Quarantine

[aerofine]

If you were to get another tort from the same breeder do you need to quarantine? Is there a time limit on this - meaning if the 2nd tort was bought several years after the first would quarantine be necessary?

[incrisis]

I have never had to do it but I would guess that if a few years have passed then a quarantine period would be required, from info I have read most people quarantine from anywhere between 2 and 6 months, once they are happy the new addition is healthy.

[SWsarah]

Tricky one, after several years i would say yes a short one of 3 months or so.

[EVIEMAY]

This is just what I have been told - not my advice to you. Please ALL free to correct me if I am wrong.

If you know the full history of the tortoise and it has not been in contact with any other tortoises then a quarentine period is not always necessary. Altough even in this case you would need to be certain they did not have worms.

Is there a set period for how long a quarentine period should be ? What would the rationale be for say 3 months as opposed to 6 months ?

[Andy b 1]

Originally Posted by blondesarah

Tricky one, after several years i would say yes a short one of 3 months or so.

taken the words right out of my mouth, sarah

[fantapants]

if a breeder has a well established closed collection then fair enough, but viral/bacterial illnesses could still be present. if a breeder has introduced any new torts to the the group that have never had any contact with the original purchase then quarantine is more necessary. I guess alot of it is down to how well you know the breeder too, would a breeder always mention the odd runny nose that has been treated succesfully even if it was a year ago? thats the tricky thing with torts having such a slow metabolism, it can take years for anything to manifest.

in short, the responsibilty is ultimatley yours. i use the rule " if there is ANY doubt at all, wait another month"