Buying russian tortoises?

[tortoises101]

I live in Ontario, Canada, and you've probably seen my post on the hermann's tort. But recently I've suddenly bumped into an article on the Tortoise Trust regarding russian torts, and after I did a bit of research on this species I think I prefer these over the hermann's. Why? That's another story for another time.

The problem is, in Canada, there are very few breeders of tortoises, much much less than in the USA. So my problem lies here. Most russian torts are smuggled out of their natural habitats in the thousands to meet the demands of the pet trade. I've tried hard to locate some Canadian tortoise breeders, but none of them carry russians.

I've seen a few for sale on Kijiji and Adpost, claiming they were captive bred. Another reptile store Port Credit Pets also has a russian tort for sale, and saying it was Canadian-bred.

I've read on a forum that many turtles in Canada are smuggled from the USA, so buying a tort from a shop makes me a bit suspicious. Can anyone help me?

Thanks

 

[dmmj]

I can't be sure but I am pretty sure there is one forum member on here who lives in canada and breeds russians. If someone could remember for me and help this person out that would be great but I seem to remember a thread a long time ago about such a person.

 

[Isa]

I live in montreal Canada, so I know it can be very hard (see impossible) to get a tortoise from a breeder. Did you call all the pet store you can and add them to call their breeders?

 

[tortoises101]

I live in montreal Canada, so I know it can be very hard (see impossible) to get a tortoise from a breeder. Did you call all the pet store you can and add them to call their breeders?

Hmm, never thought of it that way. Thanks for the advice! I'll try it.

 

[Isa]

Let us know how it goes
Good luck!

 

[tortoises101]

Let us know how it goes
Good luck!

I emailed them and they said that they obtained their russian from a private breeder and cannot give me his/her contact info. Is this a good sign or a bad sign?

 

[dmmj]

they probably don't want you to buy from no one else but them.

 

[MichelleCarrigan78]

Could you get the pet store to order one for you?

 

[Isa]

Let us know how it goes
Good luck!

I emailed them and they said that they obtained their russian from a private breeder and cannot give me his/her contact info. Is this a good sign or a bad sign?

A store here told me the same thing... They told me it is a store policy. What store did you go to? Do you know the place Port credit pet centre? They were at a reptile show in Montreal and they had a lot of tortoises.
Their adresses is 219 Lakeshore road east, Mississauga Ontario Phone # 905-274-8018.

---

Let me know if you find something & Good luck

 

[tortoises101]

Let us know how it goes
Good luck!

I emailed them and they said that they obtained their russian from a private breeder and cannot give me his/her contact info. Is this a good sign or a bad sign?

A store here told me the same thing... They told me it is a store policy. What store did you go to? Do you know the place Port credit pet centre? They were at a reptile show in Montreal and they had a lot of tortoises.
Their adresses is 219 Lakeshore road east, Mississauga Ontario Phone # 905-274-8018.

---

Let me know if you find something & Good luck

---

Yeah, I know a bit about PCP. They were also at the Missisauga Expos but only recently did they have a russian tort in stock. I think that's the only store I asked about the origin of their animals. They also had some hermann and greek torts, hermann's $550 and greeks $750. They were all claimed to be Canadian bred as well. That's probably a portion of the torts at the expo.

And All Reptiles also had a golden greek and a normal greek (ibera), but they were kept in a small aquarium, no UVB lighting, and kept on a few sheets of soiled paper towel without a water dish. Needless to say, I'm definintely not buying from them.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[JourneyTort]

Let us know how it goes
Good luck!

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I just noticed this thread.

There is a guy in Ontario that just bought some adult Russian torts to add to his breeding colony and is hoping to have hatchlings this spring for sale. Do a search on here under Russians, I am sure you will find him and you can PM him.

Good luck. Also if you keep an eye on kijiji for your area there are always a Russian or two for sale, in fact I think there may be an adult male Russian for sale I saw last week or so.

 

[zzzdanz]

The stores will never tell you the breeders name (if there even is 1) because then they lose their profits.Are there crazy restrictions in Canada on getting tortoises into the country or something?

 

[tortoises101]

The stores will never tell you the breeders name (if there even is 1) because then they lose their profits.Are there crazy restrictions in Canada on getting tortoises into the country or something?

You need a permit to import and the torts need to be under my possession in the USA before bringing them here. So basically I would need to establish a group of torts in the USA, drive there, and bring them back personally.

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/imp/petani/amphe.shtml

I don't think importing a tort is worth all the hassle.[/b] I'd rather just move to USA.

---

Let us know how it goes
Good luck!

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I just noticed this thread.

There is a guy in Ontario that just bought some adult Russian torts to add to his breeding colony and is hoping to have hatchlings this spring for sale. Do a search on here under Russians, I am sure you will find him and you can PM him.

Good luck. Also if you keep an eye on kijiji for your area there are always a Russian or two for sale, in fact I think there may be an adult male Russian for sale I saw last week or so.

I have a kijiji account, I've managed to look up a few good torts there. I saw one for $400, not bad for Canada. But there's so much crap ads in the area where I'm looking that I hardly do it anymore. I also saw one for $280 on adpost (which I also have an account). She lives in Vancouver, BC, so I PM her to ask if she ships or delivers. I'll keep you guys updated.