How do you feel about these care guides?

It's clear to me that they are recommending housing multiple geckos (crested and leopard geckos) together so they can sell more "mill" bred reptiles. So disgusting. I have a coworker looking to get a leopard gecko for her son and knowing that I'm a reptile lover she came to me and I gave her A LOT of advice including staying away from Petsmart and Petco as well as checking out your leopard gecko care video 😊

@anotherhuman3866

Жыл бұрын

Staying away from pet stores is definitely good advice. my first reptile was a blue tongued skink and I got him from a pet shop- he had mites and was eating only dog food (and even now refuses to eat bugs and vegetables) the humidity was also far too low so going to a breeder is definitely the way to go imo lol

@meta7958

Жыл бұрын

I'm guessing the Petstores in my area do things differently cuz I got both my igaunas and geckos from a PetSmart and Petco I never had a problem you honestly just got to be careful and go in knowing your stuff

@anotherhuman3866

Жыл бұрын

@@meta7958 while that's true its still better not to support them

@emorysears5597

Жыл бұрын

I got my leo from petsmart because I was on a budget and he is healthy(small in length but plump) and is soon moving into a 30 gallon bio tank.

@meta7958

Жыл бұрын

@@anotherhuman3866 eh like it or not there gonna be around for years to come even if a few people stop supporting them there to in grained in the pet hobby thousands get there pets and animal supplies from them daily beside not everyone can afford a reptile from a breeder.

Had a friend ask me why his kid's Leopard Geckos were not doing well. First question, are they being housed together? Answer, yes. You'll never guess where they purchased them. Thankfully with proper information, they are both thriving now! Care Guides - Not!

I was the live animal department manager for the other big chain pet store for a few years. I had spent a few years working in exotic stores and took this opportunity when it came up and it nearly ended my love of keeping reptiles. The constant battle with regional and corporate management on what animals we had to carry and how we had to house them to display the products they wanted to push was a nightmare. I am so grateful that I had a few dedicated employees who worked tirelessly to keep these enclosures as clean as we possibly could, and I had a GM who did not restrict how often we took animals to the vet and what we spent on the care.. but it was still a soul-crushing experience. I exited the hobby entirely at the same time I left the job and did not start keeping reptiles again for nearly a decade.

@brandibastian4193

Жыл бұрын

Petco

@angelapie

Жыл бұрын

So awful that the higher ups want the horrible keeping and try to force it down the ladder. i think the top at the corporate ladder are aware and purposely making their customers lose their animals, so that they can return and buy another one. More reptiles = more money. I really dont think they dont have money to hire some to just google their care instead of just blindly guessing. Its so awful how moneyhungry people will do anything for their greed

@nina150

Жыл бұрын

Yeah it's rough some days luckily the company I work for puts more correct care into animals and has the right to refuse selling animals to customers without proper enclosures and set ups, we do still have to push buying products onto the customers super hard and our store is not cheap. To give an example of the animal/ price mark up we're selling a parrot you can buy for max 300$ online instead for 800-900$ it's insane. Where I work doesn't have any pamphlets BUT our managers and some employees are very well versed in the animals we have available so it's a nice environment to be in for the most part.

You have too much faith in humanity, Adam. As a pet store worker (and ex-worker of one that sold live animals, reptiles included), I'm sorry to say that most people don't give a damn about their animals and proper care or even spending 5 minutes on Google to read a random care guide. I've heard it all. From never misting a bearded dragon's enclosure and wondering why its tail is rotting, through keeping leopard geckos in fish tanks without any source of heat and feeding snakes wild mice, to the most ridiculous ideas like feeding a water tortoise veggies and fruits only. It makes me so angry and helpless, cause I have the knowledge, I'd like to gently present it and they often get angry at me for wanting to help. I wish people really cared. Reptiles are not home decor, nor cool pets to show off on pictures, only to neglect them when nobody's looking. Internet and all it's endless knowledge is at the fingertips, but so many still decide to shut their minds. It's just sad.

@soupkabukii

Жыл бұрын

I have the exact same experiences. I stg I don’t get paid enough for the stress that hearing about people neglecting animals gives me. Just today I had someone asking about lighting/heating for a full grown beardie and when I asked them what size tank they had they pointed to a 40 gallon enclosure… of course I couldn’t convince them to go bigger because that’s “too expensive”. I wanted to tell them that I will literally buy the old tank from them if they’ll upgrade but I’m not allowed to say that type of stuff to customers unfortunately.

@thinriches

Жыл бұрын

Was that the chain featured in this video or the other? What were your experiences working there? I'm collecting stories, trying to change the culture of the one I work at. The more testimonials I have the better.

@peggedyourdad9560

Жыл бұрын

@@soupkabukii It's a shame, that 40 gal could've been an awesome axolotl tank IMO.

