July 2016 by Meredith
This place needs to be shut down. I am calling the flea market as soon as i post this to complain. Went and bought a baby "leopard belly slider" (these are actually called Yellow Bellied Sliders) for 8$. The care sheet and instructions we were given very specifically state to keep your turtle(s) in small tanks (less than 10 gallons) and they would stay small, and heat lamps and filters are unnecessary. The lady actually told us that we should NOT go to a PetCo or other similar store because they would rip us off and sell us these unnecessary items. The more research I did on my new pet, the angrier I became. Apparently, NONE OF THIS IS TRUE. Turtles, like the one I bought, need 10 gallons PER INCH OF SHELL!! They grow to almost 11 inches if female, and 8 if male. & If they do not get that "unnecessary" heat and uvb lamp, they will suffer and die. This is NOT AN EXAGGERATION. I am disgusted with the purposeful misinformation to new pet owners. These animals are an INVESTMENT, and are not an inexpensive pet. They can live 30 years! You should be ashamed that you sell pets with the completely wrong information to people! I am keeping my turtle because I do not want it to suffer because of my lack of pre-research(also because I have no choice because there was no receipt given) but I can imagine that the children and parents I saw in the store buying turtles earlier today will be most disappointed to see their pet die within the year, having followed your embarrassingly inaccurate instructions. What you are doing is bordering on, if not outright, animal abuse.