Chris Leone- Garden State Tortoise & Hermanni Haven

RickyTort

New Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2019
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
Davidson, NC
We just bought our first tortoise for our 12-year-old son. We had used Chris's extensive online information to get ready for ownership and decided a Hermann's would suit us best. We expected to buy from someone at a large reptile show but after learning more and more about tortoises, we realized that we would want a guaranteed captive-bred, healthy juvenile from a knowledgeable breeder. That brought us back to GardenStateTortoise. (We also went to the reptile show with an open mind to see what they had and were very disappointed with the selection and value.)

I cannot be happier with the experience buying from Chris. He answered every question we had both very promptly and with great detail and enthusiasm. He was very communicative about the shipping schedule. Even before we got our tort in the mail, I knew we'd made the right choice. Scooter arrived just the other day, settled into his tortoise table quickly, and was eating in no time. We just took a video of him devouring dandelion leaves - we've only had him a couple of days and we're already in a routine! Chris emailed us to check on him earlier today - I really appreciate his sincere customer service that I'm sure is rooted in his passion for the animals.

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Snowflowerdrift

New Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
1
Hello! I just wanted to post about how great my expierience was with Chris. My baby Winston is now 1 year old but he has been super healthy since day 1. Chris even kept him a few extra weeks because he hatched late and we were going on vacation. I just recently updated him on Winston's progress. I would highly recommend him!
 

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Moshie

New Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2017
Messages
28
Chris is awesome! I got my two Stars from him. He was so helpful and patient with my abundant questions. I sent him photos after six months and gave him their growth stats to make sure they were doing okay. He was so quick with answering! I hope to purchase more tortoises from him! Best breeder ever!
 

Ghazan

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2016
Messages
136
Late review, I purchased 4 Juvenile North American wood turtles from Chris in late March. They are doing great, very alert, active and eating well. Chris is always prompt to answer questions and concerns throughout the whole process and offers great and healthy animals. Hope to order more from Garden state tortoise in the future

Here is a picture of 3 out of 4.

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jdfick

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2019
Messages
17
Location (City and/or State)
Gainesville FL
Just received 1.2 Eastern Hermann's breeding group from Chris at Garden State Tortoise. It was a great transaction. Chris was quick to respond, friendly, and informative. The tortoises arrived in great shape and are now acclimating to their new home. I highly recommend working with Chris and Garden State. Thanks again Chris.
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TNPAGirl

New Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
Knoxville, TN
I just received my 2 Egyptian babies from Chris. He was excellent to work with, replied to all emails very promptly (within minutes!) and was happy to give plenty of information about my new babies. This was the first time I had ever had hatchlings shipped and he was very patient with my panicked emails about where and how to pick them up. They arrived extremely well packaged and were out exploring their enclosure within the first few minutes. I would definitely recommend Chris and I look forward to purchasing a couple more Egyptian hatchlings from him in the near future!
 

Myson_tortellini

New Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2019
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
Hialeah
Hi all! I recently bought a baby hermann's tortoise from Hermanni Chris. He is great, he answered all my questions even though most of them were silly and had a simple answer. He answers all my emails within 10 minutes of sending them. He really knows and loves his tortoises and wants to see them thrive! the tortoise came and was packaged great and was ready to go and move around!! I recommend everyone checks him out. I would not second guess myself in buying another tortoise from him!!!! (sorry for the blurry photo)

I also recently received my tortoise from Chris at Garden State Tortoise. He was very reliable, replied to every email— no matter how silly the question— and gave amazing guidance. I received my Testudo Hermanni Hermanni from the Apulia local and I couldn’t be happier with him. I am definitely going to continue to do business with Chris. He is by far the most knowledgeable testudo breeder I have EVER encountered and it was only a pleasure. I can’t wait to give Tortellini a friend in he future.
 