@13blackcrows

4 сағат бұрын

It’s so sad to know that there are pet owners that don’t give a shit about the animal they are supposed to care for. I mean I’ve always known they were out there, but it’s sad to heard a firsthand account of how these people really are. All I can hope is that their pet gets a better home, and that people like me can take them in (preferably before damage is done) I always do extensive and mostly unnecessary research and meet my pet’s needs, I wish these people could at least do the bare minimum.

I could watch you tear petsmart apart all day, I recently went to a petshop and saw him cohabbing Axolotls with Plecos, and had he other Axies on pebbles. I explained he should switch them to a fine sand and removing the Pleco because it will suck on the Axies slime coat. He basically brushed me off ;-; It hurt so much to feel ignored when It was such a low effort fix. What I'm annoyed with is these petshops pass city inspections, they need to pass a welfare inspection!

I have a pet Ball python. I had to try and find a thermostat because the one I had croaked suddenly. My local Petsmart MANAGER didn't have a CLUE what a thermostat was -- he kept pointing to the thermometers. I pulled out my phone, and attempted to educate him. After staring at the info for a second, he said "We don't carry those," and walked away.

@WickensWickedReptiles

Жыл бұрын

That is so sad!

@Haunted_heathen

Жыл бұрын

Almost all of my managers treat the store like they were trained to, retail. A good manager should be directing you to the other employees who actually handle the animals.

@sneekyalexa2657

Жыл бұрын

Insane how many chains/stores in general that don't even carry thermostats, and I'm surprised Adam didn't mention the lack of them being recommended. My local Petco carries exo terra ones, but charge $60-80. You can get them online for $20-30.

@503menagerie3

Жыл бұрын

I bought my OG ball python 8 years ago at petco-the person there said oh they’re fine at room temp…no worries! It’s a testament to how resilient they are that he lived long enough for me to do actual research and now he’s living like a king in a 4x2 bioactive pvc with UVB, halogen basking spot and tons of clutter.

@soupkabukii

Жыл бұрын

At my store we literally only have the Exo Terra thermostats that go up to 100w. It’s been working fine for my leopard gecko but I will never understand how or why we don’t have more thermostats. It makes people think it’s just an afterthought. Ps: I’m so sorry to hear about your poor python :(

Awfully convenient that the big corporate buisness mass supplying and indiscriminately selling reptiles gives horrible advice that would leave you with one or more dead lizards requiring replacement....just terrible. Though admittedly I thought they'd be worse (minus the horrible multiple tankmate advice because that's just awful). Also, I'd be down for the 90s care guide reviews lol.

I actually work as a manger at Petsmart, and every last person I have trained in the care of pet's I've told them what I know and have learned. I have bashed the reptile carpets, told everyone to not sell them, told them not to sell the calcium sand to anyone instead to get children's play sand that's better with a mix of soil. Even going as far as drilling into people that the kits we have are only starters, and these animals need much bigger when they are adults. All dragons need 4x2x2 or larger, ball pythons need 4x2x or larger, leopard geckos are much happier in 20 gallons or larger with oddly some of them liking to climb on things. That or mine are just freaks that love to climb. This video just makes me want to contact upper management and tell them these things need to change and this is why. It may be my hill to die on but I don't want to see carpets, calcium sand, tanks smaller then 20 gallons or care guides like this in our stores ever again.

@soupkabukii

Жыл бұрын

PetSmart employee here: First of all thank you for being a good manager who knows what they’re talking about. Lord knows this company needs them. Also my leo loves to climb too! It’s weird because I never saw him trying to climb before I brought him home from work (normally I wouldn’t buy from a pet store but I loved working with him so much that I had to have him). My guess it’s probably because there unfortunately wasn’t much vertical space at PetSmart. I’m saving to upgrade his tank from a 36x18x12 to 36x18x18 because climbing is literally his favourite activity besides sleeping and he’s gotten really good at it.

@thinriches

Жыл бұрын

Keep fighting the good fight brother. I'm working on it at the other one

@xion1629

Жыл бұрын

I'm the assistant manager of an even smaller chain than your main competition, but I do the same. For example, the same 6 bags of calcium sand has sat on my shelf the entire time I've worked there. I all but refuse to sell it, and my other employees and managers know not to either. That's just one of many examples. We're required to CARRY certain things, but we are absolutely not going to SELL them without making it abundantly clear that they are dangerous. Another one is that crushed walnut shell junk. I also make sure that my employees tell anyone who buys a live animal from us that they need to spend time doing research on their own because there are a lot of nuances to every species.

