Rescue?

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Meg90

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My sister knows someone who wants to get rid of his tortoise so that he can buy a bus ticket back to Milwaukee.

I told her I would take "him"

But honestly, I don't even know what species it is, or what kind of shape "Sherman" is in....I'm guessing that he is a Russian, but he could be a Greek or Red Foot for all I know. The guy said he was going to sell me everything that I would need to keep him, including his food.

Now, that is the first thing daunting me. I'm guessing food means pellets, and I am anticipating having a problem switching this unknown tortoise to a decent diet. I am also worried about pyramiding...I doubt that this joker knows anything about UVB...one of the reasons my sister is badgering him about the tort at all is because she knows he's not taking proper care of it.

He's supposed to come with his cage and stand too maybe, so I am also anticipating a glass aquarium, and the mental problems that go along with being housed in glass...

I am just so anxious to get a hold of this guy I could pull out my own hair...I was supposed to have him tonight, even went to the ATM so I could pay the guy his cash. But my sister couldn't get a hold of him. So I'm on pins and needles again.

And it really kills me, because this weekend I was out of town, and I convinced my boyfriend to stop at a Petland store, because I wanted to see if they were really as bad as everyone says they are.

It was worse.

They had a 4.5 inch Greek tortoise, a 5 inch male eastern box turtle and a red foot tortoise about 8 or 9 inches long ALL in the same tank. It was probably a 35 gallon long for fish. All that was in there was a water dish, with sides too high to do anyone in there any good, and an empty food dish on top of reptile carpet. Not even a log to hide under, or a substrate to burrow into. It made me sick. Everyone in there looked dehydrated, even the Greek. And I can only imagine the torment of the other two, under a blazing hot basking lamp with no where to hide......

I didn't say anything to the clerks either. We were with my boyfriend's cousin, and his brand new girlfriend and I didn't want to make a scene. I've dreamt of those poor tortoises every night since.

Its killing me that I did nothing. I feel horrible about it...its haunting me. And it makes it even more urgent that I get a hold of this other tortoise. I want to redeem myself if that makes any sense...Though the picture of those poor animals will stay with me forever.



I'll have more details tomorrow I hope.



Part of this was just having to get that off my chest. :(
 

Isa

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Aww Meg,
It must have been horrible to see these poor tortoises and turtle in those conditions :(
Can you call the store and ask to talk to the manager or something and tell him what you saw and let him know what to do to correct the situation? I am sure you would feel much better.
It is really nice what you do for the little one, I can't wait until you tell us he is with you. Sell a tortoise for a bus ticket???? Sherman must be in a bad shape but because of you, he is going to know what it is to be happy and to live a happy tortoise life :)
Please, keep us updated.
 

Seiryu

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All the pet shops like PetSmart and PetCo are pretty bad around here too. When I went to get my substrate and a few other things from PetSmart, there were about 7-8 russians about 4-5" SCL in maybe a 50g tank.

And they had I'd guess 30+ baby leopard geckos in a 20g or so. Too many to actually count, but they were sleeping on top of each other 3-4 geckos high.
 

tortoisenerd

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I don't go to pet stores anymore because it saddens me. I don't think there is much you can do...I have yet to heard of pet store owners listening, and if you buy the torts they just get more. The best you can do is care for your torts and love them like you do! That's so amazing you are taking on the unknown tort. Wow. I hope things turn out ok. Looking forward to an update.
 

Madkins007

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The 'chains' are the worst- they really don't train people a lot and most of the staff are dog or cat people working in other departments. They usually care for animals as they are told by a supervisor,manager or regional manager, and the cares tend to be mediocre across the board.

Pet shops, however, are NOT in the business of caring for their animals- they are trying to display animals for quick sale. They cannot afford big habitats, or to let the animals hide a lot from potential customers.

This is the saving grace- the plan is for a quick sale. Every day the animal is there costs the store money and eats away the profit. The poor torts you saw really SHOULD be gone in a week or so, and one nice thing about chains is that they often move animals store to store so they sell faster.

I am not trying to justify what they are doing, but they are sort of a necessary evil. Most of us got our start in pet-keeping at a pet store, and while I don't buy much there, it would be tougher to keep pets if they went under.

It would be nice if there were more 'mom and pop' pet stores where the owners and employees loved and cared for the animals, but the sad reality is that most of those have gone out of business, and a lot others are worse than the chains.
 
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