Help & Advice

Closed for Business

By: Natalie

The Tortoise Shop is now closed. We will shortly be posting all of our informative pages to Facebook, ready for the closure of the website. These information pages will be extended to include anything we would normally answer over the phone, as well as the general FAQs. In the meantime, if you are unsure of anything, please refer to...

Summer Heatwave

By: Natalie

Please take the time to read in full. This blog covers why a lot of your tortoises are sleeping all day and what you need to do when presented with extreme weather conditions like the forecast heatwave.

Beware of Facebook Sellers

By: Natalie

It has been brought to our attention that there is a Facebook page using our name and reputation to sell their tortoises. We want all to be aware that we do not work in conjunction with any other businesses, pages or groups. You will only ever receive replies from Gemma or Natalie through this page only, our official Twitter page and of course, through emails. You will never be forwarded a mobile number to contact someone else for collection, nor will anyone but Walkers European Transport deliver your tortoise. We will always send you to www.thetortoiseshop.com to place your order and will never request personal details or order numbers through Facebook.

How you can give your tortoise a varied diet

By: Natalie

I know we're all getting sick of the current crisis talk, but it's reached that point where we all know someone effected by it. We just want to have a word about how you will feed your tortoise if you are told to self isolate. It may be tempting to buy pellets or feed your tortoise solely on dried flower supplements, but it is important to try to maintain their fresh diet. Here are some tips to help you feed your tortoise through isolation;

Tortoise Housing: Which is right for my tortoise?

By: Natalie

As you know, we do not sell our tortoises to just anyone. If you purchase a tortoise on it's own, without a complete setup (tortoise package). we will ask for photos of your tortoise table and lighting setup. This is solely to ensure that your baby tortoise gets the best start in life. To help you along your way, here are some of the tables we are often presented with

Tortoise Lighting: Which is right for my tortoise?

By: Natalie

Following on from our Tortoise Housing blog. Here we will look at the different lighting setups available, which you will need for your new setup and which you should definitely avoid.

Tortoise Care Booklet

By: The Tortoise Shop

A complete guide to rearing healthy Horsfield and Mediterranean tortoises. Booklet includes: Accommodation, Diet and Hibernating techniques.

Hibernation Blog 1: Preparing your boxes to hibernate your tortoise in the fridge

By: Natalie

Fridge hibernation is the most controlled method and the safest. It is important to have everything ready before your tortoise finishes it's wind down.

Hibernation Blog 2: Winding down your tortoise

By: Natalie

How to successfully wind down your tortoise for hibernation.

Hibernation Blog 3: Hibernating your tortoise

By: Natalie

As we've already covered most of this in Hibernation Blogs 1-3, we'll look at the timescales, common misconceptions and important things to remember.

Hibernation Blog 4: Waking your tortoise from hibernation

By: Natalie

This is the short and sweet one (or it was intended to be). When it comes to waking up day, you'll be very excited to see your shelled friend again. But this needs to be a slow process.