LONGMONT — If you’re looking for that special pet, a companion that’ll live 50 years or more, likes warm damp climates and doesn’t want to play fetch — petting, cuddling or any other manhandling for that matter — the Longmont-based Colorado Reptile Humane Society may have the perfect match.
Of course, you’ll have to successfully complete the adoption application process — complete with screening and counseling.
And you probably should hurry.
The agency has been flooded with phone calls and applications after recently announcing that dozens of Southeast Asian soft-shelled turtles seized at Denver International Airport in March are now available for adoption.
The Reptile Humane Society was asked to house the 50 rare-breed turtles last spring after U.S. Fish and Wildlife inspectors determined that they were illegally imported from Thailand by a Denver-area pet store that did not have proper permits.
Turtles with shells less than four inches long can’t be imported or sold commercially, and the Asian soft-shell turtles — when they arrived in Denver — were less than one inch long, said Ann-Elizabeth Nash, executive director of the Reptile Humane Society.
Since March, the Longmont shelter has gotten the turtles into appropriate housing and on a suitable diet, and they’ve grown to be about 2.5 inches long, Nash said. Because the shelter isn’t selling the turtles, she said, it can legally adopt them out now.
See the rest of this report, including video of the turtles and contact information for the Longmont shelter, at .
