How To Tell If A Juvenile/ Yearling is healthy

[SarahTheAwesome]

I'm very inexperienced in the tortoise world. I'm new to this forum and everything related to tortoises! I recently rescued two Hermann's Tortoise hatchlings and they were very ill. As predicted, they didn't last long. At least they were comfortable in the end and are in a better place. I had tortoises in my early childhood but we had to rehome them and my mom had finally been inspired to make a long-term commitment and buy a tortoise. We were contemplating buying an African Spurred Tortoise, as our two courtyards offer excellent outdoor enclosers and the weather in my country is somewhat perfect for a tortoise with our year-round summer. I am excited to add to our family with a tortoise but I am not confident in my local pet shops reptile selection, I don't want to introduce a tortoise that isn't healthy and risk another tortoise death as it's for my autistic brother who was quite traumatised by the Hermann's death. I would like to know if there are tips and traits to look for in the pet shop when selecting a baby tortoise to make sure it's healthy? I know I sound inexperienced and silly, but I am so I apologise for the stupid question, but I really want this tortoise to be a big part of my brother life as he always wanted one.
-SarahTheAwesome

 

[JoesMum]

Hi Sarah

Whereabouts in the world are you?

You are far more likely to get a healthy animal from a breeder. There may even be someone on TFO near you

Pet stores have a nasty habit of saying what they think you want to here and having no idea how their stock was actually raised.

 

[SarahTheAwesome]

Hi Sarah

Whereabouts in the world are you?

You are far more likely to get a healthy animal from a breeder. There may even be someone on TFO near you

Pet stores have a nasty habit of saying what they think you want to here and having no idea how their stock was actually raised.

I live in the Middle East, in a country called the United Arab Emirates, some may know it as Dubai or Al Ain. It's a desert converted to a city and my local pet shop sells lively tortoises and they seem healthy, I just wanted a way to make sure. I'm almost certain there are no breeders here I've done so much research, thanks for the help though!

 

[Stuart S.]

Hello and welcome!

It's a coin flip with pet shops but I have also never been to one in the United Arab Emirates, so I can't say anything for them but what does their enclosures look like? Lights? Dryness? Ask the shop workers what temps they keep their babies at to check their knowledge...does the babies look dry? Is there signs of early pyramiding? Can you see what kind of foods are being fed? I would look through everything and see...it may turn out to be a perfectly healthy baby! Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[SarahTheAwesome]

Hello and welcome!

It's a coin flip with pet shops but I have also never been to one in the United Arab Emirates, so I can't say anything for them but what does their enclosures look like? Lights? Dryness? Ask the shop workers what temps they keep their babies at to check their knowledge...does the babies look dry? Is there signs of early pyramiding? Can you see what kind of foods are being fed? I would look through everything and see...it may turn out to be a perfectly healthy baby! Good luck and keep us posted!

Thank you!!!!!!!!!

 

[JoesMum]

@Gillian Moore is in Jordan and doesn't have a good word to say about the pet stores. I don't know that UAE will be much better.

Many/most torts are wild caught. Don't be confident of honest answers unless you have a particularly good pet store in your vicinity

 

[SarahTheAwesome]

@Gillian Moore is in Jordan and doesn't have a good word to say about the pet stores. I don't know that UAE will be much better.

Many/most torts are wild caught. Don't be confident of honest answers unless you have a particularly good pet store in your vicinity

I think the pet store near me is one of the best in the country, I just wanted to double check as I know many pet stores DO NOT specialise in reptiles of any kind. Thank you for the advice!

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

You want to look for bright eyes and good mobility (not dragging the hind legs). A healthy tortoise will have heft to it - you want it to feel like a rock would of similar size. The older the tortoise, the less fragile it will be and the less likelihood of further trauma for your brother. If you have options of age, don't go for a brand new hatchling but instead go for one that is already over the 100g weight mark (that means they've been eating well for a few months at least). Babies are delicate and a lot can go wrong - if you have the option of a healthy subadult (for a sulcata, I'd guess they're subadults when they're hitting the 10lb mark), I would actually recommend a new keeper start there, since you have a lot more room for error while figuring things out.

 

[SarahTheAwesome]

You want to look for bright eyes and good mobility (not dragging the hind legs). A healthy tortoise will have heft to it - you want it to feel like a rock would of similar size. The older the tortoise, the less fragile it will be and the less likelihood of further trauma for your brother. If you have options of age, don't go for a brand new hatchling but instead go for one that is already over the 100g weight mark (that means they've been eating well for a few months at least).

Thank you so much. Very helpful!