My $30 petco crested

nick654377 · 02-05-14, 12:44 PM

updated photos up buddy

So my petsmart $30 crested was looking great the other night and I think he is a male. other than him growing slow, I switched over and am feeding 2-3 dubias at a time on Saturday and on Tuesday and keeping a bowl of pangea food in his tank at all times. he was around 5 grams when I got him 3 months ago and is now only 8 grams.

enough with talking and here are pictures

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and why I think he is a male at only 8 grams. it looks like he has a buldge going on.

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CameronVarnish · 02-05-14, 01:23 PM

looks cool, BUT NEVER BUY FROM A CHAIN PET SHOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nick654377 · 02-05-14, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CameronVarnish

looks cool, BUT NEVER BUY FROM A CHAIN PET SHOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know to never buy from a chain pet shop. I usally never do. all my snakes are from breeders. but when you find something you like, and it is calm, and the colors you are looking for, and less than half the cost of what it would normaly cost from a breeder. ill buy from a chain petstore when it is just a gecko. and also to let you know that same petco sold me a zoo med 12x12x18 for $49 when they go for $100.

sharthun · 02-05-14, 02:28 PM

Congrats on the new Gecko!

CameronVarnish · 02-05-14, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick654377

I know to never buy from a chain pet shop. I usally never do. all my snakes are from breeders. but when you find something you like, and it is calm, and the colors you are looking for, and less than half the cost of what it would normaly cost from a breeder. ill buy from a chain petstore when it is just a gecko. and also to let you know that same petco sold me a zoo med 12x12x18 for $49 when they go for $100.

Okay... if its a good deal, then go for it. unfortunately, i have had bad experiences with petsmart and petco. i bought a veiled chameleon, which had MBD... they fed it nothing but mealworms, had the heat at 95 degrees, 20% humidity... very sad.

Charis · 02-05-14, 01:36 PM

He looks good! That is actually a pretty decent growth rate, especially during the winter.

nick654377 · 02-05-14, 02:33 PM

thanks I have had "him" since october

Jinxygirl · 02-05-14, 03:03 PM

Awesome find for a petsmart! They usually only have buckskin cresties.

Also.. there is nothing wrong with buying from a franchised petstore, if he was being mistreated in the pet shop then you took him home and could have possibly rescued him. A lot of people will argue with me over that because they are just going to restock the empty tank with a new gecko.. but even if the gecko died in the shop they will still restock with a new reptile that will be mistreated as well. I have witnessed it happen.

As for the sex of your gecko.. to me it looks like it's a male just because the scales in the pore area look waxy and the spurs are fairly large (which isn't always a for sure indicator). Can you see pores yet?

**Aaron_S** · 02-05-14, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jinxygirl

Awesome find for a petsmart! They usually only have buckskin cresties.

Also.. there is nothing wrong with buying from a franchised petstore, if he was being mistreated in the pet shop then you took him home and could have possibly rescued him. A lot of people will argue with me over that because they are just going to restock the empty tank with a new gecko.. but even if the gecko died in the shop they will still restock with a new reptile that will be mistreated as well. I have witnessed it happen.

As for the sex of your gecko.. to me it looks like it's a male just because the scales in the pore area look waxy and the spurs are fairly large (which isn't always a for sure indicator). Can you see pores yet?

You're missing the point on not rescuing from pet stores. If you buy one they don't just replace it with one more gecko. They made profits so they can re-stock with 3 geckos that will need rescuing. Do you have the resources to rescue those three?

Even still, the idea is that if they don't see PROFIT then they can't stay in business where they are. Even if one gecko dies and they replace it it means they still lost money on that animal and if they continue to then they won't stock them anymore. Thus saving many lives.

Jinxygirl · 02-05-14, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

You're missing the point on not rescuing from pet stores. If you buy one they don't just replace it with one more gecko. They made profits so they can re-stock with 3 geckos that will need rescuing. Do you have the resources to rescue those three?

Even still, the idea is that if they don't see PROFIT then they can't stay in business where they are. Even if one gecko dies and they replace it it means they still lost money on that animal and if they continue to then they won't stock them anymore. Thus saving many lives.

The petstore in my town just keeps restocking. I have witnessed them pulling out dead bearded dragons and then the next week they had more. That was when I was 15 years old.. I'm 22 now and guess what... they still have reptiles all the time in there.

**Aaron_S** · 06-20-14, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jinxygirl

The petstore in my town just keeps restocking. I have witnessed them pulling out dead bearded dragons and then the next week they had more. That was when I was 15 years old.. I'm 22 now and guess what... they still have reptiles all the time in there.

Some can still manage it.

The idea is to not support them. At all. Don't buy the other stuff there either if you really want to show you have disdain for how they treat the animals.

nick654377 · 02-05-14, 03:25 PM

If i knew what i was looking for at the pores i would be able to tell you. What i see is two lumps by the hips

Jinxygirl · 02-05-14, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick654377

If i knew what i was looking for at the pores i would be able to tell you. What i see is two lumps by the hips

Those two white lumps are the spurs, both female and male cresties have those. A lot of the time a males spurs will be a bit bigger but sometimes females can have fairly large spurs as well so it's hard to base gender off of those. I do think you have a male though... but you will have to wait until it's a bit heavier to really be able to tell for sure. Their hemipenal bulge will usually drop at around 15-20 grams so if one day you notice that it has a big bulge under its tail near the spurs then it's a male lol :P

**EL Ziggy** · 02-05-14, 05:00 PM

Nice gecko. Best wishes with your new addition. I bought my Cal King from Petsmart and haven't had any issues. He's a great snake. I bought my MBK and albino bull snake from private breeders and they are awesome too.

Sharlynn93 · 02-05-14, 08:14 PM

I bought my BP from petco, no issues so far...eats good, sheds good (she did have a stuck shed when we brought her home) but she is so sweet!