Shipping my Russian Tortoise to Canada or bring him with me ?

meekdrill

New Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2021
Messages
3
Location (City and/or State)
California
Hello everyone !

I was hoping some of you could help me deal with this situation that is stressing me out lately.

I'm from Canada, but currently living in California and I bought a Russian Tortoise about 5 years ago here. I'm currently in the process of returning to Canada and thought all I needed was the CIFA Import Permit to bring him with me... Apparently you need more than this ?

I was planning of bringing him with me on my trip from California to Quebec ( about 5 days ) and now I'm glad I didn't ! My uncle ( who owns many reptiles and often ships some from within Canada ) told me that the trip would stress him and is too long... and said I should ship him using reptile express.

Now I feel a bit worried to ship my little guy. Apparently they deal with all the export/import and inspection paper.

Any of you ever shipped a Russian Tortoise ( CITES II ) from USA to Canada ? Is it safe ?
I'm also worried because on reptile express they say it may take 2-3 months for the permits to be accepted... that mean we would be close to January, which is really cold in Canada.

Any information would be immensely appreciated as this is one of my biggest worry about this whole trip. I really don't want to lose him

Thanks in advance :tort:
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,660
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Always bring with you if at all possible. Shipping animals, specially this time of year or in the hottest time of summer is very risky
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,268
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Hello everyone !

I was hoping some of you could help me deal with this situation that is stressing me out lately.

I'm from Canada, but currently living in California and I bought a Russian Tortoise about 5 years ago here. I'm currently in the process of returning to Canada and thought all I needed was the CIFA Import Permit to bring him with me... Apparently you need more than this ?

I was planning of bringing him with me on my trip from California to Quebec ( about 5 days ) and now I'm glad I didn't ! My uncle ( who owns many reptiles and often ships some from within Canada ) told me that the trip would stress him and is too long... and said I should ship him using reptile express.

Now I feel a bit worried to ship my little guy. Apparently they deal with all the export/import and inspection paper.

Any of you ever shipped a Russian Tortoise ( CITES II ) from USA to Canada ? Is it safe ?
I'm also worried because on reptile express they say it may take 2-3 months for the permits to be accepted... that mean we would be close to January, which is really cold in Canada.

Any information would be immensely appreciated as this is one of my biggest worry about this whole trip. I really don't want to lose him

Thanks in advance :tort:
International movement of animals is very difficult, expensive and risky. Leave him here. Its not worth it.
 

Cathie G

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Aug 9, 2018
Messages
14,908
Location (City and/or State)
Lancaster
A little Russian is a pocket pet. I'm with ZeroPilot and Wellington on this one. Get the necessary permits and carrier and keep the little one peaceful. Maybe get the little one used to the carrier now and then until time to go. A Russian doesn't do much this time of year anyway.
 

meekdrill

New Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2021
Messages
3
Location (City and/or State)
California
So I contacted CITES Canada concerning all the permits I needed to bring my little tortoise with me and she replied this :
"You will need to talk to the US CITES office, to get the CITES export document needed to take the tortoise out of the US. The Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) is protected under CITES Appendix II. This means a CITES export document is needed. There is no additional Canadian CITES import permit required.
Here is a link to the US CITES website - https://fwsepermits.servicenowservices.com/fws"

So now I think I'll just get the permits needed ( I think it will be close to $200 instead of $600 from reptileexpress or most place I've got a quote from ) and just take him with him. He's on the verge of hibernating anyways and I don't think the ride will be much stressful honestly.... I clicked on the link but I'm not 100% sure which permit application I'm supposed to fill

What you guys think ? I would feel better to have him around me to keep an eye on him, especially when we arrive in cold locations near Canada...
 

JMM

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2017
Messages
133
Location (City and/or State)
Worcester, MA
Hello everyone !

I was hoping some of you could help me deal with this situation that is stressing me out lately.

I'm from Canada, but currently living in California and I bought a Russian Tortoise about 5 years ago here. I'm currently in the process of returning to Canada and thought all I needed was the CIFA Import Permit to bring him with me... Apparently you need more than this ?

I was planning of bringing him with me on my trip from California to Quebec ( about 5 days ) and now I'm glad I didn't ! My uncle ( who owns many reptiles and often ships some from within Canada ) told me that the trip would stress him and is too long... and said I should ship him using reptile express.

Now I feel a bit worried to ship my little guy. Apparently they deal with all the export/import and inspection paper.

Any of you ever shipped a Russian Tortoise ( CITES II ) from USA to Canada ? Is it safe ?
I'm also worried because on reptile express they say it may take 2-3 months for the permits to be accepted... that mean we would be close to January, which is really cold in Canada.

Any information would be immensely appreciated as this is one of my biggest worry about this whole trip. I really don't want to lose him

Thanks in advance :tort:
So I contacted CITES Canada concerning all the permits I needed to bring my little tortoise with me and she replied this :
"You will need to talk to the US CITES office, to get the CITES export document needed to take the tortoise out of the US. The Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) is protected under CITES Appendix II. This means a CITES export document is needed. There is no additional Canadian CITES import permit required.
Here is a link to the US CITES website - https://fwsepermits.servicenowservices.com/fws"

So now I think I'll just get the permits needed ( I think it will be close to $200 instead of $600 from reptileexpress or most place I've got a quote from ) and just take him with him. He's on the verge of hibernating anyways and I don't think the ride will be much stressful honestly.... I clicked on the link but I'm not 100% sure which permit application I'm supposed to fill

What you guys think ? I would feel better to have him around me to keep an eye on him, especially when we arrive in cold locations near Canada...
Take him with you. Get a tote bag and a couple Snuggle Safes (get at least 2; Amazon has them; might be able to get at local pet stores). The Snuggle Safes stay warm about 8-10 hours and can be heated in a microwave along the way. Line the tote bag with towels, place a heated Snuggle Safe in the bag, cover with a couple more layers of towels so tort is not directly on Snuggle Safe. Give your tort some greens to chew on if he wants. Bring a bunch of extra towels in case they get soiled. Bring a pan for soaks in hotel. Make sure your paperwork is in order. I don't think you'll have any trouble--border is more concerned with COVID than anything else right now.
 

New Posts

Top