Should Pet Store Animals be “Rescued”?

[TortoiseRacket]

Almost all reptile keepers have wandered into a petco, Petsmart, or other pet store when away from home. Everyone who has done this has thought about “rescuing” an animal. Many people say, “Don’t buy from them, they will just get another. Also, it is giving money to the bad places they get their animals.” What do you think? I think people should rescue these animals. Buy buying these animals, you are most likely saving their life. Of course they will get another one, but it is destributing the stress around. If the animal you rescued died in that store, they would get another one too. If it didn’t die, it would most likely get sold to inexperienced parents that would give it to their kid who would kill it buy either forgetting about it or giving it such bad care it just could survive. If all of the reptile keepers went out today and bought all the animals in petcos around the world, the breeder would be so stressed he would probably run out of animals to ship. By rescuing these animals you can stop misinformation about reptiles. Next holiday, when someone asks, “What do I want”, I will say, “A petco gift card!” What do you think?
-Mickey

 

[jsheffield]

I think that financially supporting businesses whose business model and methodology I don't support doesn't make sense ... they may not change their ways because I spend my money elsewhere, but they certainly won't change their ways when I give it to them, essentially paying them to mistreat animals.

Jmho, YMMV.

Jamie

 

[TortoiseRacket]

I think that financially supporting businesses whose business model and methodology I don't support doesn't make sense ... they may not change their ways because I spend my money elsewhere, but they certainly won't change them when I give it to them.

Jmho, YMMV.

Jamie

This has been bugging me. To me, the animal comes before putting a store out of business, but there are just so many bad places out there, it’s hard to not rescue. I totally respect your point of view!
-Mickey

 

[T Smart]

Hi,

It may seem honorable to "rescue" a tortoise from PetSmart, but the cycle continues. The real problem is that the United States is behind the curve in the supply of captive bred Russians. PetSmart or Petco supplies Russians for a reason. They make great pets due to their small size/hands off care, and they are most likely very inexpensive to obtain. You see hundreds of Sulcata or Redfoot hatchlings; This isn't the case for Russians. I'm guilty of shopping for items at PetSmart, but I'd never purchase a tortoise there for obvious reasons.

Just my thoughts!

Best,

-Thomas S.

 

[TortoiseRacket]

Hi,

It may seem honorable to "rescue" a tortoise from PetSmart, but the cycle continues. The real problem is that the United States is behind the curve in the supply of captive bred Russians. PetSmart or Petco supplies Russians for a reason. They make great pets due to their small size/hands off care, and they are most likely very inexpensive to obtain. You see hundreds of Sulcata or Redfoot hatchlings; This isn't the case for Russians. I'm guilty of shopping for items at PetSmart, but I'd never purchase a tortoise there for obvious reasons.

Just my thoughts!

Best,

-Thomas S.

I too am guilty with wild caught animals. Regardless if they were WC or CB, they are at a pet store going to be sold as a pet. I think to give them the best life possible for the sacrifices he made by being taken out of his habitat.
Just my thoughts!
-Mickey

 

[Jdorm01]

Almost all reptile keepers have wandered into a petco, Petsmart, or other pet store when away from home. Everyone who has done this has thought about “rescuing” an animal. Many people say, “Don’t buy from them, they will just get another. Also, it is giving money to the bad places they get their animals.” What do you think? I think people should rescue these animals. Buy buying these animals, you are most likely saving their life. Of course they will get another one, but it is destributing the stress around. If the animal you rescued died in that store, they would get another one too. If it didn’t die, it would most likely get sold to inexperienced parents that would give it to their kid who would kill it buy either forgetting about it or giving it such bad care it just could survive. If all of the reptile keepers went out today and bought all the animals in petcos around the world, the breeder would be so stressed he would probably run out of animals to ship. By rescuing these animals you can stop misinformation about reptiles. Next holiday, when someone asks, “What do I want”, I will say, “A petco gift card!” What do you think?
-Mickey

I’m guilty!! I rarely go into a large chain pet store but....i came across an adult Russian tortoise in a 12”x12” glass box with no hide, no water and dried feces everywhere and His head was in the corner. I left, did some research on the species and went back after two days and bought him because I couldn’t get him out of my mind. I made him a beautiful outdoor enclosure. It’s been about two months and he finely will come to me when he sees me. While I hate the idea that I’ve perpetuated the wc pet trade, I don’t regret “rescuing” this tortoise.