Dstegenga

New Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2019
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
IN
I recently bought 6 baby Hermanns tortoises from Chris. I was blown away by the quality of the tortoises and the customer experience that Chris provides. He is very responsive to emails and is very upfront about the prepaid process and when you will get your tortoise. I ordered mine in march and was very nervous about putting a large sum of money down for 6 tortoises. Chris told me they would be here in late june or early july and I received them in that timeframes. After initially soaking the tortoises after I opened the box, they immediately started eating food. I will definitely be ordering from him in the future and encourage you to go to hermannihaven.com for info on the testudo genus and to place an order with him after you do your research.
 

kyarnell7

New Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2019
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
Colorado
I am a new tortoise parent and Chris has helped me through it all, from picking out the right species to sending me a healthy hatchling and answering my many questions. I highly recommend him. He is incredibly knowledgeable and fast with email responses. He really is the person to go to if you're looking for a tortoise to join your family.
 

Randy Thomas

New Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2019
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
Maineville, Ohio
My family received their first tortoise this past week from Chris, an Eastern Hermann, and we couldn’t be happier! Chris was very helpful with all of our questions. We purchased a 1-2 year old and it looks great and is in great health! Chris’ care page along with his email correspondence has been very helpful. I would highly recommend Chris to anyone looking for a health tortoise.
 

HoosierTort

Active Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2019
Messages
171
Location (City and/or State)
Indianapolis
I found Chris, and GST after purchasing an eastern Hermann from an online big site. I have now expanded my Hermann’s and Chris has been there to guild me through to set me up with the best tort possible. His dedication and responsible breeding has produced amazing DNA correct locale specific sub-species! His knowledge is beyond anyone I’ve come across and his willingness to work with the buyer is also very uncommon!

I couldn’t say enough good things about Chris or Garden state Tortoises!
 

McScoots

New Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2018
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
Mill Valley CA
One of the reasons why I sought after Chris was the recommendations of my local herp vet. I Just received 2x THH from Chris at Garden State Tortoise today (8.21.19) Just like all the reviewers above, he answered all my questions without me feeling judged for not knowing so much. My two hatchlings arrived within 24 hrs, from New Jersey to California, Chris emailed me they were shipped at 10am and I received them them the next morning by 10am. A 10min soak and my little quarter size hatchlings were on the go for 6 more hours, eating whatever in their path, before finally burrowing down. Super excited to have a pair of tortoises from the garden state tortoise line. Chris and co. are top shelf, I wish them so much luck with continued conservation and education. And his tortoise tip sheets are so handy. I’ve read them at least a dozen times, can’t wait to set up an outdoor enclosure for my hatchlings as soon as they are able to protect themselves from predators such as rats.
 

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strangepuppy

New Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2019
Messages
4
Location (City and/or State)
Philadelphia
I purchased a hatchling Eastern tortoise from Chris after receiving some recommendations from members of the forum that said he was a great breeder. I can say that they were right!

This is my first time owning a tortoise, so I had a lot of questions. He was kind and very eager to answer my questions, even the silly ones. He usually responded to my emails in less than an hour. He responded quickly despite the excitement of having a newborn daughter in his home.

As for the tortoise, Bana arrived alert, hungry and ready to explore its new home. Bana started showing some of its personality on day 1 too. Needless to say I’m enamored with the little cutie.

I would definitely purchase a tortoise from him or seek out his advice again. I encourage anyone interested in the kinds of tortoises that he breeds to contact him.
 

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HoosierTort

Active Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2019
Messages
171
Location (City and/or State)
Indianapolis
Not only does Chris produce some of the most stunning tortoises around, he also takes care of those in bad situations. With Chris’ help, I just rescued an adult Greek and a young Sulcata that were in a bad situation. Knowing my limits with the Sulcata, the space needed to separate my Hermann’s and the Greek, and the chance the Sulcata could have Testudo Herpesvirus, I asked for help and Chris was right there to step in! Shipping both of them to him today. I hate seeing the gorgeous Greek go, but I know the better place is in NJ with Chris.
 

method89

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
May 15, 2019
Messages
1,384
Location (City and/or State)
Malverne, NY
75 questions, anxiety, impatience and probably some annoyance( but you will never hear him say that!!). Chris dealt with it all in a extremely professional, helpful, courteous, and most importantly, an approachable manner. My tortoise arrived today almost to the day Chris told me months ago. He (we named him Sergio) is exactly as Chris described. He was active immediately out of the box. Working with Chris was an absolute pleasure and I can't wait to do business with him again. I wish all business/customer service was this way, but those days are long gone. I cant recommend @HermanniChris enough
 

