Desert Tortoise S.O.S.

[Vegasarah]

Re-posting this on behalf of this guy on craigslist, he is such a cool guy that is just so at a loss as to what he should do about these tortoises. I am trying to contact him (tried calling, left a message) and let him know that I put this on here. I know there are so many awesome experts on here that would probably be able to offer much better advice than I ever could! Give it a read and let me know what you guys think. I will update if he contacts me back! Thanks!

[email protected]

Ad Message:

OVER 75 ENDANGERED DESERT TORTOISE ARE IN DANGER OF LOOSING THERE HOME OF OVER 37 YEARS. 12 GENERATIONS & 13TH TO BE HATCHING SOON! MOMMIES T.J.(TURTLE JENNINGS), GEORGETTE, & SWEETIE HAVE LAID IN THERE USUAL SPOTS. WE ARE EXPECTING 16+ BABIES THIS YEAR. MY MOTHER HAD TO PUT A REVERSE MORTGAGE ON OUR HOME THAT WE HAVE HAD FOR 40+ YEARS TO PAY FOR MY FATHERS FINAL EXPENSES. MY MOTHER UNEXPECTEDLY PASSED LAST WEEK (RIP MOM). I WANT TO SEE HER GOAL/WISH TO KEEP THESE TURTLES FROM GOING EXTINCT. I AM SO SCARED, THESE TURTLES ARE A BIG PART OF OUR FAMILY PACO, TJ, GEORGETTE, SWEETIE, & A FEW OTHERS HAVE KNOWN MY PARENTS LONGER THEN I HAVE. I THINK BEING IN SHOCK & OVERWHELMED WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO THINK STRAIT. I AM LOST & CONFUSED SCARED & STRESSED YES I NEED HELP VERY BAD! ANY IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS, ADVICE, ECT. WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED, & NEEDED! THANK YOU JUST FOR READING THIS.
SINCERELY, B.JENNINGS
PLEASE CONTACT BRIAN ANYTIME @ (702)876-0041 IF NO ANSWER PLEASE LEAVE MESG. & WILL RETURN YOUR CALL ASAP!
THANK YOU, & MAY GOD BLESS

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I'm not sure how I can help him. Is he looking to rehome some of them?

 

[wellington]

Not really sure what he is asking for. Does he not know how to care for them or does he want to rehome them? I don't mean to sound heartless, but it almost smells of a scam to get money, with the loss of father, now mother, reverse mortgage. See what others think. Also, let us know if you hear from him and find out what he thinks he would need as far as help. If it's money, well then it's scam. With two parents dieting, there should be some kind of life insurance, well that's if it's legit.

 

[Vegasarah]

I don't think he wants to sell them as far as I can tell, he just seems like really freaked out. I don't know yet, though. And I think it might actually be like illegal or something in our state to even sell desert tortoises. You aren't even supposed to keep them as pets as far as I know, without having them tracked and tagged and 'adopted' through The Tortoise Group. Not 100% sure. The main reason I don't think it is a scam is because I have never seen this or any other person post ads to our local craigslist trying to sell desert torts. If they where just backyard breeding and selling the babies I think I would have heard of it before... Well in any case I am waiting to hear a call or email back from the guy so I will let you guys know!

 

[Laura]

too bad breeding them in captivity does nothing for them in the wild since they can't be realeased.. it just overwhelms rescues when this happens and the animals pay the price.
Like Tigers... There are more in captivity then the wild.. and not all in great situations.. peple love them, want to 'save them' so they breed them, but there is no where for them to go.. You can't release them,and even if you could... where? Humans have taken over the land they lived in.. sad vicious circle..

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illegal to sell them.. is he wanting money to save his moms home? I wonder if a rescue is able to step in and help.. to many for most rescues to deal with..

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nice looking animals tho.....

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what area of craigslist was this post in? what section?

 

[Vegasarah]

too bad breeding them in captivity does nothing for them in the wild since they can't be realeased.. it just overwhelms rescues when this happens and the animals pay the price.
Like Tigers... There are more in captivity then the wild.. and not all in great situations.. peple love them, want to 'save them' so they breed them, but there is no where for them to go.. You can't release them,and even if you could... where? Humans have taken over the land they lived in.. sad vicious circle..

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illegal to sell them.. is he wanting money to save his moms home? I wonder if a rescue is able to step in and help.. to many for most rescues to deal with..

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nice looking animals tho.....

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Already sent him the link to The Tortoise Group contact info, but man that would be one hell of an undertaking for just one rescue group... I know they also are part of a state wide breeding program, so maybe if they get those proven mothers they could possibly release some back into the wild... It really is a vicious circle. It sucks that in their effort to 'save' them, they are actually doing more harm than good.

I hope he isn't trying to sell them. I mean, if he is, I will let him know that it's illegal in our state and that getting in contact with the rescue is really his only option with that many torts....

 

[SamB]

Omg happy to help where we can, I'll email them aswell

 

[dmmj]

This guy is in nevade, so the deserts can't cross state lines. I am unsure though what he wants help with.

