6" male redfoot Petsmart Phx. AZ

[DesertGrandma]

There is a 6" (appears male to me) for sale at the Petsmart at Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix Arizona for $129.99. I held him and he is not shy, appears to be healthy as far as I can tell. He let me handle his feet and legs, etc. He is in a tiny aquarium only about big enough for him to turn around in but does have food, water and hide, and light. The girl I talked to said he had beeen there for 2 years, ugh, and stays under the log most of the time. His shell was a little bumpy but not too bad. Seems like a nice tort to me. If I had a place for a redfoot I would not hesitate to take him. He sure needs a lot more space and TLC.

 

[jackrat]

Petsmart should be banned from selling tortoises.

 

[terryo]

Isn't that awful? Two years? They have the same thing going on where I live only they have three...a RF, a Hindgeback..(I think) and an Asian Box Turtle...all in a little 40 gal tank.

 

[DesertGrandma]

I was hoping that someone local in the market for a redfoot would run down there and buy him. Just hate to see him in such a small space.

 

[AnthonyC]

Holy crap!! 2 years? That's crazy! Maybe... Just maybe... they may want to lower the price so someone would buy him?!... or better yet give him to someone who would provide a loving home to him. It makes economic sense. It must cost a little bit of money to feed him.

 

[DesertGrandma]

Holy crap!! 2 years? That's crazy! Maybe... Just maybe... they may want to lower the price so someone would buy him?!... or better yet give him to someone who would provide a loving home to him. It makes economic sense. It must cost a little bit of money to feed him.

I don't think lowering the price would make that much difference. I have been in that store numerous times and have never even noticed that they had any tortoises. I am hoping someone will see this thread and go get the little guy. I wouldn't hesitate to do a little bargaining on the price if it were me. Two years is a long time for a store to carry "inventory."

 

[flyingsqueak]

Woah!! Two years? That's insane. At the Petsmart where I (unfortunately) work we carry russians and they are rarely there for more than a month and are usually bought within two weeks of arriving. It's so awful for a tortoise to be living in a pet store for that long. I hate to think about it!

If anyone is local and wants to get the tortoise without supporting a big box pet store I'd suggest going in, asking to speak to the "pet care manager" and offering to adopt the tortoise so it can live in a more suitable habitat and free up their space so they can house something that they can sell instead of continuing to care for the tortoise. Don't speak to the regular employees or a different manager, it has to be the pet care manager.
(call ahead to make sure she/he is there)

 

[JeffG]

Joy, I have been in a number of Petsmarts and Petcos in the last week looking for some items that many of the stores were out of. I noticed one redfoot at one store, and two at another. They were all 6"-8". Like you said, they looked fairly good. I don't know how long they have been there, but the animals seem to rotate out fairly quickly at the stores I am in frequently.

The thing that bothers me is that redfoots are definitely a species that should do best when kept outside, and the dry desert of central Arizona doesn't seem like the ideal climate to keep them outside. Of course it can be done, but it takes a higher level of care, and most people qualified to give it are more likely to look for an animal from a breeder rather than a large chain pet store.

It seems to me that if they are going to sell "outdoor" animals at all, they should at least pick species well suited to living outside in the area they are being sold.

 

[flyingsqueak]

It seems to me that if they are going to sell "outdoor" animals at all, they should at least pick species well suited to living outside in the area they are being sold.

That's the much bigger problem. They won't consider it an outdoor animal at all. They'll sell it to somebody telling them that it needs a 40 gallon aquarium, but when the buyer insists that they can only afford a 20 they'll tell them that's alright for now, but he really needs the 40 within a year. They'll never mention housing him outdoors, using a tortoise table, a large storage tub, or a plastic kiddy pool.

 

[DesertGrandma]

Joy, I have been in a number of Petsmarts and Petcos in the last week looking for some items that many of the stores were out of. I noticed one redfoot at one store, and two at another. They were all 6"-8". Like you said, they looked fairly good. I don't know how long they have been there, but the animals seem to rotate out fairly quickly at the stores I am in frequently.

The thing that bothers me is that redfoots are definitely a species that should do best when kept outside, and the dry desert of central Arizona doesn't seem like the ideal climate to keep them outside. Of course it can be done, but it takes a higher level of care, and most people qualified to give it are more likely to look for an animal from a breeder rather than a large chain pet store.

It seems to me that if they are going to sell "outdoor" animals at all, they should at least pick species well suited to living outside in the area they are being sold.

Totally agree. I was wondering why they were selling a Redfoot in the Phoenix area to begin with. Is there anyone on the forum that lives in Phoenix that raises redfoots?

---

Joy, I have been in a number of Petsmarts and Petcos in the last week looking for some items that many of the stores were out of. I noticed one redfoot at one store, and two at another. They were all 6"-8". Like you said, they looked fairly good. I don't know how long they have been there, but the animals seem to rotate out fairly quickly at the stores I am in frequently.

The thing that bothers me is that redfoots are definitely a species that should do best when kept outside, and the dry desert of central Arizona doesn't seem like the ideal climate to keep them outside. Of course it can be done, but it takes a higher level of care, and most people qualified to give it are more likely to look for an animal from a breeder rather than a large chain pet store.

It seems to me that if they are going to sell "outdoor" animals at all, they should at least pick species well suited to living outside in the area they are being sold.

