rogue-tortoise-11
New Member
Hello everyone, I just found this site and I would be very grateful if someone with experience in crossing the US/Canada border with their pet tortoise could help me. I currently go to university in Montreal. A volunteer organization I work with back home in MA has a tortoise that needs adopting -- 15 yr old Russian male, he's super cute. I have wanted a tortoise for a while, I love reptiles and am studying in undergrad to hopefully eventually be a vet for wildlife/exotics. I had a chameleon before but never a tortoise, but I have been doing research and think it would be a good pet for me as they are vegetarian so I wouldn't have to order feeder insects, and generally sensible care as long as I get a good setup and make sure it's quality products and food (compared to the gymnastics that was chameleon care, haha). I also like the idea of having a long-term pet. However, I was hoping someone would have experience navigating pets going across the US/Canada border.
As far as I can tell, to get a tortoise from the US to Canada I'd need an import permit (which I would need to apply for 30-60 days before bringing the animal across) and a vet's note saying the animal is in good health. I need to be physically with the animal as it crosses the border as well. However, since I would be going back and forth with him for the next foreseeable 3-4 years, would I also need documentation to bring the tortoise back into the US? Or because it would be a US tortoise 'visiting' Canada while I'm up there, similar to how I'm studying on a visa with a time limit, would it be okay because the tortoise would eventually be returning to live in the States with me, and I would just need his papers saying he can travel into Canada?
What I would need to do would be pick him up when I'm home with my parents over an upcoming reading break at the end of February, bring him back until the end of term in April, then head back to my parents' house for the summer as I complete an internship in Boston. Essentially, he would live in Canada with me during the school year and then summer with me in Boston. My idea is to have two tanks/setups, one in Montreal I can put in storage over the summer, and one at my parent's home in the summer for him to use during that time he's there. That way I could transport just him, his water dish and lighting, any favorite hides, etc, without worrying about shipping a big glass tank and stuff like substrate to and fro.
Any advice about the situation and the legal aspects of cross-border pet turtles would be helpful. The little guy was surrendered to a vet my volunteer org works with and needs a new home, and I know I could give him that financially and emotionally (like I said, I love reptiles), but I'm just not sure about the logistics of travelling. I will probably need to figure it out within the next week if I want to get the permit applied for in time. I know it would be a lot more than the average pet owner has to do to get him permits for travel, but I fully intend for the little guy to be my forever companion (or at least, for many years) if it turns out to be feasible, so it's something I'm willing to do.
Thanks for reading, and I hope someone can help me out.
As far as I can tell, to get a tortoise from the US to Canada I'd need an import permit (which I would need to apply for 30-60 days before bringing the animal across) and a vet's note saying the animal is in good health. I need to be physically with the animal as it crosses the border as well. However, since I would be going back and forth with him for the next foreseeable 3-4 years, would I also need documentation to bring the tortoise back into the US? Or because it would be a US tortoise 'visiting' Canada while I'm up there, similar to how I'm studying on a visa with a time limit, would it be okay because the tortoise would eventually be returning to live in the States with me, and I would just need his papers saying he can travel into Canada?
What I would need to do would be pick him up when I'm home with my parents over an upcoming reading break at the end of February, bring him back until the end of term in April, then head back to my parents' house for the summer as I complete an internship in Boston. Essentially, he would live in Canada with me during the school year and then summer with me in Boston. My idea is to have two tanks/setups, one in Montreal I can put in storage over the summer, and one at my parent's home in the summer for him to use during that time he's there. That way I could transport just him, his water dish and lighting, any favorite hides, etc, without worrying about shipping a big glass tank and stuff like substrate to and fro.
Any advice about the situation and the legal aspects of cross-border pet turtles would be helpful. The little guy was surrendered to a vet my volunteer org works with and needs a new home, and I know I could give him that financially and emotionally (like I said, I love reptiles), but I'm just not sure about the logistics of travelling. I will probably need to figure it out within the next week if I want to get the permit applied for in time. I know it would be a lot more than the average pet owner has to do to get him permits for travel, but I fully intend for the little guy to be my forever companion (or at least, for many years) if it turns out to be feasible, so it's something I'm willing to do.
Thanks for reading, and I hope someone can help me out.
