Where can you buy a tortoise?

Question

Do you know anywhere in surrey/greater london that you can buy tortoises from, i've always wanted to get one but have no idea where, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! thanks!

Answer 1

I live in surrey and I don't know anywhere that sells them.  RSPCA?  They might have ones in need of rescue.  Did you know they can live up to 40 years?  Bear that in mind when taking one on although I think they're cute!  

Answer 2

Happy is right, you probably need ot do some homework before you but a tortoise.  MY main reason for saying this is that if you buy an import and then do your homework, you may well be dissappointed or worried.

You can buy a tortoise from most petshops now days, they will come with a cites certificate from defra if it is a protected species, but horsfields, sulcata,s (which can get to 7stone in weight by the way) and leopard tortoises don't need these certificates.

the problem with buying from pet shops is the importation issue.  Most pet shops will say they are captive bred, but when you look into it they were captive bred in somewhere like slovenia.  The Tortoise trust has investigate the captive breeding farms in slovenia and they have proved that there are not enough farm to produce the amount of tortoise that are imported into the UK let alone the other countries they are sent to.  This means that they many are actually wild caught and passed off by the farms as Captive bred.  You may disagree, but I think this is really sad and unacceptable.

The nest problem with imported tortoises is that recantly there have been quite a few case of herpes in imported tortoises in the UK.  This kills tortoises.  It's one of the most serious illnesses a tortoise can have and it is highly infectios.  If you buy an imported tortoise that was in the same viv, was just touched by the same person that touched an infected tort, the likely hood is your tort will get ill.  It can take some time to show up, so when you buy it, it may look healthy.

Pet shops also try to sell vivariums as they can make a lot of money.  this is not the reccomended way to keep a tortoies, instead they should be kept on a tortoise table (like an up ended book case) and outside i=on sunny warm days.

The tortoise protection group has a good list of uk captive bred breeders.  They will give you loads of advice and help for free and you can see parents and sibblings.  Even better, they normally cost the same if not less than imported tortosies.  

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org...

They are lovely pets and if you do your research I really reccomend them.  If you are just having one, then males do tend to have more personality, but if they are babies then you won't be able to s*x it until approx four years.

Good Luck

Jane

Answer 3

I have three tortoises, I got one from Petts Wood Pet shop, they still sell them

And the other two off the internet

And I never needed a license

Answer 4

I thought they were protected species and in the UK you can not just have them as pets.

I also know they can be bought as pets in Belgium since there has been one for sale on the market for a while now.  He wants 120 Euro for it.

I used to have one when I was a kid, our dog shortened it's lifespan considerably.

What stopped me from buying the one on the market is the knowledge that they dig and I would probably lose it since i live in the countryside now and also the fact I am not the youngest anymore and tortoises live like 100 years or so.

Answer 5

They are not easy to get hold of these days, you can get one on here but they are not cheap.

http://www.preloved.co.uk/fuseaction-adv...

http://www.buyatortoise.info/tortoise.ht...

http://www.pettortoise.co.uk/

This site has information on what you need to know about tortoises.

http://www.slowcoach.org.uk/sloyour.html

You don't need a license as such to own a tortoise in the UK. Go to this link and scroll to "Do i need a license to be a tortoise keeper or breeder"?.

http://www.pettortoise.co.uk/tortoise_fa...

If those pages are of no help, then you could try the Tortoise protection group on here.

http://beehive.thisisleicestershire.co.u...

Answer 6

I completely agree with Jane and Happy. Do research before you purchase your Tortoise! They need specialist care, but they are lovely animals to look after. I have had my Tortoise for 6 weeks and i am enjoying looking after him and continuously learning how to do it better. Take time to research Tortoises before you go and buy one and research the best place to buy one from. Breeder is probably best.

Good Luck

Answer 7

pet store... :D

Answer 8

I'm always going to pet shops, and I find that most of them have toroises. Hope u have a license, or it may take a while.

Answer 9

lol you certainly don't need a license to keep tortoises. Some species must have specific paperwork with them, but this is supplied by the breeder. I suggest you do lots of homework before purchasing a tortoise. If you do so you will realise that you shouldn't purchase torts from a petshop but a proper breeder. This is a really good tortoise forum which helps me a lot and you can ask as many questions as you like. There are also lots of breeders on there too whom you can make contact with.

http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/forum/

The reasons i say don't buy from a petshop is that they will try and sell you as much stuff which is often entirely unsuitable for a tort that will cost you a fortune. They will often accompany this with bad advice on husbandry such as 'feed them these pellets!' and 'buy this viv to keep it in!'. So to be easier on your wallet and to be sure you buy captive bred avoid petshops and please look on this fantastic forum.

Also avoid buying torts from over the net. They are all foreign imports, full of parasites and often delivered in a very poor state of health. I personally would feel much better buying from a breeder whom i can meet face to face and also view their breeding animals.

Answer 10

pfffffftttt license?? dont be stupid!

just type in tortoise london pet shop or something like that on google and see what it tells you. its simple to get one.

Answer 11

Hello there!

Well just to let you know, You have to have a licence to buy a tortoise.

this can be very hard to get. If you have a tortoise licence, thats great!, but if not, it may take years to get one

if you have a licence, You should get one from an animal rescue center or a tortoise shelter. There should be one in the centre of london (near big ben) that sort of erea. This will be a good place to get one as many abandoned and hurt animals need a good home:)

Hope this helps x

Answer 12

MOST pet shops have some kind of tortoise. My favorite is a Sulcata tortoises, heres a good tortoise site.

Good Luck      http://www.thetortoiselady.com/

=D

Answer 13

Try some of your local pets shops. Good luck!

Answer 14

why not try the tortoise trust they always need good homes for rescue tortoises, and the good thing is their main place is in london  so it would be easy to collect if they except you as an owner here is the site address, they will also let you know of any good breeders in your area as well so it might be worth sending them an email http://www.tortoisetrust.org/  just as an added bit you don't ned a licence to own a tortoise but is you get a herman, spur thigh (greek or african) ect you will need to make sure they have the cites paperwork for them to be legal