[split] Does PetsMart sell wild caught or captive bred tortoises?

[Deac77]

Moderator note: I split these posts off of the original thread because they are off topic. The original poster just wanted to know about the unusual coloring on the steppe tortoise they saw in Petsmart. However, it is a good, informative thread and worthy of continuing




Petsmart doesn't take abandoned pets (I'm the head of the reptile And amphibian department there) also most of our reptiles are ALL captive bred we quit supplying wc about a year ago in my store

 

[jeffbens0n]

RE: Check out what I found at Petsmart

Petsmart doesn't take abandoned pets (I'm the head of the reptile And amphibian department there) also most of our reptiles are ALL captive bred we quit supplying wc about a year ago in my store

Interesting...is this on a store by store basis, or something that petsmart is trying to to nationwide? Do you ever have CB russians in your store?

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

RE: Check out what I found at Petsmart

I very very highly doubt that a Russian tort at Petsmart is CB.

 

[Diane Sarvela]

RE: Check out what I found at Petsmart

Petsmart does not get wild tortoises! I know people there and they have breeders they get them from. I have been to quite a few in my area. All the tortoises are very tame and healthy.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

RE: Check out what I found at Petsmart

You're telling me that PETsMART is selling captive-bred green anoles and long-tailed grass lizards for mere $6.99? CB Chinese water dragons for only $35?

Yeah right...

 

[wellington]

RE: Check out what I found at Petsmart

Petsmart does not get wild tortoises! I know people there and they have breeders they get them from. I have been to quite a few in my area. All the tortoises are very tame and healthy.

What area are you in? Because it's not a blanket statement for all Petsmart stores. I have been to the warehouses that the tortoises, fish, lizards, etc come from for my area and some other areas. They are kept in worse conditions in the warehouses then the stores. Some animals, mostly rats, mice, lizards are captive bred in the warehouses but the conditions are not good. However, The likelyhood of them paying breeder prices, well I doubt it. However, if your store does buy them from a breeder, do they ever have any that is small then an adult, like four inches? If not, then they are probably WC. Babies are sold faster then larger adults. If they had a breeder, they would sell smaller ones.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

RE: Check out what I found at Petsmart

From Petsmart's website: http://www.petsmart.com/family/inde...onomy/PET/10794149&fbc=1&fbn=Taxonomy|Reptile

Crocodile gecko - 29.99
Green anole - 7.99
long-tailed lizard - 9.99
Bahaman anole - 7.99
African sideneck turtle - 29.99
green treefrog - 9.99
Russian tortoise - 79.99
Golden gecko - 29.99
Greek tortoise - 82.49
---------

There's no way those species are captive-bred at those prices, especially the geckos, tortoises and the side-neck turtle. If they were, they'd be almost double that price.

---

Petco does have prices listed on their sites, because all live animals are "in-store only" but here's a list of species I know are not captive-bred either:

Chinese water dragon
savannah monitor
tokay gecko
plated lizard
mountain horned dragon
green anole
fire skink
crocodile gecko
African bouncing toad
chubby frog
green tree frog
grey tree frog (those are becoming threatened, don't know how they're getting those!)
Moroccan green toad
red-legged walking frog
African sideneck turtle
Russian tortoise
hermit crabs
millipedes

 

[Q'sTortie]

RE: Check out what I found at Petsmart

You're telling me that PETsMART is selling captive-bred green anoles and long-tailed grass lizards for mere $6.99? CB Chinese water dragons for only $35?

Yeah right...

You are definitely making a good point about the prices. It is definitely hard to believe. What I definitely believe is that the green anoles are WC around here because they are everywhere around this part of Florida. I can even imagine the manager sending some staff outside to catch them when they run out of animals.

 

[Yvonne G]

My grandson is a manager at our local PetsMart and he tells me that they buy their tortoises from a wholesaler in Southern California. I've been to a couple of those wholesalers. They are wild caught tortoises.

