Tortoise Town

bonsai tortoise

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2014
Messages
74
Location (City and/or State)
NJ
I reached out to them through their website with questions about ordering. Never got a response.
 

Romeo Serback

Active Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2015
Messages
271
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
On their website it shows that they're located in Galloway, NJ, which is a 10 minute drive from me. I drove there and there is no such business. Also, it's illegal to sell tortoises here in this state. They're probably just using a backroom considering that in that location, there's somebody a USPS office.
 

Kapidolo Farms

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
5,187
Location (City and/or State)
South of Southern California, but not Mexico
If I'm not mistaken Tortoise Town aka StarTortoiseWorld is owned by Brian Petruzzi. My direct experience is that he will low ball an offer from posted for sale ads, so he can re-sell. That in and of itself is not a wrong thing, but he does not carry the tortoises history forward (some have told me in confidence he will mishandle information regarding the tortoises history) i.e. Stigmochelys p.p. intragrades with S.p.b. and sell them as S.p.p.

It's hard to know where the sloppiness with facts ends and the overt telling of falsehoods begin.

BTW it is okay to sell tortoises out of New Jersey, less we would not have the opportunity to buy from Chris Leone and Hermanni-Heaven or Garden State Tortoise.
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2018
Messages
103
Location (City and/or State)
Lewisville, Texas
Hello everyone, after less than a month of owning my sulcata hatchling from tortoise town, and $300+ of vet bills, I’m going to go ahead and advise you not to order from tortoise town. While they have an almost perfect review score online, i have heard nothing but heartache from their customers. Their website looks proffesional, yet they use copy righted photos that do not belong to them- of tortoises that aren’t theirs. They may answer your questions with smiles and seemingly helpful (but incorrect) information- but they are nothing but crooks. They raise sick tortoises, and sell them off at crazy prices. After several messages to them about how my Tortoise is withering away, they have not so much as bat an eye at my problems. If you want a healthy Animal, contact the mods on here, or check the vendor reviews. I might loose my Innocent baby tortoises to symptoms that could’ve been prevented if they cared about their animals in the slightest. Thanks for your time.
 

synapsid

New Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2018
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
Columbia South Carolina
Do not order from Tortoise Town.

Last week (10/24/18) I ordered 3 turtles from the site. Their website claims that turtles will be shipped the day after ordering, and received the day after that. I ordered turtles on Wed. On Friday I contacted Tortoise Town to inquire whether the animals would arrive that day since I hadn't heard from them. They replied that the animals would ship the next week, and they would contact me on Monday to arrange a date. They never contacted me. On Tuesday I contacted them again and asked for the status of the order. They replied that they were waiting for improved weather, and that they would ship that week. The turtles were to be used in a biology class demo, and I told TT that I needed the animals by Thursday. Thursday came, and not turtles. No explanation from Tortoise Town, no apology, they never contacted me. I cancelled the order and will never order from them again.
 

Wendy Proulx

Active Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2017
Messages
141
Location (City and/or State)
Chesapeake VA
We purchased a yellowfoot from them last year. I would never do it again, but we were very lucky. With a lot of TLC, we have a very healthy tortoise now. Good luck on anyone who has little ones. Watch them closely. Other who have not bought, pls don’t use them. There are so many better breeders out there.
 

xphare

Active Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2018
Messages
106
Location (City and/or State)
Denver
I purchased a leopard and a sulcata hatchling from them about 2 years ago. Both passed away suddenly soon after getting them. I originally thought they were good people but after my experience with them I deleted my good review on their facebook page. Now I know better than to ever even look in their direction.
 

Jodimsteinberg5

Active Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2018
Messages
161
Location (City and/or State)
Knoxville
I’m loosing one from them too. I’ve only had him 2 months. How do I contact the mods on here to get a healthy one? I can’t do this heart break again. He’s still alive and staying overnight at the exotic veterinary clinic but the said his prognosis is not good. I’ll do everything I can for him.
 

