PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 The clock is ticking on finding a baby tortoise that is missing in transit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really pleading with FedEx to get poor little Ravioli found,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son has loved reptiles and tortoises and animals of all sorts since he was a very small child,\u201d said Hanes.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a live animal, hopefully still living and breathing. I don\u2019t know how else to get FedEx to figure this out and fix it before it\u2019s too late,\u201d Hanes said.<\/p>\n
According to Ravioli\u2019s 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\u2019s no expected delivery date on the tracking information.<\/p>\n
Hanes worries Ravioli might be lost among the packages or worse. \u201cIncredibly worried. We\u2019re heartbroken and devastated and so concerned that at this point we\u2019re 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,\u201d said Hanes.<\/p>\n
According to Dr. Michael Fitzsimmons, a red-footed tortoise expert at the Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital<\/a>, tortoises are hardy creatures that can survive for a while without food or water.<\/p>\n Arizona\u2019s Family spoke with Dr. Fitzsimmons about Ravioli\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now we\u2019re so heartbroken and we\u2019re still we\u2019re hopeful and we\u2019re praying that somehow this doesn\u2019t have the worst outcome,\u201d said Hanes.<\/p>\n FedEx released this statement to Arizona\u2019s Family: \u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n