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does anyone know how much a box turt costs or what their needs are?

I'm on a waiting list for an eastern boxie. It's going to cost me $370 for a hatchling. Best place for info is ATP http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/care-boxies.htm

They're interesting turts, but I've read they're not a beginner turtle.

wow $370? i can get one for $89. but maybe im talking about a different kind of turtle.



it was a pet stand with poorly kept snakes. tsk.[/url]

That one looks like a hermann or a greek. And those torts are known as beginner turts. The color seems a bit too light to be a sulcata

I suggest you, as a beginner, do not get a tortoise from a pet store for many reasons. They die quickly, usually in about a month or two after arriving to your home. Their appetite is different and unreasonably changes, causing them to starve and overfeed. The tortoise in pet stores can be wild caught, exposing parasites and other diseases (for this reason, you must bring the tort to your vet asap) Leave these turts to the advanced hobbyists that look for unhealthy herps everyday.
I suggest you buy a tortoise from a breeder. They go through much less stress and you could feel a lot more confident about buying one. Although, breeders expect a bit more money, but it's worth it.

Are boxies like hard turtles to come by?

box turtles are common (most common are the eastern box turtles) so it wouldn't be hard to find one. But they are considerably not for beginners.
A beginner tortoise would be a hermann, greek, russian, and redfoots. These tortoises also do not grow as big as others do. They stay around the range of 7 to at most 15 inches. That's is, compared to other tortoises, small. Whatever you do, no matter how tempted you are by their tiny shell and eating munchies, do not get a sulcata.
Sulcata's are the third largest tortoise in the world. In a few years, you'll have to move it around in a wheelbarrel. Sometimes, they won't fit in it.

if eastern boxies are so common, why have I been on a waiting list for mine for 3 months? Maybe they're not that common in canada?

Probably not Here in america, eastern box and eastern ornates are the most popular. Next to those are redfoot and greeks.

I never seen those turtles before in pet stores. All I have seen is RES, I guess those are the common turts.

RES are the most popular turtles kept as pets.

See I never saw one until I got mine, then now I see them all the time.