I will not mention the name of the company that did this, they are a *major* supplier of reptiles and some other animals for pet stores in southern Florida, they also ship a lot to other stores out of the state. I don’t want them coming after me.
So I decided to get some fire belly newts. They seemed cute and like interesting pets. I like the cold myself and keep my place cold so it seemed like we would be great roommates.
None of the local pet stores had fire bellies. It turns out the reptile supplier for most of the pet stores in the region lives nearby, so I called them and they said they would get some in that night and for sale tomorrow. I don’t think theysell many animals directly to the public, most of their business is to pet stores etc, so the public does not buy from them much directly, but they do sell to the locals if you walk in.
I set up a tank, tested the water, carefully laid out lots of nice cover for them, land, etc.
I call back in the morning-oh, they still have some left? Great! I head over. I tell them I want to buy two fire belly newts, they bring me into their stock room. Some of the animals, mainly the ones which did not need water, seemed to be in okay conditions. The ones which need water, various sorts of turtles for example, are in large fetid bins, with an inch or 3 of water which is utterly green and looks like it has not been changed in 2 weeks. In fact these tanks have no pipes to put water into the tanks means they have to be putting in (I hope) treated water with a bucket or untreated with a hose…. The terrestrial animals seemed to be in better shape. The expensive animals had slightly less cramped quarters.
So they bring me to the small bin, maybe 4 gallons in volume. In it is a large sponge like plant which is submerged in water and roughly 50 orientalis fire belly newts. Interesting, I did not know that they could have white or grey spots, must be some weird sub-breed, oh well, I am happy to be getting my little newts, I don’ think much of it.
One of the employees takes some of the plant and fills a small plastic bowl with it, selects two and snaps the lid shut. It quickly fogs up, I can’t see the newts well. I am happy to have gotten the newts. I pay, I go home.
I gently place them onto the land area of my tank, near the edge of the water. Both try to get away from the water, I think it a little weird but I know that they do that if they have lived in poor water conditions.
I watch them for a bit…. I notice one has an odd white spot on it’s leg and is walking funny…. and an odd spot on it’s head. I examine it closely. That is not a white spot on it’s leg. That is bone. It’s leg is broken and has been for long enough for much of the flesh in the area to come off, showing white bone. I look more closely and see a large chunk of the top of it’s head is missing and I can see the grey flesh underneath….. I do a double take, understandably surprised and upset.
I very gently pick the little guy and take him back to the supplier. I tell them what happened, they keep asking me what I have in the tank with it and suggest it is my fault and something I had took a bite out of it. I point out that it must have been like this for a while because as they can see, it is not in shock. They don’t believe me, I keep telling them that I have a tank just for them, they grudgingly let me get another one. They take the newt with a chunk of it’s head missing and a leg snapped in half and bone exposed and PUT IT BACK IN THE TANK WITH THE OTHER NEWTS. They don’t isolate it, they don’t euthanize it, they just toss it back into the tank like it is a broken radio they hope they can sell to some other sucker. They pick another one which looks to be healthy, I go home.
Life goes on, I go to work, I come back about 8 hours later. I examine my little newts and worry that the first one I kept is happily exploring the water, but the one I just swapped out is trying to get out of the tank. I watch it…. and notice when it walks one of it’s legs is stuck to the side of it’s body. I VERY gently pick it up and place it on the land. It’s leg is stuck at it’s side and it does not use it when it walks, it is at an odd angle, clearly broken. A very small spot on it’s tail which I thought was molting, was actually a piece of flesh missing. I gently pick it up and take it back.
Once again the people at the supplier question what I kept it in the tank with. I tell them again it is a tank setup just for them. They question me several more times, I eventually tell them that I live just around the corner and invite them to come to my place and look at my tank. We argue and they treated me as if I lied to them and was trying to cheat them. Finally they examined the newt and agreed to let me get a different one, the upset person I was dealing with offers to let me pick it myself, I tell them that is good. I go over to the tank with the employee. Now roughly half the newts are gone, about 20 or so are left. I start to examine them each closely. EACH and every single one of them is clearly hurt. Most of them are missing chunks of flesh on their heads, body or tail, grey patches of flesh clearly visible. Several have broken limbs, I see several with visible bone. One has a tail which is cracked in half and hanging by a bit of skin and muscle, clearly visible. One is missing half of it’s face. I point this out to the employee and he shrugs it off and treats me as if I am still lying to him and somehow hurt two newts from my own actions and were trying to cheat them, despite a tank full of maimed newts right in front of them. I find a single newt which does not look injured, a Japanese fire belly in with a tank of maimed orientalis. The Japanese seemed to be healthy, no injuries, I rescue it and take it out. On my way out I pass the manager, examining the newt I brought back while eating pizza. He eats, touches the newt with both hands and then takes another bite from the pizza. I tell him he has a tank of dying newts, he shrugs my comment off and says it is the fault of the supplier… as if this as some excuse for him to not put these wretched animals out of their misery?
These are not very costly animals and I am sure the profit margin on them is very low but this place treated me like a liar and a thief, while they maintain a bin of death. They had a tank of animals they should have humanely euthanized immediately. Assuming they cannot sell them, I would not be surprised if they just took the bin and tossed the dying newts in a garbage bin.
Happy ending: My two newts are in their new home and seem happy enough, for now. I worry that they may be diseased from such crappy conditions but if they are they are both already sick and in a tank by themselves, so they won’t get anything else sick.
