Petco: Who Breeds for them?

I know some of my state's leos are bred in Florida. Who supplies the leos to Petco there?

Wanda

I have asked a few of the Petcos around my area because I sometimes see some nice leos. 1 of the places said they order from somewhere in Flordia , another one said Gourmet Rodent and another one didnt know. So I would guess Gourmet Rodent as they are in Flordia I think.

Gourmet Rodent is the only supplier, unless local stores have a contract set up with a local breeder (highly unlikely, as they'd need to produce 50+ every month, year round).

Yes, I could not believe the leo I saw at one of our stores the other day. All white and gray! They also have some stunning jungles every now and then... And then trillions of albinos.

Like many other herp lovers, this is where we got our first animal. We got a tiny, young baby. So small he hid in crevases on decorative rocks in his tank. You could not see him anywhere. He turned out to grow healthy and as he sheded, turns out he has tangerine on his tail too!

So, for all the talk about Petco, it is worth the stop when you are in the area. They have rare colors every now and then, mixed in and selling for exactly the same low price the others sell for!

Wanda

The Petco I go to told me they get a lot of their babies from a local breeder. My two leos were bought when they were only a couple of weeks old. One is a male albino with one orange stripe around his tail. The girl is a high-yellow with some orange on her tail. they are both around 5 months old now and very healthy. I know a lot of people don't like Petco, but the stock I've seen has been pretty healthy. And they have sales all the time - $29.00 for a baby gecko - regardless of the color pattern.

Sue

Petco is very cool. I bought a sub- adult shtct at Petco for only 29.99!!!

Regarding Kellis comment, I'd sure like to know who put down 30,000 leos......

Originally Posted by TopShelfExotics

Regarding Kellis comment, I'd sure like to know who put down 30,000 leos......

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.

Just got back from Petco and picked up a beautiful albino for $20. They're having some special with the "pals" card. Woo hoo.

I am new to buying and selling, and I was very intersted in knowing where my local shops got their pets, so I would not get from the same place.

I asked the Petco close to me, where they get there reptiles. The response I got was "CalZoo" they guy told me that their animals are always sick and they have to send them back.

But I have to agree, with some of the posts Ive seen. There have been alot of nice Geckos latley, recently I seen a couple of Patternless geckos there.

LOL the guy told me it was Jungle, I told him No, they are Patternless.