Pet Store vs Breeder's Leopard Geckos | Where To Buy?

Some helpful links;

I'm not sure if this is just for UK residents, but a great way to find local breeders;

[lightninggaze]

just changed out my sister's cage! We changed the sand to reptile carpet, put in fake plants, put in rocks, made a cold hide for her out of plants, and have her a place to lie eggs when she's old enough. Thank you so much for teatching people what to do, we are working on getting vitamins for her gecko. I wish I watched your videos a few years ago. My gecko passed away from compaction, and my first one (That I got on my birthday when I was really little) Died of not having the right diet. You save lives, like my sister's gecko's. Keep doing what you're doing, and thank you!

[leopardgeckotalk]

@Emily I would suggest crickets over meal worms, they are healthier and easier to digest :)

[jadenwinterpacht]

Hi Rebecca, I bought a leopard gecko at my local Petco on January 13, 2013. I live in America btw, and the gecko's name is Squiggy and she is female. She is very healthy indeed with a plump tail, and a decent sized body. At the time I was 10 years old (now 13) I just want to tell you that not all pet shops are bad, and from my experience, they have healthy lizards. I'm sure a lot of petcos mistreat their reptiles, but I'm very lucky to have a "good" Petco near me!

[nicky]

I went to PetSmart to buy a gecko. When the worker asked me which one I wanted I responded with “I’ll take the tremper albino”. I expected her to give me the one that looked like a starburst. Instead she fired back with “they aren’t albino they’re fancy”

[BananaMike]

important thing to note when you get those cool little decorative hides, the way they're made is they just dump resin into a mold and hollow it out, so there can be all kinds of weird protrusions on the inside. I've actually had to file down a weird sharp spike of hardened resin on the inside of one of those cambodian temple ones I didn't notice when buying it. Make sure to inspect them thoroughly for those things when buying

[ajj]

What breeders did u get ur geckos from because I'm looking to get my own

[shad]

I just wanted to say that I love your videos! You've taught me so much over the years of me watching, and please keep making new ones! Your the best!

[leopardgeckotalk]

@leopardlover they're not from the breeders mentioned actually. I live in uk and the ones I mention are from USA. Three out of four of my geckos are from two different small local breeders, and Diego is from a pet shop.

[reptileguy]

I love your accent. I am from the USA. You make great videos. Keep it up! Adam from Ohio.

[LoryskaEntertainment]

I adopted my gecko at a reptile show from a herpetology fostering agency, and I couldn't be happier. The person I adopted from really seemed to know her stuff; she strongly suggested against sand because of the risk of impaction, that I needed to monitor her after she shed to make sure she got all her skin off, that she didn't need a light and generally a lot of the stuff you talk about. It was really refreshing.

[grimtail]

I have a leopard gecko, I was looking for a gecko breeder but no luck. So I went to the pet shop and got my gecko, at the time I didn't know any better so I got him. he has cross eyes (A clear sigh of careless breeding) and a thinner tail than for what I hoped for. over time I raised him and nursed him back to health, I check his weight daily and feed him every 3 days, gut load his crickets. I took every bit of your advice. Thank you so much! I named my gecko after your gecko "Diego" because you taught me so much. I was only a few steps away from falling for the pet store. Thank you so much :) (Ps I found out they had some leopard geckos in the Humane Society).

[KitKat_Studio]

I got my Smaug from a pet store. He was pretty healthy as were the ones I saw in the enclosure. It definitely depends on the pet shop. Although they were on sand, they had nice tails and their toes. What book was it you were looking through to figure out the morphs?

[someone]

I was really lucky in that the shop I got my gecko from is actually a breeder too. They breed all of their geckos themselves and really know their stuff. A good example of a knowledgeable, respectable independent pet shop. And it really shows in their reviews and the amount of people who travel from miles away to go there.

[CookDugh]

I just got my 1st gecko and I chose petco over breeder simply because his life at petco was not a proper set up and I wanted him to have a better life. He's a baby, and has a long life to live and I hope by following your videos he has a good one now :)

[DARkMAG]

omg! I just need to say that I really love your geckos! especially Diego. he's my favorite and is super cute at the end of this video :)

[Badapdos]

I wish I could've got a gecko from a breeder but I searched everywhere near me and couldn't find one :/ In the end I got my gecko from Pets at home, its ok though because my gecko is healthy and very active. They couldn't tell me if its a boy or girl though.

[matthew]

I got my gecko (Curt Connors) from a petstore after much deliberation. Initially I wanted nothing to do with petstores. But there are no breeders near me. And I'm in college so I didn't want to order online (God knows how well my university's mail men handle this stuff). And craigslist wasn't good at all to me.
Much the annoyance of the employees, I inspected their display to find the healthiest (they had a lot of rarer morphs for rather cheap, so it shows how little they know), and picked out a beautiful snow leopard (I think). He's a little guy, less than a year old (they couldn't give me an exact date). I think the petstore may have changed his sleep schedule since he's awake in the daytime mostly.

But my favorite part of my trip was when one of the employees told me I needed a light for him because "they need the UV rays to be healthy" and I was so close to calling him out on that, among other things (the crickets they fed weren't dusted, and there was no wet hide) but my friend was there and just kind of looked at me so I stayed quiet and told him I already own one (I do, but it's for my hermit crabs, not my leopard gecko). Needless to say I agree wholeheartedly with everything in this video.

[ashblake]

Your videos are amazing. They are very informative and I've learned a lot with your videos about geckos. I am looking into getting a leopard or crested gecko or both. They are beautiful and your videos have really helped me with the tank what they need and everything. I am also subscribed. I just wanted to thank you for the good information and tips on both geckos they are amazing creatures and want to make sure they stay nice, healthy and safe, so thank you.

[zeusgarcia]

One more thing were did you get the leopard morph

[casidilla]

If you’re going to buy from a pet shop, I’d recommend one that specializes in reptiles/amphibians, as the people there will most likely know more about the specifics for caring for a reptile. For large chain pet stores, it’s likely that their reptiles won’t be cared for as well. Just look for bad signs in the terrariums, such as using the incorrect substrate, dirty water bowls, overcrowding, etc. If it looks like they keep their animals in peak conditions, then it’s probably a safe bet to buy from there.