@rdnkenki

Жыл бұрын

I just got an adult Leo that spent his life in a 10 gallon. I upgraded him to a 20 long right away, wish I could have gone bigger but sure will asap. I went with heating pad and Halogen, now he comes out more and is starting to thrive :)

@rdnkenki

Жыл бұрын

We need more Employees and lower management to have balls and stand up like you did... This can be applied to every job/work place :) kudos

I use to work at a Petsmart. The anger you receive from a person who has no real reptile experience who truly believe that reptile carpet is the only way… It’s amazing. I tried to help a customer recently (not as an employee- just in there for emergency crickets) and the downright SCOLDING I got from that employee. Like- chill out friend. I got my info from a legitimate zoologist- where the heck did you get yours?! 😑

I grabbed a bunch of these guides about a year ago to do a video like this (I also had a couple of older petco guides from when I lived in the states), but every time I tried to get started on it, I would get so upset, I'd set it aside to work on something less depressing. It's so irresponsible. One of the guides (bearded dragon, I think) switched to chameleon care for 2 paragraphs. It would have been funny if it wasn't so frustrating. Do better Petsmart (and Petco).

@goldenhate6649

Жыл бұрын

Personally, I think both should banned from having animals of any kind. Even the mammals they carry are in less than great conditions.

@niamhpreece7548

Жыл бұрын

These care guides get animals killed. Why does it matter to you if someone calls petsmart out on their shit? They should know better

@knate44

Жыл бұрын

@@listenup7284 Comedy is subjective so I can't comment on that, but why is there an incentive to bash big companies? First off, big companies don't really care because they are too busy making fat stacks; not to say employees or some stores don't, for many working with pets is a dream job and they love to do their own research, but at the end of the day, they are just trained for a basic retail job. At the end of the day PetSmart and Petco are going to chug along just fine. Secondly, do you think bashing big companies is going to INCREASE the likelihood of getting a big corporate sponsorship? Like I know you are probably just trolling, but I just don't understand what you get out of comments like this. If you hate the video don't watch it. If you want to defend PetSmart please discuss how Adam is wrong about temperature gradients or cohabiting male geckoes. If you want to argue, here enjoy a random internet person interacting with you, I hope it was worth your time. Have a yourself a lovely day.

@knate44

Жыл бұрын

@@listenup7284 They don't have to sell you a sponsor because they just sold you an animal, and all their expensive accessories. By that logic, if the PetSmart was perfect, nothing would change, and they would out compete all the smaller reptile shops right? Also "successfully" only refers to sales, so sure. Puppy mills "successfully" sell dogs, but it is not the best thing for the dogs.

@EclecticallyEccentric

Жыл бұрын

@@listenup7284 Selling animals successfully doesn't mean properly caring for them or providing the proper care information.

My BIL works at a Petco on the East Coast. He personally tosses most of these care guides in the trash when they get them. He's huge into rodents and herpetology and he's happy to give real, practical advice when people come in. These guides and their antiquated nonsense need to go the way of the dodo. In fact, get rid of these and try to bring back the dodo. They seemed cute. #ComeOnScience

@WickensWickedReptiles

Жыл бұрын

Good for him!

@lemonnpuff8737

Жыл бұрын

Years ago I worked for petsmart when we'd have to print care guides out on Ye Olde Xerox. We were required to keep the care guide holders full. We were also supposed to use them with every sale. Wouldn't you know my crew forgot every time. Shucks. Some how or another I could never quite figure out why the more problematic ones wouldn't print. We'd just take our master copy we corrected and copy that and put them out. DM never knew, and since like maybe 5 people ever look at those things no one ever complained either 😉

@whenimonmymoon6822

Жыл бұрын

@@lemonnpuff8737 your customers weren't coming in complaining that their pets weren't dying off despite following the care guides? 😅 good job prioritizing the animals, we love to see it.👏👏👏

@lemonnpuff8737

Жыл бұрын

@@whenimonmymoon6822 back in the day we had an in at corporate. One of our PCMs from our store got promoted and while he couldn't make miracles happen he did change things for the better Our claim to fame is that our district asked to test and pilot digging substrates that holds moisture for the hermit crabs to reduce loss.. We wanted proper enclosures too but at least we got them off aquarium gravel.

As someone who used to work at PetSmart it is CATHARTIC to hear someone I respect and trust saying the same things I said when I worked there. Would LOVE to see more of these, please!

Would love to see you review the rest. Great video. Ya it's crazy about 2 males.

@WickensWickedReptiles

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!!

Would be very interested in seeing your review of the Kingsnake/Milk Snake pamphlet. Your videos and Snake Discovery's videos on the.... incorrect practices and promotions of Petsmart as a company (not individual stores or individual employees to clarify) have been very enlightening and have actually encouraged me to go to reptile expos and look into respectable breeders, and it's been a huge help!

