Post by number-1-scarer on Jun 19, 2013 23:15:19 GMT -5
this rant concerns people pedaling themselves as 'in the know' specifically about herpes and exotic pets. and im not talking about the nice people you get on the reptile and species specific forums who have been keeping and breeding for years i mean the people whos JOB it is to be responsible and give solid advice and tips to people not pretend to know what their talking about whilst trying to get you to spend as much money as possible on useless items.
im getting really sick of these people who pretend to know what they are doing when i reality they dont know anything and just want to make money! ive just read a post from someone on a reptile forum showing the most disturbingly malnourished leopard gecko i have ever seen that they found at a garden center. it turned my stomach to even see an animal in such conditions. It just got me onto thinking about these 'experts' and how many there really are!
ive only had my guy since Sunday and so far ive encountered at least 3 people (2 garden center employees and one VET!) that had less knowledge of how to care for these animals than i do but were selling themselves as experts and 'adivisors'!
first of the bat when i went to the garden center i wasn't looking to purchase anything except plants for my nan! but after seeing the condition their only crested gecko was being kept in i just couldn't bring myself to leave him! ( i know your not supposed to buy from them if the conditions are bad but that's easier said than done) he was kept in a leopard gecko tank with next to no plants, substrate he could ingest and absolutely no moisture of any kind! not even a water dish! and to top it off he was being kept in the same enclosure as a tree frog! bearing in mind he can fit his entire body down the length of one of my fingers!
as if this wasn't enough i was then given information which even I as a a person who has never owned a reptile before knew was wrong.i was told a diet of baby food would be sufficient ( no supplements were recommended!) and was told to buy and keep a heat lamp on at all times which would pretty quickly kill a crested gecko.from doing even half an hours research you could find that this information was not only wrong but dangerous for the animal. All of this false information was given to someone who had already told the 'resident herpe expert' that i was a complete novice, he had know idea that id done about 6 months worth of research before even considering getting the animal; lucky i did tbh otherwise the little guy wouldn't be in the good shape he is in atm.
When i got him home he was completely dehydrated and had lots of stuck shed on his tail which can constrict and cut off blood supply to areas like tails and toes.
Today was the same story. except this time it was an actual VET giving false information recommending all of these products which would most definitely harm the animal just to get some money! he even had to ask what species my gecko was... and then forgot again half way through the appointment! and at the end of the appointment after admitting he didnt specifically know what he was talking about stated,and i quote ''just take this care sheet for leopard and day geckos and follow that they are all pretty much the same anyway '' if they dont know how to look after something or give good advice they should admit they dont know or do thier research! especially an actual vet!
sorry for the massive rant but its just so frustrating! i hate the fact that if something does happen to him ive got very little to rely on to get actual help and am not comfortable actually trusting anyone who now claims to be an expert will look after him appropriately.
( i forgot to mention, both of these places offered an 'exotics boarding' facility for when you go on holiday etc ...... there is no chance in hell i would trust them too look after my guy while i was away! not after hearing them talk and seeing how they keep the animals they are supposedly experts on!)
im getting really sick of these people who pretend to know what they are doing when i reality they dont know anything and just want to make money! ive just read a post from someone on a reptile forum showing the most disturbingly malnourished leopard gecko i have ever seen that they found at a garden center. it turned my stomach to even see an animal in such conditions. It just got me onto thinking about these 'experts' and how many there really are!
ive only had my guy since Sunday and so far ive encountered at least 3 people (2 garden center employees and one VET!) that had less knowledge of how to care for these animals than i do but were selling themselves as experts and 'adivisors'!
first of the bat when i went to the garden center i wasn't looking to purchase anything except plants for my nan! but after seeing the condition their only crested gecko was being kept in i just couldn't bring myself to leave him! ( i know your not supposed to buy from them if the conditions are bad but that's easier said than done) he was kept in a leopard gecko tank with next to no plants, substrate he could ingest and absolutely no moisture of any kind! not even a water dish! and to top it off he was being kept in the same enclosure as a tree frog! bearing in mind he can fit his entire body down the length of one of my fingers!
as if this wasn't enough i was then given information which even I as a a person who has never owned a reptile before knew was wrong.i was told a diet of baby food would be sufficient ( no supplements were recommended!) and was told to buy and keep a heat lamp on at all times which would pretty quickly kill a crested gecko.from doing even half an hours research you could find that this information was not only wrong but dangerous for the animal. All of this false information was given to someone who had already told the 'resident herpe expert' that i was a complete novice, he had know idea that id done about 6 months worth of research before even considering getting the animal; lucky i did tbh otherwise the little guy wouldn't be in the good shape he is in atm.
When i got him home he was completely dehydrated and had lots of stuck shed on his tail which can constrict and cut off blood supply to areas like tails and toes.
Today was the same story. except this time it was an actual VET giving false information recommending all of these products which would most definitely harm the animal just to get some money! he even had to ask what species my gecko was... and then forgot again half way through the appointment! and at the end of the appointment after admitting he didnt specifically know what he was talking about stated,and i quote ''just take this care sheet for leopard and day geckos and follow that they are all pretty much the same anyway '' if they dont know how to look after something or give good advice they should admit they dont know or do thier research! especially an actual vet!
sorry for the massive rant but its just so frustrating! i hate the fact that if something does happen to him ive got very little to rely on to get actual help and am not comfortable actually trusting anyone who now claims to be an expert will look after him appropriately.
( i forgot to mention, both of these places offered an 'exotics boarding' facility for when you go on holiday etc ...... there is no chance in hell i would trust them too look after my guy while i was away! not after hearing them talk and seeing how they keep the animals they are supposedly experts on!)
They don't even seem to know anything about mammals. They tried to get me to buy an exercise ball for my guinea pigs before(which is bad for their backs) and exercise wheels....guinea pigs are not meant to run like that, it can damage their spines.