- Joined
- Nov 7, 2012
- Messages
- 5,171
- Location (City and/or State)
- South of Southern California, but not Mexico
I don't suppose there will be a 'right' answer, maybe not even a best one.
I worked at a zoo, so now all to well about the calls from people who bought a sulcata, and don't know what they got themselves into. I've sold animals from a table at herp shows, and heard the most outlandish BS about how "some people" know how to keep them dwarfs by a secret husbandry protocol.
What I don't get is where aside from Kingsnake.com etc are people now buying all these thousands of sulcatas.
I don't see them at the big box pet stores. I do see CalZoo, among others, buying them in the 10 lots, price aside, where are all these going?
Without regard to $$ on the cost to breed & raise, or the price when sold. Doesn't it seem sorta criminal when they are regarded as extinct in so much of their natural range to not breed them?
So, if you had a small group, say three X 1.2 animals and they produced a 200 to 300 eggs a year = > 150 hatchlings (don't get caught up in the math) and they were sold all to CalZoo, or whoever, where do they go from there.
The reason I use CalZoo, is they do not sell on Kingsnake.com to anyone, but retailers.
If you don't like the scenario as I set it up, think outside this box I made, where are they going? I hear, read of breeders producing hundreds - who is buying all those at retail and where, I see all the "we want your babies" on Kingsnake.com, but who are the ultimate first retail purchasers?
Are they going to Japan, Europe, back to Africa?
Are there really hundreds maybe thousands of people buying that cute little tortoise, who have no clue what is to come, do they see it as a disposable pet, do they really count on a zoos taking it?
Has anyone actually systematical surveyed zoos and other 'dumping' places for how many sulcatas per year are offered?
What is your POV?
At least a few folks here have rescues, so I imagine you could write a book to answer these questions, but some of you do breed, and some have seen this or that.
Where do they all go?
Will
I worked at a zoo, so now all to well about the calls from people who bought a sulcata, and don't know what they got themselves into. I've sold animals from a table at herp shows, and heard the most outlandish BS about how "some people" know how to keep them dwarfs by a secret husbandry protocol.
What I don't get is where aside from Kingsnake.com etc are people now buying all these thousands of sulcatas.
I don't see them at the big box pet stores. I do see CalZoo, among others, buying them in the 10 lots, price aside, where are all these going?
Without regard to $$ on the cost to breed & raise, or the price when sold. Doesn't it seem sorta criminal when they are regarded as extinct in so much of their natural range to not breed them?
So, if you had a small group, say three X 1.2 animals and they produced a 200 to 300 eggs a year = > 150 hatchlings (don't get caught up in the math) and they were sold all to CalZoo, or whoever, where do they go from there.
The reason I use CalZoo, is they do not sell on Kingsnake.com to anyone, but retailers.
If you don't like the scenario as I set it up, think outside this box I made, where are they going? I hear, read of breeders producing hundreds - who is buying all those at retail and where, I see all the "we want your babies" on Kingsnake.com, but who are the ultimate first retail purchasers?
Are they going to Japan, Europe, back to Africa?
Are there really hundreds maybe thousands of people buying that cute little tortoise, who have no clue what is to come, do they see it as a disposable pet, do they really count on a zoos taking it?
Has anyone actually systematical surveyed zoos and other 'dumping' places for how many sulcatas per year are offered?
What is your POV?
At least a few folks here have rescues, so I imagine you could write a book to answer these questions, but some of you do breed, and some have seen this or that.
Where do they all go?
Will