We have a new exotic pet store that's pretty decent sized space-wise. I overheard a customer asking why they didn't sell any actual animals. The reply was "we want people to have healthy happy animals, we do have a list of various local breeders but you need to take a two day free course on the animal you are intending to buy before you can buy." When I asked they said the short course covered basic husbandry and expectations, costs etc from actual professionals either breeders or vets not some 16/hr kid on their first job. That it was their condition for allowing breeders to use them as a resource for customers.

I work at Petsmart and I can tell you, at least in my case, I ALWAYS tell people not to house males together, that goes for most animals that aren't cats and dogs.... Also, I recommend your youtube channel to EVERYONE who buys a reptile from me. As a corporate company, I have zero say on what some suit in Texas prints in those pamphlets, but they do at least deter people who want to buy a bearded dragon and put it in a 10 gallon. (I say no to a lot of people trying to buy pets).

@WickensWickedReptiles

Жыл бұрын

Great to hear

@Haunted_heathen

Жыл бұрын

@@WickensWickedReptiles Oh, and of you have a mailing address I can send you the guides you don't have, like bearded dragon or tortoise.

@lindabmusiclessons1

Жыл бұрын

Maybe you could write corporate and warn them.

@alliecornelison7270

Жыл бұрын

Most of my coworkers at Petsmart also care about reptiles and tell people to throw them into the trash and recommend youtube channels or forums like WWR. Incase anyone was wonder employees recently had a feedback opportunity for petsmart corporate and they got absolutely railed on their animal sourcing and care guides and they said "we now have a corporate policy for the petcare staff to make adjustments as they see fit

@xion1629

Жыл бұрын

@@alliecornelison7270 that's actually amazing to hear! As an assistant manager for a smaller chain, our district manager is the one who approves of any housing/care changes, and if we want to carry a species we've not previously had, we have to jump through a few hoops to prove our set up is sufficient- they will literally cancel entire orders otherwise. It's still not ideal, but it seems to be leaps and bounds better than what I've read and heard about the big chains. I'm glad they're deciding to finally let store level management make changes! I know I do what I do because of my love for animals, so I find it hard to believe the vast majority of pet store, store-level managers are any different. Meaning that could be a hugely positive adjustment

GoHerping reviewed the guides last year as well; I'm surprised PetSmart hasn't changed anything. Would love a comparison to 90's care guides!

I worked at PetSmart for almost 15 years. I was there for the first reptiles and the first rodents. And several iterations of the habitats. I researched obsessively and did everything I could to keep animals healthy and happy. But I swear, corporate didn’t care about results, they wanted care by the (poorly written and wrong) book. Like hermit crabs. The manual said sand. I switched them to coconut coir and suddenly loss (death) plummeted. They made me change it back. Didn’t matter that the animals stopped dying, the tank had to “look right”. Years after I quit they finally switched to coconut coir. I eventually quit when I couldn’t take it anymore. Customers who thought it was their right to torture and kill animals and corporate management that supported it. I’ve been out for 12 years now and I’m starting to miss the critters. I think a crested gecko is in my future. Be kind to pet store employees. Most of us really did care, we just have it beaten out of us by stupid policies.

Please do the rest of the care guides 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

@WickensWickedReptiles

Жыл бұрын

Ok!

I currently work at a petco (quitting due to health reasons, I actually love my job) and our new GM actually wrote proper care guides for everything we sell. Goldfish, reptiles, bettas, saltwater tanks. Everything. She’s a crested gecko breeder and adores them with everything in her heart… to the point of writing a 26 page care guide for them. Everything I’ve seen at petsmart… hm.

@hjms1125

Жыл бұрын

does she give out the guides? i would love to distribute some through the rescue i volunteer that

I have a crested gecko that was kept with six other males in a 12 by 12 by 36 cage. When I adopted him, he was down a leg, his tail was chewed off (not dropped, another gecko tried eating his tail then he dropped it!), and all of his crests were gone, even on his eyes- and he seems to have issues seeing. I got him when he was 7 years old, so 7 years in those conditions. He is literally more scar than gecko, no pattern at all. He still gobbles down his food, even two years later, because he's afraid of another gecko getting it first and not having enough to eat. Captain Ahab is a prime example on why you never, ever, cohab males.

I appreciate you doing your own input on this. I can imagine how many people see these as proper guides but then may stumble upon your video on what is right and wrong. Don't apologize for talking too much, you're helping a lot of people keep reptiles alive.

A lot of their reptiles also have pre-existing health conditions due to either genetics or bad feeding practices early on.

"You suck!" I'm hoping all of your "you sucking" got the importance across about not having 2 male's of either geckos housed together. I can't imagine the horror of finding your new geckos dismembered the next morning. As you said, hopefully the new owners AND the sales associates did more research about the species they were interested in. Great video Adam!

