Tortoise Town

[LoverofTortoise123]

We wanted to add a Herman tortoise to our family and after some research thought that Tortoise Town (tortoisetown.com) was a good breeder to go with. Reached out and asked some questions and received quick replies. Surprisingly they stated the turtle would ship the following week. Bought via their site and then waited. 1 week pasted, 2 weeks pasted, 3 weeks pasted... I reached out numerous times and either got no reply at all or was told "later is this week or early next week" it would ship. It never did.
Today they finally said it would ship after I reached out again and even sent a UPS tracking label/number. Finally I thought! A couple hours later the label was voided and canceled. No communicated on their end so I reached out again......
I was informed that they "didn't get enough in" and couldn't fulfill my order. Furthermore they were unable to tell me when they could fulfill it. Maybe a week or two or three. I was under the assumption they were breeding them, but it appears they just re-sell. Canceled the order and asked for a refund.

Back to searching for our new Herman family member........

 

[COmtnLady]

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!

This place has the most up-to-date info anywhere online. Settle in here, it will only confuse you to read places like FB, or listen to people/places that use the older, less optimal, info.


Sorry you are having such a hard time. Yes, definitely only deal with the sources that breed/raise their hatchlings. There is a horrible disease going around right now, and a "clearing house" has a much worse chance of spreading it than a hands-on keeper. At the very least you'll have an accurate history for your tortoise.

Run it past The Forum's members to find recommend trustworthy sources, or tell you to avoid a particular one.


If you aren't set on a particular age or species, check Craigslist and Rescues. There are so many that need good homes.

I hope you get your money back. Did you use a credit card? Sometimes you can make a claim through the card to get your funds back.



Have you had a chance to read this yet?

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...

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Keep us in the loop. Ask questions.



If you are set on Hermann's

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

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Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

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Beginner Mistakes

To comment on Tom's article, go here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5 Over the years many of us, myself included, have made many of these mistakes, and we have certainly seen them made many times by others. With springtime upon us and many new...

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Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

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And here's a quick link to the Hermanns area of The Forum.

Mediterranean Tortoises (genus Testudo)

tortoiseforum.org

Welcome aboard!
.

 

[zovick]

We wanted to add a Herman tortoise to our family and after some research thought that Tortoise Town (tortoisetown.com) was a good breeder to go with. Reached out and asked some questions and received quick replies. Surprisingly they stated the turtle would ship the following week. Bought via their site and then waited. 1 week pasted, 2 weeks pasted, 3 weeks pasted... I reached out numerous times and either got no reply at all or was told "later is this week or early next week" it would ship. It never did.
Today they finally said it would ship after I reached out again and even sent a UPS tracking label/number. Finally I thought! A couple hours later the label was voided and canceled. No communicated on their end so I reached out again......
I was informed that they "didn't get enough in" and couldn't fulfill my order. Furthermore they were unable to tell me when they could fulfill it. Maybe a week or two or three. I was under the assumption they were breeding them, but it appears they just re-sell. Canceled the order and asked for a refund.

Back to searching for our new Herman family member........

Sorry you had that experience, but it is not hard to believe. Tortoise Town is not a real breeder, he is a flipper. He advertises as Star Tortoise World on multiple web sites as a buyer trying to buy turtles and tortoises from anyone and everyone, then sells them on the Tortoise Town web site.

After you placed the order, he most likely was not able to get a Hermann's Tortoise anywhere, hence the delay in shipping. And why does a breeder have to "get the baby in"? A breeder would already have them in hand, not have to get them elsewhere.

Another piece of the puzzle may be that it is not legal for him to sell a turtle or tortoise to another New Jersey resident, so if you are actually from NJ, he cannot legally sell you any turtle or tortoise under the rules of his NJ license to keep tortoises/turtles.

Here are a few more comments just FYI: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/who-has-experience-with-tortoise-town-nj.181827/

Also: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/atc-and-tortoisetown.197191/

 

[Tom]

We wanted to add a Herman tortoise to our family and after some research thought that Tortoise Town (tortoisetown.com) was a good breeder to go with. Reached out and asked some questions and received quick replies. Surprisingly they stated the turtle would ship the following week. Bought via their site and then waited. 1 week pasted, 2 weeks pasted, 3 weeks pasted... I reached out numerous times and either got no reply at all or was told "later is this week or early next week" it would ship. It never did.
Today they finally said it would ship after I reached out again and even sent a UPS tracking label/number. Finally I thought! A couple hours later the label was voided and canceled. No communicated on their end so I reached out again......
I was informed that they "didn't get enough in" and couldn't fulfill my order. Furthermore they were unable to tell me when they could fulfill it. Maybe a week or two or three. I was under the assumption they were breeding them, but it appears they just re-sell. Canceled the order and asked for a refund.

