what to ask when buying a tortoise

[jmp12]

I'm looking to buy my first tortoise, a Leo hatchling. I've been talking to a few breeders, so far I've asked if they're started dry or wet, hatch date, and if kept with other species. What other questions should I be asking? I want to make sure my tort has the best chance possible.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ . What breeders did you check with we have a breeders list on the TFO . And what better place to start with ? That's were I would start . What state are you in ?


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[wellington]

I would start with some breeders that are active members of tortoiseforum.org. There are some breeders that even though they know the right way to raise a hatchling, refuse to do so, because they say it's too much work. They are for the money only obviously. The really dry states is where you need to really know the answers to your questions.
One member, Neal may still have some for sale. I don't remember who else may have had some recently.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm pretty sure @Will has some leopard babies. He starts them the wet/humid method.

 

[Gillian M]

Hi and welcome the forum!

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

I sell leo's, Yvonne has the adults, and I raise the neonates, we are a team of two.

People ask me...

1) a description/images of the adults, there size and age - may give some idea of what the offspring will look like.

2) hatch date - I usually give a hatch week, as they don't always hatch on one day, and the clutch is mingled and a few may hatch a day or two later than the first few to hatch.

3) what conditions are you keeping them under, temps, access to water or soakings, humidity and substrate - for this I send an image, and a description.

4) what are you feeding - I made a whole post about diet, and refer to that http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/grocery-store-greens-good.81609/ What is fed is important. Tortoises can become very fixated one or a few diet items and it's difficult to widen what they accept. If they are started on a wide variety of food items, I believe they will transistion more readily from one scheme to another. Nobody wants a cat's food attitude in a tortoise.

Then the really big surprize for many is the cost of shipping. Some companies that move thousands of tortoises a year can get special shipping rates and offer a better deal, like TortoiseSupply (best shipping price I know of). I use a FedEx consolidator, superiorshippingsupplies and even with their discount for overnight priority is costs about $45 to $60 depending on how far from San Diego the customer lives. I also make local deliveries at no extra cost, because I like to meet the customer if possible.

However on total price, I'm really hard to beat for a single tortoise, as my animal price is low, so with shipping I am often less than the cost of the animal alone from several other breeders, which then ad the shipping cost.

Oddly I don't think of the price as so strong an indicator as I consider who I buy from, but rather, I ask "Does it seem like they want me to be successful?" I want everyone to be successful with their tortoise pet, they may then find some connection to in-situ conservation with a long lived animal giving them joy.

Look at past ads or the one I'll post later today for images of the neonates and the costs.

 

[jmp12]

Thanks for the suggestions, had a bit of a sudden change, I'm going to get a Russian instead. My boyfriends cousin has gotten tired of her's and has to get rid of it, so we'll be bringing it home with us after Thanksgiving. Hopefully next summer I'll be on the lookout for a nice high white/blonde leo hatchling to add to the family. For now I have to figure out the best way to transport a Russian from Texas to Colorado when we're flying!

 

[enchilada]

price ...