Hoosier Turtle and Tortoise Rescue and Sanctuary

01/11/2024

Please share!

12/01/2023

Our FB messenger is down so until we get it fixed, please email any questions.
Thank you

11/30/2023

Join Tom Arbour and I tonight while we ask our guest Dawson Lalor about what he has going on and how his first TTPG conference was.

Turn your videos into live streams with Restream https://restre.am/ANIm

08/09/2023

New member here at the sanctuary. This male Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldi rustamovi) will join our group of rustamovi and enjoy the rest of his life outside in the sun.

03/12/2023

Our friend Tom put together a little video for folks to help them decide if a tortoise or a turtle would be the best fit. Please give it a watch and tell him which you think works best for you(or which one you just love more)!

Turtles and tortoises are some of the most popular pets in the world. But what is the BEST pet? Is it a turtle? Or a tortoise?

03/11/2023

A very interesting article on head start programs. A friend who has done them in Maryland always said 200 grams was the mark to hit and it seems she knew what she was talking about.

The article here is about Glyptemys Insculpta, the North American Wood turtle. What are your thoughts on head start programs starting here in Indiana? It is definitely something I would love to see and be a part of.

https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.22390?fbclid=IwAR2QExwqpgD_9ZiLYb5eM3uVkbFoYhiTBbo928z1aASa-rI3VHtLNVfO1vI

Headstarting increases the survivorship of juvenile turtles, indicating that this management strategy can work to recover at-risk turtle populations.

03/08/2023

Not the type of email I generally enjoy, but hopefully we can get him into a better situation soon!

03/05/2023

Been a pretty busy winter, but here are some pics of a few turtles and tortoises that are awake this winter or have come up to say hello on warmer days.

Can you name the species? Give it a shot and see how many you can do!

02/17/2023

Ty is an amazing human! Such great people all around with Zoomed and Iguanaland.

11/22/2022

A yearling Testudo horsfieldi bogdanovi that hatched here last year and has grown very well. This is one of two “Russian” tortoise subspecies to display a beautiful ray pattern on its scutes.

10/20/2022

Winter setups for a few turtles. Luckily on sunny days I can open the garage door and let them bask in big battery in the sky!

09/07/2022

3 new turtles into the sanctuary. A young female and 2 hatchling Indian Spotted turtles (Geoclemys Hamiltonii) Critically endangered in the wild but a turtle that has thrived in captivity with responsible breeding. Now they will never go extinct.

03/16/2021

Good point....

Herpetofauna -- aka amphibians and reptiles -- are amazing creatures with clever adaptations that have allowed them to brave the millennia. But today the world's herps are among the most imperiled species on Earth. So if you aren't teaching your kids about herpetology, who is?

03/16/2021

HELP NEEDED!
Another Rescue partner of ours is in need of help. As spring comes, just like fall, people seem to surrender more turtles and tortoises. A rescue in Washington is in need of sending some Russian tortoises to our sanctuary and these torts need your help! With this rescue being one of the only in Washington state, they’re always hard at work treating and placing torts. Serving the eastern part of the state, this required a long drive and expenses just to get these torts to the airport.

Please click on this link to their website and scroll down to the donate icon and help with “Ship the Russians” fundraiser!

https://northwesttortoise.org/support/

Northwest Tortoise is a 501 c3 non-profit company that is dedicated to education, rescue and captive breeding of turtles and tortoises.

02/22/2021

Been busy getting everyone set for winter and taking in new turtles and tortoises. I will be posting updated pics soon!

02/22/2021

Been very busy the last several months with turtles needing help and overwintering accommodations needed made. I will be sharing new turtles and torts that have made their way to the sanctuary!
Thanks for all the support from you guys!

10/04/2020

Please help a friend’s rescue. Donate if you can! Hulk has a long road ahead, but is doing very good so far.

The Hulk (Russian tortoise) needs help! Update: 9-28-2020 - The surg… Terese Meyer needs your support for Northwest Tortoise needs help with surgery expense

07/04/2020

Another visit from the Game Warden yesterday. This time to bring us a confiscated adult female Eastern box turtle. Sadly the location she was poached from is unknown so she can’t be released back into the wild. This lady does have some gorgeous colors for a female box turtle! To bad she won’t be able to pass those genes on anymore.

06/13/2020

This is “Zippy” the Sanctuary’s newest member. He has spent 36 years with the same owners and is a very handsome fella. His owners were obviously very attached and I’m honored that they chose for him to spend his next 30-50 years!

Getting him wasn’t easy though....
After some very long and stressful days we finally him. He came 2,374 miles all the way from northern Washington. A mix-up in shipping meant Zippy spent from Wednesday until this morning in his package waiting for rescue! Hour and hours spent on the phone trying to track him down paid off and seeing him open his eyes after tearing the box open in the post office put a calming peace in my heart. He was able to Houdini his way out of his bag and tried to dig out, so glad we got him when we did!
Thanks Terese Meyer and Northwest Tortoise Rescue for helping connect Zippy’s owners with us!

06/11/2020

Had my DNR home inspection done today for my new Turtle Possession Permits and passed as expected. Lucky to be able to keep and care for box turtles in a state where they’ve been threatened for far too long!

06/09/2020

A proper diet is key for good husbandry. We grow our own weeds(dandelion, chicory, plantains, clovers, thistle..) along with lettuces, greens, specific fruits and vegetables. We’re also blessed to have dozens of mulberry trees on the property.

06/09/2020

Proper nutrition is one key part in proper turtle and tortoise husbandry. Keepers should do there best to provide as natural a diet as possible. We plant weeds(dandelion, clover, plantain, thistle, chicory..) along with greens, lettuces, specific fruits and vegetables. We are also blessed to have dozens of mulberry trees on the property which is a nutritious and enjoyable food for tortoises.