Petco
Russian Tortoises With Overgrown Claws in Plover, Wisconsin Store

We were driving through Plover (Stevens Point), Wisconsin, at about 6:30 pm on a Saturday night. I have a Russian tortoise, so of course I am attracted to the reptile department. I was really concerned to see a large female whose claws were so long that they curled beneath her feet and made it difficult for her to walk properly. (They tend toward long claws, which is normal, but these were severely too long.)

They are a burrowing tortoise, but there was only a dusting of substrate in the tank, which I think helped lead to this issue. Furthermore, they had 1 female in a tank with 3 males. Ideally, since they are solitary in the wild, Russians are kept alone. If females must be mixed with males, the recommended ratio is one male to 3 females, so that mating attempts can be spread out to avoid stressing and physically harming the females. They had one female to 3 males.

When I told the Petco employee that the nails were far too long, she tried to make me believe this was a recent thing. Claws do not grow that quickly. I told her that if they put in a piece of slate, a flat rock, or an overturned ceramic tile, it would help wear the claws down so they do not grow so long, after the female has a proper clipping. (If a Russian tortoise is given proper care, you should never have to clip nails.) She said she had to follow "PetCo policy" and could not put that in. I told her certainly PetCo policy is not neglecting their tortoises. I referred her to www.tortoisetrust.org for proper tortoise care, and she rolled her eyes.

She then said the shell was not looking right. It was fine on the female, though the males did show some signs of possible old damage. Tortoises sold in chain pet stores tend to be wild caught, and in shipping they often suffer damage and shell rot, so this is to be expected. She said she had better take it to the vet, whisked it out of the tank, and walked to the back room. It was a Saturday night. Why wouldn't she leave it in the tank until Monday?

Also, these tortoises sell for 139 dollars. I very much doubt they are taking it to a vet, which would cost more than their profit margin. Besides, it did not necessarily need a vet. It needed some nail clippers (the same kind you use on a bird), some substrate in its tank, and a place to hide from the males.

I live an hour away from this town, so I will be unable to check what they have done with this beautiful tortoise, who is probably at least 20 years old. I have contacted the local humane society and sent pictures, and I wrote to Petco, but they had nowhere on their site to refer pet store animal-care concerns, so I do not know if my email will be seen by anyone that matters or simply by a minimum-wage customer care rep.

In an age where almost everyone has a camera on their phone, there is no excuse for animal neglect in pet stores. The remedy is a simple place for customers to send photos of their concerns to the parent company, so that they can stand behind their motto of "animals first" and remedy problems. I have photos but nowhere to send them, except the humane society, which I did.

Company: Petco
Country: USA

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