Heat/Ice Packs Added as Needed for Free!

Terms and Conditions

OVERVIEW
This website is operated by The Turtle Source. Throughout the site, the terms “we”, “us” and “our” refer to The Turtle Source. The Turtle Source offers this website, including all information, tools and services available from this site to you, the user, conditioned upon your acceptance of all terms, conditions, policies and notices stated here.

By visiting our site and/ or purchasing something from us, you engage in our “Service” and agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions (“Terms of Service”, “Terms”), including those additional terms and conditions and policies referenced herein and/or available by hyperlink. These Terms of Service apply to all users of the site, including without limitation users who are browsers, vendors, customers, merchants, and/ or contributors of content.

Please read these Terms of Service carefully before accessing or using our website. By accessing or using any part of the site, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement, then you may not access the website or use any services. If these Terms of Service are considered an offer, acceptance is expressly limited to these Terms of Service.

Any new features or tools which are added to the current store shall also be subject to the Terms of Service. You can review the most current version of the Terms of Service at any time on this page. We reserve the right to update, change or replace any part of these Terms of Service by posting updates and/or changes to our website. It is your responsibility to check this page periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the website following the posting of any changes constitutes acceptance of those changes.

Our store is hosted on BigCommerce. They provide us with the online e-commerce platform that allows us to sell our products and services to you.

SECTION 1 - ONLINE STORE TERMS
By agreeing to these Terms of Service, you represent that you are at least the age of majority in your state or province of residence, or that you are the age of majority in your state or province of residence and you have given us your consent to allow any of your minor dependents to use this site.
You may not use our products for any illegal or unauthorized purpose nor may you, in the use of the Service, violate any laws in your jurisdiction (including but not limited to copyright laws).
You must not transmit any worms or viruses or any code of a destructive nature.
A breach or violation of any of the Terms will result in an immediate termination of your Services.

  • We reserve the right to refuse sale to any buyer, for any reason. Sorry, no sales to minors. Proof of age may be required at our discretion.

  • The Turtle Source is not responsible for any veterinary expenses or costs incurred by the buyer for any animal. If you take any animal to a veterinarian, you do so entirely at your own expense.

  • Cancellations: All cancellations are given store credits only.
    Please read the above line carefully.
    Once again: All cancellations are given store credits only. 
    Once an order is placed, our inventory is appropriately closed and is not available for sale.
    Additionally, a series of other appropriate planning, support, Veterinary Health Certificates, and other fulfillment activities on our part mean that we incur significant costs and expend significant resources as soon as an order is placed - and all of these must be reversed and undone any time an order would be cancelled. 
    We are happy to issue you a store credit for any order you no longer want to receive.
    *Please note: If your order was placed during a special or promotional offer, the same order can only be re-placed for the same price if we are running the same offer when you chose to use your credit. 
    Of course, your store credit can be fully applied to any new special or promotion that we may run in the future. 
    Store credits last for 2 years from the original date that your order was placed. Please make a note of the previous line. Store credits last for 2 years from the original date that your order was placed. 
    Weather Delays:
    Orders delayed by extreme hot or cold temperatures are beyond our control. The health and safety of our turtles and tortoises is our highest priority. Federal law mandates that reptiles not be shipped to a destination below 38 degrees Fahrenheit without a heat pack, or to a destination above 90 degrees Fahrenheit unless they go directly to a UPS customer center for pick up. 
    Of course the weather is completely out of our control. If an order is delayed , we check the forecast temperatures every shipping day until safe temperatures occur - and we immediately will contact you to confirm that you can receive your order.
    Normally, weather delays last a day or two, but can last longer. Once a delay occurs, our mission is to get your order to you the first day it is safe to ship to you - and we only ask that you confirm our phone call, email or text asap that you can receive your order.
    Once again, weather delays are beyond our control, and are not grounds to cancel an order. That your turtle or tortoise safely travels to you is our first priority. In the event that your order misses an important occasion on your end, like a birthday or anniversary, we are happy to help with a picture of the turtle or tortoise you ordered - so your giftee can see what's coming. 
    Once again, the safety of the live turtle or tortoise you ordered is our priority - and it is humane shipping federal law that we and all shippers must follow.
    *Please note: Ice packs placed in a box will only help offset hot temperatures if your turtle or tortoise is delivered in the morning, and to a point.
    Our four plus decades of successful live animal shipping experience help us to get you your turtle or tortoise safely - but in all cases common sense must be used.
    We thank you in advance for your patience, understanding and communication/help with shipping delays. 
    ** One final note, all of our Turtles and Tortoises are shipped with United Parcel Service (UPS) who's national central shipping hub is in Louisville, Kentucky.
    All US shipments, (even to addresses across the street from us), must fly to Louisville, and then back out to a local distribution hub in your area to be sent out for delivery.
    We must always be sure that the temperatures in Louisville, between midnight and 4 AM (the transfer times) are also with in the above stated safe ranges...
    Please be careful to consider this part of the trip your turtle or tortoise makes to you - Thank you.          
  • We can not do trades. If you want to sell turtles or tortoises simply offer them to us.

