Petco Ig Update

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Posted by Diana on January 22, 2001 at 23:27:46:

Today, I saw a sad, sad sight when I went into Petco to rescue the female iguana I've posted messages about recently. I went in to see if I could adopt her, and found her sitting in her own poop and urates, her mouth was black with what looked to be mouth rot, and her vent was crusty and poop-covered. She felt rubbery when I picked her up, was really thin and boney, and had a sharply broken rib poking out, and her belly was wrinkly from dehydration. She was weak, and almost seemed to move in slow motion. She wouldn't eat when I offered her some of the lettuce (yes, lettuce, not collards) they had in her dog bowl, and she looked so miserable. It was horrible. Truly horrible. She's so sweet and calm and big--if she could only be in a good home instead of at the pet store.

Just a bit of back ground to the story for those of you who are new here:
I've been visiting this Iguana at Petco where she's on display, but not for sale, for about four months now. Evertime I've gone in I feel sick to my stomach about having to leave her there in that tiny, poopy cage. The first couple of times I went in, she had her "brother" (another ig) to cuddle with, but the last two times I have gone, she's been all alone.

Two times before, she did have some chopped vegies in her bowl, (although some of it was broccoli, a no-no because of the oxalates in it) but today, as well as last Wednesday when I went in, all she had was a some LETTUCE sprinkled with calcium powder on it in a huge dog bowl. Everytime I've gone in, there she is, sitting on her poop covered "repti-bark" substrate with nothing to climb on even if she wanted to. The only thing in her cage other than poop, is a small log for "furniture" and the dog bowl full of water and lettuce. She has absolutely no UV lighting whatsoever, and no heating pad underneath her belly, no humidity (and here in Utah, the air is DRY). She has no pillow or blanket to sleep on, and nothing to stimulate her climbing/exploring needs. I HATED seeing her in these conditions.

What happened when I tried to get them to let me care for her?
They said no. I talked to the manager there who said if it was up to him, he'd give her to me on the spot. However, he said he had to call his boss, who sadly said "No". His reasons were these: Ever since they took the Iguana in from a man who dumped them off there because he didn't want them anymore, Iguana sales went up. He said he "thinks it's good for business to have a big one on display. It gets the kids interested." (I gasped. So her life is to serve only as a toy to get kids interested in iguanas?) He also said he gets a lot of school groups who come there for field trips and he likes her to be in her cage for them to see, as a sort of display model.

I pointed out to the worker that they were doing a disservice to the customer, who might think that all they have to do if they purchased an Iglet, is follow the store's example and get a glass fish tank and a dog bowl and just put some lettuce sprinkled with calcium powder in it (which was all she had in her bowl to eat, both this time and last week when I went in to see her) and that would do. WRONG! I told him how they need to get UV lights up for her, change her water bowl to one she can actually drink from, and feed her many different fresh chopped vegetables (I told him which ones won't bind her oxalates, and which will provide her with many vitamins she needs).

I stayed and talked to him for a long time, but still, I had to leave her there. I am sad, but I am resolved to go back tomorrow morning and talk to the main guy in charge when he's there for his shift. I refuse to let her die there! I simply can't stand the thoughts of her miserable life ending in those conditions.

I printed of several sheets of Iguana care data and took it in again (I did this several months ago for this same Iguana, but they didn't do a dang thing to change her care as a result.) and he asked me to "highlight just the most important things because we don't have a lot of time to devote to reading about just how to take care of HER."

The whole thing depresses me, and I could sure use some help from anyone who has any "teeth". By that I mean, buy anyone who can guide me through letting them know I'm serious about this.

Is anyone out there a part of any organization that can back me up? I need to give my position some "bite"; I need to be able to say to them that "I've contacted "such and such" a group, and they said to give her to me or they'll contact your corporate headquarters and report you to the ASPCA" (or something similar)

Do I have any recourse here? What should I do? I WILL take it to whatever level I have to, and even contact the corporate people if I have to, although I'm not at all sure about how to go about it all.

If anyone can or wants to help walk me through this, here's the number where I can be reached until late tonight: (Feel free to call LATE--seriously, I won't be sleeping with her on my mind.) (801) 226-3614
Or, you can leave a message at (801) 621-9429 and I'll get back to you. Better yet, can email me privately and provide me with your number and I'll call you on my dime.
Thanks again to all of you who've shown support, care, and sympathy for this little ig and for what she's going through. I just feel I need to make them see that she will die in their care, and that it's in their best interest to give her up to me before I have to involve more people.

I wish I had better news for you...maybe tomorrow night.
Your prayers and thoughts are welcomed and requested,
Thanks,
Diana
(and sadly, just Habib (my Ig) for now, anyway. Who knows? By this time tommorow night, I may have her safely here with me! (Trying to stay positive here...)