Back to searching for our new Herman family member........

You just dodged a bullet. Read number 1 here:

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

 

[RandyTortoise]

We wanted to add a Herman tortoise to our family and after some research thought that Tortoise Town (tortoisetown.com) was a good breeder to go with. Reached out and asked some questions and received quick replies. Surprisingly they stated the turtle would ship the following week. Bought via their site and then waited. 1 week pasted, 2 weeks pasted, 3 weeks pasted... I reached out numerous times and either got no reply at all or was told "later is this week or early next week" it would ship. It never did.
Today they finally said it would ship after I reached out again and even sent a UPS tracking label/number. Finally I thought! A couple hours later the label was voided and canceled. No communicated on their end so I reached out again......
I was informed that they "didn't get enough in" and couldn't fulfill my order. Furthermore they were unable to tell me when they could fulfill it. Maybe a week or two or three. I was under the assumption they were breeding them, but it appears they just re-sell. Canceled the order and asked for a refund.

Back to searching for our new Herman family member........

There is also a rescue called Tortoise Rehoming and Rescue that is a total scam. They “rehome” a tortoise to you for a fee. There is no rescue and there is no tortoise. They will “ship” the tortoise to you and half way thru the shipping you get a notice that you need to pay $500 for insurance that will be refunded on delivery. This is clearly a scam. They do send a shipping tracking number and a website that is fraudulent. The shipping company Express Logistics Services does exist and is a real company but if you google them you get a different website and you call their customer service and they confirm that the tracking number does not exist and it is not their company and not their link or tracking notices, it is all a scam.
So again, for everyone: USA Tortoise Rehoming and Rescue is a total fraud.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

So again, for everyone: USA Tortoise Rehoming and Rescue is a total fraud.

If I remember correctly they tried to advertise here on the forum, but I can't find any of their posts anymore.

 

[RandyTortoise]

If I remember correctly they tried to advertise here on the forum, but I can't find any of their posts anymore.

It was removed as I flagged them. The reason I bring this up today as their “shipper” sent me photos of a tortoise saying “this is your tortoise right”. Pay $500 “insurance or they will not be delivered and will be sent to a tortoise rescue. They are continually harassing me even when I said, hey, I am a lawyer and I have law firms all over the country, tell me where you are located and I will send someone within an hour to pick up the tortoises. Of course they refuse this.

 

[144 Grandpa Turtle]

We wanted to add a Herman tortoise to our family and after some research thought that Tortoise Town (tortoisetown.com) was a good breeder to go with. Reached out and asked some questions and received quick replies. Surprisingly they stated the turtle would ship the following week. Bought via their site and then waited. 1 week pasted, 2 weeks pasted, 3 weeks pasted... I reached out numerous times and either got no reply at all or was told "later is this week or early next week" it would ship. It never did.
Today they finally said it would ship after I reached out again and even sent a UPS tracking label/number. Finally I thought! A couple hours later the label was voided and canceled. No communicated on their end so I reached out again......
I was informed that they "didn't get enough in" and couldn't fulfill my order. Furthermore they were unable to tell me when they could fulfill it. Maybe a week or two or three. I was under the assumption they were breeding them, but it appears they just re-sell. Canceled the order and asked for a refund.

Back to searching for our new Herman family member........

Is it a Herrman tortoise that you really want baby or adult?

 

[LoverofTortoise123]

Is it a Herrman tortoise that you really want baby or adult?

Hermann seemed to fit best with our location and lifestyle. And we’re looking for a baby

 

[144 Grandpa Turtle]

I have some babys they are almost a year old not old enough to sex yet. I would be willing to sell for $200 .00 Plus postage and handling.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

It was removed as I flagged them. The reason I bring this up today as their “shipper” sent me photos of a tortoise saying “this is your tortoise right”. Pay $500 “insurance or they will not be delivered and will be sent to a tortoise rescue. They are continually harassing me even when I said, hey, I am a lawyer and I have law firms all over the country, tell me where you are located and I will send someone within an hour to pick up the tortoises. Of course they refuse this.

Sounds like you did the right thing.