Bambam1989
Well-Known Member
We have all heard the outdated and inaccurate information out there for Sulcatas.
They don't need water, it comes from their food!
Don't soak them, it will rot their shells!
Humidity and moisture will cause respritory problems!
And that is only a few things that I've heard.
Why do I bring this up?
I was at a recently opened petstore, scoping it out- and they had a hatchling Sulcata...
You can imagine what his enclosure looked like- 10gallon tank, rabbit pellets bedding, no hide, a pile of what looked like iceburg lettuce in a corner..
There was a young woman talking to the employee about the "adorable turtle". He was telling her about "care requirements".
Let's just say my temper got the better of me as I over heard some of it.
"He'll stay small as long as you don't feed him much and keep him in small cage."
"Water is not good for them since they come from the desert" and so on.
I stepped right up to them. Told them I had a sulcata, whipped out my phone and showed them pictures. The employee responded with a "wow that is a very healthy Tortoise!"
... I then commenced to explaining how and why he was not giving good information (it was more like a rant), what needed to be changed and so on.
I turned to the lady and explained to her what "hatchling failure syndrome" was and what causes it. The tort would maybe live a few more months before dying I explained and pointed out how it already had deeply sunken eyes from dehydration.
Looking back I probably could have handled the situation a little more delicately, but I am positive I got my point across.. the woman did not buy the tort, and it turns out the owner of the store was in the back. I got to give my whole speech to him, who said that they had been following the BREEDERS instructions! I told him about how an unfortunate amount of breeders were misinformed themselves and using old methods that have been proven to be wrong. I admit his expression was quite priceless...
One of the pics I showed was from Clunker's hour long bath yesterday.. an hour long because he just lounges in it with NO interest in getting out.
Some Desert tortoise..
*I guess this was technically a ranting thread, I apologise.. but I had to get it out of my system*
They don't need water, it comes from their food!
Don't soak them, it will rot their shells!
Humidity and moisture will cause respritory problems!
And that is only a few things that I've heard.
Why do I bring this up?
I was at a recently opened petstore, scoping it out- and they had a hatchling Sulcata...
You can imagine what his enclosure looked like- 10gallon tank, rabbit pellets bedding, no hide, a pile of what looked like iceburg lettuce in a corner..
There was a young woman talking to the employee about the "adorable turtle". He was telling her about "care requirements".
Let's just say my temper got the better of me as I over heard some of it.
"He'll stay small as long as you don't feed him much and keep him in small cage."
"Water is not good for them since they come from the desert" and so on.
I stepped right up to them. Told them I had a sulcata, whipped out my phone and showed them pictures. The employee responded with a "wow that is a very healthy Tortoise!"
... I then commenced to explaining how and why he was not giving good information (it was more like a rant), what needed to be changed and so on.
I turned to the lady and explained to her what "hatchling failure syndrome" was and what causes it. The tort would maybe live a few more months before dying I explained and pointed out how it already had deeply sunken eyes from dehydration.
Looking back I probably could have handled the situation a little more delicately, but I am positive I got my point across.. the woman did not buy the tort, and it turns out the owner of the store was in the back. I got to give my whole speech to him, who said that they had been following the BREEDERS instructions! I told him about how an unfortunate amount of breeders were misinformed themselves and using old methods that have been proven to be wrong. I admit his expression was quite priceless...
One of the pics I showed was from Clunker's hour long bath yesterday.. an hour long because he just lounges in it with NO interest in getting out.
Some Desert tortoise..
*I guess this was technically a ranting thread, I apologise.. but I had to get it out of my system*