Interesting find

[jenniferinny]

Wow, amazing find! I would love to find a Sulcata.. Around here they are still pretty desirable because you can keep them in a yard here almost year round.
Back when we were living in NY, it would have been easy to find one on craigslist or something. There are some in the local rescues, but not too many regular people advertising them for rehoming..
We were thinking about getting one right before we moved to Florida but then decided we'd wait till we moved.
Oh well, there's a rescue in Michigan that has a bunch of them, so we may adopt one when we are on vacation this summer.
I hope you get to keep him, my tortoise has to be close to my favorite pet ever. I tease my dogs that when they pass on I'm getting more tortoises instead.. ;P

 

[Toirtis]

Wow, amazing find! I would love to find a Sulcata.. Around here they are still pretty desirable because you can keep them in a yard here almost year round.
Back when we were living in NY, it would have been easy to find one on craigslist or something. There are some in the local rescues, but not too many regular people advertising them for rehoming..

I am surprised...at the big Daytona show a few years back, they were selling 2/$20, and there were hundreds (all from Arizona breeders, I believe).

 

[jenniferinny]

Oh yeah, I'm sure I could get one cheap at a reptile show.. Probably not even too badly priced at a pet store..
BUT, I know how many of them are in some rescues in the north and really thought I would find the same situation here. There are a few sliders here and there, but, so far I can't find any sulcatas.
No luck on the local craigslists either..
I don't have a problem with just buying say a redfoot tortoise, there aren't anywhere near as many of those abandoned. BUT, with a species that the rescues had plenty of up north, I'd rather adopt or find one from someone who needs to get rid of their pet rather then buying a baby one.
There was a rescue I applied to in western NY that was incredibly rude that we ended up not adopting from. I had applied with a list of species I was interested in adopting depending on what they had available. At the time I figured there were about 5 common species I thought I could easily keep and didn't really care whether I got a redfoot or a russian. BUT, those obviously have different housing requirements. An adult redfoot or a juvenlie russian especially would be housed differently.
On the application, it asked how I would house, and I described the setup I would build depending on which one they had. I had vet records for 10 years for my other pets, everything spayed/neutered, had researched diet thoroughly and so on.
Anyhow, there was a question asking me what setup I had now. I responded that I didn't have a setup because I would build one depending on what species they had available and it's current size. I'm not going to put a 3" baby in the same size enclosure as an adult. But, I stated that the enclosure would be built before I brought a tortoise home and I'd be happy to provide photos if they would just let me know if they had any of those species that I thought I could care for.. I did explain what my setup would be depending on species and size.
In response to the extensive 5 page application, I got a snarky two sentence response that if I didn't have the enclosure already built then I wasn't ready for ANY tortoise and should really think about whether or not I'm responsible enough to own one.
I guess I was supposed to have an enclosure built for each species and size they could possibly have available.
So, I bought one from a local breeder.
I may find that it's a case where SOME rescues have plenty of tortoises because they don't adopt any of them out and that any who do actually read their applications don't have any because they're all adopted out.
Guess we'll see..

 

[Toirtis]

I guess what I was trying to say is that with them selling so cheaply, and in large quantity over the last 6-7 years, that one would expect there to be a least a few hundred 10"-24" specimens needing homes in Florida.

 

[jenniferinny]

I guess what I was trying to say is that with them selling so cheaply, and in large quantity over the last 6-7 years, that one would expect there to be a least a few hundred 10"-24" specimens needing homes in Florida.

I know right, you would think so..
and yet, here's the local craigslist:
http://orlando.craigslist.org/search/pet?query=tortoise

3 ads for Sulcatas in the last 2 months, 2 are from the same guy who didn't respond to my emails and the more recent one isn't sure yet what fee he wants for it.

and I've been on a waiting list with the local shelter for a year just in case they get one in.. lol.. BUT, I didn't really expect them to get one, I just wanted to cover all my bases.

I posted a wanted ad a few times, and only got the same guy responding wanting to sell me one for $300.

If you just search for sulcata instead of tortoise, the two local results show up, BUT, then there's one a few hours away. BUT, that is someone who doesn't need to get rid of it, just needs the money, so wants $125 for a baby with a crappy aquarium..

I mean, a rehoming fee is fine and all, I agree with rehoming fees. BUT, they shouldn't be higher then the cost to go to a breeder and buy a healthy one that isn't all pyramided from improper housing and diet.


Edited to add: I called the shelter again today just for the heck of it to see if they've gotten any tortoises in. The person who answered stated that they "don't adopt them out". I asked if there was a rescue they gave them too and she said no. She referred me to a florida animal rights group to answer my questions about why they don't adopt out reptiles.. Turns out they just euthanize them all and won't hand them over to anyone because they don't believe reptiles should be pets.. SO, go figure..