Is tortoisesupply a good breeder?

[tortoiseboy8o8]

I bought a Golden Greek from Tyler back in July. My tort is also doing very well and Tyler was more than helpful. Its very difficult for me to get hands on tortoises other than Sulcatas, Red foots, Leopards and Russians here in Hawaii so I looked to purchase one online. Tyler was also very helpful by helping me get it through customs. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase more tortoises from him.

 

[cyyoung749]

Almost every reptile medical case that I see is directly linked to husbandry issues. Add a fragile baby into the equation and husbandry becomes even more crucial.

Cy...please post an accurate and detailed description of the setups you were using for each baby and let's let the TFO members take it apart and let's see if we can find out what went wrong. In order for this to work, if it can, you will need to describe the setups as they were when you first placed the baby into them, before you made any changes recommended either by Tyler, friends, veterinarians, TFO members, etc.

Doc

sorry i couldnt visit the website for a while.
First i use 20 gallon glass aquariaum.
i use repti bark and hay for bedding and hut for hideout.
i use reptisun 10.0 uvb ray and heat emitter on hot spot.
i have analog thermometer and digital thermometer.
I heave heat pad under the hut.
Cold side is about 80 degress and hot spot is about 90.
The humidity is about 30-40. It really depends on weather and my water spray.
I feed with clean poland bottle water daily,
spring mix,optiuna cactus,hay, some calcium, carrot, squash,zoo med pellets.
I soak it in water about 3-4 times a week.
This was my habitat for greeks.
When I went to vet they only told me to hire little bit of heat emitter temperature on hot side and everything else was good.

 

[Candy]

Could you tell us where you live? Is it in California?

 

[cyyoung749]

Could you tell us where you live? Is it in California?

I live in new york city. Wish i lived in cali. better habitat for tortoise.

 

[exoticsdr]

First thing that jumps out at me is the Reptibark, I have had at least two surgical impactions this year...one tort and one lizard, due to them ingesting it when they are eating...have had several others that were taken care of via enema.

 

[Neal]

What my vet told me today is that theres a little stone under my tortoise belly which is not supposed to be there. They said it could be a infection and my breeder possibly sent me a sick one.

I just re-read your post and this sentence caught my eye. Was this an internal or external stone? Did your vet say exactly what the stone was?

 

[EricIvins]

The first thing that jumps out at me is the humidity is way too low.......Fast forward to chronic dehydration, and you end up with Tortoise jerky.......

Hatchlings will dehydrate extremely fast, given what little mass they have........

 

[cyyoung749]

I just re-read your post and this sentence caught my eye. Was this an internal or external stone? Did your vet say exactly what the stone was?

External stone. They said it could be caused by infection.

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First thing that jumps out at me is the Reptibark, I have had at least two surgical impactions this year...one tort and one lizard, due to them ingesting it when they are eating...have had several others that were taken care of via enema.

Ya mabye it did cuz i cant take care of my baby for 24 hours. The funny thing is that he just instantly became ill without no sign. My greek ate so good in the morning but became sick at that night.

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The first thing that jumps out at me is the humidity is way too low.......Fast forward to chronic dehydration, and you end up with Tortoise jerky.......

Hatchlings will dehydrate extremely fast, given what little mass they have........

Ya tas why i tried soaking everyday and sprayed my terrarium

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I bought a Golden Greek from Tyler back in July. My tort is also doing very well and Tyler was more than helpful. Its very difficult for me to get hands on tortoises other than Sulcatas, Red foots, Leopards and Russians here in Hawaii so I looked to purchase one online. Tyler was also very helpful by helping me get it through customs. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase more tortoises from him.

I also think hes a good guy really helpful loving breeder.

 

[EricIvins]

The first thing that jumps out at me is the humidity is way too low.......Fast forward to chronic dehydration, and you end up with Tortoise jerky.......

Hatchlings will dehydrate extremely fast, given what little mass they have........

Ya tas why i tried soaking everyday and sprayed my terrarium

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Soaking a Tortoise does not promote hydration - It can actually have the reverse effect.......

Proper humidity, along with the right diet and access to water does.......Not all Tortoises drink when you dunk them in water......Ambient Humidity needs to be atleast 60% for any Hatchling Tortoise, regardless of species.......

 

[Tom]

Two things jump out at me.

