Microchipping

[Buells]

I need to have my two tortoises microchipped. My problem is when should i have this done? They will be going into hibernation around the first week of December, should i have them done now or is it too close to hibernation? or would it be better to wait until they wake in early March?
Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks, Julie

[TillyTortoise]

Originally Posted by Buells

I need to have my two tortoises microchipped. My problem is when should i have this done? They will be going into hibernation around the first week of December, should i have them done now or is it too close to hibernation? or would it be better to wait until they wake in early March?
Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks, Julie

You'd might as well wait now until they wake, there is a month where microchipping is cheaper I think.. You only need to chip them if you are selling them or breeding them

[burnt toast]

I think it would be wise to wait. June is the month when they promote microchipping & reduce the prices. I had mine done & they were back in the garden running round eating within an hour, no ill effects, but my advise would be wait- why risk it?

[tortilicious]

Hi def dont have them chipped before going into hibernation, even though its a small wound germs can still get in, also the wound would take longer to heal so def wait is the way to go.
Melaniex

[Buells]

Thankyou for your 3 positive replys, i shall wait until they wake up. The reason for microchipping them is i have 3 incubating eggs, now at 41 days. If all goes well i shall be selling the babies...if i can bear to part with them! So i will need to get paperwork in order. I`ve not yet read up too much on the paperwork side of things, but know i have to get the parents chipped. Will no doubt be seeking advise on this soon too
Thanks, Julie

[Pussygalore]

assuming both parents have their certs then you just need to chip the torts, send of copies of the chip papers along with an application form for the adults certs. You will need the numbers off their present certs and it will cost £25 for the two or at least at the moment, once you have the adult certs back you can then apply for certs for any hatchlings you may have. If you are waiting then obviously you are talking about keeping the hatchlings untill next summer after the adult paperwork is sorted, one problem with that is that Defra have now introduced a new rule that any tort over 50m must be chipped and have an adult cert with the chip number on it before it can be sold, should your babies grow fast then you may have to have that done.

[Catwoman63]

Blimey any tort over 50 m i would love to See ha ha ha x

[Buells]

Thankyou for the info, really helped. I didnt really want to keep the babies until summer, especially now if they do grow quickly...that could get a bit expensive! If i did get the parents chipped now, in order to get the paperwork rolling, how long would you recomend i leave them to heal/recover before hibernation? Just thinking i could delay their hibernation for a few weeks.
Thanks, Julie

[Pussygalore]

when I had my adults chipped it didn't upset them at all, they were back to normal as soon as they got home, if you can get them done say this comming week I doubt it would affect your dates much. There wasn't really any healing as such as its just like having an injection, no blood, a tiny hole with a bit of glue so the tort could back outside or on to dirt ect, no bathing or extra care as such. At the worst add a couple of weeks to the start date.