BluGnat

Same here.

I purchased two baby albinos from our local Petco in December - they're turning into gorgeous, friendly critters.

Back in '96-'98, I used to be an assistant manager at a Petco in MD. When I started, the only knowledge I had of reptiles was of my frog and salamander catching escapades as a child, and the mountains of reading I did at the library regarding same. When I started at this Petco, I realised that no one knew *anything* about reptiles in that store. They're not gerbils. I went out and updated my knowledge, and became the district Reptile Chick. Our top seller became Leopard Geckos instead of iguanas. Our reptiles were healthy and well taken care of. We made it a point to even take out the nasty Burmese that had been sitting in a cage for god knows how long before I started working there - because everyone was scared of them. They became really cool animals, and finally sold. I've seen HORRIBLE Petcos. Definitely agree that people who see those should complain to corporate.

When we ordered animals (it could be different now, but I'm guessing not, because of the corporate aspect) we ordered them off the computer - the intranet. We'd get an availability fax from the supplier, and enter the SKUs into the computer to order them via Petco corporate. Whatever supplier corporate was hooked up with, we got our reptiles from. We were with some smaller companies for a while, then switched to Zoo Med. I think it's dependant on what they can get for the best price. They're constantly checking the competition to see where the can save money on the corporate level. Maybe these days they have contracts - but back then they didn't, and we could order from ZooMed one week, and get reptiles from someone we've never heard of the following week, then back to ZooMed after that. We occasionally had the chance to order some REALLY COOL stuff back then.

I'll be checking the local Petco to see if they have any more $30 exciting colors, but other than that, I plan on buying from a local and/or home breeder from this forum simply to put my money with the "little guy."

The one thing I miss about Maryland is the monthly reptile shows. There's NOTHING here in Colorado. So bummed.