Everyone.. GO GET EM!! Tell them the truth!

[Laura]

Ad forwarded to me from a friend:
EDUCATE!!!!
Newborn Tortoises !!! SO CUTE! GREAT PETS!
Date: 2009-10-02, 11:31AM
Baby African Spur-Thighed Tortoises (also know as Sulcata). These little ones can live for over 100 years and grow big enouph to ride on!!!! They are super easy pets for all ages. Romain lettuce, water, and some sun light is all that these beautiful babies need. Adoption fee= $70. Feel free to email with any questions, I have raised and grown up around tortoises, box turtles, and water turtles my entire life. Have a great day!


Location: Turlock
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Original URL: http://modesto.craigslist.org/pet/1403165871.html


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[Crazy1]

I know this is probably thought as tame by some standards but this is the email I sent this person.

Please at least give these hatchlings a good chance at life and refer buyers to;
http://africantortoise.com/sulcata.htm
http://home.earthlink.net/~rednine/sulcatacare.html and
http://www.sulcata-station.org/basics.html
for care sheets.
These wonderful animals need more care than you have listed and will live a short life if not provided the proper diet and care.
Robyn

Hopefully that will help them.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Here's my contribution:

http://modesto.craigslist.org/pet/1403165871.html

Dear Tortoise seller,

Four years ago, a family friend gave my daughter a Chaco tortoise from Argentina. For three and a half years, my daughter kept this pet in a 10-gallon fish tank and provided a diet of water and Romaine lettuce. When the tortoise stated to grow, her shell developed pyramided scutes, which we later found out are a permanent bone deformity that causes her to walk with a crippled limp, cannot ever be cured, and will likely shorten her life-span significantly. This lifelong bone deformity is caused by improper diet and habitat.

I have now done dozens of hours of research on tortoises, and have discovered that these sweet shy creatures require, and deserve, specific habitat conditions, including proper substrate (bedding), lighting (UVB), heat (70-100F), water (enough to soak in but too shallow to drown in), and especially DIET (varies depending on species, but often includes spring mix, endive, radicchio, weeds, grasses and a little bit of protein). They also need extensive supplements such as calcium. All of these things would have prevented our little Taco from having the permanent deformities she will now carry for the rest of her life due to the combination of neglect and laziness we demonstrated over the past three and a half years.

PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT SELL YOUR SULCATAS TO UNSUSPECTING PROSPECTIVE OWNERS AND NOT TELL THEM THE TRUTH ABOUT TORTOISES! Especially Sulcatas, which demand huge amounts of food, an exceptionally large habitat, and an enormous capacity for tolerance from their owners. Tortoises are HIGH maintenance creatures--and mine is only 6 inches long!

Get helpful information and fact sheets at Tortoiseforum.org .

 

[Candy]

Hi Laura. When I went to the site it says that this post has been deleted by the author. Maybe you guys got to them with your emails. That was an awful ad what is wrong with people? Does money rule over everything? How sad. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Here is the exact response I got:

"I deleted my add. I sell to pet stores if you are interested you can go pay their price."

Hopefully the pet store they sell to is one that has proper information to pass on to Sulcata buyers.

 

[Livingstone]

Already deleted when I got there. Too bad, I like screaming at people>>>>>>> CAPS LOCK TO THE RESCUE!!!!!!!!!

 

[Laura]

Since this person posted on the Modesto CL site, and that was his targeted area.. you can write and post your info. Advertise This group there in case anyone bought a tort from him. save a few maybe...

 

[katesgoey]

I've been under the weather this week, but I only know of one pet store still open in the Turlock/Modesto area that sometimes has sulcatas - they have been given a care list, but I will check again next time I'm in that neighborhood. I haven't seen sulcatas at our local Petco and Petsmart stores (Petco still sells russians though) so I don't know which stores that seller is selling to.

 

[Isa]

Was it toooooo hardddd for the seller to give the correct informations???? Did he really have to sell them to a pet store, o boy! I just hope the pet store will know better than him! Thanks for sharing with us Laura

 

[Crazy1]

I know this is probably thought as tame by some standards but this is the email I sent this person.

Please at least give these hatchlings a good chance at life and refer buyers to;
http://africantortoise.com/sulcata.htm
http://home.earthlink.net/~rednine/sulcatacare.html and
http://www.sulcata-station.org/basics.html
for care sheets.
These wonderful animals need more care than you have listed and will live a short life if not provided the proper diet and care.
Robyn

Hopefully that will help them.

Here is the reply I recieved from the seller on Oct. 2nd:
Thank you for your concern over my babies, but I plan on FULLY explaining their needs to any potential buyers. I made it short for the sake of having a daunting add on craigslist. They are VERY well taken care of, and will hopefully be treated so by buyers.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Sounds smooth and plausible enough; but I still feel the ad was deceptive and it would not have been very difficult to word it more accurately and still keep it short....

 

[Crazy1]

Stephanie I agree.