 

[Cheryl Hills]

If the tortoise has been in there for a long time, I have been known to get them. I have gotten two this was. When no one else would buy them, I got them for a big discount. They no longer carry tortoises.

 

[Madkins007]

One of the dirty secrets of pet shops is that they KNOW that the 'runts' sell! 'Rescuing' runts or sickly animals just reward the store for doing that.

I have no problem with people buying healthy animals from a caring shop- that is how most of us got started with torts, birds, fish, or whatever.

 

[Jacqui]

I don't consider buying a tortoise from a pet store rescuing it.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

I don't know about the rest of the country but Petco stopped carrying tortoises here in GA about a year ago.

 

[jsheffield]

I don't consider buying a tortoise from a pet store rescuing it.

This!

It's just supporting their business model, and will only encourage them to keep buying/selling animals that t they house and care for poorly.

Jamie

 

[Wright78]

I don't know about the rest of the country but Petco stopped carrying tortoises here in GA about a year ago.

In MA Petco still sells them.

 

[TriciaStringer]

I don't know about the rest of the country but Petco stopped carrying tortoises here in GA about a year ago.

Our Petco still sells them. They had two the last time I went in.

 

[Torta-geddon]

Our petco still sells them, I saw a Russian a couple months ago. I prefer to buy everything online so I don't know if it's still there.

 

[smarch]

I probably shouldn’t “butt in” to an older topic, but I haven’t been around the forum much detail now I’m catching up and surfing. And my Franklin is a Petco Russian tortoise... and my corn snake is a PetSmart snake. Franklin I’ve had for 7 years in June, and the snake I’ve only had a month and a half. It’s not really rescuing in my opinion, you may be saving them from poor conditions, but end of the day the store is making a profit and you have given them the money for it. Neither pet I bought was in poor conditions (I mean aside from crowded Russian tortoises being fed lettuce and tomato, they had hides and water and food substrate). When I got my Russian, I was BRAND NEW to the reptile community, and had no idea what I was doing, had done online research but that was before finding this forum, should I have not gotten a tortoise because I was only going to kill him anyway? Sure having a WC Tort had its set of issues in the beginning, for the first few months after getting him, if he so much as caught me looking at him he’d poop himself, but he warmed up to me. As for my snake, I actually found a local reptile shop and got my first baby corn snake there... week and a half later he’d died, and I was too embarrassed to go back and probably get my money back, my care was on point and the place is reputable by tons of online reviews, so my second came from a Petsmart, she’s also super shy and kinda hates me at the moment.
Basically I wouldn’t say it’s rescuing to buy a pet from a corporate pet store, but i wouldn’t give anyone trouble for buying from them.

 

[Bee62]

I am "guilty" to have "rescued" my two Hermann`s tortoises from a pet shop. I know when all tortoises are sold another generation of torts will be placed there in the shop.
I could have go to a breeder. There are many in Germany but I bought these two little guys and "eased my mind". Sometimes you decide with your heart, not with your brain.

 

[Bee62]

I am "guilty" to have "rescued" my two Hermann`s tortoises from a pet shop. I know when all tortoises are sold another generation of torts will be placed there in the shop.
I could have go to a breeder. There are many in Germany but I bought these two little guys and "eased my mind". Sometimes you decide with your heart, not with your brain.
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[Cheryl Hills]

I did get two Russian torts from a pet store. They were in there for quite a bit of time. I only got them because the owner offered them to me at cost. I do consider them rescues and the pet store no longer sells torts. I did a lot of talking to them.

 

[Yvonne G]

I see nothing wrong with "buying" a pet store tortoise if they're selling something you're interested in buying and it looks healthy.

Would I RESCUE a tortoise from a pet store? No. Would I BUY a tortoise from a pet store? Yes, if they have what I'm looking for.

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

I also would not say that buying a tortoise in a pet store is "rescuing" it. When I think of "rescuing," I associate it with taking in a tortoise that was unwanted and discarded by its previous owner. The shelter or sanctuary charges a small "adoption fee" which goes toward their efforts to continue caring for all the other animals they are trying to find homes for.

Pet store tortoises were taken from the wild so that people and businesses can make money. A retail sale price is paid for the tortoise, and when the buyer is halfway home, the store already has another wild-caught tortoise put into the empty store display tank. All the person did was feed into that cycle.

Sure, the buyer can offer the tortoise a better environment than a small store display case, but they will never offer a better environment than the natural wild home the tortoise was originally taken from.