Audette Adventures: The Pet Store

We have recently added a new reptile member to our family, our bearded dragon Pascal. He and Tilly have many things in common: they both sleep a lot, like warm spots, and enjoy eating bugs. In Pascal's case he actually needs insects as the protein in his diet. As a result I make the long trip to the closest pet store, Petbox, at least once a week for fresh crickets. I have noticed some differences between the large pet store chain in Okinawa and the ones back home.

First of all, however, I need to stand on my soapbox. Petbox does offer dogs for sale, which seems ridiculous in Okinawa where there is a huge population of stray or abandoned dogs and cats. The shelters here are high-kill, and some people will turn in their animals anyway if they are no longer wanted. My kitty was a rescue, and I would highly encourage anyone in Okinawa to save a dog from the shelter instead of purchasing one that was bred for a pet store. You can adopt, foster, or donate to Okinawan animals through Doggies Inc at http://www.doggiesinc.org.

There are also birds, reptiles, rodents, and fish for sale in addition to all of the necessary supplies. We found Pascal at a small, specialty beetle and reptile store where they had raised him to maturity. Petbox only sells baby reptiles which are much harder to care for, but they do sell live crickets in different sizes. The salespeople know who I am now and ask "Crickets?" whenever I enter the reptile section. "Hai!" They count out twenty for me from the huge bin swarming with crickets, and I have time to wander around and look at all of the neat Japanese products.