Minority2
Well-Known Member
The problem with calling
I think the problem with this idea is that it would only fix the enclosure issues provided that the department would allow the authorization of placing multiple 8ft x 4 ft indoor enclosures with enough tables and or stands to raise them high enough off the ground.
They would still need more money for the lighting and heating equipment they're not using. The substrate, the hides, feeding/water dishes, and most importantly the poor diet these tortoises are normally getting from the caretakers at the biology department. All this added up means possibly an ongoing cost which is not fair for student body because they're not officially responsible for the tortoises/animals inside the biology department. The poor living conditions and possible neglect is all on them for ignoring and believing that the care advice they're currently, very likely decades old, is going to be as good as the modern, more up to date guidelines which embraces the "bigger is better" philosophy as well as diets that focus more on what tortoises would eat in nature.
The funny thing is that there probably are already a ton of tortoise safe broad leaf plants and flowers growing around the university. They can probably just speak to the head of their gardening that's in charge of the main school grounds as well the community garden they have on Irving avenue in order to procure a steady supply to indefinitely feed the Russian tortoise and supplement the Red foot tortoise's other non-fruit part of their diet. That would highly depend on whether pesticides are used but if not, students can always petition for them to make it so.
I think the problem with this idea is that it would only fix the enclosure issues provided that the department would allow the authorization of placing multiple 8ft x 4 ft indoor enclosures with enough tables and or stands to raise them high enough off the ground.
They would still need more money for the lighting and heating equipment they're not using. The substrate, the hides, feeding/water dishes, and most importantly the poor diet these tortoises are normally getting from the caretakers at the biology department. All this added up means possibly an ongoing cost which is not fair for student body because they're not officially responsible for the tortoises/animals inside the biology department. The poor living conditions and possible neglect is all on them for ignoring and believing that the care advice they're currently, very likely decades old, is going to be as good as the modern, more up to date guidelines which embraces the "bigger is better" philosophy as well as diets that focus more on what tortoises would eat in nature.
The funny thing is that there probably are already a ton of tortoise safe broad leaf plants and flowers growing around the university. They can probably just speak to the head of their gardening that's in charge of the main school grounds as well the community garden they have on Irving avenue in order to procure a steady supply to indefinitely feed the Russian tortoise and supplement the Red foot tortoise's other non-fruit part of their diet. That would highly depend on whether pesticides are used but if not, students can always petition for them to make it so.
