Just starting out...best breeder/website to buy russian tortoise?

[geolimjr]

Hi, I have been doing some homework/research on a good pet for our family and have decided that a Russian tortoise would be the best. One of my son's has a birthday next week, so we are going to get "him", but really for me, a Russian tortoise. We have everything we need for our new pet, except for the tortoise itself. Originally we were going to buy from a local pet shop, but after our research, we have decided that buying a CB tortoise from a breeder would be better and safer. So, is there a specific online vendor that you would recommend, or is there anyone who is breeders themselves that have some young Russian tortoises that they would want to sell? Ideally I would love to get (2), but the costs I have seen on websites are higher than I expected initially compared to pet shop prices, so we may just have to get one for now. Any feedback much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[BILBO-03]

Just get one unless you have to enclosures tortoises don't do great in pairs.
There are a lot of people on the internet if you just look it up. I would recommend looking up "tortoise for sale kingsnake".

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

Pets shops are full of bad care info and dangerous products. We don't want your money here, we just want you to have a healthy tortoise and a happy tortoise keeping experience. Can we review what the pet store sold you? It is typical for them to sell coil type UV bulbs, red or infrared heat lamps, "spot" bulbs, ramped water bowls, fruity pebbles type foods, dry substrate, 40 gallon tanks, inaccurate stick-on thermometers, etc… Does any of that sound familiar?

Also, you definitely do not want a pair. That seldom works well with any species, but especially not russians. Groups of 3 or more juveniles will usually work, but when they hit maturity, you might have to separate them all into individual enclosures. One tortoise is best for the casual pet owner and tortoises do not need or want other tortoises around. Other tortoises are not viewed as friends. They are viewed as competitors, intruders or worse.

Here is the right care info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

My good friend @kalbee has some super healthy CB babies that he is trying to sell, and there are several other good breeders right here on the forum too. Send him a message and he'll send you pics and prices.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello

 

[geolimjr]

Thank you for the quick feedback about not getting (2) tortoises. That is very helpful! I will definitely take the time this weekend to review the care sheet trends and the beginner mistakes trend. I have not depended on the advise of pet shops to set up my enclosure. I have done most of my research online from various resources; I however just found this forum yesterday after a month of researching online. I built a table top enclosure that is approximately 3ft by 2 ft with intentions to expand it over time as the tortoise grows. I already sent a request to kalbee asking what availability of tortoises he had. I will keep you posted on how the process goes. Thank you!!

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome !

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, and a belated, but very warm, welcome to Tortoise Forum.