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DAILY RECORD (York, Pennsylvania) 07 June 07 Slow, steady detective work is the way to go when your tortoise runs away (Angie Mason)
To calm the fears of her 4-year-old daughter, Rachael Perring said their pet Victor had just gone for a walk.
But Mom was worried, too. She hoped he wasn't lying on the bottom of some pond.
Victor is an 8-year-old African Sulcata tortoise, about 18 inches long, a foot wide, and still growing. The Perrings rescued him from a pet store in Lancaster last year.
The tortoise usually spends his days in an enclosed area in the basement of the Perrings' Springettsbury Township home. He's sometimes allowed upstairs for an hour or so for a change of scenery.
Last Wednesday, it was warm enough for him to wander in the backyard of the North Findlay Street home, chomping on grass. That's when he made his escape.
Victor broke through the fence surrounding the yard.
"They move like tanks. If they can see (somewhere) they want to go ... they'll dig or push until they can reach it," she said.
Victor disappeared, and the Perrings spent the day piecing together tortoise sightings.
Neighbors found Victor but didn't know where he came from. They snapped some photos and then placed him at the edge of nearby Mill Creek.
It was exactly the kind of place Perring hoped he didn't end up. Victor can't swim.
"If someone puts him in a big body of water, he's just going to sink to the bottom and drown," she said.
Victor headed away from the creek, which is several blocks from his home. His short legs carried him to the grassy edge of Industrial Highway.
There, he was discovered again. His second would-be savior also picked him up and took him to the banks of the creek. He had to start his journey over.
Meanwhile, the Perrings tried everything they could think of to find him. They called pet shops, veterinarians and animal control to no avail.
They placed a classified ad Thursday. The same day, Rachael Perring visited Just Cabinets on Industrial Highway and asked if they had seen Victor. Employees there said they saw someone in a truck pull off to the side of the road, pick up a tortoise and put it in the back.
"At that point we were kind of at a dead end," Perring said.
But Friday, she got a call from someone who saw the ad.
Victor was safe and sound in a home on Pine Street, a few miles away in York. The Perrings picked him up that day.
Now, his owner can laugh about it a little. Victor, who can walk pretty fast when he wants, made it from Findlay Street to Pine Street "by no fault of his own," she said.
"You wouldn't for one minute think you could lose a tortoise, certainly not that size," she said.
Victor is recuperating from his trip. He didn't smell great when he got home, but he ran when Perring tried to hose him down. He took refuge in the corner of his basement pen and pulled himself in his shell.
Perring's happy he's been returned safely. The family's building a new enclosure for him in the backyard.
"He's just kind of irreplaceable," she said.
About Victor
Victor the tortoise is 8 years old. The Perrings rescued him from That Fish Place-That Pet Place in Lancaster in March 2006. He had been dropped off there a year before by his previous owner.
The shop kept him for a year because he had dietary problems, Rachael Perring said. If a tortoise like Victor is fed too much protein, its shell becomes misshapen, she said. Victor was fed too much protein, and that's why his shell, which should be smooth, has pyramid-shaped bumps.
Their Ad
The Perrings placed the following classified ad when their pet, Victor, went missing:
Lost Large Tortoise Last seen May 30th on Industrial Highway. If found do not put in water he will DIE. REWARD.
Slow, steady detective work is the way to go when your tortoise runs away

Why do people always call it a rescue when they purchase a tortoise from a politically incorrect pet shop or other source?

No the article doesn't outright say the tortoise was purchsed but I would bet money was exchanged. That is a purchase.

Wow! Rescued for That Pet Place to spend out most of his hours in a cellar! I am sure the people mean well but a cellar is totally inappropriate & far, very far, from a "rescue".

oh gods, that bugs me, too. can't someone just come out and say that they bought their pet from a crappy pet store because they felt sorry for it?

incidentally there is a russian tort suffering from shell rot in a puppy-mill-supporting hellhole of a pet store near where i live. i asked to speak to someone in the store about it, and both the manager and the "reptile person" weren't there. i called back later and the "reptile person" had the gall to talk down ot me as though she was taking care of it and i didn't know what i was talking about.

i can't say that the though of buying it to help it didn't cross my mind -- and i wouldn't think less of myself if i did, but at the same time, you can't save all of them, you know?

Exactly!
We have all walked into crappy pet stores & wanted to save some of the animals offered. But it still would be a purchase not a "rescue". You have to weigh wether by purchasing this animal & *saving* it, is it better to save this ONE animal or does it make the situation worse by giving the store a sale & incentive to order more of the same animals & place them all in the same bad situation. Tough call.

If you do buy a sickly reptile from a petstore, always try to buy it at a discounted price. This will hurt them in the pocket and they usually are less likely to buy that species again if they are constantly having to sell them discounted because they are sick.

At the store I work at (I manage fish and reptiles at a local store), if animals are not doing well I take them off sale, and start treating. If someone wants to "save" them, and they pass my questioning (to make sure they know what they are doing) I buy the animal for $1 and give it to them. (my boss says we legally cannot give things away for free).

HELLO
I OWN A REPTILE STORE AND I AM VERY ANTI SICK SELLS
PEOPLE TURN IN REPTILES ALL THE TIME IN VERY BAD SHAPE AND WE KEEP SOME IN THE STORE BUT NEVER FOR SALE
REPEAT CUSTOMERS IS WHERE THE REAL BUISNESS IS
WC AND SICK ANIMALS SHOULD NOT EVEN BE OFFERED FOR SALE UNLESS YOU HAVE TOLD THEM THE ANIMALS CONDITION
I DO NOT SELL ANY REPTILES THAT I WOULD NOT BUY FOR MY SELF
I ACTUALLY GUARANTEE MOST OF THE REPTILES IN MY STORE IF THEY ARE SET UP PROPERLY
I USE TO GO AROUND AND BUY THEM TOO AND NOW HAVE REALISED THE TRUTH
SUPPORTING THESE PRACTICES GIVES US ALL A BAD NAME
YOU ARE NOT SAVING THEM THEY WILL HAVE ANOTHER IN A WEEK
A SICK ANIMAL IS NEVER A BARGAN USUALLY JUST ALOT OF WORK FOR NOTHING.
BAD SHOPS WERE MY INSENTIVE FOR OPENING MY SHOP AND WE STRIVE TO OFFER QUALITY HEALTHY REPTILES AND WORK OUR BUTTS OF TO MAKE IT THAT WAY
NOTHING ALL THAT FANCY BUT WE HAVE HEALTHY REPTILES THAT WE STAND BEHIND
WE MAINLY BUY FROM PRIVATE BREEDERS AND PRODUCE ALOT OF OUR OWN SURPLUS.
THANKS
JEFF
PLANET REPTILES