PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The clock is ticking on finding a baby tortoise that is missing in transit.
“I’m really pleading with FedEx to get poor little Ravioli found,” said Alexis Hanes. She and her family adopted a 4-month-old red-footed tortoise named Ravioli from a breeder in Texas. Since they live in the Valley, they made the arrangements to have him shipped overnight using FedEx.
“My son has loved reptiles and tortoises and animals of all sorts since he was a very small child,” said Hanes.
FedEx offers the shipment of animals as a service, but something happened mid-delivery, and now the Hanes family is pleading for someone to rescue Ravioli. A full day has passed since the tortoise was supposed to be delivered to their home.
“This is a live animal, hopefully still living and breathing. I don’t know how else to get FedEx to figure this out and fix it before it’s too late,” Hanes said.
According to Ravioli’s tracking information, he was shipped from Garland, Texas, on Wednesday. He was then shipped to Memphis, Tennessee, where he arrived on Thursday. The trail goes cold from there; there’s no expected delivery date on the tracking information.
Hanes worries Ravioli might be lost among the packages or worse. “Incredibly worried. We’re heartbroken and devastated and so concerned that at this point we’re very worried that Ravioli is imminently not going to make it. This poor baby tortoise is sitting somewhere just not having the proper air at this point,” said Hanes.
According to Dr. Michael Fitzsimmons, a red-footed tortoise expert at the Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital, tortoises are hardy creatures that can survive for a while without food or water.
Arizona’s Family spoke with Dr. Fitzsimmons about Ravioli’s case. He said they would be concerned if the tortoise is missing for over a week, but his main concern is if there are any uncontrolled temperature changes. He said this can lead to environmental trauma and respiratory infections.
“Right now we’re so heartbroken and we’re still we’re hopeful and we’re praying that somehow this doesn’t have the worst outcome,” said Hanes.
FedEx released this statement to Arizona’s Family: “Our team is in direct contact with the owner as we work urgently to locate this very precious shipment. We understand how important pets are to their families and sincerely regret the distress this has caused.”
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