JLMDVM

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2019
Messages
71
Location (City and/or State)
Ohio
I received my hatchlings yesterday. They appear to be healthy and very well cared for. Chris Leone has been prompt with answering questions both before and after purchasing and before and after their arrival. His website is so useful with needed information as well as tons of fantastic information about tortoises in general- his comparisons between locales etc is really interesting. He and his family are involved with conservation as well, which I certainly admire.
I have not had tortoises before and had many questions, especially at first. I told him what type of environment I would be able to offer and basic characteristics I was interested in and he helped guide me to a tortoise that he feels will do well for me in my climate - the beautiful Western Hermann’s. I did not specify a particular locale, nor did we really discuss it, but he actually sent me the one that I was thinking would be best for our family. He really listened when I told him what I was looking for.
The hatchlings are basking and burrowing most of the time, with a small amount of exploring so far. I’m excited for the future and getting to care for these remarkable critters. Thanks Chris!
 

jdro1210

New Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2019
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Rochester. NY
This is my first time posting. I recently purchased my first tortoise, a Southern Ibera Greek Hatchling, from Chris at Garden State Tortoise. Chris was a extremely helpful and answered the "100" questions I had before making a purchase. He was quick to answer all my emails. My hatchling arrived quickly and after a soaking immediately started to eat. This baby is flawless! Has a great appetite and is already eating out of my hand. He contacted me a week later to check up on our new baby and make sure everything was going well. I highly recommend Chris, he is very passionate about what he does and it shows in the many species he breeds and keeps. I would absolutely purchase another tortoise from him in the future!
www.GARDENSTATETORTOISE.com
I second this. Chris and Gary both have got to be the most knowledgeable Testudo breeders around. I got a couple temp sexed female marginateds from Chris a few months back. They are both outstanding, grazing machines.

T.G.
My marginated just arrived yesterday safe and sound. Had a little soak and then began exploring and eating. Someone asked how big s/he is and I said not much bigger than a Tater Tot. So that is his/her name at the moment. Like the other breeders I discovered here (redfoots, russian) Chris was great to deal with and I certainly would contact him again (although I think I will stick with the 4 I have for a bit!).
 

ShaunG

New Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2019
Messages
4
Location (City and/or State)
Fredericksburg, VA
After doing weeks of research on forums and reading books, we decided to get a russian tortoise. We found Chris Leone with Garden State Tortoise through this forum and decided to go through him to get our first tortoise. He was very helpful in answering any questions we had, and sent us pictures of what he had available. We were looking for a temperature sexed male russian around 6 months old, and that's exactly what we got!

He arrived very alert and was looking at us through the container when we took him out of the shipping box. After a warm soak, we added him to his enclosure and he immediately went over and started eating. Once he had his fill, he was off to explore a little and take a nap in the basking area. We are really happy with how alert he is, and that it didn't phase him one bit being around us or seeing us watch him eat and explore. Chris was great through the process and even held on to our little guy for an extra couple of weeks while we got everything ready for him. I would definitely recommend Chris to anyone that is looking for a healthy, sound, quality tortoise.

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sadams

New Member
Joined
May 2, 2019
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
California
After months of research, and asking tons of questions, we decided to purchase a hatchling T. Marokkensis from Chris at Garden State Tortoise.
(I think I've spent about 1000 hrs. on his website!) Chris helped guide me through the decision on what tortoise would be best for our situation.
He was so helpful throughout the entire process, answering all my questions the entire time. And clarifying some "myths" that are out there regarding husbandry.

Chris obviously has a huge passion for Testudo, (and in fact all tortoise/turtles). It was this dedication and knowledge that really impressed me, and gave me comfort in ordering from him. We ordered our tortoise through the "prepaid" orders process on Chris website, which was incredibly easy. He kept us informed when eggs had been laid, hatched, etc.

We just received our little hatchling T. Marokkensis from Chris this morning, and we couldn't be happier. I can't believe how tiny she is!
I'm sure I'll have a few more questions, and I know Chris will continue to answer them.

It's refreshing to know there are people like Chris our there sharing his passion and knowledge with everyone.
I would def. recommend working with him on your 1st, 2nd, 3rd...tortoise purchase.

Thanks for everything Chris!
 

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