Recommended Steps to buying your Tortoise

Step 1 - choose a tortoise breed

How to decide which Tortoise Breed is best for you

Before buying a tortoise you need to consider which breed you prefer and is most suited to you/your family. Please see Tortoise Breeds Page for more information.

Step 2 - find a good tortoise breeder

How to find a reputable tortoise breeder

HappyTortoises is a reputable breeder and if you buy from us you are buying one of the best quality and healthiest tortoises available in the UK.

The breeds we have for sale are listed below:

Leopard Tortoises

Indian Star Tortoises

Mediterranean Spur-thighed Tortoises

If we do not supply your chosen breed or want to purchase from another breeder, then please do your research into finding a reputable breeder to ensure they are selling healthy tortoises:

• Try to find out where the tortoises come from (i.e. ensure they are captive-bred);

• ensure they have the correct legal paperwork,

• if possible get feedback from other tortoise owners who have purchased on quality/health of the tortoises they were sold

• find out from your local tortoise group if they can recommend a breeder.

Step 3 - research tortoise care required

Where to find information on food / care required for your tortoise breed

Research what setup is required, the food your tortoise needs and what care required (e.g. daily/weekly/monthly routines) for your particular breed of tortoise, so you know what's needed and can get everything in place and ready for when your tortoise arrives.

Tortoises will require feeding and fresh water daily and regular bathing to keep them hydrated and in optimal health. They also have different humidity and temperature requirements, depending on the breed.

Tortoises are solitary animals in the wild so they are happy on their own. It is possible to keep more than one tortoise together (preferably of similar size) if they are not aggressive towards each other (see breeds page for further info) or competing for a female but you should never mix species.

For more information on care required, please see the FAQ section at the top of the page.

Step 4 - prepare for your tortoise’s arrival

Preparing for your Tortoise ahead of time

I highly recommend getting everything ready, setup and tested a few days before your tortoise arrives as you don’t want any nasty surprises or last minute panic racing around trying to find a replacement bulb before collecting your tortoise.

Tortoise tables

Tortoises need lots of space to be healthy, I recommend at least 10x the length of the tortoise, squared. For example: a 10cm tortoise will need 100cm x 100cm enclosure as a minimum, more is better! Obviously increasing the enclosure size once it has outgrown the enclosure.

You can buy or build your required setup:

• you can buy ready-made tortoise tables from my shop,

• or you can build your own tortoise table,

• or repurpose an old bookcase, underbed storage box, etc (providing required dimensions, height and is made of materials/paints that are safe for tortoises)

I have examples of tortoise table options and how to get your setup ready here. If you’d like to see how I designed my adult leopard tortoise enclosure (including sizing), please see this link.

What’s needed in your tortoise table:

The environment (substrate, humidity, temperatures, food, etc) varies from one tortoise breed to another. Hatchlings through to adults of the same breed will have very similar environments.

It is also advisable to purchase necessary equipment, food and accessories in advance of buying your tortoise. I provide a starter pack in my shop and highly recommend this to save you the trouble of sourcing all the items individually plus we have tested out each item and compared to variety of alternatives to over many years to bring you the best and most reliable options.

My tip is not to leave until the last minute as it does take a couple of days to order/research and set everything up, test temperatures etc (unless of course if you are buying one of my starter packs, then you'll have everything you need to get setup).

Step 5 - test temperatures in the tortoise enclosure

What temperatures should be checked and how

Check temperatures (at tortoise height) and make adjustments if required.

As a minimum check the following are in the safe ranges for the breed of tortoise you are purchasing:

• overnight temperatures where the tortoise table will be set up (it is best to use a thermometer with a min/max setting so you can check the lowest temperature it dropped to overnight - this will save you getting up between 2am-5am to check!)

• and also the basking area temperatures. It is best to wait for 30 minutes for basking bulbs to heat up before testing basking area temperatures.

Tortoises requires a heat gradient - this means one end of the tortoise table is warm (where your basking area/basking bulb is) and heat will gradually decrease to the opposite end of your tortoise table, the “cooler end”. Both the “warmer end” of the tortoise table and the “cooler end” of the tortoise table should be in the safe temperature ranges for your breed of tortoise. This is especially important for species that are particularly heat sensitive as they can become very ill very quickly with incorrect temperatures.

Step 6 - Order your Tortoise

Where you can order your Tortoise and what checks a good breeder should ask you

To purchase a tortoise and/or starter pack or tortoise table from HappyTortoises, please visit my shop.

If you are buying a tortoise from HappyTortoises we will request to see photos of your setup (if you aren’t purchasing one of our starter packs and tortoise tables) and confirmation that temperatures are within the safe ranges before arranging collection or delivery of your tortoise.

Step 7 - Viewing your tortoise

Viewing and inspecting your Tortoise

Unfortunately due to the worry of theft I am unable to offer viewing tortoises at their home, I hope you understand. However, once you have bought the tortoise you can arrange collection in person (I will supply collection details from West Sussex, UK). You will be able to view, hold and inspect your tortoise before bringing it home.

If you would prefer me not to personally select a tortoise for you then please let me know when ordering your tortoise so we can make arrangements for you to view a selection of up to 3 tortoises (depending on availability).

Step 8 - arrange collection/delivery

How to arrange Collection or Delivery of your tortoise

Collection from West Sussex, UK (or once a month from North London, UK) or delivery (England, Wales and Lower Scotland only) can be arranged once your setup is complete and temperature information has been confirmed.

For further information please see our Tortoise Collections page.

Deliveries will only happen if the weather is appropriate at the time, tortoises cannot travel when it is too cold. There can be no exceptions. I pride myself in guaranteeing top quality, healthy tortoises when they reach you and therefore reserve the right to postpone delivery until it’s safe for your tortoise to travel.

For further information please see our Tortoise Deliveries page.

Step 9 - transporting and arriving home with your new tortoise

What to do when you get your tortoise home

I have prepared a short YouTube video here on how to transport your baby tortoise home with you as well as what you can do to help your tortoise settle into it's new home. If you are purchasing a baby tortoise from HappyTortoises, then a travel box (and a heat pack if required) is included in the price of the tortoise.

Step 10 - check legal paperwork

How to check if CITES or Article 10 paperwork is required for your tortoise

Some Tortoises require tortoise licenses or legal paperwork and microchipping, Please visit these pages for more information. We inform you of these requirements when you buy and supply all the necessary paperwork at collection/delivery.

If you purchase a tortoise that requires legal paperwork, then we will request your name, address and telephone number so that we can advice DEFRA/wildlife licencing that you now legally own the tortoise. If you do not wish to provide this information to us, then you must inform wildlife licencing yourself (with the A10 reference provided at point of sale). Please see our tortoise licencing page for further information.

Step 11 - ask questions!

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

We welcome questions here at HappyTortoises as we want you to be fully prepared for your new arrival.

We have put together a list of our more commonly asked questions under the FAQ pages. We also have lots of interesting and useful videos and demonstrations on caring for your tortoise on our YouTube channel.

Please use the Contact Us form to ask us at HappyTortoises any questions if you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, as we are always here to help: before, during and after sale.

A note from Sharon at HappyTortoises: