Imports?

[Tropical Torts]

I have seen this add on kingsnake for quite sometime now http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=135&de=883203

Almost everywhere that has info on redfoots strongly advises not to even bother with imported tortoises. I am well aware that the issue with imports is parasites and the tortoises not being used to captivity.

I want to know if anyone has bought a pair of imports such as in the add? Has anyone been successful with the termination of parasites and getting them used to captivity? Does it take long? I realize that getting used to captivity would end up taking longer than getting rid of parasites. I know people out there have done this and done this successfully, but is it worth it?

Any of you redfoot breeders out there have any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

 

[jackrat]

I have a very nice Guyana female that I bought from Nick(First Choice Reptiles).Never any problems with her.She just laid a nice clutch Saturday. They do take a while to acclimate to captivity. They are a lot more relaxed when in the outdoor enclosure. I've a few wild caught breeders and haven't had any of the problems like the horror stories you sometimes hear. I've been fortunate in that respect.

 

[cdmay]

Until a few years ago, virtually all of the red-foots I've ever kept were imports. That's a lot of tortoises. In almost forty years I have only lost five imported red-foots and only one of these has been after 1980.
Having said that I have also been very, very careful who I have purchased animals from and have also carefully examined each tortoise before buying it. In addition, I always try and treat for parasites and especially flagellates or protozoans. Each new animal has been quarantined and observed for any signs of illness. Being a hands-on keeper pays off in the long run.
Sure, there are those who practice zero quarantine, never do fecal checks and never treat for bugs. Sooner or later though that concept will bite you on the... donkey, if you know what I mean.
I friend of mine who already had many years of tortoise breeding under his belt purchased a group of red-foots from the same group that I also bought several from. I treated all of mine aggressively for parasites and with flagyl for protozoans while my friend didn't do anything with his because they seemed to be doing so well for him.
Several months later he began to lose his. Then he lost them all--every one of them. They were doing great and then they weren't. They went downhill and quickly died. As he put it, "It was like they just walked off a ledge". The cause? Massive numbers of flagellates in the gut.
I didn't lose a single one and now fourteen years later I still have all the animals I purchased from that group.
Admittedly that is an unusual case but still, it pays to get wild caught animals checked if you can.
It is true that red-foots that are fresh imports with good weight and that are outwardly healthy usually adapt to captivity pretty well with few if any problems. But the horror stories didn't spring up out of thin air either.
Be prepared to baby any import for a while just to be safe.

 

[DesertGrandma]

Carl, did you get these as adults or hatchlings?

 

[dds7155]

Any wild caught anything goes through hell, and till people stops buying them it'll continue,

 

[Tropical Torts]

I have a very nice Guyana female that I bought from Nick(First Choice Reptiles).Never any problems with her.She just laid a nice clutch Saturday. They do take a while to acclimate to captivity. They are a lot more relaxed when in the outdoor enclosure. I've a few wild caught breeders and haven't had any of the problems like the horror stories you sometimes hear. I've been fortunate in that respect.

Jackrat,
So are you saying tht First Choice is good place to go? I have seen many of his adds, never bought any torts from him.

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Cdmay,
It says in the add that he treats them for parasites but how would I do that? Thanks for the great info.

 

[cdmay]

DesertGrandma...Most of the imports I purchased in the past were young adults or at least good sized juveniles. The smallest were around 4 inches.

dds7155...Agree in general. But years ago there were very few if any captive hatched tortoises available and captive hatched animals have to come from somewhere. Importers and dealers seem to be doing a much better job in caring for their animals now than before too. It isn't a perfect system though and there are still many scumbags in the business.

jcrist4...There may be some stickies on this forum about treating tortoises but any decent vet can do a fecal exam-- if you take the tortoise there and get a very fresh specimen for them to look at.
Most experienced keepers treat their tortoises themselves with meds they can get online or elsewhere. Things like Panacur can be purchased online or at feed stores and can easily be mixed with the tortoise's food. A vet could weigh your tortoise and give you the correct dosage if you aren't comfortable with doing it yourself.
As was mentioned above, very often imported red-foots do just fine with no proactive care...I just like to play it safe.

 

[DesertGrandma]

@DesertGrandma...Most of the imports I purchased in the past were young adults or at least good sized juveniles. The smallest were around 4 inches.

So they were big enough that you could safely treat them if they did have parasites, etc, right?

 

[cdmay]

@DesertGrandma...Most of the imports I purchased in the past were young adults or at least good sized juveniles. The smallest were around 4 inches.

So they were big enough that you could safely treat them if they did have parasites, etc, right?

Yes most were plenty big to treat.
Of the few imports that I have had die on me, one was a very small tortoise imported from Colombia that was not much larger than a yearling. That was in 1973 and I didn't know anything about proper care but even if I did, that would have been a tough one.
Hatchlings or near hatchlings should not be imported in my opinion.

 

[Tropical Torts]

I may end up buying pair but I am undecided. If i do it probably wont be until next spring. I will definitely go with the play it safe method as you said cdmay. Thanks for your help!