I'm OUTRAGED! (Pet Stores/Reptiles)

[Dananyc]

One of my students (I teach 5th/6th grade science) asked me yesterday if I would take his lizard. He's had it for a while but his mom wants it out of the house. Of course, he didn't know what kind of lizard it was---just small and green---and he would bring the cage in too.

He brings it in today in a TINY plastic container (the ones that you can use as a travel case for a hamster) and I look at it---it's a small iguana! This thing should be in a HUGE cage, growing. It doesn't even have a water dish, much less proper light/humidity/heat.

How do pet stores not inform their buyers? Or sell proper caging? I teach in the South Bronx, and although the kids have some responsibility, the pet stores outrage me. This is like when reptile places sell baby burmeses without informing people that they get wayyyyyyyyyyyy bigger than a BP does!!!!

Sigh. I thought I was done with iguanas years ago when my girl died. They're sooo much work. Guess I have a new pet

My husband's going to kill me.

[joyful girl]

I dislike pet stores as much as the next person but you can hardly blame it on them.
Anyone that decides to get a new pet should do their own research first. You'd be an idiot to expect any information a pet store gives you is accurate.

It sounds like the mother just didn't care enough to provide proper care.

[Laooda]

Any chance of making it a "class pet"!?!?! Students get informed on herp. care, and you don't haft to smuggle a green thing past your husband! lol

[elevatethis]

Any chance of making it a "class pet"!?!?! Students get informed on herp. care, and you don't haft to smuggle a green thing past your husband! lol

The unpredictable temperment of iguanas, combined with a strong tail, long claws, and sharp teeth, make them a very poor choice for a class pet. Read: major liability for the teacher, school, and city.

[Dananyc]

Yes, I agree with owner responsibility. However, the majority of my students' parents don't speak English, and the fast-talking salesmen just want to make a buck. Alejandro told me that they were going to get a smaller lizard, but his mom liked this one because it doesn't eat bugs, just vegetables. Sigh.

Our new nameless friend will probably live in the classroom, but not be a "class pet". I was a zoology major and lived at a wildlife hospital, so I'm very big into respecting animals and creatures. Students are only allowed to interact with them on a one-on-one basis (like they could come up at lunch to sit with me and see the animals). In my years teaching we've had fish, a breeding colony of hairless rats, tadpoles, turtles, snakes (from garters to BPs), frogs, and Max, my own iguana---she was 4 feet long and used to ride around on my shoulder during study hall. Most of the animals were kids' former pets, or parents' pets, that got dumped.

While their irresponsibility makes me sad, I can't seem to turn away the animals, knowing the alternative.

[Rapture]

Dana, the same thing happened to me recently. My ex roommate's cousin had an iguana they wanted to get rid of. They asked me if I'd take it, as they knew about all the reptiles I kept.They brought it to me in a medium sized critter keeper like the plastic container you described, and said they had been keeping it in the bathroom. When I cleaned out the container, the reptibark bedding was molded to the bottom. It was on a diet soley consisting of Reptomin Softgel, which really didn't seem good to me. I was pretty much planning on finding someone else to take it, but my boyfriend likes it, so for now "Godzilla" lives outside in a good-sized bird cage...

[frankykeno]

Dana, it's wonderful you are taking this iguana on. A dear friend of mine does iggy rescue and I know from talking with her that it's a major investment of time, money and just plain worrying over them. Perhaps you can encourage the kids to do a creative writing project about how they would feel if they were an iguana (or any other pet exotic or not) that got bought from a pet store but no one knew how to care for it and it couldn't tell it's owners what it needed. Might encourage the kids to think about this and discuss it with their parents (as well as encourage those always valuable skills of empathy and compassion). Best of luck with the poor little green one.

[Mr. H]

Dana, it's wonderful you are taking this iguana on. A dear friend of mine does iggy rescue and I know from talking with her that it's a major investment of time, money and just plain worrying over them. Perhaps you can encourage the kids to do a creative writing project about how they would feel if they were an iguana (or any other pet exotic or not) that got bought from a pet store but no one knew how to care for it and it couldn't tell it's owners what it needed. Might encourage the kids to think about this and discuss it with their parents (as well as encourage those always valuable skills of empathy and compassion). Best of luck with the poor little green one.

Pet stores can also be very patronising. I asked my local pet store why they were keeping about 10 baby bps in one enclosure with a single hide that they were all trying to squeeze into. They replied to me as if I was some sort of idiot and lifted up the one hide, the guy said to me "You see there, they like each others company, why else would they all bundle together like that?". I told them why and last time I went in there each baby snake had its own enclosure. That pet shop is pretty good apart from that one incident, they've even invested in having a thermostat for each individual enclosure and have a vast selection of reptile care books. Oh, and they sell kittens. It's something to keep whoever drives me there busy.

The account formerly known as Sam

[Mr. H]

Oh sorry, I didn't mean to quote Frankykeno.

[rmune0750]

Pet stores know nothing so they barely care for the animals in their stores, there is a BP in my pet store that looks worse then anorexic and it has half the skin from its shed still on it, the water bowl had feces in it, there are no hides in the cage, and the heat is at about 80 all day long...