Jan 04 2009
Is this the best deal on a tortoise ever, or what?
Everyone loves to find a great deal, especially when it comes to buying reptiles that can be expensive. But just because you find an animal in the newspaper or online classifieds for an unbelievable price doesn’t mean you’ve hit the herp lovers jackpot. There is a chance that the sweet deal on an adult Russian tortoise or Spider Ball Python really is too good to be true. Before you hand over your money and start patting yourself on the back for getting the deal of the century, only to wind up with a sickly or genetically inferior animal, make sure to ask some important questions first.
1) How long have the current owners had the reptile? Where did they get it from? Why are they getting rid of it?
2) Has the reptile had any health problems in the time that they had it? Has it ever been checked out by a veterinarian? Has it been housed with any other animals since they’ve had it? Did any of them have health problems?
3) What have they been feeding the reptile? Have they had any problems with it refusing food? Has it ever gone a prolonged period of time without eating? Has it ever shown signs of sickness from something that it ate?
4) If you are seeing the listing for this animal online or in the newspaper, can the current owners send you some pictures so that you can get an idea of what it looks like? Can they give you pictures from several sides and angles, including the head, back, tail, and underbelly? It is important for you to take a good look at the reptile to see if it has any problems with its scales, limbs, eyes, ears, or mouth.
5) Can the current owners tell you how old the reptile is? Can they give you an approximate size for it? While tortoises can live up to 80 years, lizards such as Bearded Dragons live a considerably shorter amount of time. It can be difficult to pay for a reptile after being told it is a young adult, only to have it die of old age shortly afterward.
6) Do the owners know if the reptile was captive bred or wild caught? Wild caught animals are more likely to carry internal parasites then ones that were bred in captivity, and knowing their background can help you decide if it is a good idea to bring them into your home.
If the current owners of the reptile you are interested in won’t answer your questions or show you pictures up front, or if you find the animal very different upon meeting it as you were expecting because of the current owners’ answers, you should seriously rethink purchasing it.
