hi....

[Chris_85]

hi, after reading the forum for a few weeks, i have decided to join.

my partner has a 2 year old hermanns, we have had him for a few months!

i have seen a few people telling not to get imports from slovakia, unfortunatly this is were our tortoise is from? does this mean there could be something wrong with him? we did not know this at the time..we got him from a pet shop!

any help would be appreciated..god this is a long message! lol

thanks :P

[shelley]

Hi Chris, welcome to the board.

Torts that have come from pet shops are usually imported, and that means they have more than likely been wild caught rather than bred in captivity. Some, but not all do have health problems and they often have worms so you need to find a good tort vet who can treat for worms if the tortoise does have them.

I think alot of people buy from pet shops at first, I did! My Boris was bought from what I believed to be a good reptile shop. I even asked them where he had come from and they told me he was bred at a German zoo, although his paperwork says he comes from Slovenia!!! He has never had any health problems, though at first I fed him and housed him incorrectly (as advised by the shop!), he wasn't hibernated so he is a little bumpy, but he is healthy and happy, and we have been doing things right for over 4 years now.

Another thing, a tort from a UK breeder cost a lot less than one from a pet shop, and of course the breeder will be able to give you the correct info on feeding and housing your tort.

[Chris_85]

Thanks!!!

yeah..alot of the info the shop told us..we have found out to be untrue..i am currently looking into getting him to a vet. you wouldn't possibly know any good reptile vets in glasgow? or would anyone on the site?

forgot to say..our tortoises name is Baby Merc....hes so kool...

thanks again

[molbags]

Hi,

This is a good article on imports, you might want to read;

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/imports.html


Hope that helps!!

[tortoiseboy]

bieng have to sent over from germany or further they get kinda stressed.

[Chris_85]

thanks, will have a read..hope i dont annoy you all with lots of random questions but there is just a few more things i need to learn about our tortoise and yous all sound like the best people to learn from..have been reading the forum for weeks..

thanks again.. :P

[sandy]

Welcome to this friendly site.
We are not saying that all imports are unhealthy. But I would say at least seventy five percent
are, and come in loaded with parasites.
So any sign of ill health we would recommend a visit to the vets, for a check up.
There are lots of knowledgable keepers on here and some with differing advice, all willing to
help where they can.
So feel free to ask what you need too.

[tortoiseboy]

i like people asking questions otherwise ive got nothing to read. :P

[Chris_85]

lol..thanks..he looks happy and healthy, has been since we got him and my partner has been giving him the best care and attention..she loves him to bits!

do you know how much on average it cost to get them wormed?

ta.. :lol:

[shelley]

I don't know of any good tort vets up your way, but I think this forum and the tortoise trust have a list of good vets, just don't ask me to do a link as I'm no good at that!!!

Ask as many questions as you like, if you don't ask you won't learn!! :wink:

[tortoiseboy]

i think its not much. 20-30 at the most.
make sure the vet checks for worms first. you dont want to pump them full of uneeded chemicals

[Chris_85]

thanks.... :P

[Toni115]

Hi welcome from me :D

[Jason1]

You can just worm them routinely, many do and in truth it will cause no harm. Most vets can check for worms and also protazoa (sp?) It cost me £8.80 for the check and if your willing to worm yourself panacur is very cheap. It cost me less than a fiver to get the drugs for five small torts from the vets. I think the £20-30 is proably paying for an appointment as well. I just take a poo sample in and if they have worms buy the drugs. your probably better this time getting an appointment but in future theres no real need to unless your otherwise concerned. have you got any pics of your little chap?

Jason

[Bride2b]

Hi

Welcome to shelled warriors :D

[rachel30b]

if you are just getting poo sample checked for worms you can take them any vets they will check for you

obviously if you thought you had any serious concerns about him would be best to take to a reptile vet as non reptile vets can do more harm than good

its about £8.00 like previously mentioned and it cost me about £15.00 to have vet worm them with tube down throat

[SpanishD]

Hello there from us :D

[rachel30b]

please dont worry too much about your tort being from slovenia i have two slov imports that are thriving but you need to get him checked for worms and keep any eye on him

i say my two slov imports are thriving but i would not encourage anyone to buy from pet shops and i would not buy from a pet shop again
(felt i had to say that as would not want to give anyone the idea i would encourage them to buy from pet shop)


make sure you bath your little tort regurlarly :P

[herbie's mum]

hi, welcome to the site :) i am glad there will another person on here asking daft questions... i dont like to feel alone :lol: my vet charged me £8.20 for worming gordon with a tube down his throat.. he's realy nice but im a long way from glasgow im afraid... good luck with everything

[rachel30b]

hey dont worry about asking daft questions i used to ask them just over a year ago

its just nice to point people in the right direction :D

[sandy]

There is no such thing as a daft question, only the one not asked<g>.
We are all still learning, even after 28yrs I am still learning, and I ask questions too.

[midi-mania]

i was asking daft questions about 3-4 months ago :lol:

[Chris_85]

just came back on-line...thanks you all for your advice.. :lol:

[Chris_85]

no havnt got pictures yet..ma digi cam broke a few weeks ago..will post some on aSAP....

also have a snake and a gheko..will put pics of them all up soon!!!! :P