  • Please be aware of your own local wildlife laws and regulations. No shipments will be knowingly sent in violation of any state or federal laws. Please do not even ask.

  • Photos and requests: The Turtles or Tortoises pictured on our web site may or may not be the actual animal available. The photos do represent the species, and the health and quality of the animals we ship. Sorry, but it is not always practical to provide photos of every individual turtle (certain exceptions may apply). Photos, descriptions and care sheets posted on our web site are the exclusive property of Turtle Source, and may not be used or reused without our specific, written permission.

  • In accordance with FDA regulations, turtles and tortoises under 4 inches listed on our web site are offered expressly for educational, scientific or export purposes only. They are not sold for use as pets. Teachers may request a discount for your school if available.

  • Temperature Sexing: I have noticed some temperature sexed turtles and tortoises being offered. I know some breeders who actually incubate a few species that way. For the most part, commonly produced species are not incubated that way - some species can not even be incubated for gender. Many species require considerable age to determine gender. We offer very few temperature sexed species - and these come from very reputable, long established breeders. If I can sex an animal I will. If I can make a good guess, I will tell you just that; and if I can't determine gender (usually because the animal is just not old enough) I will tell you that too.

HEALTH GUARANTEE

  • In the unlikely even that an animal arrives DOA* the customer must notify The Turtle Source of the DOA* within an hour of receiving the animal. The time will be determined by the receipt time UPS provides online of the delivery.

  • If an animal appears to be struggling, or if you have any concerns about your new animal, please be sure to contact us so we can help you with any necessary adjustments to it's habitat or set up.

  • Typically minor - yet essential adjustments are all that is needed to make your new animal successful in it's new home.

  • In the unlikely event that an animal arrives DOA, or that it dies during the first seven days you must email us with a photo attached of the actual animal, on it's back, with all of it's legs, head and tail outstretched to show that it is dead. This photo must be received the same day the animal dies or all guarantees are null and void.

*Please note, if an animal will not let you pull it's legs and head out for a picture - it is not dead, just being shy after a long trip to you.

SECTION 2 - GENERAL CONDITIONS
We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time.
You understand that your content (not including credit card information), may be transferred unencrypted and involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices. Credit card information is always encrypted during transfer over networks.
You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any portion of the Service, use of the Service, or access to the Service or any contact on the website through which the service is provided, without express written permission by us.
The headings used in this agreement are included for convenience only and will not limit or otherwise affect these Terms.

SECTION 3 - ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS AND TIMELINESS OF INFORMATION
We are not responsible if information made available on this site is not accurate, complete or current. The material on this site is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making decisions without consulting primary, more accurate, more complete or more timely sources of information. Any reliance on the material on this site is at your own risk.
This site may contain certain historical information. Historical information, necessarily, is not current and is provided for your reference only. We reserve the right to modify the contents of this site at any time, but we have no obligation to update any information on our site. You agree that it is your responsibility to monitor changes to our site.

SECTION 4 - MODIFICATIONS TO THE SERVICE AND PRICES
Prices for our products are subject to change without notice.
We reserve the right at any time to modify or discontinue the Service (or any part or content thereof) without notice at any time.
We shall not be liable to you or to any third-party for any modification, price change, suspension or discontinuance of the Service.

