pet stores

[Ronald Crum]

we will soon be moving to Pedasi, we have several pets and different variety’s our chameleon needs to eat crickets, does anyone know if you can buy crickets to feed to reptiles? Do they sell crickets at a pet store? We also have a tortoise he eats kale and yellow squash and zucchini, will we be able to buy these fresh? we know that we may have to drive to Los Tablis or Chitre, Thanks for your help. Ron

[COUNTRY EXPERT – LINDA CARD]

Hi Ron- Happy Holidays!

There is no shortage of fresh veggies to feed your critters here in Panama. It may be hard to find kale in Pedasi, but you may find “acelga” which is like Swiss chard. I get it at the grocery store in David and it’s delicious and very healthy! Zucchini is common here, but not yellow squash. Of course you could grow your own, which might be a good plan for you if your pets are finicky eaters.

As for the crickets, that’s a good question! I have never seen them packaged for animal consumption, but then I’ve never looked. They may be something you need to order from home, so I suggest you bring a supply with you when you come.

You will find animal supply and pet stores in Chitre and Las Tablas. The Melo Company has stores all over Panama with a wide variety of animal-related products.

It’s fairly simple to bring cats and dogs to Panama, as long as you follow all the steps and meet the time frames. You can read more about this here: http://internationalliving.com/country_clubs/panama/moving-to-panama/#pets
and here: https://www1.internationalliving.com/pdfs/BringingYourPetsToPanama.pdf

Bringing other types of animals to Panama (e.g. not dogs or cats) is more complicated so be sure to research this before you bring them. You may want to consult with an attorney to get the details about this. If you don’t already have an attorney in Panama you may want to contact legal expert Rainelda Mata-Kelly. Here’s her contact info:

Rainelda Mata-Kelly (Law Offices Rainelda Mata-Kelly), Street address: Suite 406-407, Tower B, Torres de las Americas, Punta Pacifica, City of Panama. Mailing address: P.O. Box 0818-00534, Panama City, Republic of Panama; tel. +507 263-4305; fax +507 264-2868; e-mail: rmk@mata-kelly.com; website: http://www.mata-kelly.com.

Best of luck with your plans! Linda

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