I agree with the other posts about the state of the store and the poor living conditions of the animals. The staff was friendly but clueless. \r
We went to Mark's Ark to buy a tortoise. We wanted a leopard tortoise and ended up with an African spur-thigh tortoise (G. Sulcata). The sales guy said they are, basically, the same. \r
These are NOT the same animal. \r
The leopard tortoise grows slowly to its max size of ~100 lbs over 50 yrs. The Sulcata tortoise will grow to 80 lbs on 5 to 10 yrs! That is a HUGE difference! \r
The sales guy told us that both species of tortoise have the same diet but that was wrong. In fact, if you feed the Sulcata tortoise fruit, which is a staple of the leopard tortoise, your Sulcata will become disfigured (shell pyramiding) and die!?! \r
It’s a good thing I did my own research because everything the sales guy told me was wrong. \r
We are happy with our tortoise and would recommend this species to anyone with pet allergies (and enough space). They can roam around your house like a cat or dog. \r
sulcata-station dot org
Pros: wide selection
Cons: Poor treatment of animals, clueless staff
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