SECTION 5 - PRODUCTS OR SERVICES (if applicable)
Certain products or services may be available exclusively online through the website. These products or services may have limited quantities and are subject to return or exchange only according to our Return Policy.
We have made every effort to display as accurately as possible the colors and images of our products that appear at the store. We cannot guarantee that your computer monitor's display of any color will be accurate.
We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to limit the sales of our products or Services to any person, geographic region or jurisdiction. We may exercise this right on a case-by-case basis. We reserve the right to limit the quantities of any products or services that we offer. All descriptions of products or product pricing are subject to change at anytime without notice, at the sole discretion of us. We reserve the right to discontinue any product at any time. Any offer for any product or service made on this site is void where prohibited.
We do not warrant that the quality of any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you will meet your expectations, or that any errors in the Service will be corrected.

SECTION 6 - ACCURACY OF BILLING AND ACCOUNT INFORMATION
We reserve the right to refuse any order you place with us. We may, in our sole discretion, limit or cancel quantities purchased per person, per household or per order. These restrictions may include orders placed by or under the same customer account, the same credit card, and/or orders that use the same billing and/or shipping address. In the event that we make a change to or cancel an order, we may attempt to notify you by contacting the e‑mail and/or billing address/phone number provided at the time the order was made. We reserve the right to limit or prohibit orders that, in our sole judgment, appear to be placed by dealers, resellers or distributors.

You agree to provide current, complete and accurate purchase and account information for all purchases made at our store. You agree to promptly update your account and other information, including your email address and credit card numbers and expiration dates, so that we can complete your transactions and contact you as needed.

For more detail, please review our Returns Policy.

SECTION 7 - OPTIONAL TOOLS
We may provide you with access to third-party tools over which we neither monitor nor have any control nor input.
You acknowledge and agree that we provide access to such tools ”as is” and “as available” without any warranties, representations or conditions of any kind and without any endorsement. We shall have no liability whatsoever arising from or relating to your use of optional third-party tools.
Any use by you of optional tools offered through the site is entirely at your own risk and discretion and you should ensure that you are familiar with and approve of the terms on which tools are provided by the relevant third-party provider(s).
We may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall also be subject to these Terms of Service.

SECTION 8 - THIRD-PARTY LINKS
Certain content, products and services available via our Service may include materials from third-parties.
Third-party links on this site may direct you to third-party websites that are not affiliated with us. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating the content or accuracy and we do not warrant and will not have any liability or responsibility for any third-party materials or websites, or for any other materials, products, or services of third-parties.
We are not liable for any harm or damages related to the purchase or use of goods, services, resources, content, or any other transactions made in connection with any third-party websites. Please review carefully the third-party's policies and practices and make sure you understand them before you engage in any transaction. Complaints, claims, concerns, or questions regarding third-party products should be directed to the third-party.

SECTION 9 - USER COMMENTS, FEEDBACK AND OTHER SUBMISSIONS
If, at our request, you send certain specific submissions (for example contest entries) or without a request from us you send creative ideas, suggestions, proposals, plans, or other materials, whether online, by email, by postal mail, or otherwise (collectively, 'comments'), you agree that we may, at any time, without restriction, edit, copy, publish, distribute, translate and otherwise use in any medium any comments that you forward to us. We are and shall be under no obligation (1) to maintain any comments in confidence; (2) to pay compensation for any comments; or (3) to respond to any comments.
We may, but have no obligation to, monitor, edit or remove content that we determine in our sole discretion are unlawful, offensive, threatening, libelous, defamatory, pornographic, obscene or otherwise objectionable or violates any party’s intellectual property or these Terms of Service.
You agree that your comments will not violate any right of any third-party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, personality or other personal or proprietary right. You further agree that your comments will not contain libelous or otherwise unlawful, abusive or obscene material, or contain any computer virus or other malware that could in any way affect the operation of the Service or any related website. You may not use a false e‑mail address, pretend to be someone other than yourself, or otherwise mislead us or third-parties as to the origin of any comments. You are solely responsible for any comments you make and their accuracy. We take no responsibility and assume no liability for any comments posted by you or any third-party.

SECTION 10 - PERSONAL INFORMATION
Your submission of personal information through the store is governed by our Privacy Policy. To view our Privacy Policy.

SECTION 11 - ERRORS, INACCURACIES AND OMISSIONS
Occasionally there may be information on our site or in the Service that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies or omissions that may relate to product descriptions, pricing, promotions, offers, product shipping charges, transit times and availability. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions, and to change or update information or cancel orders if any information in the Service or on any related website is inaccurate at any time without prior notice (including after you have submitted your order).
We undertake no obligation to update, amend or clarify information in the Service or on any related website, including without limitation, pricing information, except as required by law. No specified update or refresh date applied in the Service or on any related website, should be taken to indicate that all information in the Service or on any related website has been modified or updated.

