Latest Microchipping info

[sandy]

Dogs and cats are far larger to chip than the legs of a hatchling. I have had my adults chipped, but not until they were adult and ready for breeding. To put a large object into the legs of a hatchling is barbaric as far as I am concerned.
And to chip any tortoise just because it might get lost, is a waste of money in my opinion. I still have adult tortoises I have bred and not used for breeding that are unchipped. And will remain that way:0)

[Catwoman63]

All my horsfields are chipped and the vet wouldn't chip Roxy until she was big enough and by that I mean she was around 10cm at the time but I do believe its the owners choice to cop or not to chip torts without papers, and I won't be getting my little goldens ( who have got papers) chipped until they are adult x

[alley cat]

[QUOTE=sandy;65459 To put a large object into the legs of a hatchling is barbaric as far as I am concerned.
[/QUOTE]

I agree with this, you wouldn't get kittens having something the size of a house brick inserted into them,
a, because they are cute and fluffy and
b, because they would squeal pitifully during the procedure

[Pussygalore]

my Chihuahua/papillon was smaller than my adult torts when he was done and yes he cried but only for a few seconds if that, no more than a baby having its vaccinations. We have no hesitation in injecting our torts if they need it or forcing wormers down their throat so what is the difference, I wouldn't want to do it but I do know that Chris (naturelist) does all his hatchlings himself using the new small nano chip, or at least I think he does, before they are sold. If you don't want to breed or sell then what's the harm in waiting until the torts are bigger but at least they'd still be done, if you ever had to part with them for whatever reason the new owner would probably want to have them chipped and isn't it a risk having to give a tort away? at least by asking for the right amount of money you'll advoid the unscrupulous buyer who simply wants to make a quick buck. Many of the torts we see up for rehoming/sale are from owners who also thought they'd never have to sell including myself but circumstances can often give you no choice and I'm sorry but I wouldn't have given my breeding pair away.

[alley cat]

My comment is not about an adult tortoise, it is about the tiny hatchlings and the size of the needle in relation to the size of the hatchlings leg, it is like stabbing a javelin in with no pain relief! I am not opposed to any other injections or microchipping but this is cruel when they are so tiny.

[emma_mcraf]

Originally Posted by alley cat

My comment is not about an adult tortoise, it is about the tiny hatchlings and the size of the needle in relation to the size of the hatchlings leg, it is like stabbing a javelin in with no pain relief! I am not opposed to any other injections or microchipping but this is cruel when they are so tiny.

I agree, which is why I waited until my torts were a decent size with nice chunky legs to be chipped and even then I still ensured they had the smallest chip available. They didn't even flinch when the needle went in. The glue can sting a little however, but mine were unfazed by it all.
Tiny torts have hardly any loose folds of skin around their little legs, so it's awful when you see teeny torts for sale, especially in exotics shops, which in my eyes are too young to be sold anyway as they really can be so tiny. To think they've been chipped makes me sad. Poor little torts, but of course if they're Hermanns, they have to be chipped and a lot of exotics shops breed themselves and then get the hatchlings sold as soon as possible. It's just business to them.

[vikki]

I am not sure why Defra reduced the size that tortoises have to be - as far as I know they only had to be chipped for sale once over 100mm but now that has been reduced to 60mm which means a lot more small tortoises having to be chipped if the breeder keeps them until they are a reasonable size to sell I certainly wouldn't consider doing Herbie and Daisy at that size as feel it is far too big a "foreign object" to be put into an animal of that size - I may consider it when they are ALOT bigger but will decide when that time comes.

[Gordon]

I have a lot of small breed tortoises such as thh tunisians and egyptians who have the smallest legs you have ever seen but this is not why I would never chip them not because of the size of their legs as it doesn't go in the leg it goes in a small hollow cavity at the top of the leg but the worry of it moving around in the body cavity and doing damage to internal organs is why I wont chip.

[Stellanne]

I agree with you Gordon, I once heard this as an argument for not chipping, that the device can move about.
To go back to the dog chipping, I thought it was brought in to try and elevate the huge packs of domestic dogs that used to roam about areas after owners had let them out of the house to do their own thing ie in an attempt to make owners more responsible.
I guess, like everything else, it is personal choice, like as been mentioned vaccinating your child.....some parents agree and some don't..... X x x x hugs x x xx

[Pussygalore]

I suggested a while back having your tort freezebranded on the shell with a registered number not your postcode but everyone then said that they'd not want a mark on their torts shell. A freeze brand would be very hard to get rid off and be obvious to anyone who tried to take or sell the tort, a central register would work much the same as chipping, I think its being used somewhere to do with Gerald Durrell with a species that is being stolen and is rare, the shells are marked with a registered number unique to that tort. I did try to find out if a freeze brand would work on a shell but didn't have any luck, why is that owners soon complain when their tort goes missing but are so reluctant to have something done about it and the only way at least I can think of is either marking the tort or having it chipped. The freezebranding could be done by individuals registered to do so and wouldn't be hard to set up especially as most have internet access and the brands aren't that costly.