and lay an 'official' complaint. That means an inspecter 'has' to go to the shop and check it out. Also they dont have all the info/expertise on every reptile etc available, as very rarely deal with them compared to other more 'common' animals. So If I phoned and said this turtle in this shop has...blah blah and should have blah blah instead... then they can go with that info and check it out and the shop needs to rectify it and inspecter will follow up. If I phone with an 'unofficial' complaint, I can again say...this turtle/reptile needs...blah blah and they put it on their books and next time an inspecter goes past that shop, they will call in and again check it out based on the info given by the person laying complaint. Naturally the organisation will be dependent on the person answering the phone and how they respond to what you say. :roll: As with anything, some people are easier then others to deal with...I hope you get the situation sorted out. Sounds awful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake kid Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 this may seem like a inhumane idea but in my opinion its the best one. you should never buy animals from a pet shop if it is in poor conditions you should complain and complain and complain this works for me otherwise they will think that it is a selling product rather than treat it as a live cratur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 wow good work Rockwork - when we had our new terrarium designed we couldn't even think about putting a beardy into a small enclosure so now we're going to have a small/juvenile beardy in a 1.5mX0.6mX0.7m terrarium starting with tiles then progress into sand when it's older might even be knocking on your door in the future about a rock backing - too poor at the moment after forking our for the terrarium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 send them a copy of section 10 of the act in the mail its pretty clear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogod Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Done that at Pukekohe one, manager came out and promised to fix it, sounds like he didnt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k1tt3n Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 I work in a pet store that has a beardie. There are staff members that refuse to touch it because it scares them which is kinda sad as when I have it out even little old ladies are fascinated by it. I find being a retail store it becomes one of the lesser priorities in the store which makes it a real uphill battle to get the proper time and resources for this little dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 pet shop staff who are scared of a bd :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varanophile Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 I work in a pet store that has a beardie. There are staff members that refuse to touch it because it scares them which is kinda sad as when I have it out even little old ladies are fascinated by it. I find being a retail store it becomes one of the lesser priorities in the store which makes it a real uphill battle to get the proper time and resources for this little dude. I take it you work there as you have a love for animals? If they do not have the resources/time it should not be there. Maybe mention to the manager that some people prefer reptiles to cats and dogs...and they know when a reptile is being mistreated on sight..it would not be good for the stores reputation to have sickly cats or dogs or rabbits...and to us reptile people we have the same emotional response...which if the issue is not corrected will turn into anger. This is not good for the beardie, the large australian owned retailer with stores nationwide, or for people with a genuine love of reptiles. Do you think it possible for management to read between the profit and loss columns and show some empathy on this? If they send it up here i am willing to reimburse them with some albino frogs...wet and slimy and yucky to touch for those that don't handle beardies...but much easier to keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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