Well Started?

[Phreeflow]

I’m looking to buy a Hermann’s tortoise and I keep coming across ads that say theirs are “well started.” Why exactly does it mean and is it a big deal if tortoises are “well started?”

Ive been on the lookout for some Hermann’s but came across some some Sri Lankan Star Tortoise hatchlings. They’re only 2 weeks old so I’m wondering if that’s too young or if I should look for older ones. At what point is a tortoise well started?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings….

Ok, I’ll give this a bump & start things off here. In my mind, a “well started” tortoise has a fully healed & closed up egg yolk sack (no odd scabbing or funky looking), nice & clean; a shell & appendages that look well hydrated, bright eyes, tort is eating, drinking & defecating/urinating. A good healthy weight for the age (varies of course). Many folks will say once a tortoise hits the 100 gram marker, it’s probably going to survive.

Good luck

 

[TheLastGreen]

Greetings….

Ok, I’ll give this a bump & start things off here. In my mind, a “well started” tortoise has a fully healed & closed up egg yolk sack (no odd scabbing or funky looking), nice & clean; a shell & appendages that look well hydrated, bright eyes, tort is eating, drinking & defecating/urinating. A good healthy weight for the age (varies of course). Many folks will say once a tortoise hits the 100 gram marker, it’s probably going to survive.

Good luck

I agree with @Maro2Bear , it means a tort was kept in the correct and best possible enviroment after hatching. So it means the tort is healthy and has the best chance to thrive.
(But do be careful, some people will just say that to get people to buy their torts, so you'll have to ask how they were started and cared for, and then you'll have to correspond to the caresheets and info on the forum)

 

[Tom]

I’m looking to buy a Hermann’s tortoise and I keep coming across ads that say theirs are “well started.” Why exactly does it mean and is it a big deal if tortoises are “well started?”

Ive been on the lookout for some Hermann’s but came across some some Sri Lankan Star Tortoise hatchlings. They’re only 2 weeks old so I’m wondering if that’s too young or if I should look for older ones. At what point is a tortoise well started?

I think what most reptile people mean by "well started" is that the baby has some age to it. Meaning, the baby hatched some time ago and had been eating and growing significantly since then.

The problem comes when the person who has been feeding and caring for the baby has not been doing it correctly. "Well started" does not necessarily mean "well cared for", or that the baby was kept hydrated, or fed a good variety of 'natural" type foods.

It would be best to ask the person making the claim exactly what they mean by "well started". It can mean something different to everyone.

 

[Phreeflow]

Thanks for all the responses. Needless to I think I’ll pass on the 2 week old Star Torts for now until they get older