I received an e-mail from a pet store worker who is knowledgable about
iguanas and was offended by the paragraph in my iguana guide where I
advise people to not use pet stores as a source of accurate information.
Here is my answer.


> I was kind of insulted by what you said about people who work in pet stores.
> I admit that I don't know everything that there is to know about iguanas,
> but I have to say that I do know a bit.

I softened the paragraph a little bit, but the sad fact is that you
are a breath of fresh air in a profession that has an awful lot of
stale air in it.  I've visited several pet stores in my area, posing
as a potential customer, and asked about owning an iguana.  All but
one gave absolutely garbage information, with no hint that they didn't
know what they were talking about.  They were confident and helpful,
but totally mis-educated.

The one store that at least had a clue still gave *fatally* incorrect
information.  For example, the worker knew that UV light was vital for
iguanas.  But she recommended a neodymium "full spectrum" incandescent.
This bulb does not produce the necessary UV-B radiation.  When I tried to
correct her (politely, I thought), she was not interested in hearing
about current research or anything else.  She assured me that she knew
of many iguanas that had lived for many years that way.  (She also had
outdated information about nutrition requirements.)

My experience is duplicated with the stories from countless iguana
owners who learned the truth, often the hard way through the death of
their iguanas.  I get an average of 10 e-mails a week from people,
and very very few of them received accurate information from the pet
store.

Alas, you are living proof that generalizations are unfair.  But as long
as store workers like you are a small minority, I find it necessary to
use the blanket statement.


> At good petstores the employees
> will tell you that they don't know the answer to your question and refer
> you to a store that knows more.

Actually, I've found that virtually all pet store workers are basically
honest and well-meaning.  The problem is that most of them get their
information from inaccurate sources - either outdated booklets or other
mis-informed employees.  If a worker were taught that romain lettuce made
a good food base for iguanas, he wouldn't say that he didn't know the
answer to a food question and refer the customer to a different source.
He *does* know the answer, but that knowledge is faulty.  You have an
honest worker doing what he thinks is the right thing.

As well-informed people, you and I could enter a store and quickly
identify those workers who knew what they were talking about.  But
what is a newbie supposed to do?  If they knew enough to identify
the knowledgeable workers, they probably wouldn't NEED the knowledgable
workers.

The problem is a difficult one.  I know I'm being unfair to some people
like you, but in the interest of helping new iguanas and their owners,
I'm afraid that my advice stays, although somewhat re-worded to hopefully
make it a little less offensive.

I hope you understand, even if you don't necessarily agree.
Steve