SECTION 12 - PROHIBITED USES
In addition to other prohibitions as set forth in the Terms of Service, you are prohibited from using the site or its content: (a) for any unlawful purpose; (b) to solicit others to perform or participate in any unlawful acts; (c) to violate any international, federal, provincial or state regulations, rules, laws, or local ordinances; (d) to infringe upon or violate our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of others; (e) to harass, abuse, insult, harm, defame, slander, disparage, intimidate, or discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, race, age, national origin, or disability; (f) to submit false or misleading information; (g) to upload or transmit viruses or any other type of malicious code that will or may be used in any way that will affect the functionality or operation of the Service or of any related website, other websites, or the Internet; (h) to collect or track the personal information of others; (i) to spam, phish, pharm, pretext, spider, crawl, or scrape; (j) for any obscene or immoral purpose; or (k) to interfere with or circumvent the security features of the Service or any related website, other websites, or the Internet. We reserve the right to terminate your use of the Service or any related website for violating any of the prohibited uses.

SECTION 13 - DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
We do not guarantee, represent or warrant that your use of our service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free.
We do not warrant that the results that may be obtained from the use of the service will be accurate or reliable.
You agree that from time to time we may remove the service for indefinite periods of time or cancel the service at any time, without notice to you.
You expressly agree that your use of, or inability to use, the service is at your sole risk. The service and all products and services delivered to you through the service are (except as expressly stated by us) provided 'as is' and 'as available' for your use, without any representation, warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, merchantable quality, fitness for a particular purpose, durability, title, and non-infringement.
In no case shall The Turtle Source, our directors, officers, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors, interns, suppliers, service providers or licensors be liable for any injury, loss, claim, or any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, special, or consequential damages of any kind, including, without limitation lost profits, lost revenue, lost savings, loss of data, replacement costs, or any similar damages, whether based in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, arising from your use of any of the service or any products procured using the service, or for any other claim related in any way to your use of the service or any product, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the service or any content (or product) posted, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the service, even if advised of their possibility. Because some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or the limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, in such states or jurisdictions, our liability shall be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

SECTION 14 - INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless The Turtle Source and our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, officers, directors, agents, contractors, licensors, service providers, subcontractors, suppliers, interns and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third-party due to or arising out of your breach of these Terms of Service or the documents they incorporate by reference, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third-party.

SECTION 15 - SEVERABILITY
In the event that any provision of these Terms of Service is determined to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, such provision shall nonetheless be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, and the unenforceable portion shall be deemed to be severed from these Terms of Service, such determination shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any other remaining provisions.

SECTION 16 - TERMINATION
The obligations and liabilities of the parties incurred prior to the termination date shall survive the termination of this agreement for all purposes.
These Terms of Service are effective unless and until terminated by either you or us. You may terminate these Terms of Service at any time by notifying us that you no longer wish to use our Services, or when you cease using our site.
If in our sole judgment you fail, or we suspect that you have failed, to comply with any term or provision of these Terms of Service, we also may terminate this agreement at any time without notice and you will remain liable for all amounts due up to and including the date of termination; and/or accordingly may deny you access to our Services (or any part thereof).

SECTION 17 - ENTIRE AGREEMENT
The failure of us to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
These Terms of Service and any policies or operating rules posted by us on this site or in respect to The Service constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between you and us and govern your use of the Service, superseding any prior or contemporaneous agreements, communications and proposals, whether oral or written, between you and us (including, but not limited to, any prior versions of the Terms of Service).
Any ambiguities in the interpretation of these Terms of Service shall not be construed against the drafting party.

SECTION 18 - GOVERNING LAW
These Terms of Service and any separate agreements whereby we provide you Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of United States.

SECTION 19 - CHANGES TO TERMS OF SERVICE
You can review the most current version of the Terms of Service at any time at this page.
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to update, change or replace any part of these Terms of Service by posting updates and changes to our website. It is your responsibility to check our website periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to our website or the Service following the posting of any changes to these Terms of Service constitutes acceptance of those changes.

SECTION 20 - CONTACT INFORMATION
Questions about the Terms of Service should be sent to us at customer_care@theturtlesource.com.