Hi I am hoping to give a tortoise a new home with a very loving owner (me). I don't like the commercial breeding of animals therefore I am looking for a tortoise who needs a home rather than buying from a shop or breeder. I am willing to pay if that's required and I can travel if it's ok for the animal. My contact email is wood.gillian@sky.com. I am very genuine and you are welcome to visit my home.

I do tortoise rehoming, but am a breeder too. We are not all bad you know ;)

What sort of setup can you offer a tortoise and were you looking for a particular species or age?

Thanks for your reply. I'm not suggesting breeders are bad, I just think there are enough homeless and unwanted animals without creating more for profit, but it's just my opinion. I've never actually owned a tortoise but I've done plenty of research and it's a pet I've wanted for such a long time. I have a nice secure garden and as of yet no set up as such but the tortoise may come with it's own familiar home. If not, I will buy whatever it requires. I can offer indoor accommodation as well as outdoor. Although I'm not an 'expert' I'm an animal lover and would give it everything it needs. I think a hermann tortoise would be happy in my garden or any tortoise with similar needs. I don't have any small children or dogs/cats. All we have at present is a little hamster.

Maybe a few facts would be in order here - the only people making money from selling tortoises are pet shops. These animals are bred in their thousands in Europe,shipped over at very low prices, where petshops sell them at greatly inflated prices - usually around double what breeders charge. When our tortoises lay eggs they have to be dug up and put into an incubator which is kept at constant temps for around 2 months with regular checking. When they hatch, they are quite high maintenance and most breeders keep them until the second year to make sure they have a good start in life and are growing nicely, we then have to apply for certificates, having microchipped and obtained papers for the parents. New certs are £25 but about to rise, with the addition of a necessity for the babies to be microchipped in future at 6cms, before sale. cost of lighting and heating for small babies is high and the collection of food is very time consuming to make sure a good variety is obtained. All in all it can take severalo hours a day to rear these little ones, so it's certainly not a quick profit turnover and I can honestly say that so far I have made nothing in the past year from my baby tortoises.

Ok, that's the nitty gritty out of the way ;)

There are several factors to consider before having a tortoise - a south facing garden is optimum, but either way you will need a sunny spot for several hours a day. You will need a shed or greenhouse with electricity to give heat for sub adults upwards and cat flap access for them, so that the tortoise can choose for itself when it needs to come in and out. Unles you have a baby, there is unlikely to be anything with the tortoise, so setups can initially cost several hundred pounds, so not a cheap option, also many rehomers come with baggage, such as a less than optimum previous life, including feeding, heating etc. You would be advised to have a specialist vet on hand for any future problems. Hatchlings and yearlings from breeders, rarely come with problems but setups again can be expensive initially.

Hope this helps

Sue

www.tortsmad.com

Thank you for your advice. I will bear all of that in mind but I'm still very keen and determined to offer a tortoise a home :)

I do not do rehoming for the TPG but via my website Tortsmad.

As mentioned, I would need to know what you had in place in readiness, as often, sorting out a shed with light and heat or satsfactory hibernation quarters is often not easy to do quickly and needs to be up and running prior to rehoming to be sure that it works properly. Tortoise tables for small ones also need to be up and running satisfactorily before agreeing to rehome - sorry if this sounds picky, but it's an important part of their continued welfare.

I'm not sure who you contact via TPG for rehoming, but you are welcome to apply on Tortsmad ;)

Take care

Sue

www.tortsmad.com

I haven't contacted anybody from this site. I just put this up on the forums. I will contact you via your site, thank you.

Sue, I emailed your via your website but have response. Can you confirm if you received my email please?

I just picked up your mail and have replied - had a busy day :)

Take care

Sue

www.tortsmad.com

I just picked up your mail and have replied - had a busy day :)

Take care

Sue

www.tortsmad.com