Buying a tortoise

[Ink]

Good luck cute tortoise, the second one..

 

[ryan57]

Well it's still a breeder that is not starting them correctly. I would pass. If it was pyramiding that was just barely started, I'd say try it and get it set up correctly ASAP. It's a risk buying them that have been started dry. So many do good for a short time and then it all falls apart and they don't make it. 50/50 chance here with both of these.

So rather than giving the "50/50" tortoises the best chance at life you would pass and let the breeder, not already here on this forum that may not discover the right way, possibly watch it die. This is the hypocrisy from this forum... "We're focused on the wellbeing of the animal ... so don't help it. Let it die" Just stop lying to yourself. You are here to feel important, tell people what they're doing wrong and let animals die.

So because Figgy's scutes were fused and took much longer to grow I should have passed? S/he added 33 grams last week.

 

[SinLA]

So, i'm not going to address any of the heat going on here, but I'll address the point about taking in the healthy vs the "less than" ones. @ryan57 you and I are 100% the same - I absolutely would take the runt, the tripod, the fused scute, the MBD grenaded ones - BUT that is a particular "mindset" that some of us have, and some people absolutely DO NOT WANT. Growing up my mom bought a purebred Springer Spaniel puppy for us (she was a great dog to grow up with) because she was convinced rescue dogs "all have problems." While that mindset is alien to me (like intentionally breeding mixed breed dogs or cats, or spending tons of money on a dog (except in very particular circumstances where specialized skills are needed) when rescues and shelters are full), this site is giving advice to people who very well may not want to start with a 'gimp' and who is more likely to lead to heartbreak. Its not unreasonable if someone is asking for advice on "is this healthy?" for people to say "no, which means its a bad breeder, don't buy from them." Will that tortoise die? Yep, so will all the others they are breeding because the breeder doesn't know or care. The number of times I've had people tell me they "rescued" a $5000 dog from a pet store and I want to punch them in a nose because its only by walking away from that puppy that eventually the market and the dozens that go through horrors funded by every single puppy mill dog sold, stops.

I strongly encourage newbies here to not get babies if they even remotely seem open to it - get an adult because SO MANY TORTOISES NEED HOMES and stop buying %$#! babies off craigslist for cheap, and you don't have to worry as much about if they were "started well" and if you have a closed chamber and your humidity levels, etc. Just get a %$$@#% adult that needs a home. BUT BUT BUT people who are asking for advice who may not have the same mindset you or I do about the imperfect ones, its fair for them to get objective advice from experienced owners and breeders.

 

[ryan57]

So, i'm not going to address any of the heat going on here, but I'll address the point about taking in the healthy vs the "less than" ones. @ryan57 you and I are 100% the same - I absolutely would take the runt, the tripod, the fused scute, the MBD grenaded ones - BUT that is a particular "mindset" that some of us have, and some people absolutely DO NOT WANT. Growing up my mom bought a purebred Springer Spaniel puppy for us (she was a great dog to grow up with) because she was convinced rescue dogs "all have problems." While that mindset is alien to me (like intentionally breeding mixed breed dogs or cats, or spending tons of money on a dog (except in very particular circumstances where specialized skills are needed) when rescues and shelters are full), this site is giving advice to people who very well may not want to start with a 'gimp' and who is more likely to lead to heartbreak. Its not unreasonable if someone is asking for advice on "is this healthy?" for people to say "no, which means its a bad breeder, don't buy from them." Will that tortoise die? Yep, so will all the others they are breeding because the breeder doesn't know or care. The number of times I've had people tell me they "rescued" a $5000 dog from a pet store and I want to punch them in a nose because its only by walking away from that puppy that eventually the market and the dozens that go through horrors funded by every single puppy mill dog sold, stops.

I strongly encourage newbies here to not get babies if they even remotely seem open to it - get an adult because SO MANY TORTOISES NEED HOMES and stop buying %$#! babies off craigslist for cheap, and you don't have to worry as much about if they were "started well" and if you have a closed chamber and your humidity levels, etc. Just get a %$$@#% adult that needs a home. BUT BUT BUT people who are asking for advice who may not have the same mindset you or I do about the imperfect ones, its fair for them to get objective advice from experienced owners and breeders.

I understand what you are expressing and agree on all fronts. I am one of those that had I known, in hindsight, would/should have adopted a few huge adult sulcatas except that my wife probably would have taken a move like that as the last straw and moved to a condo at the beach without me. In the future I can see adopting a couple more adult sulcatas.

Stump was an impulse buy because my other pond turtles had "free shipping with every order" so I threw a sulcata on the order. I was even more naive thinking he would be an eventual "outdoor Roomba" for the back yard but alas he is 6' from me right now and has claimed my living room as his burrow for the time being. Honestly about every newbie on here is a more thoughtful person than myself which is embarrassing. Ask my wife. I do dumb S like this all the time.

The thought of my sulcata purchase supporting irresponsible breeders never crossed my mind and similarly I used to see those sad animal commercials and I didn't care. Now after truly loving an animal for 2 terrific years, I have to change the channel making the holiday season a real pain this year. I can't even comprehend the mistreatment of any creature or being moving forward. That transformation within myself is the root of my visceral, regrettable response.

Summary: Life is good, good life is better and there is absolutely no redeeming quality of death. A bad life is essentially death in installments.

