Shipping would be a concern at this time of year.

I don't sell any myself. I think many breeders don't ship unless the temperatures over the shipping route are forecast to be above 40 or 50F.

The store say it's a hatchling. How long is the shell? If it's close to 4" or longer, then it's probably not a hatchling. Could be a wild-caught being passed off as a hatchling. Or it was hatched a couple years ago. Does the shell look clean and smooth, or is it battered, scraped or chipped?

I don't say this to make you distrust the store. The rescue tortoise I mentioned in an earlier post was adult sized, and it had the worn and weathered look of a wild-caught tortoise, but the clerk insisted it was from a farm in Indiana.

Wow, they raised that tortoise for years and are willing to sell it for only $49.99!!! But the store was convinced it had captive-bred animals.

I've never purchased an animal through the mail. I was recently looking for a desert lizard, and was considering buying a uromastyx from a well-respected breeder online, but instead I found a member of my local herp club who was breeding blue-spiny lizards. I was able to see how the lizards were raised, pick the specimens I wanted, and I paid less for an uncommon species. And I really like what I ended up with.

Do you have a local herpetological society or turtle club? I think there's a link at the top of this page for clubs/organizations. Maybe they can direct you to a breeder. Or they may have an animal you want to adopt. Of my four adult russians I've adopted two, bought one, and hatched one. And, maybe they could direct you to a reputable herp show where you could buy one.

Don't limit your options. Look around. Who knows, maybe what you want is available at a lower price, or maybe even free! Or that $250 hatchling is the best route.

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