1. Is the 10.0 bulb the coil type?

2. If he was fine in the morning and sick that night, that sounds like a possible poisoning of some sort. Maybe ingestion of something or fumes possibly...

 

[ascott]

EricIvans....now you know with your statement of ;

Soaking a tortoise does not promote hydration - It can actually have the reverse effect...

Please explain what you refer to by making this statement....I am very curious

 

[laramie]

Just so you know I am pretty sure the owner of that website is on the forum.

I figured that much, but I am just expressing my opinion.

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Just so you know I am pretty sure the owner of that website is on the forum.

I figured that much, but I am just expressing my opinion.

I just want to say that I am sorry for my hurtful remarks and I am sorry if I offended anyone on this forum. That was not my intention at all. Again I am very sorry for my post.

 

[Yvonne G]

Its ok, Laramie. Everyone here is entitled to an opinion. Might be a good idea in the future to do a little research about the subject before you make a comment like that, though.

 

[laramie]

Its ok, Laramie. Everyone here is entitled to an opinion. Might be a good idea in the future to do a little research about the subject before you make a comment like that, though.

Thank You Yvonne,
I feel like an ***!@#$ right now.

 

[ewam]

I figured that much, but I am just expressing my opinion.

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I just want to say that I am sorry for my hurtful remarks and I am sorry if I offended anyone on this forum. That was not my intention at all. Again I am very sorry for my post.

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When I said that I meant it towards to when you said you'd rather go with a breeder on this site, and what I wanted it to mean was he is on the site.

 

[Tom]

Laramie, NOBODY was offended in any way by your post. We love you and you are a sweetheart. Now start smiling that smile again, please.

 

[HerpHouses]

I have bought over 10 anmials from Tyler and I have had NO PROBLEMS with any animal?? I would look into your pen, correct heat, correct bedding and correct lights?? Watering babys 3-4 times a week?

Most people dont get the correct setup BEFORE THEY BUY??

Yes babys can be hard to raise but I can "back my life" That TYLER would not ship a animal that he knows is sick. He just would not do that PERIOD!!
Thanks
Danny Bowlin
[email protected] Anytime for ???

 

[HerpHouses]

FYI We are all hobbiest and backyard breeders. Things go wrong with babys and it usually starts with keeping them warm and hydrated WELL for the first 6 months.

Again Tyler and Sarah would not sell a sick animal PERIOD!! I have over 10 from them of 4 different species!!

Thanks Danny Bowlin

 

[TylerStewart]

Thanks for the support from everyone who knows us and has had good results with one of our tortoises. Anyone that really knows us (Tom, Neal, Danny) knows that we aren't some faceless company with assembly line production. We are quite literally "backyard breeders" however that is to be interpreted, just on a bigger scale than most. The majority of our tortoises are produced "in our backyard."

Like Neal pointed out, you can't ship as many animals as we do and not have the occasional issue. I think we have a very low percentage of issues, and we take care of them as much as we realistically can. The first tortoise this customer got probably got banged up in shipping which unfortunately does occasionally happen, and we replaced it no problem after a week. The second tortoise's "stone" was a dried umbilical chord scab which are commonly showing on tortoises up to several months old. It had nothing to do with the cause of death, and it just shows the inexperience of the vet that said it was caused by an infection. I don't know why this second tortoise died, but for it to be "doing great" for a month, even the morning of death, I think it's a pretty big stretch to be blaming it on us. We can't guarantee animals forever; we all know how fragile they can be. My suggestion to anyone that can afford it is to start off with something 6-12 months old. We make exceptions to our 3 day guarantee all the time, as we did with this first tortoise, but a month is a pretty big guarantee on a young baby tortoise.

 

[Mgridgaway]

I'm going to leave husbandry talk with the more experienced Greek owners, but I just wanted to say I too vouch for Tyler's awesomeness. Not only did he respond to my emails quickly and answer all my questions, but the Redfoot he sent me (Darwin! check out some pics of him on the Redfoot section), has repeatedly been called one of the most beautiful redfoot hatchlings by people in this forum, eats like a champ, and is very healthy. I wouldn't hesitate a second to recommend Tortoise Supply.

With that said, I'm sorry you lost your tort. I know how disparing it can be to lose a pet, both emotionally and financially. Sometimes bad things happen for no reason, but all we can do is keep moving forward. Like others, I suggest you consider an older tortoise if you plan on getting another.