As a PetSmart employee: I straight up don’t give people care guides from the store without going through it and correcting info as I’m explaining everything. I also like to give them some online sources if they’ll take it (including your videos!). Thankfully my managers do the same thing so I don’t have any risk of getting in trouble lol

@dakotabulter9523

Жыл бұрын

Same. I work there but hate their practices. Does your store have a limit on the substrate you can use???? Ours is 1/3 an inch😓🙄

@soupkabukii

Жыл бұрын

@@dakotabulter9523 That is insane! I think we have a loose structure/guideline we have to follow but as long as it’s a reasonable amount I never get complaints. The only time we go by the books is when our very particular district leader comes😬

@brandymusson9838

Жыл бұрын

I hope you are the store I applie too lol

@animefreakazoid2504

Жыл бұрын

Petsmart employee here as well! Our petcare department is pretty strict with our animals too. We usually don't follow the guides either because a lot of them have a bunch of wrong information. We've actually blacked out some of the wrong info in all of the guides, like the guide for bettas say they don't need a heater and can live in a bowl, etc. I've had to fight several customers trying to house a gecko and a snake or a gecko and a bearded dragon together. Some customers want to put a crested gecko in with a chameleon and 7 anoles in a 10 gallon because they don't want to get a big tank but want a bunch of animals. Sometimes my managers are on my side but other times my manager has forced me to sell animals that ended up being returned dead, sick or barely alive because they weren't in the proper habitat. Also my managers have been mad at me because I've been telling people to buy a lot of stuff either from Amazon or the Dollar Store because everything is SO much cheaper online. I don't care if my managers are mad at me because we're short staffed and I'm probably one of if not the best pet care associate they have. They can write me up but I also happen to know that they've been breaking some rules that could get them fired.

@animefreakazoid2504

Жыл бұрын

Petsmart employee here as well! Our petcare department is pretty strict with our animals too. We usually don't follow the guides either because a lot of them have a bunch of wrong information. We've actually blacked out some of the wrong info in all of the guides, like the guide for bettas say they don't need a heater and can live in a bowl, etc. I've had to fight several customers trying to house a gecko and a snake or a gecko and a bearded dragon together. Some customers want to put a crested gecko in with a chameleon and 7 anoles in a 10 gallon because they don't want to get a big tank but want a bunch of animals. Sometimes my managers are on my side but other times my manager has forced me to sell animals that ended up being returned dead, sick or barely alive because they weren't in the proper habitat. Also my managers have been mad at me because I've been telling people to buy a lot of stuff either from Amazon or the Dollar Store because everything is SO much cheaper online. I don't care if my managers are mad at me because we're short staffed and I'm probably one of if not the best pet care associate they have. They can write me up but I also happen to know that they've been breaking some rules that could get them fired.

I think videos like these are necessary so people can understand that those care guides aren't the best. I, as a parent, who has purchased 2 different reptiles for my daughter, made the decision to look up the species online. I read up on them, where they come from and how to house them. Then I went on to KZread and came across creators such as yourself to get first hand knowledge of the do's and don'ts. Then I went out purchased what it needed and then purchased my reptile. I no longer have my first pet, sadly it passed but my mbk is thriving going on 2 years and of course I'm the one taking care of it now, but from my first experience this was expected. Thanks for all your tips and reviews and keep doing what you do.

Might want to put a warning on the Crested Gecko one saying that their feed will attract fruit flies in the summer. There are local pet stores here with people who actually know something about the animals sold there. The only time I bought a reptile from a box store was when I saw a really healthy, really active Russian tortoise. I bought him before somebody who hasn't done their research did.

Yoooo, I love the new beginning! I had to watch it like 5 times. Great video 👊

I'd love to see more Petsmart care guide reviews - especially on Ball Pythons and other snakes

Please make more videos like this! You are helping me to find right reptile for me. Love your content,keep up!

I'd love more of these videos! I also love how chill Diamond is - such a good lizard!

I LOVE Diamond! Just got our 16 year old a Leo and this Mama has done her own research! A rabbit hole…. So much to learn but I’m up for it. You are one of the KZread channels I have been watching. Thank you so much for your info! So appreciated!

I used to work for PetSmart I never recommended those guides. I always recommended that every pet parent research before you buy.

@WickensWickedReptiles

Жыл бұрын

Good to hear!

@sneekyalexa2657

Жыл бұрын

I didn't work at PetSmart specifically, but I've heard mixed things, like employees aren't allowed to say that their guides are wrong? Where I worked, it was a smaller chain, but I would always tell people to do their own research too. Of course it could be difficult with stubborn customers, but I liked having an excuse to learn about so many species so I could give general info if the circumstance allowed. I'd also try to warn of the poor products, since they're so available.

@abell4785

Жыл бұрын

@@WickensWickedReptiles I was the only one to own reptiles there and I brought a wealth of knowledge to that store.

