View Full Version : Aquatic eastern box
staci_baisch
08-15-2006, 11:37
So, we own the house next door and rent it out. (wouldn't it suck to live next door to your landlords?) The new tenants moved in and we noticed a tank set up. Oh, do you have a slider, I asked? They didn't know what kind of turtle they had, but they set it up just like the pet store told them too. It actually looked more like a pac man frog set up , filled with water just over the rocks. Mind you, these rocks appeared to be driveway rocks. Not gravel but big triangular chunks at least 2 inches long.....:eek: I looked around and didn't see the turtle. Where is the turtle? Oh, we let him out to play. He is over there in the corner where the dog is playing with him.....:eek: HHHMMMMM, I thought, that is one strange slider. Say, I said, that isn't a water turtle. But the vet said that he was, they said. I was afraid to ask which vet that was, but now I think that I will and pass along the info. From that point on we were was determined to get that poor eastern box turtle away from the sniffing dog and the soggy tank. $25 later, he is on our kitchen island basking away, eating his veggies, fruit and earthworms. His water turtle food got chucked immediatly... sigh.... bad info from people one would think should know better. This, folks, is why PHNS is so valuable!!!!! Getting the info out to the people who are looking for it. Unfortunately, these folks didn't know that they needed it..
Needless to say, Dennis the turtle is somewhat nippy and can you blame him for being defensive, trying to fend off the dog and cats? Poor little guy.
YAY! Good resuce! Did you try to explain to your renters proper maintenance? Or did they just not want it anymore?
Either way, glad you were there to rescue the little guy.
Fantastic job!!! Poor little turtle...
Although on a side note, I'll say that Cassius, my 75lb boxer, gets up and leaves every time my 25lb baby sulcata tort comes near. Cassius has been nipped on the butt one too many times!
staci_baisch
08-15-2006, 13:53
I gently instructed them to get rid of the water, put a light on the tank and maybe watch the dog. The vet had said that the turtle didn't need any extra heat.:mad: We also offered to dig out our Advanced Vivarium book on Box Turtles to loan them for temps, etc. (sometimes people don't believe anything unless it is said by an 'authority so we offered proof) At this point the renters said that we would be a better home and we offered to take Dennis off of their hands.
staci_baisch
08-15-2006, 14:07
...
25lb baby sulcata tort!
That just cracks me up. You have to love a 25lb baby anything!!! Sulcatas are so cool, we halfway housed one for a while. What a personality. In general, turts and torts have funny personalities.
One of our favorites was a snapping turtle that we picked up from the Pierce Co. animal control. We named him Rodan, as in Godzilla fame. The said that they had a turtle and that we needed to pick him up before closing or they would euthanize him. So, we went zooming down to pick him up, mind you, not knowing what he was.......They said turtle, we thought box. Remember this, always ask questions!!! We got there, heard this banging sound and asked, what is that?? THAT is your turtle. We thought, what the h@@@ kind of turtle is that??? We went through the door and found out just what kind of turtle he was. Rodan was sooooo big that he was tipped sideways in an XL dog crate. He didn't fit flat. OMG, what are we going to do with him? So, we called another adopt. comm. member that we knew was selling a 300 gallon rubbermaid stock tank and said, meet us at our house with it and start filling it up. Rodan was pleased with his accomodations, I think. We had him for a couple of months until we (as in adoption committee) found a home for him in a California Zoo.
Hey, that would be a great article for the newsletter. Misunderstanding and misdentification, Fun times for the adoption committee. No, that is not a rattle snake, that is a corn snake. Said to a worker at Bellvue animal control.
Hey, that would be a great article for the newsletter. Misunderstanding and misdentification, Fun times for the adoption committee. No, that is not a rattle snake, that is a corn snake. Said to a worker at Bellvue animal control.
Ahhhh....good times. You have to love it when we educate the "experts". Great rescue with that snapper...
Good Job Staci!!
I was in Petsmart the other day and an employee was giving adice on a beadrded dragon set uch. The guy didnt know what UVB and UVA was, said he paid about 10 bucks for each lamp. UVB and UVA for 10??:eek: I introduced myself and he explained he feed him "Romain Lettuce" and had had him 5 months. Did my whole nutrient and light speek and gave him my card. The employee "States that most people dont care about the light, they just want a reptile". Then came along the manager. So hopefully!!!???:confused: This was Federal Way. We have done out reaches at Petco. They said if we were 5013c or something we could do out reaches at adoption days. Maybe I sould follow up or someone.
JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ:ee k:
It does feel good to have people listen and do the "Right Thing"!!
I still love the petstore in Burien that seriously offered to special order venomous in for me when I told them I kept snakes.
Pet Smart had contacted us at one point about doing adoption days, however, we did need to be a 501(c) so after we obtain that status it may be a good thing to get into contact with the individual stores. These are weekend events so they are easier for some of us poor working stiff's with inflexible bosses to attend.
staci_baisch
08-24-2006, 08:32
For awhile (several years, in fact) we had our local pet store in Marysville reptile free. We had a sympathetic fish and reptile department manager working there who understood the special needs of reptiles and she worked very hard on keeping them out of the store, especially iggies. And then a couple of months ago, there they were, a batch of baby iggies. And now there are two Russian tortoises, a skad of baby beardies, a ball baby and a couple of corns. Needless to say, the manager had left a while back and the owner of the store saw a profit possibility. We have again convinced the new manager to not order any more iggies, at least. The prices are not very low, so I don't think that the Russians will go very fast, which is what the reptile dept. manager is counting on. She didn't want to order them in the first place, but her voice was not listened to.
That Petco manager was probably Sarah, who is/was a member of PNWHS. She worked really hard to make sure that the reptiles in that store were under control. Sadly she has moved on, and now obviously they are back.
Do they ever learn??????!!!!!
staci_baisch
08-26-2006, 10:16
Sure... Critters=$$$$$$, that is what they learn.
and who is it that suffers from the lack of knowledge? Not the pet store owners, that is for sure.
gtpfreak42
09-01-2006, 22:10
Unfortunately, the equation is not quite that simple:
Profit = Sales - (Overhead + Cost of product + cost of caring for product)
Thus:
If you can buy an iguana for $5.00...
Feed it (poorly) for $2.00 per month...
and sell it for $30.00...
you can absorb a 75% mortality rate and still make a profit.
Especially if you factor in the associated equipment (enclosures, vitamin and mineral dust, lights, books, that vitamin spray that is supposed to help them, etc.)
The biggest problem with iguanas is that they breed like rabbits. And, like rabbits, in their natural environment they are near the bottom of the food chain. They must breed like mad to maintain their population. Everything eats them (or their eggs): Snakes, other lizards, Birds of prey, wild cats and dogs (even feral domestic), fish (iguanas tend to hit the water if they are pursued), large spiders (can take a hatchling), etc. (by the way, "...tastes like chicken" to a human).
(sorry, preaching again)
Breeders can get 20-60 new iguanas each year from a fertile female. The only way to stop this practice is to make it unprofitable.
Our only real tool is education. Iguanas are the new "disposable pet". Like chicks and bunnies at easter, people buy them because they are "cute" as babies and don't consider the ramifications of owning a lizard that can live more than 15 years and reach 4' in length (plus tail).
(see previous apology for preaching)
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