Jerry's Mom

Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
34
Location (City and/or State)
MA
I wish I had found this forum BEFORE I found Tortoise Town. I got my guy from them three weeks ago. He appears to be happy and healthy, but after reading many threads and comments about how bad they are, I'm on edge that my little guy isn't as healthy as I think he is. I pray to the tortoise gods that I'm one of the few who ended up with a healthy baby! I also wish this forum would come up before sites like Tortoise Town and other not-so-great sites that recommend improper care. I sure have learned SO much more from this forum than I have from the 100s of other sites I visited before finding this forum.
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2018
Messages
103
Location (City and/or State)
Lewisville, Texas
I wish I had found this forum BEFORE I found Tortoise Town. I got my guy from them three weeks ago. He appears to be happy and healthy, but after reading many threads and comments about how bad they are, I'm on edge that my little guy isn't as healthy as I think he is. I pray to the tortoise gods that I'm one of the few who ended up with a healthy baby! I also wish this forum would come up before sites like Tortoise Town and other not-so-great sites that recommend improper care. I sure have learned SO much more from this forum than I have from the 100s of other sites I visited before finding this forum.

Best of wishes. Mine started out looking fine and almost instantly just dropped. Within a week he became deathly ill.
 

JAStort

New Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2018
Messages
16
Location (City and/or State)
Albuquerque
I ordered two tortoises from Tortoise Town. When they arrived, both have significant pyramiding. I called them and was told they would outgrow it, which I know they won’t but I am trying very hard to keep it from getting worse by providing humidity, warm soaks, proper heat and lighting, and a proper diet. They have other tortoises for sale, and I asked for a picture of the three they had advertised. Now they won’t respond to my emails.

Spread the word: Tortoise Town sells damaged tortoises that have been raised in a dry environment.
 

Xetryia

New Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2019
Messages
8
Location (City and/or State)
WI
Hello, I would like people to know about my quest for a Hermann's tortoise. I made inquiries to turtlesandtortoises, tortoisetown, and arizona tortoise compound. Here's what happened...

I am not a breeder nor big-time enthusiast. I wanted one Hermann's tortoise, ideally a companion for life. I wanted photos and to choose my new buddy.

I emailed them all, the first two to respond were turtlesandtortoises by a man named Jay and tortoisehouse by Brian.

Tortoise house refused to send photos. The reasoning was to keep costs low (¯\_(ツ)_/¯??), and that a biologist chooses which one at time of shipment. This didn't feel right because only one was listed available on the website and only one confirmed by Brian in my requested age range, so if it wasnt that one...then where am I buying from?

Turtles and tortoises agreed to send photos but never did. They said sure but they all look the same. I highly disagree...shell patterns vary greatly in my eyes and for my lifetime companion, it matters to ME.

The last reply I received from Arizona tortoise compound by Andrew the day after. I was a little unnerved at this point but was welcomed with open arms. They agreed to send photos, ship immediately, and replied frequently. I received the exact tortoise I picked out two days later. The package arrived via Fedex and had a styrofoam encasing, humid moisturized bedding in a neat mini sack, and a heat pack,-still warm. Another important thing included was an instruction sheet on soaking my tortoise upon arrival. My Hermann's was alert and friendly. The tortoise was not shy at all and ate even on the first day.

A week later everything is great. I've done quite a bit of research but if I had any questions I'd feel welcomed to ask Andrew.
Overall a great experience and I do not regret my decision.
I've since named my buddy Hermes after Andrew (Hermes) since I was stuck on one and thought it was a cool name that just clicked.
 

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jwking

Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2019
Messages
21
Location (City and/or State)
Virginia
I unfortunately fell prey to tortoise town as well. I ordered my baby leopard from tortoise town after reading many positive reviews online. I had done an extensive amount of research on my leopard and made sure her enclosure was perfect and I was feeding her correctly. She never once ate... I contacted tortoise town and told them about the issue. They asked to see pictures of my enclosure and agreed it all looked fine and what I was offering her was correct. However, they clearly sold me a sick baby and unfortunately she died 3 weeks after I got her and never once did I see her eat. DO NOT BUY FROM TORTOISE TOWN.
 

Kforbes

New Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
Latrobe, Pa.
My son bought this baby from tortise town in Jan. He
brought her to me to care for. After reading, learning, researching and doing all that I could for her.....she died early this morning. I was so attached to her, loved caring for her an now shes gone. Broken hearted....where can u find and buy a healthy baby? I would like to try again, my son spent $500
 

J9inCT

New Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2020
Messages
8
Location (City and/or State)
Seminole, FL
I purchased a marginated tortoise hatchling we named Maggie. Same experience as others. We lost him/her after 3 months. Heartbroken. I thought we had done something wrong in spite of following all care instructions. After reading this, maybe not. :-(
 
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