About Tortoise Home
Tortoise Home is an independent UK site for people who keep, or are thinking about keeping, Mediterranean and Horsfield tortoises. We write in plain English, for British houses, gardens and weather.
Where the advice comes from
We check our guidance against vet and specialist sources, including the Royal Veterinary College's exotics care sheets, the Tortoise Protection Group and established UK tortoise charities and keepers. Where good sources disagree, we say so.
How this site makes money
Some "Check prices" buttons go to shops that pay us a small commission if you buy. You pay the same. We list what an animal needs whether or not anyone pays us for it, and we'll never recommend kit we think is unsafe.
Your privacy
No cookies, no advertising trackers, no accounts. We count page views without storing IP addresses or anything that identifies you. Your checklist ticks and tool answers are saved only in your own browser.
Photo credits
- A Hermann's tortoise walking through daisies on a lawn: Testudo hermanni Boettgeri - 01.jpg by NorbertNagel, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized.
- Two Hermann's tortoises side by side in the grass: Testudo hermanni Boettgeri - 02.jpg by NorbertNagel, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized.
- A Hermann's tortoise on warm paving stones: Hermanni boettgeri Pag.jpg by Palauenc05, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized.
- A baby tortoise climbing out of its egg: Testudo hermanni BW 2015-07-27 14-04-03.jpg by Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped and resized.
- Close-up of a tortoise's face and front legs on a rock: Hermann's Tortoise imported from iNaturalist photo 122976328 on 7 March 2024.jpg by (c) Kseniia Marianna Prondzynska, some rights reserved (CC BY), CC BY 4.0. Cropped and resized.
- A spur-thighed tortoise facing the camera on sandy ground: Greek Tortoise (Testudo graeca) (Found by Jean NICOLAS) (52608333189).jpg by Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped and resized.
- A spur-thighed tortoise among wild flowers: Spur-thighed Tortoise (6925398916).jpg by Alastair Rae from London, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped and resized.
Diagrams and illustrations are our own.
Spotted a mistake?
Care advice changes as vets learn more. If something here is out of date, email christoff@crackingsites.co.uk and we'll fix it.