Aldabra? In Washington??

[Floof]

Came across an interesting one on Craigslist today. Located in Olympia, Washington.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/pet/3185976063.html
"aldabra tortoise, we are interested in supplying. This guy is roughly 16" (plus or minus) and in the 30+ pound range. He's taken on a more elongated aldabra shape indicative of being male and has a slight depression on 4th or 5th (he's not in front of my right now) vertebral where the scute actually popped off. Shell underneath is black so the area missing the scute blends in well. Absolutely no shell rot or anything like that - physics caused the scute to pop off as the other scutes were growing into it. This tortoise is healthy as an ox and will eat you out of house and home. Photos to serious inquiries. Asking $ 600 which is a deal for an aldabra this size or I will consider trades for other high end tortoises. "

 

[Kristina]

Physics made the scute pop off?!?! I would have to say, more likely poor husbandry. Odd ad.

 

[EricIvins]

It isn't odd, but the typical scammer add.......Go look at the Aldabra pictures in Google Images.........

 

[Floof]

Yeah, I figured the pics were pulled off Google... Think it's a scam, then? That would probably make more sense than an Aldabra in Washington whose scute "popped off."

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

My first thoughts are SCAM!

 

[feline8]

Sure... a 30+ pound & 16" tortoise can fit right in one hand (first pic)
Scammers these days

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Sure... a 30+ pound & 16" tortoise can fit right in one hand (first pic)
Scammers these days

Glad I'm not the only one who thought that looked off.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

not to mention the $600 price tag. WAY too good of a deal.

 

[wellington]

I thought the same thing, SCAM. They always seem to say "high end" with either what they want or what they are selling.

 

[Yvonne G]

The wording is also a clue..." we are interesting in supplying..." Not selling, but supplying. I sort of even doubt they're in Washington.

 

[Laura]

30# and he is holding it in his hand....
I wonder what kind of reply I will get....

 

[Floof]

The wording is also a clue..." we are interesting in supplying..." Not selling, but supplying. I sort of even doubt they're in Washington.

Good eye! I hardly even noticed the strange wording there.

 

[chase thorn]

Same photo as the ald on tortoise supply...http://www.tortoisesupply.com/baby-aldabra-tortoise/

 

[Floof]

Same photo as the ald on tortoise supply...http://www.tortoisesupply.com/baby-aldabra-tortoise/

The picture part didn't strike me as all that odd because people on Craigslist frequently seem to pull up whatever picture is on the internet, rather than going to the trouble of taking pictures of their own to post.

The odd part of the photo thing, to me, is that he uses pics from Google and then states in the ad that he DOES have pictures--"Photos to serious inquiries"--which begs the question of why he didn't just put those up. Thinking about it now (before, I shrugged it off and ignored it), that DOES pretty strongly suggest "scam," doesn't it?

 

[dmmj]

He could just be a giant. Scam, I can think of several ways to make this scam work.