The Tortoise Trust Guide to Tortoises & Turtles

Product Information

the UK on average. Juveniles are usually at the lower end of this range, and egg-laying females tend to be at the upper end.

The Tortoise Trust was a founding partner in efforts to save the highly endangered Egyptian Tortoise, Testudo kleinmanni, in Egypt. We provided funding and technical support to this important program.We have worked in both Egypt and Israel, and have collaborated on and funded important studies on their natural ecology and diet in collaboration with the Tisch Family Zoological Garden in Jerusalem. Our rehoming program has helped find thousands of tortoises new homes over the years with experienced keepers. It has a well deserved reputation for excellence and for placing the interests of the tortoise first. This work continues. During 2007 we released new updates of several publications and highlighted the problems caused by dealers supplying tortoises with incorrect care information and unsuitable vivarium accommodation. In the 1980's dog food and other high protein foods were routinely advised for herbivorous tortoises. We were the very first organisation to thoroughly research this topic, and we published conclusive evidence in herpetological journals that it was highly damaging. In 2002 we launched the world's first comprehensive online education and training program for keepers worldwide. A totally new, updated version of this course compatible with mobile devices is about to be relaunched!

join today, via our secure online membership system. Possibly volunteer as a potential foster carer. Learn all you possibly can about tortoises and turtles. If you are enthusiastic and dedicated, you may well be fortunate enough to help a tortoise to a good home before too long. We are sorry, but we cannot recommend buying tortoises from dealers or shops under any circumstances, so please do not ask us for a "recommended dealer". Also note that due to the vast number of enquiries we receive on this subject, we cannot provide further information over the telephone for rescued or confiscated animals. These are looked after by volunteer members. Naturally, we are always pleased to hear of new volunteers, but we do stress that the waiting list in many cases is quite long. More people want tortoises than animals are available. The Tortoise Trust re-homing scheme does not involve fees of any sort - but we do insist that potential foster homes meet strict standards and that the members concerned have attained a very good standard of technical knowledge . Courses are Firstly, you need to learn all you can about the different species and their special needs. You may be offered American or Asian box tortoises, Russian tortoises, or various tropical tortoises for example - make sure you know the details of diet and environment these require (which

The classification of the Mediterranean Testudo group was seriously inadequate. We undertook extensive museum and field research which culminated in exploding the then-accepted '4-subspecies' myth and showed that in reality diversity was far greater than anyone had previously realised. This has had important implications for conservation and captive breeding. One outcome of this is that we described, and named, Tunisian tortoises as a separate species. This is now widely accepted. In 2019 we contributed the chapter on tortoise care and welfare to the prestigious professional reference book ‘Companion Animal Care and Welfare: The UFAW Companion Animal Handbook (UFAW Animal Welfare Series)’, which is used by animal care professionals all over the world. This included updated information based upon our own latest research.In 2008 we also highlighted the dangers of the sale of hemp and other unsuitable bedding materials to tortoise keepers, and we also uncovered major problems with herpes-virus in imported tortoises. This resulted in the successful prosecution of several pet dealers for violations of animal welfare laws. We launched highly effective campaigns against supermarkets such that were directly involved in cruelty to turtles and in the illegal exploitation of endangered species in China. We also warned about the potential for pandemic diseases arising from the unhygienic and inhumane conditions in wildlife markets. We were again proven right. In early 2010 we relocated our main base and office to Southern Spain, which also gives us easy access to North Africa. We now have active research projects underway studying wild tortoise hibernation, diets, estivation, growth, microclimates and conservation stategies. The new data obtained will continue to allow us to provide the most accurate, up-to-date advice available by greatly improving our understanding of how these animals function in nature.

There are many tortoise and turtle societies and clubs, but The Tortoise Trust is different. We have an enviable record of pioneering original research in this field, and of developing and publishing methods and information that have quite literally changed the way people keep chelonia throughout the world. From the early 1980's onwards, The Tortoise Trust has led the way in the field of tortoise and turtle husbandry. Our work on diet and disease prevention, on taxonomy, and on captive breeding technologies have had a tremendous impact - and to this day we continue to actively research even better methods of husbandry and ways to improve welfare. Here are just a few past examples of how The Tortoise Trust has constantly advanced chelonian knowledge over the years since we began:

Over the summer of 2009 we conducted the most extensive tests of vivarium systems for tortoises ever conducted and highlighted the many failings of enclosed housing. This was instrumental in getting dangerous products withdrawn from the market and in developing advice to trading standards and animal welfare officers, hopefully reducing the casualties and suffering caused to thousands of tortoises as a result of improper housing.