Rehoming

 

 

Do you have a tortoise (of any species) that needs a new home?  

Would you like to give a tortoise a good home? 

If you do and would like us to help, please contact dianne green at: dianne.green5@zen.co.uk

 

 

 

Whatever the species of tortoise, we will ensure that it is placed in an excellent home with an experienced keeper, taking into regard its species, health and any special circumstances that the tortoise may have.  Different species will not be mixed. Most keepers are quite happy to keep in contact with previous owners to allow for peace of mind on how the tortoise is getting on.

Just a few happy re-homing stories, thankfully, there are many more!

Tank: an adult male Testudo ibera.  Tank was previously kept with a small male Hermann tortoise and made the life of the Hermann a complete misery.  The previous owners decided to rehome Tank due to his aggression.  He came to live with me and after the initial quarantine period, was introduced to my main group.  His aggression continued for a few days, in which time he established dominance over the other males. After about a week he had settled down and now shows no abnormal signs of aggression at all.  He is a fit and healthy, happy tortoise.

Heathrow Horsfields: juvenile Testudo horsfieldi.  These tortoises were seized by Customs and Excise at Heathrow airport in 2001, where an attempt was being made to smuggle 700 of them into the pet trade.  Through the Tortoise Trust, I adopted 8 of these which I now refer to as "the Heathrow Horsfields".  They are all doing well despite initial concerns and hopefully, will continue to thrive as they are now.

Heathrow Leopards: yearling Geochelone pardalis.  Again, these tiny baby Leopards were seized at Heathrow Airport by Customs and Excise being illegally smuggled into the country destined for the pet trade.  I adopted 4 through The British Chelonia Group.   It is early days for them, they were seized in February 2002, but there do not appear to be any unusual health problems and they should grow to be big, healthy eating machines :-)

Misty: an adult female Testudo hermanni boettgeri.  I got a phone call from a very concerned owner who could no longer look after her tortoise.  She had health problems and couldn't devote the time she needed.  When I went to collect Misty, she was in a very sorry state indeed.  She had been hibernated in a warm room for 5 months and then once awake, had not eaten for a further 2 months.  Her skin was covered in sores and she was drastically underweight and unable to walk.  I brought her home and rehydrated her and hand fed her dandelions which she gratefully accepted.  She ate for herself from that day on.  Once she had been to see a specialist vet and her problems diagnosed and treated, she was rehomed to an experienced Hermann keeper who gave her all the care she needed.  She has now doubled her initial weight and is back to full strength, foraging for herself and enjoying the summer sun and a proper controlled hibernation.

Jasmine: an adult female Testudo ibera.  Jazz had a very good home previously but her owners were moving and could not offer her the outside space she needed.  She now lives with my small group of iberas and is a wonderful addition to the household bringing much happiness to Tank :-)

Franklin: an adult male Testudo hermanni boettgeri.  Franklin is another example of a very well cared for, loved tortoise.  Sadly, his elderly owner passed away and her husband really wanted Franklin to live with other tortoises and especially female tortoises.  He went to live with an established Hermann group and continues to thrive.

Kira and Herbie: sub-adult Geochelone Pardalis.  Both the previous owners of these beautiful leopards loved them dearly but realised that they could not give them everything they needed once grown to full size which was fast approaching.   They have both been rehomed successfully, Kira having now discovered the wonders of the outside world.

Bluebell: a beautiful adult female Ibera.  Again, another loved and cared for tortoise whose previous owners could no longer offer her everything she needed after moving house

Bill: a healthy and active adult male Russian tortoise.  Bill had a good home but his previous owners realised that owning a tortoise wasn't as simple as it is sometimes thought!  Bill came to live with my Russian group and is now a proud father.  He continues to thrive and is the dominant male in the group.

 

Goldie and Tabatha: a male and female Ibera that had a pretty terrible start in life and were severely deformed.  They were then taken on by their previous owners who helped turn them around and gave them a good quality of life.  Unfortunately, due to personal circumstances, they had to be rehomed again and now live with a small group of Iberas similar to themselves. 

 

 

These happy rehomings are just the tip of the iceberg.  There are many more cases very similar, unfortunately not all have happy endings because of their previous bad care.