The Norfolk Tortoise Club

15/09/2025

🐢✨ Conference Spaces Still Available! ✨🐢

Join us at the European Turtle Alliance Conference 2025, in association with Tortoise Welfare UK and the European Studbook Foundation.

📅 Saturday 11th – Sunday 12th October 2025
📍 Writtle University College, Essex
🎓 CPD hours available

Two inspiring days of talks on chelonian conservation, husbandry, research, and veterinary practice — plus opportunities to network, browse displays, and enjoy our popular Saturday evening meal.

🌟 Highlights include talks from:
🔹 Victor Loehr (Karoo dwarf tortoise field studies & breeding)
🔹 Chris Leone (Pet trade past & present, USA)
🔹 Anthony Pierlioni (Community & breeding Japonica, USA)
🔹 Thomas Griffith (Advances in UVB for Chelonia)
🔹 Thomas Maunders (ZSL Whipsnade Chelonia collection)
🔹 Peter Praschag (Nepal Conservation Programme & Mexican tortoise)
🔹 Kevin Eatwell (Chelonia medicine & parasites)
🔹 Maizey-Mary Fox (Chelonia distribution & care in the UK)
🔹 Dillon Prest (Changes in the UK pet trade)
🔹 Tony Monahan (Chelonia travel guide & artworks)
🔹 Matt Rendle (AZEVN, UK)
🔹 Jane Williams (New book highlights, ETA)
…with more speakers to follow!

🎟️ Ticket Options:
➡️ Both days: £75
➡️ Single day: £60
➡️ Student: £30 (for both days!)

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this unique event for vets, vet nurses, zookeepers, students, and chelonian enthusiasts alike.

👉 https://www.turtlesurvival.eu/2025-european-turtle-alliance-conference/

12/09/2025

📸 EMAIL US YOUR TORTOISE PHOTOS 📸

We’ve started making next year’s calendar and need more HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS to feature.

Please note we cannot accept any photos of tortoises eating incorrect diet or in unnatural environments.

Please email photos to [email protected].

11/09/2025

🐢 SUNDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER - 10AM-3PM 🐢

🍂 Annual Hibernation Open Day! 🍂

More info to come soon....

In the meantime please book your pre-hibernation health check online. All health checks are by appointment only for this event - so book now to avoid disappointment! We are not offering microchipping or worming at this event.

⚕ Click below to find out more and reserve your tortoises health check ⚕

Please book your appointment in advance, ALL SLOTS ARE BOOKING ONLY - we are sorry we can't offer walk-ins this time.

09/09/2025

📸 SEND US YOUR TORTOISE PHOTOS! 📸

It’s the time to make next year’s charity calendar and we would like to feature some of YOUR TORTOISES 🐢

Unfortunately we cannot include any eating incorrect food or in an unnatural environment.

All you need to do is email HIGH RESOLUTION photos to
[email protected].

09/09/2025

🌱 Grow Your Own Tortoise Food 🌱

Did you know you can grow a nutritious, tortoise-safe feast right at home? Our specially selected seed mixes make it easy to provide your tortoise with fresh, natural food all year round.

Perfect for windowsills, gardens, or outdoor enclosures, these mixes support a healthy, varied diet and encourage natural grazing behaviour.

🛒 Available now via our official eBay shop:

Every purchase helps support the work of Norfolk Tortoise Club in rescue, rehoming, and education.

06/09/2025

🚨 Stolen Tortoise Update 🚨

Out of the 20 tortoises stolen, 5 have now been found, left on a doorstep in Green Street, Great Canfield (Essex). Sadly, 15 tortoises are still missing.

These tortoises belong to a lady in her 70s, who is absolutely devastated by this theft. They are her pride and joy, and she just wants them safely home.

Because the tortoises were dumped locally, it’s very likely the thieves are from the area. We’re pleading: please, do the right thing and return the rest.

🐢 Still Missing:
• 1 x Leopard tortoise
• 2 x Spur-thighed hatchlings
• 4 x Hermann hatchlings
• 2 x Spur-thighed adults
• 6 x Hermann adults

We are currently searching in and around Great Canfield. If you live nearby or are out walking, please keep your eyes open, and most importantly, keep sharing this post.

Your support truly makes a difference. Social media shares helped bring the first five home. ❤️

Thank you all for caring and helping.

02/09/2025

🌿 Plant of the Month: Mallow (Malva spp.) 🌿

A firm favourite with tortoises, Mallow is a fantastic addition to a varied, natural diet. Both the flowers and leaves are enjoyed, and the plant can be found growing for much of the year.