So I decided to get some fire belly newts. They seemed cute and like interesting pets. I like the cold myself and keep my place cold so it seemed like we would be great roommates.
None of the local pet stores had fire bellies. It turns out the reptile supplier for most of the pet stores in the region lives nearby, so I called them and they said they would get some in that night and for sale tomorrow. I don’t think theysell many animals directly to the public, most of their business is to pet stores etc, so the public does not buy from them much directly, but they do sell to the locals if you walk in.
I set up a tank, tested the water, carefully laid out lots of nice cover for them, land, etc.
I call back in the morning-oh, they still have some left? Great! I head over. I tell them I want to buy two fire belly newts, they bring me into their stock room. Some of the animals, mainly the ones which did not need water, seemed to be in okay conditions. The ones which need water, various sorts of turtles for example, are in large fetid bins, with an inch or 3 of water which is utterly green and looks like it has not been changed in 2 weeks. In fact these tanks have no pipes to put water into the tanks means they have to be putting in (I hope) treated water with a bucket or untreated with a hose…. The terrestrial animals seemed to be in better shape. The expensive animals had slightly less cramped quarters.
So they bring me to the small bin, maybe 4 gallons in volume. In it is a large sponge like plant which is submerged in water and roughly 50 orientalis fire belly newts. Interesting, I did not know that they could have white or grey spots, must be some weird sub-breed, oh well, I am happy to be getting my little newts, I don’ think much of it.
One of the employees takes some of the plant and fills a small plastic bowl with it, selects two and snaps the lid shut. It quickly fogs up, I can’t see the newts well. I am happy to have gotten the newts. I pay, I go home.
I gently place them onto the land area of my tank, near the edge of the water. Both try to get away from the water, I think it a little weird but I know that they do that if they have lived in poor water conditions.
I watch them for a bit…. I notice one has an odd white spot on it’s leg and is walking funny…. and an odd spot on it’s head. I examine it closely. That is not a white spot on it’s leg. That is bone. It’s leg is broken and has been for long enough for much of the flesh in the area to come off, showing white bone. I look more closely and see a large chunk of the top of it’s head is missing and I can see the grey flesh underneath….. I do a double take, understandably surprised and upset.
I very gently pick the little guy and take him back to the supplier. I tell them what happened, they keep asking me what I have in the tank with it and suggest it is my fault and something I had took a bite out of it. I point out that it must have been like this for a while because as they can see, it is not in shock. They don’t believe me, I keep telling them that I have a tank just for them, they grudgingly let me get another one. They take the newt with a chunk of it’s head missing and a leg snapped in half and bone exposed and PUT IT BACK IN THE TANK WITH THE OTHER NEWTS. They don’t isolate it, they don’t euthanize it, they just toss it back into the tank like it is a broken radio they hope they can sell to some other sucker. They pick another one which looks to be healthy, I go home.
Life goes on, I go to work, I come back about 8 hours later. I examine my little newts and worry that the first one I kept is happily exploring the water, but the one I just swapped out is trying to get out of the tank. I watch it…. and notice when it walks one of it’s legs is stuck to the side of it’s body. I VERY gently pick it up and place it on the land. It’s leg is stuck at it’s side and it does not use it when it walks, it is at an odd angle, clearly broken. A very small spot on it’s tail which I thought was molting, was actually a piece of flesh missing. I gently pick it up and take it back.
Once again the people at the supplier question what I kept it in the tank with. I tell them again it is a tank setup just for them. They question me several more times, I eventually tell them that I live just around the corner and invite them to come to my place and look at my tank. We argue and they treated me as if I lied to them and was trying to cheat them. Finally they examined the newt and agreed to let me get a different one, the upset person I was dealing with offers to let me pick it myself, I tell them that is good. I go over to the tank with the employee. Now roughly half the newts are gone, about 20 or so are left. I start to examine them each closely. EACH and every single one of them is clearly hurt. Most of them are missing chunks of flesh on their heads, body or tail, grey patches of flesh clearly visible. Several have broken limbs, I see several with visible bone. One has a tail which is cracked in half and hanging by a bit of skin and muscle, clearly visible. One is missing half of it’s face. I point this out to the employee and he shrugs it off and treats me as if I am still lying to him and somehow hurt two newts from my own actions and were trying to cheat them, despite a tank full of maimed newts right in front of them. I find a single newt which does not look injured, a Japanese fire belly in with a tank of maimed orientalis. The Japanese seemed to be healthy, no injuries, I rescue it and take it out. On my way out I pass the manager, examining the newt I brought back while eating pizza. He eats, touches the newt with both hands and then takes another bite from the pizza. I tell him he has a tank of dying newts, he shrugs my comment off and says it is the fault of the supplier… as if this as some excuse for him to not put these wretched animals out of their misery?
These are not very costly animals and I am sure the profit margin on them is very low but this place treated me like a liar and a thief, while they maintain a bin of death. They had a tank of animals they should have humanely euthanized immediately. Assuming they cannot sell them, I would not be surprised if they just took the bin and tossed the dying newts in a garbage bin.
Happy ending: My two newts are in their new home and seem happy enough, for now. I worry that they may be diseased from such crappy conditions but if they are they are both already sick and in a tank by themselves, so they won’t get anything else sick.
.