Shelter for turtles and tortoises

Faunawatch’s officially recognized sanctuary takes in found and surrendered turtles and tortoises. The sanctuary is run entirely by volunteers and relies 100% on donations. Since many turtles and tortoises are very sick upon arrival as a result of poor nutrition and/or housing, our priority is to get the animals’ health as optimal as possible. All specimens therefore undergo a clinical and parasitic examination upon arrival and are microchipped so that long-term medical data can be followed up. In the case of tortoises, a PCR test is also done to test for the presence of herpes (virus) and mycoplasma (bacteria). For the sake of the necessary individual care and to keep the infection pressure low, the maximum number of animals in the shelter is limited to 150. Depending on the health status of the animals, their history and the legislation for the species concerned, it is examined whether a new permanent home can be found for the animals. In this way, new animals can be taken in again at the shelter.

Strategy

Since many turtles and tortoises provide higher infection pressure and this is more likely to lead to illness in indoor sanctuaries, efforts are made to limit the number of animals during the winter. A waiting list is maintained with animals signed up for shelter (see form). A large number of animals are then accepted in the spring and go through the quarantine period. Healthy animals are then rehomed during the spring and summer so that the number of animals for winter is more limited. During the year, however, a limited number of animals are still accepted. In this way we can help as many animals as possible while maximizing the health and welfare of the animals taken in.

The sanctuary

After a quarantine period, tortoises and turtles are housed in small groups in land enclosures or resident ponds. These groups are composed based on species, sex, disease history and behavior. During the summer the animals are housed outside, which is optimal in terms of space, lower infection pressure and important for health (access to Uvb radiation from the sun). During winter, turtles are housed indoors. Tortoises go into hibernation (with the exception of tropical species) and aquatic turtles enter pond tanks. Read more about housing here.