Frustrating Feed Store Experience

BrookeB

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Mar 3, 2012
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Bodfish
So I moved to a new town about 4 years ago, and we just bought a house in this town about 2 years ago. It’s a pretty nice little town in California. We have One pet store and it’s not actually a pet store it’s a feed store. They never have animals except for chicks during spring and summer... Anyway they have always been very nice and understanding people but when I went into the store today I saw something I wish I hadn’t. They had baby sulcata tortoises. Now for some that may not be a big deal but for me this experience was a HUGE trigger. Probably because of my tortoise Frank... I heard a man saying to someone looking at them that he already bought one, and it’s at home. This same man said he was told they don’t grow fast. The shop owner was telling people that they need a dry environment but should be misted once a day.. they where on coco core chips or wood and sand. They had a heat ROCK and the temperature gage said it was only about 80 degrees in there... there was 5 of them on top of the tiny heat rock under a heat lamp and it made me feel like even under the heat lamp it was too cold.. the water dish (if you can call it that) was the size and shape of two quarters next to each other. They had the store bought colored food pellets. I sat there with my 5 year old son and watched as the shop owner told people completely false information. I said something to a customer about how fast frank grew and how much care these guys need and the guy who already bought one started asking a bunch of questions. I tried to answer them but I finally got stressed and kinda fed up when the shop owner tried to convince everyone I wasn’t informed. The poor things where probably only 2-5 months old and already showing signs of dehydration. These are the tortoises that end up like frank, deformed, or dead. And it’s still bothering me the next day. I don’t think I can really do much but I really needed to vent.
 

Yvonne G

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When you encounter things like this you need to stay cool, calm and collected. The only way to get through to them is with humility. You can't be a know-it-all and get up in their face telling them their way is all wrong. Be helpful. Give them a care sheet. Pictures help a whole bunch. . . pictures of Frank and pictures of a smooth, healthy sulcata.
 

Blackdog1714

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You can’t change people’s minds they have to change them on their own. Order your special supplies from them and see if you can get them to ask you why you do that! Good luck
 

dmilam

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Jul 27, 2019
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North Texas
Refer them here. The feed store guy has been given the wrong info and all that can be done is to try to get the right info to him.

This is exactly what I do. I did it at the NARBC couple weeks ago.

I told a couple looking at a Russian it’s not hard to care for but you should go to TFO and read the care sheets. Don’t go to Facebook, come here and search for care sheets. I intentionally didn’t tell them how to care for it. I wanted to create doubt in their mind so they would hesitate. Unfortunately it won’t stop the next person that walks in with money.

Local feed store isn’t any better than a big box pet store. My favorite pet store comment was, I could tell how old the tortoise was by counting the rings. Like it’s a damn tree...

At least your tried...
 

BrookeB

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Bodfish
This is exactly what I do. I did it at the NARBC couple weeks ago.

I told a couple looking at a Russian it’s not hard to care for but you should go to TFO and read the care sheets. Don’t go to Facebook, come here and search for care sheets. I intentionally didn’t tell them how to care for it. I wanted to create doubt in their mind so they would hesitate. Unfortunately it won’t stop the next person that walks in with money.

Local feed store isn’t any better than a big box pet store. My favorite pet store comment was, I could tell how old the tortoise was by counting the rings. Like it’s a damn tree...

At least your tried...

Omg lmao who thinks that way. Hopefully one day people will learn.
 

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