Which store should I get my Russian Tortoise from?

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LemonShell

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For my 18th birthday I am recieving a russian tortoise of my choice. For about the last year I have been looking into their needs and etc. (and this website is an application on my phone so I can keep up to date on chatting here). And I have been looking at my local pet stores and checking adoptions that hold reptiles and craigslist and etc.... I've narrowed it down to two.


I am putting all the information I remember about thier behavior, enclosure, the care, and etc... because one factor can affect other factors and blah blah blur blah.

1. Oceans of Pets. :tort: It's a local pet store, the only one in my city. (I have a pretty small city)
Price: 139.00 Dollars
Age:The tortoise age is unknown.
Cb or WC: The worker I talked to told me she thought the tortoise was captive-bred.
Amount:They only have one.
Enclosure: Not entirely horrible. Right lighting, but no hiding spots and wrong substrate.
Activeness: (s)he (I didnt think to check gender when I held h(im)er) wasn't very active in cage but more-so when held. (I am assuming in the proper enviorment it would be happier.).
Store care: I am pretty certain no one specializes in reptile care.
Health: Healthy

2. Petco. (I can already feel some members sinking in thier seats).:tort:
Price: 99.00
Age:The tortoise age unknown. However they did appear smaller than the other one.
Cb or WC: I never asked, but it is safe to assume WC.
Amount: Three
Enclosure:This store has three in an enclosure larger than the other. they had a better enviorment than the other(however not the best by a long run).
Activeness: Very active. As soon as I approached their enclosure, they turned thier attention to me and were moving about. One promptly crawled into an empty bowl to sleep.
Care: They had a reptile expert in the store.
Health: Healthy.

Thank you for reading. Your opinons are very much appreciated.
 

dmmj

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How big is the one at ocean of pets? if it is larger than 4 inches it is WC, not necessarily anything wrong with that, just curious.
 

Eweezyfosheezy

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I say neither. I think the best the best option would be to go to a private breeder. Preferably one on this forum. :)
 

Jacqui

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I vote Petco! I have bought several Russians from them through the years and have always gotten healthy animals. The ones I saw yesterday all looked healthy too (in Lincoln). Here they are on sale for I believe it was 69.
 

LemonShell

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dmmj said:
How big is the one at ocean of pets? if it is larger than 4 inches it is WC, not necessarily anything wrong with that, just curious.

I was just at the store to check up on him to see if he was still available. (Why ponder about which one if he is not there, lol.) Thinking back he is about 6 inches. (To me I remember him being smaller, father says otherwise) Personally, it doesn't make too much of a difference to me if he is WC or not. He just needs to be happy
 

wellington

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I prefer breeders over pet stores. However, my Petco does an excellent job on housing their Russians. The only draw back they have is too small enclosure and they usually have 3-4 in it at a time. However, everything else is where it should be.

One more thing. I don't know how to tell the difference between CB and WC , but the ones at my Petco are small
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome.

I would not buy either one of those. Both are likely from the same source and both are likely full of all sorts of parasites and pathogens.

You can get a healthy, well started, acclimated to captivity, captive bred one for the same money from a breeder. Captive bred ones tend to have far fewer problems and vet bills, so it will not only save you hassles and money, but it will probably be a much better experience for you.
 

StudentoftheReptile

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Tom said:
Hello and welcome.

I would not buy either one of those. Both are likely from the same source and both are likely full of all sorts of parasites and pathogens.

You can get a healthy, well started, acclimated to captivity, captive bred one for the same money from a breeder. Captive bred ones tend to have far fewer problems and vet bills, so it will not only save you hassles and money, but it will probably be a much better experience for you.

I say neither. I think the best the best option would be to go to a private breeder. Preferably one on this forum.

I prefer breeders over pet stores.

Ditto on all ^^^^^^^^ :cool:
 
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