@guardiansanimalrescuestate7289

Жыл бұрын

E mail so adorable

Please more, seeing you being passionate about reptiles is fun, it even had Diamond at attention.

I absolutely love that you like to spread positive vibes! Also I enjoyed watching you get frustrated over this because it shows your passion and care for animals. 💓 Can't wait for more videos like this! I really hope these companies see videos like this and up their game. Or get shut down.😝

When I was a kid my parents and I were victims of the petsmart outdated care info… so many fish….

@WickensWickedReptiles

Жыл бұрын

So sorry to hear this

Would definitely love to see more of these guides reviewed! It would also be neat to see reviews of petcos as well if you wanted to :)

Your videos are all fantastic and have inspired me to own a snake and have certainly pushed me to do my own research for the best care practices! I bought a used Kages enclosure for when it gets full size and didn't notice until I got home with it, but it's got a Wickens Wicked Reptile sticker on the corner! Small world! Keep up the good work!

I love this type of videos please make a part two!😁🙏

Please do more of these ❤ it helps raise awareness about how bad these big stores are.

@WickensWickedReptiles

Жыл бұрын

more coming!

I worked at Petsmart for about a year in the pet care department. It was so aggravating how restricted we were in these animals' care. For example, I had to pay out of my own pocket to set up an air stone system in our "feeder" goldfish tanks. Our fish loss went down by over 10% but did I ever get rewarded or reimbursed? No, because I was technically breaking protocol. Thankfully my manager was a huge reptile fan, and despite seeing the lowest sales of all the animals, our reptiles were probably the best cared for in the whole store. Our manager also refused to stock chameleons because of the horrible conditions they sit in on the reptile wall. The only saving grace was that as a pet care associate I was allowed to refuse sale of any live animal for any reason. The worst part was that I had to learn a lot about proper reptile husbandry from my manager, as my "training" hardly mentioned reptiles at all.

Thank you for the informative videos. I have a day gecko and a leapord gecko. I'm still learning everyday. Love your channel. When it comes to channels I always come to your videos first. Thank you.

as a current petsmart employee (im considering applying at my exotics veterinary office for multiple reasons) i have read them and its sadly corporate... at my store many of us dont give the care guide or we will cross off the incorrect information, it can vary per store which deffinitely sucks... i can atleast thankfully say that both stores ive worked in have been knowledgable about all of our animals and we do our research, encourage pet owners doing their own research, and FREQUENTLY shout to corporate to make the guides better and more accurate (again these are atleast the 2 stores ive worked in). i do appreciate theses videos, i even recomend your channel and other reputable ones to pet owners

Love this video and please do the older guide video

Comments might get spicey, but I'm going to share anyways.. I used to work as a Petcare specialist at a Petsmart for years, and honestly the number of animals I took home because they wouldn't sell or couldn't sell for any reason at all (or because someone brought them back hurt or injured...95% of the time they didn't even know what they were signing up for...) oh man I was up to my eyeballs in tanks doing my own little side rehab. Went head first into education and became a licensed vettech and will NEVER GO BACK, but grateful for all the experience trouble shooting tough/geriatric and juvenile cases! Nice post Adam!! Love this idea ❤ just wish they'd do right by the animals at the end of the day! Thanks for sharing.

I used to annotate and edit those care guides during my slow shifts when I worked at petsmart. One of the hardest things at that job was trying to persuade customers that the "official" store resources weren't good sources of information

Please more. This was awesome !

THANK YOU! Finally a video on those terrible PetSmart guides. Thank you.

@WickensWickedReptiles

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Hope you enjoy!

@TheMudskipperKing

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goherping made a video on it to

I work at a big chain pet store as a groomer. I just want to say yes, these are so stupid. But most employees, at least at my location, own and understand we need to change these for the benefit of our reptiles. But we don't decide what they put in their pamphlets unfortunately. But we as a little bit of that company try to make a little difference for our reptiles. I also hate the mill breeding! But feel bad for the pets that sit there for so long and not get a home. They won't just stop breeding and those pets dont deserve it, but they do deserve a good life. Double edge sword 😓

I love that yer Canoodian like me , it's awesome to have advice from my fellow countryman. I've watched a bunch of your videos and they're awesome. I'm from London, there's not much out here for reptiles as far as I know. I'm definitely gunna venture out to ya sometime. It'll be nice to support local small time Canadian business. It'll be a while till I can get a little reptile buddy but hopefully it'll happen someday. I've been wanting a beardy for ten years but I've kept up my knowledge on the care of them to make sure I know what to do when the day at last comes! Cheers 🍻

@WickensWickedReptiles

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hope to see you at an expo sometime

The new intro is sick!!

Would definitely love to see more of these!

Definitely do more of these, educating the community and exposing the corporations are always good things. Love what you do!

