Where to buy a tortoise?

[gisselle.b]

Sorry I'm new to tortoise forum but I had a question in regards to where I could get a tortoise? All the pet stores near me either don't sell captive bred or just don't sell any at all. I was planning to order one online but don't know which website to trust, any suggestions? Thanks for your time.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Gisselle, and welcome to the Forum!

You can trust @TylerStewart. He sells tortoises at tortoisesupply.com

You can also take a look through our breeder's page and see if any of those species reach out and grab you:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/breeders-list.64666/

 

[ZEROPILOT]

What is your location?
There may be one very close.
Also, what species?

 

[BILBO-03]

Hi and Welcome!
Tyler Stewart at tortoise supply is a great guy and you could trust him but There's also a lot of breeders on the forum what species are you looking for?

 

[gisselle.b]

Thanks for the response I live in Santa Rosa, California I would like to buy a russian tortoise. I've been looking through many websites and they each have reviews saying that their tortoises are unhealthy and shipped incorrectly.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Have you looked into Craigslist?
It is sometimes full of tortoises that have overwhelmed the owner.

 

[Yvonne G]

Tyler has said in the past that he buys from a smaller wholesaler who ships humanely. He has even posted pictures of the Russians after shipping. I don't know if he would ship tortoises this time of year, though.

 

[gisselle.b]

Let me start off by saying I will be a first time owner and need all the help I can get with my first tortoise. Should I start with a baby or a yearling?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Let me start off by saying I will be a first time owner and need all the help I can get with my first tortoise. Should I start with a baby or a yearling?

IMO the larger and more robust a tortoise is the easier they are too keep. They seem far more tolerant if things aren't 100% perfect and recover from illness easier.
Russians are also pretty tough.

 

[cmacusa3]

Let me start off by saying I will be a first time owner and need all the help I can get with my first tortoise. Should I start with a baby or a yearling?

My suggestion would be to study up on Russians and get everything set up before you get one. The enclosure should be done and ready before you get a tortoise

 

[gisselle.b]

My only concern with getting a lager tortoise is it won't be as tame. Any tips on how to tame a tortoise?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My only concern with getting a lager tortoise is it won't be as tame. Any tips on how to tame a tortoise?

Tame is a loose term.
Almost any tortoise will eventually see you as the provider of food and know that you are not a threat.
I would imagine that the length of time that that takes would be about the same with young or old tortoises.
Keep in mind that some tortoises do have different personalities.

 

[gisselle.b]

Oh okay thanks a lot. Have you ordered from tortoise supply? I've seen a lot of great reviews.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Oh okay thanks a lot. Have you ordered from tortoise supply? I've seen a lot of great reviews.

I've never dealt with them, but have only heard good stuff about them.

 

[gisselle.b]

Okay thanks so much for your time.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

There is a reptile show in Sacramento each year and TortoiseSupply (Tyler) is often a vendor there, along with others. You will quickly see that most tortoises offered in this kind of venue are what I consider an afterthought for the vendor. A few like Tyler focus and specialize on tortoises. Just by walking table to table and thinking of images posted here at TFO of healthy and not so healthy animals you will see the difference between a focused breeder/vendor and those who seem to have tortoises as a novelty at their table.

http://sacreptileshow.com/

It's several moths away, can't change that, but you will certainly get an eye-full of both the good and the mediocre.

There is also the Sacramento Turtle and Tortoise Club which is now a decades old institution of sorts. Many Bay Area people end up at one of the quarterly meetings.

http://www.turtlebunker.com/

It may seem like a hassle to venture out and go to these kinds of events, but the first person contacts are much more rewarding and better than internet chat, making that hassle worth it.

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Big Ol Tortoise]

Let me start off by saying I will be a first time owner and need all the help I can get with my first tortoise. Should I start with a baby or a yearling?

Yearling. Within the first months of baby's lives they need to get a round the clock service. babies aren't as hardy and tough as a yearling, and yearlings don't need to eat everyday like babies.

 

[Big Ol Tortoise]

Tame is a loose term.
Almost any tortoise will eventually see you as the provider of food and know that you are not a threat.
I would imagine that the length of time that that takes would be about the same with young or old tortoises.
Keep in mind that some tortoises do have different personalities.

Yep. Some tortoise just don't "like" people and never will. But that's ok you can still watch them

 

[TylerStewart]

Tyler has said in the past that he buys from a smaller wholesaler who ships humanely. He has even posted pictures of the Russians after shipping. I don't know if he would ship tortoises this time of year, though.

Thanks for the positive vibes from those who gave them, but I have never said I buy from a small wholesaler because I've never bought from a small wholesaler.... I have occasionally bought tortoises and resold them from Tom or Gary B or Neal (all highly respected members of this forum), but that's about it.... We have like 300 adult tortoises here, I'm not buying a lot of babies.... I think you are confusing us with someone else.

The photos after shipping I think you are referring to were from an importation back in about 2014 maybe? I guess I don't consider those wholesale because they were imports, they were never unboxed (tainted) in Miami, etc. That was basically in rebuttal to all the false stories that you hear about importation shipments being in horrible conditions which probably did happen in the 70s and 80s but doesn't happen now. They are shipped in good conditions, it's being dumped out at an importers place that screws them up. Never had a group of tortoises do so well for me.