ht. Oh no what have I done....

[Jenni]

Seriously!

Started out with a love for tortoises... based on looks, honestly. I mean really, how CUTE can they be, especially babies. We have friends with 60-80lb+ torts who are just AWESOME.

Then there's like - take the kids to the zoo and "Awww... look at that baby sulcata! Have you ever seen anything so perfect in your life?? You know, Allison has them, had them for years, I think she has 4... remember I showed you that pic of them in the yard eating the pumpkins? She has to bring them all down in the basement during winter?....."

Then there's - "Babe, look at this, I can buy one for $200. Right here in Chicago. Look it, all we need to do is commit to a life long pet and pass him down to the kids when we die and feed him weeds..."

Then there's - "OMG, so glad we came to this reptile house and bought him...let's get his new home figured out and then we'll come get him and bring him home!"

Then there's - "So I read online I should make a humidity box?"
Reptile House- "Yeah, I mean I guess it won't hurt to do that."

Then there's - Reptile House told me to get hay and these veggies and soak him once or twice a week. Give him some plants from the local grocer... it'll be great.

Then there's: Sorry, gonna be late, stopping to get Duke all kinds of dandelion, kale, collard, turnip and mustard greens....

Then there's: Wow, look at him, JUST LOOK AT HIM! All hanging out in his new place, so much better than where he came from... he has "real" food now. Look at the little "salad" I made for him.

Then there's: Do you think he's warm enough? Let me look at Amazon and see what has good reviews...

Then there's: Does his shell feel soft to you?

Then there's: Why isn't he up and around? He's probably just nervous and scared, I mean I get it. I would be too. New place, new food... new everything. It's only been 2 weeks...

Then there's: Do you think his eyes look okay? I'm being paranoid. Let me call the Reptile House. Oh, everything seems normal? Okay... cool.

Then there's: !!PANIC!! Did anyone notice if he ate yesterday??

Then there's: GOOGLE: Shell is soft, what do I do??

Then there's: "Babe, THANK GOD we have baby food in the house. I have to make a soak of warm water and sweet potato baby food, make sure he's getting nutrients, read it on Google...

Then there's: "Hi, remember me? I bought a Leopard Tortoise from you 3 weeks ago...he doesn't look good. He's lethargic, I can't get him to eat... I'm super worried..... bring him in? Okay. You'll replace him? Why? Is he not going to make it? I don't want a replacement.... "

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<WTF>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Then there's: Driving to the the reptile house at 50mph in a 30.... baby Duke wrapped in a baby towel (From my 9 month old son) Keeping the windows rolled down since it's 90 degrees outside....

Then there's: Parking. Checking on baby Duke. No response. Touch his baby legs. Touch his little baby head... nothing. NOTHING.

Then there's: Me- Standing at the counter in tears. Baby tort, my Duke, set on the counter in my baby's cloth...
Reptile House: " Oh yeah, he's gone."


No.



"Really?"



" ______, come here, feel this guy, he weighs nothing."
Guy comes over....
"Yep, he's too light. No wonder he's dead" (Looks at me suspiciously, accusingly.) Give her a deal on another.

Then there's- "Me- No.... No, no. no..... (through the tears....) But I did everything I was supposed to... "

Reptile House- "Okay, you know what, it's ok.

(Motions for another guy to come over)- "Just get her a new one."

Guy takes me over to pick a new one, any age or species I wanted..

"I'm sorry I'm shaking so badly.."
"It's okay" he tells me
"Look at these guys, shells are good... you can see they are eating just fine..."


I chose one of two leopards that were left. I chose the one that looked most like Duke in the face, shell was completely different, but ****, I don't care.


There's much more to the story for anyone who cares to hear it. But this is how I ended up here, on this forum, with Peanut.

Thank you all for being so welcoming.

About me:
I'm pissed
I'm trying to do best by this baby
I'm not perfect
I have resting ***** face
You will LOVE me or HATE me
I'm not trying to be anyone's friend
I respect the ones, so far, that have given me amazing advice and feedback
I want to make this new baby's life as perfect as possible. Money will not be an issue.


Thank you all-

Sincerely,
Your new, most annoying honest tort friend

 

[Melis]

Just keep doing what you're doing. My friends thought I was crazy for even considering a couple thousand dollar surgery for my tort. And then thought I was even more nuts when I had a feeding tube inserted in order to get her strong enough for the surgery. All this while knowing a good outcome wasn't likely, which unfortunately, it wasn't. But this is what we do when we decide to care for a living thing. Whether it was your couple month old baby, or my 11 year old. Everyone here seems so great, and I only wish I had found this forum years ago. You're doing a great job for your baby.

(And I also suffer from RBF, so I feel for you on that too. Lol)

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Jenni:

You'll find that following the advice you get from folks here on the Forum, and reading and practicing what you've read, the stickies at the top of the leopard section, you'll be raising a happy, healthy tortoise!

 

[Jenni]

Just keep doing what you're doing. My friends thought I was crazy for even considering a couple thousand dollar surgery for my tort. And then thought I was even more nuts when I had a feeding tube inserted in order to get her strong enough for the surgery. All this while knowing a good outcome wasn't likely, which unfortunately, it wasn't. But this is what we do when we decide to care for a living thing. Whether it was your couple month old baby, or my 11 year old. Everyone here seems so great, and I only wish I had found this forum years ago. You're doing a great job for your baby.

(And I also suffer from RBF, so I feel for you on that too. Lol)

Ugh... sorry to hear about your tortoise. I wish I could just stop being so anxious and paranoid about this one. I can't even enjoy him because I'm too worried.

Last night, I had a couple glasses of wine and think I just needed to vent and complain. Probably not the right place lol.

 

[Tom]

Last night, I had a couple glasses of wine and think I just needed to vent and complain. Probably not the right place lol.

This is the right place. We're all here to talk torts. The good and the bad. You sharing your story here might help someone else to avoid the troubles you've seen. If nothing else, other people that are in your position, or have been there, can sympathize.

This is why I made "Buying your tortoise from the wrong source…") #1 on the Beginner Mistakes thread. I wish we could figure out how to reach people before they buy a baby that was started with the typical disastrous dry routine. I wish there was a way to get more people to stop doing the dry routine!!! I mean really, how hard is it to put some babies in a tub of warm water once a day??? Even when I'm doing 100 babies at a time, its not that big of a deal...

 

[Clamhandsmcgee]

Definitely the right place to vent! If that pet store was close to me, I would politely tell them the proper way to raise their tortoises.

I did the same thing 10 years ago when I cared for my desert tortoise! I thought, it's a desert tortoise! I should keep it dry and hot. Thankfully I found this forum along with experienced tortoise keepers to learn from. I can tell from your posts that you care, and I'm sure little peanut will do great.