An Option Other Than The Petition

[Q'sTortie]

So after reading everyone's reply to the Petition for stopping Pet smart and Petco. I kind of just came up with idea I would like to share with everyone. Just to let you know its just an idea I came up with a few minutes ago with no research or anything done since. I just want to get peoples input so we can see all the good, bad, and plausible points about it. I AM SOOOOO SORRY I WROTE SO MUCH, ITS SO LONG! I had to get what I was thinking out.

So since we all love tortoises and frown on wild caught specimens, I always see a thread on here about people sharing that they saw the poor care of tortoises at pet shops. We all would love to end the world wide import/exports of wild caught creatures but its not easy because the world revolves around money pretty much. I'm sure there are many people/groups working right now to end this but as a no body to the international pet trade I can't say I can do anything because words of concern is not as powerful as money.

So while the end to WC specimens is in the future why not take some action that hits home right now? It sucks that animals are being taken from the wild but why not provide the best captive environment as possible for them now that they are here? As a passionate owner, im here on TFO everyday to learn but that doesn't mean EVERY tortoise owner will do that research. So why not educate those that are just stepping into the world of tortoise ownership? As any person looking for a new pet, I admit I relied on the words of the person selling me the animal. Not many people will go and do more research. Also, sometimes you are given too much info at one time so its hard to remember. My solution?

Why don't we make a TFO care brochure/pamphlet for the different tortoise available at pet stores? We can include our up to date info with pictures and references to different sources for supply and info. Then we can print it out and go to the different stores and place them next to the animals. I've been to doctors office, stores and restaurants that has many different flyers and business cards from others people and places so I don't see why we can't do it too. We can talk to the managers about putting it their store and a reason to convince them to say yes is that we add pictures and suggested things in our brochure that is available at their store and we are not advertising anything, just doing it out of care and concern for the animals. For example the coco coir bricks are sold at Petco and Pet smart and everyone on TFO likes it too. I don't see why anyone would say no about free info brochures about the animals they sell. This way the buyers has some basic written info they can bring home and refer to. Since there are people all over the globe on TFO we can cover a lot of ground and gain new members.

Now there are issues with this idea of course.
- Not everyone here is super rich to be printing lots of copies to distribute.
- I see the big chain stores saying yes but I wonder how the mom n pop shops will take it. For that matter, they sell books there and how do they know we are giving good info?
- Is there really a basic amount of info that can be given to a beginner or is there too much to fit on both sides of a regular printer paper?
- We need a team of volunteers to help put this thing together and our administrators to place these documents on TFO for people to print it out.
- How often should we update it?

Overall just an idea. Does anyone else see how this will or will not work out and how the issues can be resolved?

 

[dmmj]

I hope you don't feel like I was jumping all over you, you want to stop something like that best thing to do is hit them in the pocket book.

 

[wellington]

Sounds like a great idea. However, in order to get our info into people's hands, we would have to have the pet stores get rid of the bad pamphlets they already have. Oh, the books would have to go too, as they suck also, otherwise, it's just our word against all the others word. We know that TFO info is the best, but non members don't. Heck, even some of TFO members still do things wrong or by the way of other sites, even though they say they have been lurking for some time. You still find people using pellets as a substrate, or asking if they need water every day, ugh I would love it to work, keep working on it. I think you have a great idea and a great start. If we all printed out our own, off of a sticky, it wouldn't cost any one person much.

 

[Jacqui]

Actually the Mom and Pops may be more open to the idea, the big chain stores can only give out things that corporate allows as a general rule. However, most of the chain stores also have billboards where you can post items/animals for free. Why not make a flyer advertising where they can go to learn more about their tortoises instead? These same big chain stores normally allow folks to set up tables and sit and educate the public, how about doing that?

The list is endless in ways to get involved and to help individual folks and their tortoises. They all require an investment mainly in time, but the rewards are great. If you can help even just one person or one tortoise, isn't that what it is all about? The start of spreading important information one tortoise at a time. Like tossing a stone into a calm pond, the ripple starts and more join in.

Remember too, not only the stores, but at other pet get togethers and educational events, schools, 4H/boy scout. girl scout/ect groups, expos, just to start you out with a few ideas. I will also say, once you start doing those kinds of things at those chain pet stores, the managers start listening a lot more seriously to your comments and will point folks your way.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I am actually in the process of writing an article for tortoises. Its somewhat generalized, not targeting any species in particular, but covers a lot of what I personally have learned from this site; issues like humid and how it relates to reptiles.

I'm not sure exactly what I plan to do with it; it may end up as an article on my blog. Its already too lengthy to be considered a handout, although I supposed it could be condensed.
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I see the big chain stores saying yes but I wonder how the mom n pop shops will take it.

Just the opposite actually. The big chains have policies and approved handouts and care guides. They will not just start distributing information that someone brought them off the street. Everything is gone through an exhaustive (if not poorly done) approval process before they authorize "Care Sheet A for Anoles" to be on the shelf.

- Is there really a basic amount of info that can be given to a beginner or is there too much to fit on both sides of a regular printer paper?

My opinion is that one page caresheets are not effective. Husbandry is always changing and you can't fit all the relevant information on a single page. And most of the time, people are darn lazy and won't read it. They may take it to be polite, but it will end up on the floorboard of their car or their trashcan before the day is over. The few people who ARE willing to read a caresheet are just as likely to jump on the computer and do more research and find a site like this one.

- We need a team of volunteers to help put this thing together and our administrators to place these documents on TFO for people to print it out.

You;d be surprised how hard it is to find volunteers when push comes to shove.

- How often should we update it?

Again...see comments above.

 

[shellysmom]

I think you're on the right track with getting the word out about TFO, but maybe not with pet stores like Petco and Petsmart...

 

[Tom]

For the record, I, and many others here, do not frown on wild caught animals at all. Wild caught animals are the back bone and life line of our hobby and passion.

I do frown on bad shippers, or too many of a given species being removed from the wild. I frown on poor care and handling during any step of the process, including the end user.

I applaud your efforts to do something about it. We all do things in our own way. I talk to a lot of people about this, including the big breeders, and first time owners. I spend hours here on the forum doing posts, new threads, and answering PMs form people asking for help. (you people know who you are! ) We all do things our own way and contribute where we can. I see no harm in your attempts to make things better, and I hope you succeed.

 

[ra94131]

For the record, I, and many others here, do not frown on wild caught animals at all. Wild caught animals are the back bone and life line of our hobby and passion.

100% agree. All of our animals started as wild caught and a continued influx of these specimens keeps the captive population diverse and healthy. (For reference, look at some Australian species in the US that have begun to visibly diverge from their wild counterparts due to trade restrictions. Carpet Pythons are a good example of this.)

Of course everything should be handled with due caution, from collection and shipping to proper quarantine and responsible breeding. The goal shouldn't be to eliminate or restrict these animals, but to educate all handlers of these animals in both conservation (where necessary) and appropriate captive care.