Oh god, DON'T BUY AN ANIMAL FROM PETCO. DON'T DO IT. They're overpriced, poorly cared for, almost universally in terrible health, and your life will become a nightmare of vet bills. Plus store employees generally don't know squat about caring for exotics, though they'll be happy to pretend/insist they do, which is even worse.Oh it's so cute! My local Petco has one that I have been drooling over for the past 4 months. They want $129 for it, but I don't know if that is a reasonable price for it or not. But it sure is the cutest thing...
Oh god, DON'T BUY AN ANIMAL FROM PETCO. DON'T DO IT. They're overpriced, poorly cared for, almost universally in terrible health, and your life will become a nightmare of vet bills. Plus store employees generally don't know squat about caring for exotics, though they'll be happy to pretend/insist they do, which is even worse.
Go to faunaclassifieds, go check their private breeder/dealer reviews, and you're sure to find a place to get a HEALTHY animal from--and the cost + shipping will probably be equal to or less than what you'd pay at petco. That's how it went for my ball python, anyway.
Oh god, DON'T BUY AN ANIMAL FROM PETCO. DON'T DO IT. They're overpriced, poorly cared for, almost universally in terrible health, and your life will become a nightmare of vet bills. Plus store employees generally don't know squat about caring for exotics, though they'll be happy to pretend/insist they do, which is even worse.
Go to faunaclassifieds, go check their private breeder/dealer reviews, and you're sure to find a place to get a HEALTHY animal from--and the cost + shipping will probably be equal to or less than what you'd pay at petco. That's how it went for my ball python, anyway.
OP, those are some cute little guys. What are you feeding them? And what's that in the second pic, I can't tell if it's lettuce or fried egg. If it's lettuce, you should stop feeding it, as it's about as nutritious as cardboard. According to the internet, they need a pretty big variety of foods, even more so than other turtles/tortoises:
"In the wild, red footed tortoises are omnivores and eat a wider range of foods than many other tortoises. Do not overfeed animal protein, though; one serving of low fat cat or dog food a week is plenty. Lean meat can also be fed. They also seem to do well on Mazuri tortoise food. A variety of fresh leafy greens, vegetables, and fruits should also be fed (they also tolerate fruit better than many other species). A calcium and vitamin D3 supplement should be used."
Keep us updated, I love our little shelled friends.
I am also a getting a little tired of it. I work in a Petco that does take care of our animals and we have an amazing reptile specialist not to mention I'm there to educate people about the tarantulas and scorps. You also have to remember that it's not even Petco that raises the animals and if an animal is in poor health, it is taken to the vet. Sometimes animals come in to the store in poor health it is usually the vendor's fault because they breed in mass quantities.im tired of people saying that petcos bad! its not the petco itself, its the people working there. not all petcos take bad care of animals like you say. the one im going to is great. sure, you come across a store that should be close down once in awhile, but thats natural. if you went to the petco i go to you'd realize that. the people tell you what they know or what they've been told, most of them dont pretend. i've never bought an animal thats been in bad health, and i buy most of my animals from petco. i will agree on the overpriced idea though.
You do a great job of generalizing all of the Petco's across America Mushroom. Keep in mind, that not ALL of them are terrible. Have you ever worked in a retail setting? It's nearly impossible to devote 100% attention to any animal in a pet store while you're working there, because your manager/team lead asks you to do other things, while at the same time waiting on customers or ringing people out.Oh god, DON'T BUY AN ANIMAL FROM PETCO. DON'T DO IT. They're overpriced, poorly cared for, almost universally in terrible health, and your life will become a nightmare of vet bills. Plus store employees generally don't know squat about caring for exotics, though they'll be happy to pretend/insist they do, which is even worse.
Go to faunaclassifieds, go check their private breeder/dealer reviews, and you're sure to find a place to get a HEALTHY animal from--and the cost + shipping will probably be equal to or less than what you'd pay at petco. That's how it went for my ball python, anyway.
OP, those are some cute little guys. What are you feeding them? And what's that in the second pic, I can't tell if it's lettuce or fried egg. If it's lettuce, you should stop feeding it, as it's about as nutritious as cardboard. According to the internet, they need a pretty big variety of foods, even more so than other turtles/tortoises:
"In the wild, red footed tortoises are omnivores and eat a wider range of foods than many other tortoises. Do not overfeed animal protein, though; one serving of low fat cat or dog food a week is plenty. Lean meat can also be fed. They also seem to do well on Mazuri tortoise food. A variety of fresh leafy greens, vegetables, and fruits should also be fed (they also tolerate fruit better than many other species). A calcium and vitamin D3 supplement should be used."
Keep us updated, I love our little shelled friends.
...and this is all the more reason not to support the vendors. There are reputable breeders out there... most are small scale and can properly care for their animals.Sometimes animals come in to the store in poor health it is usually the vendor's fault because they breed in mass quantities.