Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was walking down the street in manhattan yesterday,i was walking through the west village.for you guys who are not from NYC,the west village is known mainly for the "gay areas in manhatttan" anyway,i was walking past a gay video store and there was a sign in the window saying"horny toads for sale"....then another sign saying,""better than gerbils"..i dont know what that means but all i know is that they were selling them for 95 dollars each ,so i only had enough money to buy one. id like to get some feedback on how i should care for him.any care sheets ect.id like to post a photo but have not figured out how yet.thanks...i once rescued a turtle in manhattans china town..they where selling them for turtle soup,it died cause i couldnt care for it,i dont want the same thing to happen..do HL eat corn by any chance? there was a piece of corn stuck to the side of his head when i found him.just curious cause i didnt find anything in this forum about that.

please post a picture of this horned lizard so that we may make a positive ID. and post the name, address, and any other relevant information pertinent to the identity of this "establishment" so that I may pursue whatever action may be warranted. if this is a horned lizard, I am particularly interested in discovering whether it is a protected species as well. if you do not wish to post this information publically, you may email me at fireside3@hotmail.com

no, they are definitely not herbivores. they specialize in eating ants, but small crickets from the pet store will do as a substitute until you can get some ants. also, dependent on species, would you consider shipping this animal to someone of experience with horned lizards. thank you.

Mick

you may post a picture on the forum by doing the following;
>click on the photo gallery link that appears just under the kingsnake.com banner near the top of the page.
>select upload photos from the right hand side of the page
>if you do not have an account you will have to create one and log in for this function.
>choose the category "horned lizards"
>browse your hard drive to select the picture.
>after picture is uploaded to the gallery, go back to forum and post a reply. the image will appear under "select image from photo gallery" under the dialogue box, and just above the "post message" button. select the photo and this will attach it to your next reply.

Mick

If I am understanding the gerbal implications that is one of the strangest stories I have ever heard and pretty sad.
If possible these guys should be dissuaded at least and prosecuted if possible.
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www.phrynosoma.com

thanks for responding,i now understand the gerbil thing...my girlfriend actually explained it to me,i feel kinda nieve but i just never heard of that.anyway,im from jersey so i dont really know the name of the store,nor do i know the address,but now that i understand the implications of this,i will be sure to find out.as to the species,i will post a picture but i seriously doubt it will make any difference as to the seriousness of their offence.seriously now,i think subjecting any animal to that would be a horror.i do have to say that i also seriously doubt they intended to sell them for anything other than a joke.any of us who have held one of these,knows that it is not possible to do such things with them.their horns would prevent it.i just think that a gay video store selling quote"horny toads" was just a joke that the management thought would be funny.i will now take pictures and post them as soon as a charge my camera battery.but i believe i already know the species.he is a solare ,if thats how its spelt.thanks to cables web site,i was able to id him and also get the proper "care for" info.i keep and breed veiled chameleons,and their diet is made up of mostly silk worms.could i feed him these as well?i live in northern new jersey,on the border of manhattan and jersey.it is very urban,not different than manhattan in the sence that everything is covered in concrete.ants are not easy to come by.only roaches are seen often,and i wouldnt feed these due to the fact that they are contaminated with pesticides im sure.

oh yea ,and another thing.i almost didnt post this message due to the fact that it is hard to believe and i was afraid that i wouldnt be taken seriously.to tell you the truth,had i known the meaning of the "gerbil" thing,i wouldnt have posted in the first place.

knowing the meaning behind the "girbil thing" should make you all the more determined to post the message and do something about it, not less inclined...but that's just me. I don't shy from the wrong because it is embarrasing.
to do so, I think, is cowardice.

the particular species would absolutely make a difference as to how any possible offense is pursued. and it shouldn't be too hard to find out the name and address of this place since you were there, and walked into this establishment.

I also think it's an irresponsible cop out to arbitrarily assume this is a joke or gag. I guess cramming a gerbil into someones a-hole is safe and normal??? but a horned lizard is just absolutely crossing the line and can't be believed??? it would be an egregious error in judgement to assume what these people, with such sick degenerate whims, would or would not do.

at the least the ASPCA should be notified so that the situation can be investigated. so far, at the least, it sounds like they are not being cared for properly due to some ignorance of what they eat. whether it's a joke or not they will probably all die. if not due to outright sicko animal cruelty perversions, then due to improper care.

why post on the damn thing at all if your not willing to do something about it? that's what I think, just felt it should be said.

MICK

Hey,
There are many here that are glad you posted and also that you are willing to look up the address. It really should be delt with if possible.
Thanks for taking the time.
Cheers!
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www.phrynosoma.com

ok, my bad. I don't capitalize much either, but, the way the message was typed, it was kind of a run on. there was very little speration between the sentences, so I didn't see the period. I thought he was saying "i will be sure to find out as to the species". sorry

Mick

seeing the punctuation makes a big difference as to how it is taken, and, I apologize once again to the original author for missing it. I do appreciate your efforts.

I still believe the balance of my messge stands though. i.e.; one should not assume it is merely a joke, and, one should not be disuaded from taking action once the meaning was known. I don't think that is out of line to expect.

Mick