Internet Ads and Petstores

[KaitlinKeefe_]

Hey guys,

I was looking online in case there were any local tortoises that needed rehoming for a friend of mine.

MY HEART IS BROKEN

unfortunately there are two russians that need rehoming in Canada... which is too far away for my friend. these poor babies shells are a bit bumpy and they are being rehomed "as a pair" WHATTT russian pair?! someone is defiantly being bullied OR they are in such poor health that they dont care. of course this lead me to look around at classifieds in Vermont and i found so many tortoises in rough shape and whose owners must have been told the wrong advice (or at least i hope this is the case and not sheer negligence).

http://montreal.craigslist.ca/pet/5653948084.html

this leads me to my experience with petstores...

If you havent been to one since owning a tortoise and learning the appropriate way to care for them.. you are in for a SHOCK. they literally have no idea what they are talking about.. i went to Petco the other day to pick up new name tags for my cats and just for fun asked the guy in reptiles about the russian tortoises they had PILED in a TINY, GLASS enclosure. he told me id be fine getting the smaller of two tanks, directed me to coil lights, and said theyd be great in pairs.. we talked for a while and i corrected him on these things and he thanked me and said he had learned this from his training and that hed pass along his new knowledge. it broke my heart to see those little babies piled on top of eachother so stressed out. from my experience the people at pet stores only go off of the knowledge they have and have poor training. if you look at the petco care sheet for russians some of it makes a little sense but alot of it leaves a new tortoise parent to fend for themselves.

http://www.petco.com/content/petco/...r/caresheets/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.html

THAT IS WHY I AM SOOOO THANKFUL FOR THIS FORUM.

all of you, new owners, experienced owners and folks researching before becoming owners, you are all great people thank you for caring so much about your animals it gives me hope for humanity.

 

[dmmj]

I've been keeping Turtles and tortoises now for 30 plus years when I first started there's no such thing as an internet(Al Gore had not invented jt yet) I had to research the old-fashioned way read books read books ask questions read books read books and ask more questions

 

[Big Charlie]

17 years ago I bought Charlie at an independent pet store in Paso Robles CA. (If that breeder is on TFO, I would love to thank him or her for giving me the opportunity to have this marvelous creature in my life.) The breeder had provided the pet store with an instruction sheet. I can't remember exactly what was on it, but I do remember it mentioned soaking him. The pet store sent him home on a wet paper towel so he wouldn't dry out. I remember thinking that they must have thought he was a turtle, since "tortoises are from the desert and like dryness." Luckily, I followed the soaking instructions faithfully, although I did lots of other things wrong.

Chain pet stores are probably the worst when it comes to knowledge. The way they house their hamsters, guinea pigs and birds is pretty dismal too.

Unfortunately in my experience, quite a large percentage of pets are mistreated or neglected or just raised wrong. I met a woman who fed her parrot nothing but tortillas. One of my daughter's friends took her guinea pig into the bathtub with her and didn't understand why it died. A woman once told me she didn't know why her goldfish kept dying; she always added the salt tablets.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

In south Florida Craigslist right now there is someone selling a pair of Redfoot. The ad says that because they eat dog food and can go very long periods with no food or water, that they make easy pets.
The photo shows two horrible looking deformed tortoises.
So far, the seller has not responded to my contacts...
Unfortunately, I think the captive tortoise early mortality rate is very high.

 

[KaitlinKeefe_]

it's just so sad. one of the girls I work with wanted a tortoise for her kids and I talked her out of it and they got a kitten. she didn't realize the amount of care needed. I did my research before I got Randall and I still wasn't prepared for all of the things we've been through but gosh does it make me happy to see where we're at now and how happy and healthy both of my boys are (thanks to all of you!)

 

[KaitlinKeefe_]

I mean come on look at those faces

 

[Speedy-1]

The sad fact is , they are in business to make money. their minimum wage employees are about as well trained as walmart cashiers ! Want to have fun at the walmart checkout ? If the bill is say, 13 dollars give the cashier a twenty and 3 singles . Instead of getting change of 10 dollars , the next person you will be meeting is the Customer Service Manager A.K.A. the only person who can subtract 13 from 23 ! Most of them cant count to 5 without making 6 mistakes !

 

[Gillian M]

I mean come on look at those faces View attachment 181321View attachment 181322

What a CUTE tort!