A surveillance camera shows the customer reach into a bin at Rainforest Pets, grab the tortoise and put it in his pocket.
LEAGUE CITY, Texas — A longtime pet store in League City is hoping the person who recently stole a tiny tortoise will return it — or at least take good care of it.
Rainforest Pets is a family-owned shop that’s been in business for more than 20 years.
Store manager Kira Cusimano said the customer came into the store on Saturday, August 23, and bought a few items. She didn’t realize that the guy had slipped a baby tortoise into his pocket a few minutes earlier and then left without paying for it.
A surveillance camera shows the man in a red t-shirt and matching basketball shorts pick up the tiny tortoise from a bin on the floor and slip it into his pocket.
Employees didn’t realize what happened until the next day, when they replayed the video.
“He comes in, he’s looking around, he put some things up at the counter he plans on buying and then we have him on camera actually here coming through here, picking up the tortoise, putting it in his pocket, and then he comes back around to the counter, pays for his things, and goes on about, and we didn’t catch it,” Cusimano said.
Cusimano said the baby tortoises, which sell for about $150, were being kept inside plastic totes so customers could see and hold them. She said the containers also provide the humidity baby tortoises need to survive.
But that setup, Cusimano admits, also created an opportunity.
“He did fool us, he was shopping around looking at other mantises and tarantulas and not really anything in the reptile section,” she said.
For Cusimano, the incident is personal. Rainforest Pets has built a reputation as a family-oriented shop where people are encouraged to interact with animals. But she said thefts like this have forced them to tighten how things operate.
“We used to be a store very family-oriented and let everyone hold stuff, and we still do,” Cusimano said. “But now it’s much more locked down, and we really have to focus so that this doesn’t happen again, unfortunately.”
Cusimano says what worries her most is the animal’s survival. The tortoise is only a few months old and requires very specific care.
“They’re very, very sensitive, especially at this age,” Cusimano said. “They need super high humidity requirements, and if they dry out or don’t have a proper diet, they just won’t thrive.”
She said only two siblings are still alive out of 10, and now only one remains.
The ones who do survive can live as long as 200 years, according to Cuisimano
She had this message for the thief.
“I hope that you take care of it, maybe do some research, or if you have any good in your heart, to return it,” Cuisimano said.
The store has filed a report with the League City Police Department and posted the surveillance video on its Facebook page. They’re hoping it leads to the suspect’s arrest and serves as a warning to other pet stores.
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