Hey Adam! I just mailed you a bunch of guides my petsmart had. A bunch of species I know you keep like whites tree frog and red footed tortoises and a bunch more. Tuck them away for a rainy day! I really liked this video ❤️

Liked to say YES for all the care guide reviews, more current ones and the 90s ones

Not all Petsmarts are alike I swear lol I work at one and I try my best to give people up to date info on any lil critter they want, I also make sure they don’t buy useless crap (red lights, expensive bulbs, crappy gimmicky products). I’ve tired to even show other employees websites/KZread channels to get better care info for the animals we carry. Maybe the company isn’t the best but there are people who work here that know what they are doing and care about the well-being of the animals.

My face when the office clip played lmaooo wasn't expected that at all haha

i absolutely love your videos! thank you so much for doing what you do. also i would like to know what type of reptile would you suggest for a small encloser? 10 gallons or less for the first 6 months or so then up tp a 100 gallon.

You have quickly become my favorite KZreadr!

Dude, I always do this but your topics are excellent

It's simply baffling to me how bad some petstores are. Where I live, there are very strict guidelines for animal husbandry and pet store employees are very well trained in general and even more so in their specialty. Someone who is clearly not knowledgeable about the animal they like to purchase, will not be able to just buy it, but will be informed thoroughly beforehand. If the employees don't feel that you are serious about keeping the animal correctly, they will refuse to sell it. And they are doing their best to keep the animals in store as good as they possibly can - fully planted low stock tanks, bioactive terrariums exceeding the minimal space requirements, etc. One of the biggest chain pet stores has posters up, translating to "they don't need a cage, they deserve a habitat". It's as insane as it is awesome.

I just got a leopard gecko about a month ago (the first reptile I have kept in 20 years) - for a while i was thinking to get one from PetSmart but I am happy I rescued one from someone who had too many because I know they took care of her.

Love this video, I was just there and did the same thing! I try to stay away from those and watch yours and other videos instead.

Adam I love your content some much. I would love to see a video on burrowing lizard and snake species. Thanks for another great video. Because of you and the reptile KZread community I’m the proud keeper of a crested gecko.

You can get close to 10 if you live southern AZ I’ve seen it close to 10% humidity. Good video great information. Every time you talk about crested geckos I want one.

Review all the cage guides! It’s such a big difference from the 90s and even early 2000s

I’d love to see a ‘90s care guide review because I remember reading them as a kid!

I work as a pet care associate in the Holland store and I'm appalled by the misinformation that is in the guides. I'm going to be going through all the pamphlets on the website today and making a Google Docs 'form' to add corrections and I'll bring it in to work and try my hardest to either get the store to listen to me or I'll take it to corporate. I know I'm just one employee but I'm going to remain hopeful that I can at least get them to take a look into this. Even if they don't I'm going to keep trying to at least inform people about this stuff and if it costs my job then at least I lost it while trying to make a change. Plus I'm getting fairly fed up with the store's management anyways Anyways, thank you so much for making this video and making many other informational videos and wish me luck 🤞

I'm the assistant manager of a pet store (not PetSmart or Petco), and I'm "the reptile guy" there, which is insane because outside of breeding some anoles, I'm entirely just a hobbyist. Speaking solely of the chain I work for, the care guides aren't something store level employees can change. However, our personal temperature recommendations and "guides" seem to be a little better. I'm also glad you mentioned something about "doing your own research", because that's exactly what my parting message is to everyone who buys a reptile or amphibian from me- I'm no expert and don't do more than advise the best that I can. I have even researched with a customer on a few occasions for reptiles I've never personally dealt with (such as a sand boa), while they were in-store. Certain things bother me about how we keep our reptiles on the sales floor, but it is at corporate level and a potential write up/termination to not comply. It's nothing major, but I'd assume a lot of large chain locations are the same- so I wouldn't blame store level employees. And in saying that, I like that everything was directed at PetSmart the company rather than their employees. I work where I work because I love helping people with their pets, as well as interacting with animals daily, and that seems to be the general consensus for most of the other pet store folks I've met. Training for reptile and amphibians (and even arachnids) specifics is definitely an issue though, and even the best intentions can end with death or serious injury.

I work at a PetSmart and can confirm our care sheets suck. We had a one on one with someone who looks after all stores in Alberta (at least) and I brought up how a bunch of the care sheets have wrong info which could harm reptiles/amphibians/tarantulas etc. and that I could show him right now and it would only take a second . He brushed me off and said get your store leader to message me. again I said I could just show you right now. He brushed me off again. So in my experience upper management doesn't care. According to him they got there info from vets so it doesn't need adjusting ...

