The Complete Tortoise Owner's Guide

Your comprehensive veterinary guide to keeping healthy tortoises for decades. Written by Dr. Rosemary Stolzer-Bolton, DVM, this 36-page guide covers popular pet tortoise species and their lifelong care. What's inside: • Welcome to tortoises — species overview, lifespan planning, the multi-decade commitment • Choosing the right species — sulcata, Russian, Hermann's, red-foot, Greek, leopard • Indoor enclosure — tortoise tables, substrate, hides, temperature gradients • Outdoor enclosure — predator-proofing, planting, shelter, climate considerations • Lighting & temperature — UVB requirements, basking, nighttime temperature drops • Nutrition — species-appropriate diets, calcium, weeds, safe plants, pyramiding prevention • Shell health — metabolic bone disease, shell rot, pyramiding, proper growth • Health & diseases — respiratory infections, parasites, prolapse, mouth rot • Brumation — preparation, monitoring, species that brumate, when to intervene • Breeding, records & lifespan planning — a pet that may outlive you