Where to Buy - Western Hermann

[pope]

Help please! We are looking for a Western Hermann and have had a hard time understanding if sites that have them are reputable.

1. Turtlestore.com has them for sale but there are no reviews about this site anywhere, which is weird. It does appear to be the same root-company as tortoisetown.com, which does have reviews, but also shows Western Hermanns as all out of stock 🤔 -- TortoiseTown.com also has a good amount of negative reviews claiming sick or dying animals were sent, no response to complaints, etc.
2. Garden State Tortoises (https://www.gardenstatetortoise.com/) seems great and their social media is super reputable seeming, BUT there is no place on their site where you can see what they have or how to buy it (even though the FAQs say the do sell tortoises). I messaged on Instagram, and no response so far.
3. Big Apple Herp lists them, but has horrible reviews. Same as "myturtlestore.com" -- horrible reviews
4. Tort Stork seems to just have Eastern Hermanns, and just still in the egg.

I found this breeders list on this forum: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/breeders-list.64666/ but some websites don't work, and the ones that do... don't have Western Hermanns available.

Do you have any leads or advice on where to look? I don't believe there are any local options here in Oregon.

 

[turtlesteve]

Be patient. Watch for ads on morphmarket or faunaclassifieds. Usually they show up a few times a year.

A couple of suggestions:

1. Your best odds are to buy directly from a breeder and from someone fairly small / specialized (to hopefully minimize risks of diseases or the tortoises being started off wrong).

2. The difference between eastern and western hermanns is grossly overstated. They look so similar in color/pattern that you would be hard pressed to tell them apart. The photos you see of really bright yellow westerns are a combination of cherry picked individuals and camera settings causing the photos to be over saturated. Your babies inevitably won’t look like that so if that is the reason you want westerns, might as well set your expectations straight right now.

 

[Cowgirl]

I sent an email to Chris at Garden State and he responded very quickly. When I had questions he responded again very quickly. You have a choice of sending a deposit only or prepaying. He can explain that. I “prepaid” so hopefully I will receive my Hermanns faster but I know it will be sometime in 2024. I did see a Hermanns in a local pet store. You might want to check out local pet and reptile stores. In this case, I consider it a rescue because you would have no information on where it came from and how old it was. I am a novice but this is my experience.

 

[Cowgirl]

I sent an email to Chris at Garden State and he responded very quickly. When I had questions he responded again very quickly. You have a choice of sending a deposit only or prepaying. He can explain that. I “prepaid” so hopefully I will receive my Hermanns faster but I know it will be sometime in 2024. I did see a Hermanns in a local pet store. You might want to check out local pet and reptile stores. In this case, I consider it a rescue because you would have no information on where it came from and how old it was. I am a novice but this is my experience.

I just remembered that Lisa Garcia may have some available. She is a reputable breeder. I think she is on this forum as @dovelett15

 

[PollyAda]

Be patient. Watch for ads on morphmarket or faunaclassifieds. Usually they show up a few times a year.

A couple of suggestions:

1. Your best odds are to buy directly from a breeder and from someone fairly small / specialized (to hopefully minimize risks of diseases or the tortoises being started off wrong).

2. The difference between eastern and western hermanns is grossly overstated. They look so similar in color/pattern that you would be hard pressed to tell them apart. The photos you see of really bright yellow westerns are a combination of cherry picked individuals and camera settings causing the photos to be over saturated. Your babies inevitably won’t look like that so if that is the reason you want westerns, might as well set your expectations straight right now.

I have to politely disagree with point 2. There are distinct differences in markings and colouration, but I do agree that Eastern and Western hatchings are more difficult to tell apart.

 

[Tom]

Help please! We are looking for a Western Hermann and have had a hard time understanding if sites that have them are reputable.

1. Turtlestore.com has them for sale but there are no reviews about this site anywhere, which is weird. It does appear to be the same root-company as tortoisetown.com, which does have reviews, but also shows Western Hermanns as all out of stock 🤔 -- TortoiseTown.com also has a good amount of negative reviews claiming sick or dying animals were sent, no response to complaints, etc.
2. Garden State Tortoises (https://www.gardenstatetortoise.com/) seems great and their social media is super reputable seeming, BUT there is no place on their site where you can see what they have or how to buy it (even though the FAQs say the do sell tortoises). I messaged on Instagram, and no response so far.
3. Big Apple Herp lists them, but has horrible reviews. Same as "myturtlestore.com" -- horrible reviews
4. Tort Stork seems to just have Eastern Hermanns, and just still in the egg.

I found this breeders list on this forum: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/breeders-list.64666/ but some websites don't work, and the ones that do... don't have Western Hermanns available.

Do you have any leads or advice on where to look? I don't believe there are any local options here in Oregon.

Don't buy from a "site". Buy from a person. Talk to the breeder and get to know how they start their hatchings and how they care for the adults.

I agree with @turtlesteve 100%. Be patient. Get the enclosure set up and ready. That will take some time. You are going to get lots of conflicting and wrong care info. That will take time to sort through. Don't rush to get tortoises from the first possible person you find. Those of us that have been around for a while know who breeds what species, or who to ask when the time comes.

Start 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

Then go through this one:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? 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. What is...

tortoiseforum.org