🔍 How to Identify
- Soft, rounded, slightly crinkled leaves with clear veins
- Pink to purple flowers, often with darker stripes
- Commonly grows in gardens, hedgerows, and roadsides
- Closely related to Lavatera (Tree Mallow), which is also safe
⚠️ Take care not to confuse young Mallow leaves with Lady’s Mantle, a different plant

✅ Why It’s Great for Tortoises
- Provides natural variety in the diet
- High in fibre, helping with digestion
- Flowers encourage natural foraging behaviour
- Safe and nutritious when fed as part of a mixed, balanced diet

If you spot some on your next walk or in your garden, pick a little to add to your tortoise’s meal — they’ll thank you for it.

📸 Have a photo of your tortoise enjoying Mallow? Share it in the comments!

29/08/2025

🔥🐢 How Hot is TOO Hot for a Tortoise? 🐢🔥

Summer sun is here – but for our shelled friends, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows! ☀️

🧠 In the wild, tortoises are masters of managing heat. Many species come from hot climates, but they know when to retreat. When temperatures soar, they enter a state called aestivation – a natural response where they reduce activity, seek shelter, and eat less to survive extreme heat.

In captivity, they rely on us to help keep them safe.

Here’s how to protect your tortoise in high temps:

💧 Water access is essential – for drinking and soaking.
🌿 Shade is vital – natural or artificial. A hot shell can lead to overheating.
🌡️ Ground too hot to touch? Then it’s too hot for their feet! Tortoises can burn.
🏡 Avoid greenhouses or glass boxes – they can quickly become ovens.
🌬️ Ventilation matters – keep airflow moving, especially in closed setups.

👉 Learn what’s normal for your species – understanding natural temperature ranges helps avoid both overheating and unnecessary stress.

Tortoises love warmth, but they need options. Let them self-regulate just like they would in the wild. 😎🐢

29/08/2025

🌺🦎🌍 🐢 We hope you can join us :) 🐢 🌺 🦎 🌍

15 amazing tortoise and turtle talks to hear over two days at The Writtle University, Chelmsford, UK conference.

14 hrs of CPD up for grabs

Proud to be supporting international attendees, vet nurses and students: International attendees, vet nurses enter 'society' when booking to register for just £55 and Students just £30 for the whole weekend!

Spaces still available with early bird discount of £60 for the whole weekend including refreshments and lunch on both days. Ending at midnight this Sunday. Please help spread the word with a share. Thank you!

Are you coming to this year's tortoise conference in Chelmsford, UK?

This is a fantastic way to hear about the latest advances in Tortoise and Turtle work including husbandry, rehabilitation, treatment, breeding as well as conservation and welfare of tortoises and turtles in the wild.

Confirmed speakers ...
15 speakers from 6 difference countries over two days.

🐢Victor Loehr, Netherlands – Karoo dwarf tortoise (Chersobius boulengeri)

🐢Peter Praschag, Turtle Island, Austria – Nepal conservation programme and the Mexican tortoise

🐢Chris Leone, Garden State Tortoise, USA – USA pet trade past and present

🐢Thomas Griffith, Tomaskas, UK – Importance of and developments in UVB for Chelonia

🐢Matt Rendle, Association of Zoo and Exotic Veterinary Nurses, UK – Chelonian veterinary practice

🐢Thomas Maunders, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, UK – ZSL Whipsnade Chelonia collection

🐢Francesco Luigi Leonetti, Italy – Protecting wild Testudo hermanni populations in Calabria

🐢Manuel Antonio De La Riva Fraga, Spain – Conservation at Faunia; care for confiscated species

🐢Kevin Eatwell, Fife Exotic Vets, UK – Observations in Chelonia medicine with a focus on parasites

🐢Maizey-Mary Fox, Writtle University, UK – Chelonia distribution and care in the UK

🐢Jane Williams, European Turtle Alliance, UK – New book: Tortoise Husbandry and Welfare

🐢Anthony Pierlioni, USA – Keeping and breeding Asian turtle species

🐢Dillon Prest, Swallow Aquatics, UK – Changes in the UK pet trade

🐢Tony Monahan, USA – Chelonia travel guide and artworks

Writtle University College, Lordship Road, Writtle, Chelmsford, CM1 3RR

Both days: £75. Single day: £60. Students: £30 for both days.

Includes attendee pack, refreshments and lunch on both days! Evening meal on

Saturday discounted rates available at the County Hotel,
Chelmsford, which is close to the evening meal.
www.turtlesurvival.eu/category/events