Pet Store Tortoise Diet

LoutheRussian

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I just went down to the local pet store at the end of the block to ask if they carried Mazzuri tort pellets and was a little surprised to see a Russian tortoise for sale. It’s the first time I have seen one there. They are asking $130 for the little female they have. I wasn’t to shocked at the price but what got me was what was in the food dish. It looked like watermelon but to be sure I asked what they were feeding her. The employee, who is a sulcata owner, told me that Russians eat watermelon, carrot, Romain lettuce, crickets, meal worms and a variety of other fruits. I looked at the guy and told him that wasn’t a very healthy diet for the little thing and he started to give me **** about asking for the Mazzuri. I laughed at him and told him that occasionally feeding a few tort pellets isn’t an unhealthy part of a varied diet. I then tried to explain that Russians aren’t meant to have such large amounts of sugar as they aren’t able to break it down and digest it vary well. I told him that only offering watermelon in its food dish wasn’t a good idea but of course I’m just some idiot off the street who clearly doesn’t know a damn thing. If I had had the extra money to blow I’d have brought her home with me and tried to care for her properly.
 

wellington

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I think you shouldn't give up on educating them. Print the caresheet and maybe talk to the owner of the store. They probably think that this person knows what he's/she's doing and it's clear they don't.
 

I_love_tortoises

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You should go to the store and give them a care guide on how to take care a Russian tortoise.
 

LoutheRussian

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Sugar and protein. Oh dear. These encounters are always frustrating, aren’t they? :(

Very much so, I don’t pretend to be an expert in tortoises by any means but when I first got Lou years ago I went down the rabbit hole learning how to care for the little guy that was dumped upon me. Thanks to this forum I learned so much about Russian tortoise husbandry and when I see someone not providing good care for one I do my best to educate them. Trouble is people don’t like to be told they are wrong and especially don’t like being told by some customer off the street that they are doing their job wrong.
 

Tom

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Trouble is people don’t like to be told they are wrong and especially don’t like being told by some customer off the street that they are doing their job wrong.

No they don't, but it needs to be said. I do my best to be diplomatic and approach each individual in the way I think will get the best result. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail. Sometimes they say" thanks" and sometimes they say "get the f*** out". Either way they need to hear it, and I'm going to keep trying.

Glad I'm not the only one.
 

LoutheRussian

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No they don't, but it needs to be said. I do my best to be diplomatic and approach each individual in the way I think will get the best result. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail. Sometimes they say" thanks" and sometimes they say "get the f*** out". Either way they need to hear it, and I'm going to keep trying.

Glad I'm not the only one.

Like you I try to be diplomatic and humble in my approach most times. I was so taken aback when he told me they feed crickets and watermelon that I said “oh wow that’s not a very healthy diet.” Before I could stop myself
 

Tom

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Like you I try to be diplomatic and humble in my approach most times. I was so taken aback when he told me they feed crickets and watermelon that I said “oh wow that’s not a very healthy diet.” Before I could stop myself
In time the info will get to them. They just need to hear it from enough people, and hear it from whoever they perceive to be the right people.
 

jakskillz

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I only know one pet store that properly feeds its reptiles. All tortoises are fed a pellet diet with occasional fresh veggies. All the employees own multiple reptiles themselves and answer any questions.
However I will say some local and most big chain pet stores provide little to no accurate info when it comes to their pets. Some employees care but many just don’t. For every person that keeps their tortoise in perfect conditions there are 5 more that just follow the basic instructions they got at the store which most times is incorrect. It’s sad that not everyone knows they should do their own research on needs and not to trust everything a pet store employee will say (they are salesmen first). I’ve made a list below of things I’ve overheard at stores over the years.

- box turtles need romaine lettuce and mealworms only
- if it dies in 14 days just bring it back and get a new one! (A very skinny bearded dragon)
- they only need a basking heat lamp and just give them this calcium powder
- yeah this 20 gallon tall terrarium is perfect for an adult tortoise
- only feed once a week (juvenile turtle)

My favorite has to be the employee listing off the care for a box turtle. It wasn’t terrible advice and the person seemed like they really wanted it. I had to walk up though and let them know the advice seemed great and all but that the box turtle they were looking at was a Russian tortoise and needs a completely different diet than a box turtle.
 

Yvonne G

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S
I just went down to the local pet store at the end of the block to ask if they carried Mazzuri tort pellets and was a little surprised to see a Russian tortoise for sale. It’s the first time I have seen one there. They are asking $130 for the little female they have. I wasn’t to shocked at the price but what got me was what was in the food dish. It looked like watermelon but to be sure I asked what they were feeding her. The employee, who is a sulcata owner, told me that Russians eat watermelon, carrot, Romain lettuce, crickets, meal worms and a variety of other fruits. I looked at the guy and told him that wasn’t a very healthy diet for the little thing and he started to give me **** about asking for the Mazzuri. I laughed at him and told him that occasionally feeding a few tort pellets isn’t an unhealthy part of a varied diet. I then tried to explain that Russians aren’t meant to have such large amounts of sugar as they aren’t able to break it down and digest it vary well. I told him that only offering watermelon in its food dish wasn’t a good idea but of course I’m just some idiot off the street who clearly doesn’t know a damn thing. If I had had the extra money to blow I’d have brought her home with me and tried to care for her properly.
Sounds like this pet store person is thinking this is a box turtle. Quite a few people call Russian tortoises "Russian box turtle." It might be a good idea to print off a Russian tortoise care sheet and take it to them.
 

Oxalis

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Like you I try to be diplomatic and humble in my approach most times. I was so taken aback when he told me they feed crickets and watermelon that I said “oh wow that’s not a very healthy diet.” Before I could stop myself
My husband and coworkers know all too well that tact is not my strong suit, and I can say that PetCo employees have not always responded to my inquiries in a manner that suggests their best intentions are for the animals' well-being. But someone should still up for these little guys. Perhaps we should start passing out links to Tortoise Forum? ;)
 

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