Well, even the Aquarium Center sells wild-caught tortoises and turtles. I've seen some sad-looking ornate box turtles in there before. I might recommend them for supplies, but I do not recommend them to anyone wanting to buy a reptile. For that I recommend 2001 or a local breeder or rescue.



Where are you located again? Are there any reptile rescues in your area? Once I learned of 2001's captive bred policy, and visited the shop to see how well cared-for the reptiles were, I started recommending them to everyone. One woman drives 45 minutes each way once a month to stock up there, rather than buying from a chain store closer to her. Get a good relationship with the rescues, even if they aren't reptile related, and they'll help you.



As for shows, if I go to one, I'll warn people about the cheap pythons and wild-caught horned toads and tortoises. I work a crowd! I can usually pick out which vendors have the healthy/captive bred animals, and have no shame about sending people to them, even as they're about to make a purchase from a WC vendor. If your animals look good, I'll show my appreciation by sending people your way.



The way things are going, it soon may become very hard indeed to import. Talking about monkey pox and snake-headed fish, and the fact that Congress may not like the idea of imports now.



Katrina

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