Dragon Slayers: Necrotic Wounds, Injured Limbs, and No Care

Is it a shock that sentient beings destined for pet stores are casually denied water, denied veterinary care when injured, and kept in plastic bins like nuts and bolts in a hardware store? One worker at a mega-facility that provides reptiles for the pet industry, including for PetSmart, saw all this and more – and decided not to keep quiet.

The whistleblower, who worked at Reptiles by Mack – an Ohio breeding factory and supplier to “pet”-sales outlets in the U.S. – contacted PETA about miserable, life-threatening conditions for thousands of bearded dragons warehoused there.

The whistleblower described little dragons who were denied even their most basic necessities and left to suffer from severe injuries. They were found dead by the dozens.

Dying for a Drink

Like the rest of us, bearded dragons need water. But in the warehouse where this company confines thousands of them in row after row of barren, plastic tubs, they routinely went without any. Dehydrated dragons desperately tried to lick any smidgen of water left behind after the tubs they were confined to were rinsed out. When the whistleblower sprayed a mist, they ran to it and drank.

Supervisors put down hundreds of dragons in one eight-week period.

‘Every Single’ Dragon Had a Virus

Many bearded dragons at Reptiles by Mack shook and twitched violently. A supervisor attributed the symptoms to an adenovirus – a highly contagious virus spread by poor sanitation – which he said “every single” dragon at the facility had contracted and which can lead to liver and kidney disease, encephalitis, and other painful conditions. Reptiles by Mack took no measures to contain the virus or quarantine animals housed with those who’d shown symptoms of illness.

Bearded dragons were often found lethargic, emaciated, or suffering from other conditions, including what seemed to be yellow fungus disease – which causes skin ulcerations and is potentially fatal – and “mouth rot,” a bacterial infection that can invade the animals’ jaw bones.

A ‘Little PETA Question’

The whistleblower reported routinely finding dead animals. Some dragons’ remains were completely desiccated – indicating that they’d been dead for a while – while worms ate holes in others. Supervisors put down hundreds of dragons in one eight-week period. When asked how the animals were killed, a supervisor replied that it was a “little PETA question,” saying that the animals were gassed for up to 10 minutes.

In their natural Australian habitats, bearded dragons can climb, bask in the sun, and cool off underground. They prefer their own company. Unable to escape the crowded conditions at Reptiles by Mack, stressed dragons often fought, resulting in severe wounds, including missing toes.

Instead of seeking immediate care for injured animals, management reportedly instructed the employee to leave them in bins until the facility’s “outside consulting veterinarian” might examine them. The veterinarian often wrote only “time” as the recommended “treatment,” including for a dragon with a necrotic leg, which he said would eventually “fall off.” A supervisor reportedly told staff to leave one dragon to suffer from a severely injured arm, saying that the maimed animal could still be sold as “imperfect.” Baby dragons often hatched deformed. Most were killed, but management evidently intended to auction Timothy and Jimothy – dragons conjoined at the spine – to the highest bidder as curiosities.

PetSmart Buys, Lizards Die

The suffering this whistleblower reported is nothing new. PETA investigated Reptiles by Mack in 2015 and 2016 and found tens of thousands of animals – including frogs, turtles, snakes, bearded dragons, and other lizards – confined to filthy, cramped plastic tubs and deprived of fresh food, water, heat, ultraviolet light, and veterinary care.

Reptiles by Mack staff called our investigative footage “the forbidden video,” and PetSmart still buys animals from this company, despite knowing exactly what misery and painful deaths its purchases support.