Tortoises
Tortoises are remarkable animals. Some species alive today were hatched before your grandparents were born, and with proper care your tortoise could genuinely outlive you. That longevity, combined with their calm temperament, distinctive appearance, and the meditative quality of watching them graze, has made tortoise keeping one of the most popular corners of the reptile hobby.
The species available to keepers range enormously in size, climate requirements, and care complexity. Hermann’s tortoises and Greek tortoises are among the most popular for good reason — they’re a manageable size at 6 to 8 inches, relatively cold-tolerant, and well-suited to outdoor enclosures in temperate climates during summer. Russian tortoises are even hardier and tolerate a wider range of temperatures than most, making them forgiving for beginners. At the other end of the scale, sulcata tortoises are the third-largest tortoise species in the world and can reach 100 pounds or more — beautiful animals, but a serious long-term commitment in terms of space and feeding costs.
All tortoises share a few non-negotiable care requirements. They need access to UVB lighting — either natural sunlight or a high-output UVB bulb — to properly metabolise calcium. Without it, metabolic bone disease and soft shells are inevitable. They need a dry substrate with a humid hide for sleeping, since respiratory infections are common in tortoises kept in conditions that are either too wet overall or too dry in every corner of the enclosure. And they need a varied plant-based diet — primarily grasses, hay, and leafy weeds like dandelion, plantain, and clover — rather than the fruit-heavy diet many new keepers default to.
Our tortoise guides cover all of this in detail, with species-specific care sheets, diet guides, enclosure setups for both indoor and outdoor keeping, and health guides for the most common issues.