 

[Laura]

oh wow.. part of the breeding program.. then they should have support to get them where they need to go.. I bet he just needs help in finding what that is.. His mom probably had all that info somewhere.. wishing him luck and condolences for his parents

 

[TylerStewart]

If I wasn't so afraid of the SWAT team breaking down my door, I'd take them all and ::GASP:: breed the heck out of them.

too bad breeding them in captivity does nothing for them in the wild since they can't be realeased.. it just overwhelms rescues when this happens and the animals pay the price.
Like Tigers... There are more in captivity then the wild.. and not all in great situations.. peple love them, want to 'save them' so they breed them, but there is no where for them to go.. You can't release them,and even if you could... where? Humans have taken over the land they lived in.. sad vicious circle..

LOL, not exactly like tigers. A few more people are able to keep tortoises as pets without fear of their heads being eaten off by a tiger. The biggest threat to these guys is the fact that they can't be sold. If there was a legal market to sell them, they'd be produced by the thousands in captivity and they would have absolutely zero chance of being extinct. Breeding them still does keep more people from taking them out of the wild so it's not a total lost cause, but the real solution to the problem is legal captive breeding/selling. The same thing would happen if radiateds were legal to sell to anyone (without having to get the CBW permit). There would be a great market in them within a decade, and many more would be produced. The only reason "man is a threat" is because "man" makes stupid laws. Humans haven't put a tiny dent in their native range, so that's a silly argument to make. Fly an airplane around in Nevada for a while (or any part of their natural range), and you'll see that humans haven't quite "taken over the land they lived in." I'll point out a desert that would be a good "release point" if Fish & Wildlife needs help finding one.

 

[Vegasarah]

oh wow.. part of the breeding program.. then they should have support to get them where they need to go.. I bet he just needs help in finding what that is.. His mom probably had all that info somewhere.. wishing him luck and condolences for his parents

Yep, at least one of the adults seems to be already registered with the state... Although I don't think that they where approved for breeding at home... oops. Oh well, at least we know that TTG will probably take some if not all of these guys. They might need new homes for them, so if that is the case I will let you guys know! Maybe someone on here is looking for a new Desert Tortoise? That would be really cool, if a bunch of us all got brother and sister torts lol. If they need help I know I will be first in line to assist in the transport or temporary setup for them!

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LOL, not exactly like tigers. A few more people are able to keep tortoises as pets without fear of their heads being eaten off by a tiger. The biggest threat to these guys is the fact that they can't be sold. If there was a legal market to sell them, they'd be produced by the thousands in captivity and they would have absolutely zero chance of being extinct. Breeding them still does keep more people from taking them out of the wild so it's not a total lost cause, but the real solution to the problem is legal captive breeding/selling. The same thing would happen if radiateds were legal to sell to anyone (without having to get the CBW permit). There would be a great market in them within a decade, and many more would be produced. The only reason "man is a threat" is because "man" makes stupid laws. Humans haven't put a tiny dent in their native range, so that's a silly argument to make. Fly an airplane around in Nevada for a while (or any part of their natural range), and you'll see that humans haven't quite "taken over the land they lived in." I'll point out a desert that would be a good "release point" if Fish & Wildlife needs help finding one.
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I never really thought of it that way, there is probably a lot of open habitat for them... Unfortunately, it seems that now they are going to possibly have 75+ new tortoises to care for that cannot be released back into the wild... But hopefully they can find new homes... Still waiting on a call back or any kind of replay from craiglist guy...

 

[TylerStewart]

I never really thought of it that way, there is probably a lot of open habitat for them... Unfortunately, it seems that now they are going to possibly have 75+ new tortoises to care for that cannot be released back into the wild... But hopefully they can find new homes... Still waiting on a call back or any kind of replay from craiglist guy...

Well, they could be released after a minor health test and possibly a blood test to make sure they're clear of the sickness(es) that they're afraid of getting back into the wild populations, but that would be too easy. It would certainly be cheaper (for tax payers) to test and release these unwanted tortoises than it is for the govt to have their breeding program, but we all know that tax payers are the lowest priority on the list

A simple look at Google maps, focused in on the natural range of desert tortoises will show you a basic view of how much of it is completely untouched (can you say 99%). The range is also falsely assumed to end in Southern Nevada, but I've seen wild desert tortoises in Northern Nevada both myself as has a friend of mine who hikes just about every mountain in the country. Nevada is a big state that is almost completely untouched. Almost all of it is potential desert tortoise habitat. This doesn't include all the neighboring states that have massive open land in the range also. There's no lack of desert, and no takeover by mankind.

I had a hard time picking a side when the environmentalists were throwing a fit about the solar project that they acted like was going to put the final nail in the coffin of desert tortoises when the footprint of it was probably 1/100,000,000th the size of their range. I wasn't sure which was more of a joke, the threat to desert tortoises or the need for a govt sponsored billion dollar solar array. If they hadn't fenced it in, the tortoises would probably enjoy the shade from the solar panels like the caribou enjoy the warmth from the oil pipelines in Alaska and Canada.

 

[AustinASU]

He can put the house in a trust and then the bank can't take it, but he'll have to talk to his lawyer.