 

[mctlong]

I think alot of folks at Petsmart and Petco assume that because the store buys animals from a local dealer, they must be Captive Bred. I bought an RT at Petco in 2008. At that time, the department manager told me that the animal was a baby from a local breeder, but it obviously was not. It was 4" WC. The manager was not trying to be dishonest or anything. The Petco corporate office just didn't tell her that they were purchasing WCs. The store employees do not realize that Petco's dealers are not always breeders, but are sometimes middlemen who are importing and selling WCs.

Bottom line, do your research before entering the petstore and don't expect the in-store employees to know everything about every animal they sell. They mean well, but they don't know the whole story.

 

[poison]

RE: Check out what I found at Petsmart

From Petsmart's website: http://www.petsmart.com/family/inde...onomy/PET/10794149&fbc=1&fbn=Taxonomy|Reptile

Crocodile gecko - 29.99
Green anole - 7.99
long-tailed lizard - 9.99
Bahaman anole - 7.99
African sideneck turtle - 29.99
green treefrog - 9.99
Russian tortoise - 79.99
Golden gecko - 29.99
Greek tortoise - 82.49
---------

There's no way those species are captive-bred at those prices, especially the geckos, tortoises and the side-neck turtle. If they were, they'd be almost double that price.

---

Petco does have prices listed on their sites, because all live animals are "in-store only" but here's a list of species I know are not captive-bred either:

Chinese water dragon
savannah monitor
tokay gecko
plated lizard
mountain horned dragon
green anole
fire skink
crocodile gecko
African bouncing toad
chubby frog
green tree frog
grey tree frog (those are becoming threatened, don't know how they're getting those!)
Moroccan green toad
red-legged walking frog
African sideneck turtle
Russian tortoise
hermit crabs
millipedes

---

there is several pet store in my area that sell them cheaper then that. if any thing those prices are high

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I mean, even tortoise dealers and breeders sell CB Russian babies starting at $150.00, while WC specimens are $70 or less. Compare that is RETAIL mark-up in a petstore? A cb Russian would be at least, $169.99, probably more.

---

there is several pet store in my area that sell them cheaper then that. if any thing those prices are high

It varies. In my town, Petsmart is cheaper, while my LPS is outrageous. They still charge $149.99 for WC Russians!

 

[poison]

I mean, even tortoise dealers and breeders sell CB Russian babies starting at $150.00, while WC specimens are $70 or less. Compare that is RETAIL mark-up in a petstore? A cb Russian would be at least, $169.99, probably more.

---

there is several pet store in my area that sell them cheaper then that. if any thing those prices are high

It varies. In my town, Petsmart is cheaper, while my LPS is outrageous. They still charge $149.99 for WC Russians!

---

ive never seen a captive bred Russian go for 150 in my area they usually go for 60-100 for a baby

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

ive never seen a captive bred Russian go for 150 in my area they usually go for 60-100 for a baby

Who sells CB russian tortoises for that cheap? Where are you from?

 

[poison]

im in san diego california.

 

[mctlong]

im in san diego california.

Thats awesome Poison, what Breeder are you going to?

 

[poison]

im in san diego california.

Thats awesome Poison, what Breeder are you going to?

i dont go to breeders. other then the pet stores that breed them lol

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

I can believe captive bred russian hatchlings maybe going that cheap. MAYBE.

 

[tyrs4u]

at the store back in Southern Cali; they were all WC. Only our mammal department actually had "companies" that drove in from Los Angeles weekly to supply the store every Thursday night. According to a friend that still works there Nothing has changed; except that they fired the manager there that told employee's to 'euthanize' rodents (that were sick or dieing/attacked) by placing them in the Freezer or feeding them to the (non-popular) snakes... The store made me sick; hence why I do not work for them. But simple answer, Torts 4 inches plus are *always in my opinion* WildCaught. The only way I have ever purchased a CB in a pet store (family owned and very christian; yikes); was by talking to the person that ran it and said "oh yeah we can get you those, we just have to contact our guy to see if he has any" basically a breeder in Portland...

RT in Oregon go for $99 & that's usually 5inch females WC... (the stores in my area)

 

[poison]

im 100% sure these are cb in fact they have a huge incubator with the eggs hatching out right in front of your eyes