I asked the woman who they got them from and she named a breeder, but I can't remember the name she gave me. It wasn't a person's name, but a business name. She said they got them all from this breeder.

---

Woah!! Two years? That's insane. At the Petsmart where I (unfortunately) work we carry russians and they are rarely there for more than a month and are usually bought within two weeks of arriving. It's so awful for a tortoise to be living in a pet store for that long. I hate to think about it!

If anyone is local and wants to get the tortoise without supporting a big box pet store I'd suggest going in, asking to speak to the "pet care manager" and offering to adopt the tortoise so it can live in a more suitable habitat and free up their space so they can house something that they can sell instead of continuing to care for the tortoise. Don't speak to the regular employees or a different manager, it has to be the pet care manager.
(call ahead to make sure she/he is there)

Thanks for that information. Hope someone on the forum reads it.

 

[pk2610]

I saw a redfoot here in So CA PetSmart... in a small tank and very similar to what you described. He was also about the same size and he was only fed on dry food, no fresh veggie according the store's policy. The space was only big enough for him to move to get his food and he was always in his hide. The sales also took me to the back of their store where they keep two Russians about 4-5" in small plastic box. I think he was there for a while and I came to check on him twice when I shopped there and he was still there. I hope someone will get him and the other two Russians in the back store but I doubted since tortoises is not their main thing there.

 

[DesertGrandma]

I just realized how many other threads on already on the forum for this same situation with pet stores.

 

[BaddestMarie]

RE: 6" male redfoot Petsmart Phx. AZ

-My brother used to work at a PETCO && he said they had a red foot that would always fall on its back. He told me the employees wouldnt even help the red foot. They used to just walk right by him, while he was there up side down. He got tired of having to be the only one fliping the red foot back over, so he bought him && brought him home

 

[pdrobber]

3 russians and two redfoots in a tank here at petco on pellets...

 

[dmmj]

AZ must be the place for red foots, I live in between 2 petco's and I visit them once or twice a month and I have only seen one red foot over the years ( 8 or so) lots and lots of russians go through those 2 stores.
2 years is a long time for a animal being sold to be in a store.

 

[Floof]

I remember a Petco in Olympia, WA that has Redfoots (or, had, last time I was there). Bone-dry, some 4 or 5 ~4-6" RFs to one of their "end cap" enclosures (maybe 2 to 2.5 ft wide, 1.5 ft deep), and pellets and some finely shredded lettuce and carrots for food. Every time I walked in there, all the RFs would be doing their best to huddle under the one log hide, maybe hiding from the ridiculously bright basking light... To top things off, right around the corner, they had Russians with no basking light, the same diet, and easily 2 or 3 crammed into a 20 gallon tank (30x12"). The water dish alone took up half the space, in both enclosures!

Another store that baffles me is a local pet store here in the Salt Lake area. They have one big (maybe 3x3') tortoise enclosure, where they keep everything remotely land-based. Yellowfoots, Redfoots, Russians, Greeks, Sulcatas, Leopards, North american Box turtles, Malaysian box turtles (the ones that are largely aquatic), all kept in this one enclosure on hay with a water dish so tall that even the 10" Yellowfoot they had at one point in time could barely get his head over the side... Much less the other, 4-6" torts and boxies who wouldn't even be able to think about getting their heads in, and don't get me started on the asian boxes. The only saving grace is that right above that is the aquatic turtle tank, and the whole thing is enclosed, so the aquatics create a fair bit of humidity for the bottom. At least enough to counteract some of the "jerky maker" effects of the set up.

Of course, what gets me there, is that they have these largely aquatic box turtles that they insist on keeping on the bottom, where they can't even get into their water dish, when they have a perfectly good aquatic set-up with a fair bit of land area right next to it. I once asked why they don't consider putting the Malaysian boxes in with the aquatics, since it's a SO much more appropriate set up than the other, and the best excuse the guy could come up with when I kept pressing was because the box has a "different diet" than the aquatics they carry (mostly RES, softshell, and maps). What bull...

 

[tortuga_mel]

RE: 6" male redfoot Petsmart Phx. AZ

That's crazy. The petsmart we have out here lowers the prices generously when the torts are there for so long. The one my cousin bought had been there for over a year. Needless to say he was spoiled rotten. All the workers loved him and let him roam, under very close supervision, all the time. He only paid about $90 for Bowser.

 

[cemmons12]

Petsmart should be banned from selling tortoises.

I agree, and Uncle Bills Pet Center here in Indiana don't treat the torts they get much better. They had 2 Russians last time we went and they were cold and the guy said, oh the heat mat just went out. Such b.s.! They just don't care, and I made my point to him before I left about the poor care they were getting! Made me so damn mad!

 

[byerssusan]

Wish I had the money I would go and get the little one. I know I don't know that much about those types of tortoise but I would learn really quick

 

[susie]

Petsmart should be banned from selling tortoises.

I agree, and Uncle Bills Pet Center here in Indiana don't treat the torts they get much better. They had 2 Russians last time we went and they were cold and the guy said, oh the heat mat just went out. Such b.s.! They just don't care, and I made my point to him before I left about the poor care they were getting! Made me so damn mad!

Uncle Bill's should be shut down. It's not just the reptiles but the puppies and kittens too. They have been on the news repeatedly here because of their puppy mill puppies and unvaccinated "donated" kittens. Hate that place!!! Are they just here in Indianapolis?? Are there other ones elsewhere??