We need Adam to walk into petsmart and go absolutely ham on everyone there, including the customer children. They should know better than to even be in the presence of those guides

As much as this solidifies "don't buy from big chain stores", I would love to see more of these

I would love to watch more of these care guides!!!

I’d absolutely love to see the snake care guides like the corn snake, king snake, and ball python

im lowkey addicted to your vids

My kid's been saving up for a leopard gecko for a while. We tend to cover things like food and vet care, but the initial expense of the animal and its habitat is on her so we have time to research and set things up. We did this a few years ago when she wanted a snake--we researched good snakes for beginners, settled on a corn snake, and we've had him for two and a half years and love him. We're getting the gecko next weekend at a reptile expo. I'm really appalled by the care guides suggesting cohabitation--one of the first things I learned for both snakes and geckos was that cohabiting was something to typically avoid, especially with males.

Awesome video! Can you do one on the snakes of Petsmart like corn snakes and ball pythons?

I love the new intro and hiii

Yes please publish more of these videos!

When I saw your beardie with money I giggled. 😆 He will owning the bank soon! 😆

This is a video I can relate to. I used to work in a major pet store chain and these guides are never truly accurate and it was very frustrating

loving the new intros

Really like how you get so passionate about the lives of these reptiles.

Yes! Do the others, too, please! Loved this! 😃

Could you do one for Petco too? I am wriggling my way up the ladder and the more ammunition I have to combat our specific guides and policies is invaluable. These companies only see themselves. They take advice from a handful of veterinarians on staff and are insulated from the outside world of exotic animal keeping. This has caused them to entirely miss the strides we are making in the hobby. In order to disrupt the status quo I need stats, research and company specific examples. I have the data, I need more examples. Hope the success of this video prompts you to follow it up. I recommend your channel to every person who speaks to me about beardies, leopard and crested geckos. Thanks for your tireless work to improve the hobby and educate the public.

definitely do more of these!

Thank you for this video. Ik it is old in yt age but I got my crestie 3 days ago from petsmart and even though I don’t have to worry about the 2 male situation, I heard a few things to tweak for the best care. Also my care guide was not that good looking pamphlet it was a typed up word document on printer paper, a little different regarding humidity and temp and didn’t talk about cohabitation at all. So they don’t even have consistency within their company on how to care for them.

I am going to make a video one day about the top KZreadrs that have a positive impact on the reptile keeping community and you will definitely be on that list, Adam. Always talking about how we can do better. Your videos are the bee’s knee’s.

DO MORE!!! Love from California

My hubby went to PetSmart to get some cat food and pointed out to the cashier that their was a dead crested gecko in one of the enclosures. She brushed him off at first that that is just where that gecko likes to sit.... He had to double down and say, no, its definitely dead since its becoming a dried husk and its eyelids are sinking in. She checks and is surprised its dead even though it looks like its been drying out for a notable amount of time to the extent that a customer had to point it out to them.

I would love to see more videos like this!!!

I work at this box chain store. The amount of times I have to tell people to straight up ignore the care guides because they’re incorrect and promotes malpractice and to do their own research is insane.

That one point on the crested gecko pamphlet had to have been a typo that no one edited. I'm pretty sure that was supposed to say Do not house more than one male or do not house two males in a tank and they somehow combine the two statements and screwed the entire thing up.

although petsmart doesnt exist in the uk there is pets at home. thankfully the one local to me doesnt sell reptiles anymore but as a fishkeeper the fish care is shocking. they have a dumb fish stocking system that makes no sense, dont follow cycling guidelines, mix incompatible fish with each other [ fin nippers with longfin fish etc ], dont properly quarantine, have really cloudy dirty tanks with little stimulation for the fish and the fish are so unhealthy [ ich, flukes , infections, black fungus on the tetras, gasping mollies etc ] selling big fish like common goldfish, clown loaches and chinese algae eaters for little tanks and the poor care of the feeder bugs lmao they sell insect food for the feeders but the feeders are half starved

Was at a PetSmart over the weekend, mentioned to the employees their ball python enclosures were in the 30% humidity range, all three had badly stuck sheds and looked dehydrated, was brushed off with “ it’s feed day, and were under staffed!” Two of them were in chameleon enclosures with no hides or substrate 🤦‍♂️

I went into a petsmart one time that had two crested geckos in the same setup and what made it worse was the fact one was significantly larger than the other and was trying to eat the smaller one

I am no advocate for petco. But I have to say i was impresses with the store by my house. The manager explained he loves reptiles so he goes above and beyond. Even the 2 tegu were kept well and were reasonable. Hats off to this 1 store. Lol

I work at one of the big box chain pet stores. Obviously I can't control the care guides or the products sold but I do try to guide people interested in keeping reptiles--e.g. discouraging keeping them in groups for the most part. Thankfully I don't think most people even bother with the care guide pamphlets.

Love the new intro