Tortoise Morphs

While quasi-local pickups can be an option IF you are local to the breeder with the specific project you have interest in, facility tours are not. Can we come invade your private spaces because we want to? Use your toothbrush? Look inside your medicine cabinet? Yeah, no. We respect your privacy beyond the basics of being able to get your desired animal securely to you, so the expectation is that you respect ours as well. We are not running a petting zoo and security is a natural concern because despite you considering yourself to be trustworthy, many people are not trustworthy - and everyone will insist on being trustworthy regardless of the truth of that.

Vertebrates with carapaces. Especially those with wicked awesome biological paint jobs.

Retail pricing is usually openly declared above. Wholesale pricing is usually shared by or in response to specific and direct inquiry. I recommend against trying to angle for some lower amount. There are plenty of vendors who resell or flip animals that would be more than happy to sell you weaker stock for lower amounts. Those are gambles. We are not selling gambles when it comes to health or quality.

No...and yes. We expect people to do background research on caring for animals before reaching out to purchase. People who really care do that. People who want an animated/living toy do not prioritize that. People who are serious, rather than claiming to be "interested", set up housing according to their research before obtaining animals. We are happy to offer care tweaks to a well-described plan and we are happy to offer specific suggestions to specific questions about care, but outlining care from start to finish in the past has proven to be a waste of time for us because people tend not to listen or follow what is told, yet maintain that they have done "exactly" what has been instructed. As an example, a lush terrarium setup with a comprehensive diet had been outlined by one of our breeders and then the customer, saying everything was followed to a T, proceeded to show a cardboard box lined with hay beneath an intense heat lamp with wilted lettuce in a dish and a lethargic baby tortoise. Do you understand how frustrating that is for a breeder/seller? Immensely. Consequently, people who care are expected to invest some effort in educating themselves so that proper care is understood prior to contact and purchase. It makes for a better keeper and a healthier animal. People too lazy to put that work in tend to be neglectful in their duty to the animal's welfare.

morph X morph = 100% morph offspring (this is basically the best/fastest breeding option for a project)

morph X het = 50% chance of morph, 50% chance of 100% het

het X het = 25% chance of morph, 50% chance of het, 25% chance of wild type (the non-morph babies from this pairing can also be called 67% hets because they have a 2/3 chance of being 100% hets when looking normal)

morph X wild type = 100% het offspring

het X wild type = 50% chance of 100% het, 50% chance of wild type (this is basically the worst/slowest breeding option for a project, but some projects that succeeded for us were achieved despite such unfavorable beginnings)

When there is specificity of locality (such as with our cherryheads, which are Bahia region Brazilian cherryhead redfoot tortoises), we include that labeling and it is absolutely legitimate. The same goes for subspecific labeling (such as with Burmese black tortoises aka Manouria emys phayrei). We aim for that transparent honesty towards others because it is the transparent honesty we wish others would show us. When there is room for doubt (such as with various aquatic turtle morphs that descend from random farm-hatched origins in generations past or for things like sulcata tortoises that may have come from a conglomeration of range origins way back in their imported days), we will either include a qualifier such as quotation marks or there will be no mention of a specific locality or specific subspecies. We see a disappointing larger number of other sellers labeling crosses and non-Brazilian animals as cherryheads often in order to try to fool prospective customers. We see people labeling crosses with a little (or even no) cherryhead blood as hypo cherryheads when they are not actually what the label states. We see people labeling crosses that have some South African blood as South African leopard tortoises. Truth in labeling is important to us as a matter of social contract, so we will adhere to that while an unfortunate number of other people might not. That is why the labeling sometimes comes off as a bit extensive for some of what we work with.

A.

Grey. Like my ashen heart.