IT IS among the few shops in the country dedicated to one of the oldest creatures on earth.
But many people in the city are unaware of the existence of The Tortoise Shop in Sutton Fields.
The Bergen Way store has been in Hull for more than ten years, selling captive bred tortoises, accessories and food.But director Janine Badger said the shop was not well known in the city.
She said: "The majority of our customers are from further afield and a massive percentage of our business is online.
"People often don't realise where we are and travel from far and wide to pick up their tortoises.
"We have had a long distance lorry driver drive off a P&O ferry and come to pick up his tortoise before going back down south to his home.
"Another lady got a ferry over from the Isle Of Man before making her way to Hull."
The Tortoise Shop was originally owned by Les White and is now owned by Paul Train and Mike Holdstock.
It has three full-time members of staff – Natalie Collier, Terry Clappison and Janine Badger.
Accessories from the shop recently featured on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV1.
Janine, who has been involved with The Tortoise Shop since the beginning, said: "We were delighted when the show got in touch with us.
"It has been tough recently for us, like for everyone else, but because we are so specialised and offer tortoises, accessories and advice we get a good customer base through word of mouth.
"People often get a tortoise and come back for another. They make fantastic pets.
"I think the thing that sets us apart is our accessories and our advice service.
"We opened The Tortoise Shop because we wanted to get the right advice about tortoises out to the public.
"We only sell UK-bred tortoises – good breeds to get people up and running.
"If somebody wants a small tortoise, for example, we point them in the direction of a Tunisian spur thigh turtle."
For more information on The Tortoise Shop, visit www.thetortoiseshop.com or call 01482 222214.