Follow Ups:

Been watching!! {{{Best Wishes}}} n/p Allys Mom 01/25/01 (0)
Curious, how much is he selling the ig for? phantoms 01/23/01 (7)
- AHHHGH!!!!!!! Tmom 01/23/01 (0)
- Re: Curious, how much is he selling the ig for? Mr. D 01/23/01 (0)
- How dare you, phantoms! Dishy 01/23/01 (1)
  - Thanks too, to Dishy! Diana 01/23/01 (0)
- Re: Curious, how much is he selling the ig for? Diana 01/23/01 (0)
- For Phantom Ig Chick 01/23/01 (1)
  - My thanks to Ig Chick Diana 01/23/01 (0)
check your mail and contact me ASAP Diana n/m Ig Chick 01/23/01 (0)
Check your mail girl!! and Best of Luck! nm jif 01/23/01 (0)
Diana, too bad you can't do like those pie throwing people..... JNelson 01/23/01 (1)
- Pie throwing people..... Diana 01/23/01 (0)

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: Today, I saw a sad, sad sight when I went into Petco to rescue the female iguana I've posted messages about recently. I went in to see if I could adopt her, and found her sitting in her own poop and urates, her mouth was black with what looked to be mouth rot, and her vent was crusty and poop-covered. She felt rubbery when I picked her up, was really thin and boney, and had a sharply broken rib poking out, and her belly was wrinkly from dehydration. She was weak, and almost seemed to move in slow motion. She wouldn't eat when I offered her some of the lettuce (yes, lettuce, not collards) they had in her dog bowl, and she looked so miserable. It was horrible. Truly horrible. She's so sweet and calm and big--if she could only be in a good home instead of at the pet store. : Just a bit of back ground to the story for those of you who are new here: : I've been visiting this Iguana at Petco where she's on display, but not for sale, for about four months now. Evertime I've gone in I feel sick to my stomach about having to leave her there in that tiny, poopy cage. The first couple of times I went in, she had her "brother" (another ig) to cuddle with, but the last two times I have gone, she's been all alone. : Two times before, she did have some chopped vegies in her bowl, (although some of it was broccoli, a no-no because of the oxalates in it) but today, as well as last Wednesday when I went in, all she had was a some LETTUCE sprinkled with calcium powder on it in a huge dog bowl. Everytime I've gone in, there she is, sitting on her poop covered "repti-bark" substrate with nothing to climb on even if she wanted to. The only thing in her cage other than poop, is a small log for "furniture" and the dog bowl full of water and lettuce. She has absolutely no UV lighting whatsoever, and no heating pad underneath her belly, no humidity (and here in Utah, the air is DRY). She has no pillow or blanket to sleep on, and nothing to stimulate her climbing/exploring needs. I HATED seeing her in these conditions. : What happened when I tried to get them to let me care for her? : They said no. I talked to the manager there who said if it was up to him, he'd give her to me on the spot. However, he said he had to call his boss, who sadly said "No". His reasons were these: Ever since they took the Iguana in from a man who dumped them off there because he didn't want them anymore, Iguana sales went up. He said he "thinks it's good for business to have a big one on display. It gets the kids interested." (I gasped. So her life is to serve only as a toy to get kids interested in iguanas?) He also said he gets a lot of school groups who come there for field trips and he likes her to be in her cage for them to see, as a sort of display model. : I pointed out to the worker that they were doing a disservice to the customer, who might think that all they have to do if they purchased an Iglet, is follow the store's example and get a glass fish tank and a dog bowl and just put some lettuce sprinkled with calcium powder in it (which was all she had in her bowl to eat, both this time and last week when I went in to see her) and that would do. WRONG! I told him how they need to get UV lights up for her, change her water bowl to one she can actually drink from, and feed her many different fresh chopped vegetables (I told him which ones won't bind her oxalates, and which will provide her with many vitamins she needs). : I stayed and talked to him for a long time, but still, I had to leave her there. I am sad, but I am resolved to go back tomorrow morning and talk to the main guy in charge when he's there for his shift. I refuse to let her die there! I simply can't stand the thoughts of her miserable life ending in those conditions. : I printed of several sheets of Iguana care data and took it in again (I did this several months ago for this same Iguana, but they didn't do a dang thing to change her care as a result.) and he asked me to "highlight just the most important things because we don't have a lot of time to devote to reading about just how to take care of HER." : The whole thing depresses me, and I could sure use some help from anyone who has any "teeth". By that I mean, buy anyone who can guide me through letting them know I'm serious about this. : Is anyone out there a part of any organization that can back me up? I need to give my position some "bite"; I need to be able to say to them that "I've contacted "such and such" a group, and they said to give her to me or they'll contact your corporate headquarters and report you to the ASPCA" (or something similar) : Do I have any recourse here? What should I do? I WILL take it to whatever level I have to, and even contact the corporate people if I have to, although I'm not at all sure about how to go about it all. : If anyone can or wants to help walk me through this, here's the number where I can be reached until late tonight: (Feel free to call LATE--seriously, I won't be sleeping with her on my mind.) (801) 226-3614 : Or, you can leave a message at (801) 621-9429 and I'll get back to you. Better yet, can email me privately and provide me with your number and I'll call you on my dime. : Thanks again to all of you who've shown support, care, and sympathy for this little ig and for what she's going through. I just feel I need to make them see that she will die in their care, and that it's in their best interest to give her up to me before I have to involve more people. : I wish I had better news for you...maybe tomorrow night. : Your prayers and thoughts are welcomed and requested, : Thanks, : Diana : (and sadly, just Habib (my Ig) for now, anyway. Who knows? By this time tommorow night, I may have her safely here with me! (Trying to stay positive here...)

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