hello

I just joined this site,i regularly visit the facebook group and thought i would join here too .
I have to be honest we did get our tortoise from a pet shop, i went in there one day with the intention of buying some fish when we saw the tiny tortoises behind the glass in typical pet shop fashion.
We left it for that day and i went home and spent some time researching the tortoises that and had to decide which would be best for us to get and how to look after it .
We decided on a hermans, and a few months later after my husband had built a huge home for her we went to get her , i wish i could have got them all but at the price they charge, one was costing enough !.
Iam also very lucky to have a friend who runs a sanctuary in wales who gives me lots of good advise on her.
our tortoise ( miss marvel ) is currently in hibernation and i miss her like mad, so im joining websites and gaining more tortoise knowledge ready for her return.
Although she was puchased from a pet shop im told by a tortoise expert/breeder that she is in excellent condition and is a fine specimin which makes me really proud.
She was quite small when we first got her and i was told by the pet shop she was 1 year she is in fact more like 5 year old !! she seemed to gain weight really quick so i think she might have been underweight when we got her .
regards
kate :)

Hi Kate and welcome to the TPG! Lots of us got our first tortoises from pet shops (we know better now), and it's a continuous process of learning. I'm sure you'll find (as we all do) that these wonderful creatures are very addictive (I wonder how long it will be before Miss Marvel has a friend {g}). By the way, I think you've chosen a brilliant name for her!

What species is she? We have a Members Photo Gallery on here where you can post photos of your set-up, and of Miss Marvel herself (and we never get tired of looking at photos of tortoises!). Have you had a look at our care sheets for the various species (they're under the section called The Tortoise in the panel on the left-hand side of the screen).

Feel free to ask any questions -- we're a really friendly lot here, and we all learn from each other's experiences.

Cheers,
Nina

Hi Kate,  to the TPG. Many people buy from a pet shop for the very same reason as yourself. You have been one of the lucky ones and have had no health issues with Miss Marvel (love the name) which is excellent. I would however recommend that once she has been up and running for a bit, that a faecal sample could be taken to the vets as many petshop torts have parasites and worms. Please browse through our menu bar on the left and if there is ever anything you would like to ask, then fire away.

Good to have you here,

Elaine

Thanks Elaine and Nina what a love warm welcome.
yes i will definatly do as you suggested .
she is with my friend at the moment at her sanctuary because it was the first time we had to hibernate her and i don't think she had been put into hibernation before,the hibernation went well.
my friend has lots of torts and breeds .
you were saying about Miss Marvel getting a 'friend' we have been asked by a reputable breeder to breed from her and i think she has some waiting candidates im sure she will come back with a fella !!lol, although she said we will have to wait untill she is five.
Your right they are so addictive i love the ornate box tort but i know these live differently to ours which is a hermans so they couldn't live together (correct me if im wrong pls )
Its a funny story with miss marvel and her name we are a family of superhero / comic geeks and orignally we were told she was a he and i was to new to it to tell the difference so 'he' was originally named Marv after a charter in a comic called 'sin city', so when we realised 'he' was a she !!lol we had to re think the name then Miss Marvel came again marvel comics, we have already decided should we breed from her she will have a family named after superheros !!
Iam so happy to be here, myself and my son would like to do some fundraising how do i prove im raising money for a proper organisation ? would we be able to make are own sponcer forms etc ?

Kate xx

Hi Kate, sounds like you are doing great with Miss Marvel. 

You are right about keeping another species of tortoise, you would need to keep them separate as they all have different needs.  Lots of people do that though. 

I decided to stick with hermanns and when I realsied I was really keen on them, well I just got some more!!  They are all different of course, shape, colour, behaviour.  Each animal is unique.

Hi Kate

Nice to see you here, hope you find the site useful, please feel free to ask as many questions as you like.  Well done on taking the plunge and hibernating Miss Marvel (great name!!)..........is your friend who is hibernating her called Jane from NWRR by any chance?

Jo

Hi Jo,

No its a lady called Celia she is in the Vale of Glamorgan, i know she works with another lady tho not sure what her name is. where is Jane based?