 

[wellington]

So rather than giving the "50/50" tortoises the best chance at life you would pass and let the breeder, not already here on this forum that may not discover the right way, possibly watch it die. This is the hypocrisy from this forum... "We're focused on the wellbeing of the animal ... so don't help it. Let it die" You people are f^#%ed up. Just stop lying to yourself. You are here to feel important, tell people what they're doing wrong and let animals die.

So because Figgy's scutes were fused and took much longer to grow I should have passed? S/he added 33 grams last week. F u, your mind, thoughts, speech and life.

Did you even read the OP first post? So get off your high horse and if you want to lie to someone asking if a tortoise is healthy or not then go ahead. I answered the OP question. Started dry could mean it's not a healthy tortoise! Rather have the OP spend their money on one started correctly and hopefully have a good time raising it then one that could be unhealthy and then having to go thru the pain of trying to save it and then having it die!
As for your language, this is your first warning!

 

[talal]

Don't keep your little tortoise on sand, please. And before you pay for him, check him over very carefully for any yellow bumps he may have on his face, neck and legs. If he has anything like that, don't buy him, because it could be a very serious disease that particularly affects these baby Sulcatas. Good luck!

Ok thanks and i read about the yellow bunps i believe its something called AW right thats how its refered to on this forum

 

[talal]

 

[talal]

View attachment 367092

Btw this ones also available the breeder of the smaller one sent me this pic and he believes this one is better what do you guys think? 🤔 Should i get him instead both of them are like 80 us dollars so same price
Another thing i don't get is why are some sulcatas darker while some are lighter

 

[talal]

Btw this ones also available the breeder of the smaller one sent me this pic and he believes this one is better what do you guys think? 🤔 Should i get him instead both of them are like 80 us dollars so same price
Another thing i don't get is why are some sulcatas darker while some are lighter

It does have an weird scute if you look closely on its top back scute abit triangular its visible in the pic is it ok or should i avoid it

 

[wellington]

View attachment 367093
It does have an weird scute if you look closely on its top back scute abit triangular its visible in the pic is it ok or should i avoid it

Those kinds of scutes, split scute, extra scute etc is fine and just cosmetic.

 

[wellington]

Whichever one you get, just have the enclosure set up and running first, so you know it's correct temps, humidity, and correct bulbs and heat
This will stop the pyramiding and when it's much larger, you won't even notice what has already pyramided.
I would get either one of the two smaller ones. They will be easier to stop the pyramiding and get started on growing smooth.
Used to be said that ones with split or extra scutes etc, were more likely to be a female. Not completely true but I do think it does give it a better chance being female if that helps you decide.

 

[Ink]

I personally like extra or irregular scutes. At least you can easily identify it.

 

[talal]

I personally like extra or irregular scutes. At least you can easily identify it.

Plus it makes them unique i personally like such animals too especially when its only cosmetic

 

[talal]

Whichever one you get, just have the enclosure set up and running first, so you know it's correct temps, humidity, and correct bulbs and heat
This will stop the pyramiding and when it's much larger, you won't even notice what has already pyramided.
I would get either one of the two smaller ones. They will be easier to stop the pyramiding and get started on growing smooth.
Used to be said that ones with split or extra scutes etc, were more likely to be a female. Not completely true but I do think it does give it a better chance being female if that helps you decide.

Thanks

 

[MenagerieGrl]

Did you even read the OP first post? So get off your high horse and if you want to lie to someone asking if a tortoise is healthy or not then go ahead. I answered the OP question. Started dry could mean it's not a healthy tortoise! Rather have the OP spend their money on one started correctly and hopefully have a good time raising it then one that could be unhealthy and then having to go thru the pain of trying to save it and then having it die!
As for your language, this is your first warning!

Thank you, Barb!

 

[MenagerieGrl]

So, correct me if I'm wrong, These are NOT from "Breeders" They are from someone who snatched them from the wild and is trying to make $ off of a wild caught sulcata.

 

[talal]

So, correct me if I'm wrong, These are NOT from "Breeders" They are from someone who snatched them from the wild and is trying to make $ off of a wild caught sulcata.

no he has the adult sulcatas which are the actual mom and dad but he has no hand in there breeding the female lays the egg the eggs hatch and babies come up from the sand and he just takes them home and puts them in a plastic container with a uv and heat bulb and soaks them twice a week and sells them.

 

[talal]

So, correct me if I'm wrong, These are NOT from "Breeders" They are from someone who snatched them from the wild and is trying to make $ off of a wild caught sulcata.

I live in Pakistan so if we dont have wild sulcatas as very rarely are animals are imported here due to taxes and stuff and those are very expensive meanwhile captive bred sulcatas are cheaper

 

[ryan57]

I live in Pakistan so if we dont have wild sulcatas as very rarely are animals are imported here due to taxes and stuff and those are very expensive meanwhile captive bred sulcatas are cheaper

"Another thing i don't get is why are some sulcatas darker while some are lighter"

To answer your question that nobody addressed, I read somewhere that lighter ones come from hotter more southern regions and the lighter carapace helps keep them cooler and the inverse for darker ones. Keep in mind that new growth is darker and lightens with age but I have two sulcatas (that have completely separate enclosures) and they are distinctly different colors. One lighter and one dark.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome,
I don't think anyone's linked these yet so in case you haven't found them yet, this is the caresheet for sulcata which you'll find very useful -

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

and while your Russian tort needs the caresheet for Mediterranean/Temperate species this is full of valuable information for both species.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org