Want to buy redfooted tortoise

[81SHOVELHEAD]

Hello
Not sure if this is the correct place to post this but i did some research on this tortoise and it seems to be the animal i want.
I Have a very spoiled going on 2 this thanksgiving bearded dragon.
I know about lighting and read enough about husbandry on this
species to be succesful at raising one.
I have checked prices on the internet and the range anywhere fron 89.00 to 200.00 .
I just want a pet tortoise for now.
Question is i found some baby redfoots at a herp sight in lakeland Florida for 89.00.
Has anyone ever bought from this place?
i would just like to get a healthy tortoise for a fair price.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide me.
I already have a 20L aquairium i plan to use as his/her starter home

 

[terryo]

http://redfoots.com/smf/index.php?board=24.0 Terry K. has some really nice Redfoots...give him an e-mail. I don't know if they are in your price range, but you can find out.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

You have to register to have an account to see his site and that's too much trouble for me right now.

But I would tell our biker friend here that Terry is a very reputable breeder and it would be very wise and safe to buy a tortoise from him...and welcome to the forum...

 

[81SHOVELHEAD]

Maggie Thanks.
Seen some of terrys photos and yes he has nice tortoise.
But surley there got to people out there that before they joined thise forum bought there
first tortoise from a reputable dealer .
What is the normal price range you would pay for a redfoot?
So far i have looked at turtle4sale web sight .bluebeast out of vegas,turtlesource out of cali.
and florida herp out of lakeland.
Out of florida they were 89.00 out west where everythins is high they were from 200 to 400?
Not ready to take the 400.00 plunge yet,
Question was has anybody on here bought from this source out of Florida/
Maggie yes i do ride an 81 shovelhead and Dragons name is Fatboy...
Thanks

 

[Crazy1]

81SHOVELHEAD, I can't help you with who to by from but welcome to the forum.

 

[Meg90]

Turtlesale is not a good site IMO. Neither is turtlesource.

Honestly, if you are not ready to spend 200$ on a quality animal, are you ready to spend 55$ on a ceramic heat emitter and lamp? Another 30$ on a UVB tube, and another 40$ on the fixture for the UVB tube? That will come out to roughly 120$. And that is for the lighting and heating ALONE. Both things mentioned are required for redfoots. Then you have substrate, hides, the bin, plants, food and water dishes, and the monthly cost of food, as well as the cost of the electricity it takes to run the lighting.

Tortoises are not cheap. It costs quite a bit to set them up. Doesn't even matter what species. My newest Greek will have cost me well over 300$ when all is said and done and it would have been closer to 400$ if I didn't already have some extra, left over supplies.

You have to ask yourself if this is the right animal for you, money wise.

They are AWESOME creatures. There is no doubting that. I have three torts now (and a box turtle) but they are far from cheap.

Getting a baby for 89$ (does that price include the 50$ over night shipping though? probably not--you are looking at more like 140$ total) may seem like a deal to you--but are you getting a healthy, guaranteed, and quality animal? I would not think so.

There is always a reason that something is cheap. It may be because the ones for sale are surplus babies, or "ugly" (or low color) hatchling, or they may already have pyramiding, or be from parent's that have bad genetics.

Welcome to the forum, please do some more research and poking around. But think on what I have said. Tortoises are a big commitment.

 

[81SHOVELHEAD]

Turtlesale is not a good site IMO. Neither is turtlesource.

Honestly, if you are not ready to spend 200$ on a quality animal, are you ready to spend 55$ on a ceramic heat emitter and lamp? Another 30$ on a UVB tube, and another 40$ on the fixture for the UVB tube? That will come out to roughly 120$. And that is for the lighting and heating ALONE. Both things mentioned are required for redfoots. Then you have substrate, hides, the bin, plants, food and water dishes, and the monthly cost of food, as well as the cost of the electricity it takes to run the lighting.

Tortoises are not cheap. It costs quite a bit to set them up. Doesn't even matter what species. My newest Greek will have cost me well over 300$ when all is said and done and it would have been closer to 400$ if I didn't already have some extra, left over supplies.

You have to ask yourself if this is the right animal for you, money wise.

They are AWESOME creatures. There is no doubting that. I have three torts now (and a box turtle) but they are far from cheap.

Getting a baby for 89$ (does that price include the 50$ over night shipping though? probably not--you are looking at more like 140$ total) may seem like a deal to you--but are you getting a healthy, guaranteed, and quality animal? I would not think so.

There is always a reason that something is cheap. It may be because the ones for sale are surplus babies, or "ugly" (or low color) hatchling, or they may already have pyramiding, or be from parent's that have bad genetics.

Welcome to the forum, please do some more research and poking around. But think on what I have said. Tortoises are a big commitment.

---

Hello Meg
I jave a 2 yr old beardered dragon i bought him when he was a baby.
Last decemember i built him a 4x2x2 crossfire design type enclosure.
Materiel cost excceded 250 dollars .This project took 2 weeks to complete.
I have a 20 long and 40 gallon critter keeper i could use a a cage.
As far a lighting i use a mega/ray 100 sb mecuty vapor bulb.for lighting and heating.
You can buy this bulb at www.reptileuv.com
The MVB bulb will last 12 to 14 months without decay.
The tube bulbs are about same price but start to decay badly after 6 months.
i know raising retiles is not cheap and i already have most of the supplies to get started i was just wondering why such a price difference between west coast and east coast.
Who is Terry? i am new to this forum and just trying to get feelers out on imput on some of the sights i have visited.
I Would like to check out his websight.
As stated earlier i am new to this type of reptile and i do like to do my homework before jumping into something with both feet with no knowledge of what i am getting myself into.
As far as hides and substrate i can build the hide and paying for substrate and other supplies is not an issue.
Fatboydadragon is a very expensive animal to raise just in food alone .But he is worth every penny of it
Thanks for your opinions and i will keep looking until i find the perfect tortoise for me.
Thanks to all that have replied to this thread
Mike D

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Mike:

Terry is the owner of www.turtltary.com and www.redfoots.com. He is also a member here on this forum. He has shown us pictures of his babies and again, years later, those same animals grown beautifully, with no pyramiding. He has excellent care sheets for new redfoot owners. If you follow his advice on redfoot care you will raise a happy, healthy redfoot tortoise.

Since I'm not in the market for a redfoot tortoise, I haven't compared his pricing with the prices others are selling for, however, I can give Terry a good recommendation for being an honest person who will do right by you.

YVonne

 

[bettinge]

The cheepest way out for sure is to buy a healthy animal! Vet bills suck the wallet dry, but that can be a part of pet ownership.

So my advice, buy from a reputable/recommended breeder.

Meg is right, all the other costs add up!