There does not seem to be any information out there to ligitimately support the idea of "farming" Russian tortoises. The source countries for the trade animals coming in issue irresponsibly high export quotas each year. Since so many collectors within the species' exporting (laundering?) range can make a practice of collecting them (on behalf of those high quotas), why would they bother to attempt farming an already cheap, territorial, low-clutching species in a nutrient-deficcient (i.e., little green food-producing) environ?



I know of two tort farming examples other than the Hermanns already given (which I was not familiar with). Those redfoots from the Tortoise Reserve (I think that's the right organization) coming out of Venezuela (or Suriname or wherever) at four inches (very nice specimens) and Fluker Farms' leopard tortoises bred alongside the iguanas down in El Salvador. After importation of hearwater tick-carrying animals was federally prohibited, Fluker's owner had a ton of captive-bred pardalis inventory trapped down in El Salvador that could not be accessed for the intended commercial purposes (being sent up to the states for sale). I don't know what became of that situation, but, it does show how fluxy any international farming op can be.

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