I took my information from this:
Importation of Russian Tortoises
I know we all hear a lot about the "bad" conditions that Russian tortoises are imported in.... There's lots of old information and images of them, almost always are photos of "smuggled" animals stacked up in suitcases rather than legally imported animals, and it kinda puts a bad taste in everyone's mouth about Russians being imported. I know it's a sensitive subject to some people who don't like importation at all, but I think if people better understood how they come in and how they look on arrival, it's not the "mess" that so many people think it is. People that don't know better often spread the (bad) information that all importation of tortoises is in suitcases, and somehow people believe it.
I thought it would make for interesting conversation if I posted some photos of some legally imported Russians that were imported a few weeks ago. These animals landed in Miami and the same day were shipped Delta Dash to me. These are the original containers they imported them in. They come in wood crates with 25 animals per box, and the boxes are divided into squares about 6" size with air holes in each box. There was barely even poop in the boxes, let alone the disasters that I've seen in photos (again, from smuggled shipments, but people keep tying that to legally imported animals). Here's what they look like 30 seconds after I opened the crate. Personally, I've seen much messier shipments that only crossed the country, let alone the world. We got 132 Russians at that time, and there's not one came in dead or that isn't eagerly eating now, very active and doing great.
Importation of Russian Tortoises
I know we all hear a lot about the "bad" conditions that Russian tortoises are imported in.... There's lots of old information and images of them, almost always are photos of "smuggled" animals stacked up in suitcases rather than legally imported animals, and it kinda puts a bad taste in everyone's mouth about Russians being imported. I know it's a sensitive subject to some people who don't like importation at all, but I think if people better understood how they come in and how they look on arrival, it's not the "mess" that so many people think it is. People that don't know better often spread the (bad) information that all importation of tortoises is in suitcases, and somehow people believe it.
I thought it would make for interesting conversation if I posted some photos of some legally imported Russians that were imported a few weeks ago. These animals landed in Miami and the same day were shipped Delta Dash to me. These are the original containers they imported them in. They come in wood crates with 25 animals per box, and the boxes are divided into squares about 6" size with air holes in each box. There was barely even poop in the boxes, let alone the disasters that I've seen in photos (again, from smuggled shipments, but people keep tying that to legally imported animals). Here's what they look like 30 seconds after I opened the crate. Personally, I've seen much messier shipments that only crossed the country, let alone the world. We got 132 Russians at that time, and there's not one came in dead or that isn't eagerly eating now, very active and doing great.
