Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

So, as graduate school approaches, my boyfriend and I find ourselves seriously contemplating programs in London at Oxford. We won't find out whether or not we've been accepted for several more months, and we wouldn't start in the UK until next fall...nonetheless, we are already wondering about whether it's possible to move a redfoot to England, or whether we would have to find him a long-term but temporary home until we return. I know that dogs and cats have to go through a quarantine period...does the same go for torts? Do customs/quarantine people in the UK have experience with reptiles? Is it worth putting our RF through the whole thing? If so, how does one begin the process? I can't find anything out there for tortoise owners...We would be there for at least 3 or 4 years, so his life would be stable once he arrived in the country.

Just trying to figure out our options in advance...thanks for any advice!

This might help.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/procedures/support-info/routes.htm

and this.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/contacts.htm
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

No...leave it here & get someone to care for it.
Yes, it will be placed into quarantine & you will be responsible to pay for food & the care it receives. This could go on for a long period. I hear it's really expensive as well. Loads of paperwork to fill out too.
It will be most likely you will return to the states after completing your degree (unless you marry a Brit or get a job in which a company pays for your visa, which is quite difficult) so save yourself the hastle & paperwork of having to get the redfoot to England and then in four years back to the U.S. again.
If you decide to remain in the U.K. four years from now, you might as well get a redfoot from a breeder there.
I lived in the U.K. for a few years and luckily I had a relative care for mine...turned out I wound up moving back to the U.S. and my tortoises were waiting for me with "open arms" or would that be limbs?

Hope this helps!

It does not seem like the rules are as strict as they were when it concerns travel from the US to the UK.

Another option is to ship the tortoise as a comodity. I don't think the quarentine period is as long.

I've sent a couple of shipments to the UK and I don't rember the the holding period being more than a day or 2.
-----
Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care