The re-location of a funky pet store and its bright blue-ness lured me yesterday. The cockatiels were beguiling me with all their flirty might to adopt them, surely with the secret plan of seducing me into letting them GO and join the parrots in my treetops….there is no way they could handle the freedom or the parrots! Hence I turned my attention to baby sulcata tortoises. My tortoise history sprang to life and I recognized every head bob….and though I was not thinking of bringing one home with me, the young man behind the counter seemed to grok my connection and so he sailed in and ‘warned’ me. Gently. He asked me questions about my livng area, inside and out….and any plans to re-locate.
This was suspect…and fun. “WHY?” asked I. “Because of their size” said he. I blinked.
He said that these particular tortoises grow SUPREMELY fast and HUGE.
“What?”
“YES, and therefore they get abandoned across the board.”
“How fast and huge?”
“In one year they grow from tiny babies to the size of a football, and in five or six years they are too big for most households”.
IS THIS NOT WONDROUS??????
I love it.
Hmmmmmmmmm.