Category: Turtles & Tortoises Information & News
How Did Turtles Get Their Shells?
How did the turtle get its shell? That has been an age old question for decades, but now researchers have discovered the fossilized remains of what th [...]
San Diego Zoo’s Galapagos Tortoise, Speed, Dies At 150+Years
One of the oldest Galapagos tortoises (Chelonoidis nigra) in captivity has died. Speed, who was brought to the San Diego Zoo in 1933 was es [...]
Painted Turtle’s Shell Reattached With Epoxy And Zip Ties
A painted turtle (Chrysemys picta ssp. and C. dorsalis) that was hit by a car gets a second lease on life as the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center a [...]
Tortoise In England Outfitted With Hot Wheels To Aid Walking
A tortoise in Withywood, Bristol, England that had to have one of his hind legs surgically removed because of an accident is back in the saddle as the [...]
Coastguardsmen Untangle Two Sea Turtles Caught In Fishing Line Off Central America
Coastguardsmen on the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton out of Alameda, Calif. were on patrol looking for drug runners when they happened upon a pair of sea [...]
Scientists Try To Impregnate Last Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle Known To Exist
Scientists say that the Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) is just a few deaths away from extinction if the only known female in the wo [...]
Long Island, NY Sees Mass Die Off Of Diamondback Terrapins
Hundreds of diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) have been washing up dead on beaches near Jamesport and Flanders Bay in Long Island, NY&n [...]
Tortoise That Lost Legs To Rat Bites Gets Wheels
Mrs. T, a 90-year-old tortoise has a new lease on her long life after a rat chewed her front legs off. She was unable to walk and the veterinarian who [...]
Aussie Teen Helps Raise Funds for New Western Swamp Tortoise Breeding Facility
Andrew Triglavcanin, a 13-year-old from Perth, Australia has raised $400 for a new breeding facility for the western swamp tortoise (Pseudemydura umbr [...]
5 Tips To Make Everyday Earth Day For Herps
Today is “Earth Day” What have you done for herps to make Earth Day everyday? While the day comes once a year, the Earth and its inhabitan [...]
60 Captive Raised Myanmar Roofed Turtles Released
There is good news coming out of Myanmar (formerly Burma) as 60 captive raised Myanmar roofed turtles (Batagur trivittata), the second most endangered [...]
Western Pond Turtle Step Closer To Endangered Species Status
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that Endangered Species Act protections may be warranted for the western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorat [...]
Leopard Tortoise With Severe Pyramiding Outfitted With 3-D Shell
A leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys [Geochelone] pardalis) with severe pyramiding was outfitted with a temporary 3-D shell to help protect her now softe [...]
Study Says Ecopassages That Let Turtles Cross Under Roads Don’t Always Work
You know those passageways designed to help reptiles safely cross under busy roads? Well, if not properly designed, they don’t seem to work [...]
California’s Desert Tortoise Gains 11 Square Miles Of Habitat
The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in California has had 11 square miles of habitat on private land set aside in an effort to offset the i [...]
Sulcata Tortoise And Pit Bull Are Best Friends
Looks like man’s best friend has found a new best friend in an 8-year-old Sulcata tortoise named Sheldon. Sheldon and his new best friend, Dolly, a fe [...]
20 Critically Endangered Ploughshare Tortoises Released On Madagascar
Jersey’s Durell Conservation Trust in Europe has released 20 ploughshare tortoises (Astrochelys ynophora) on Madagascar in hopes of bolstering their p [...]
Rat Eradication Effort Pays Dividends For Galapagos Island Tortoises
Scientists in 2012 started a program to cover 18 square kilometers of Pinzón Island in the Galapagos Island chain with poisoned rat bait in an [...]
Suspects In Murder Of Costa Rican Sea Turtle Activist Acquitted
Seven men who were charged with the May 2013 murder of Costa Rican sea turtle activist Jairo Mora Sandoval were acquitted of the crime January 26. The [...]
Scientists To Study Lesser Known Flatback Sea Turtle
The Australian flatback sea turtle (Natator depressus) is a tough little chelonian that is native only to Australian waters, Papua New Guinea and cert [...]
Tortoise Found On Hawaii Man’s Driveway
An Oahu man found a tortoise in his driveway in a Kaneohe neighborhood and in spite of calls to the Honolulu Zoo, the Department of Land and Natural R [...]
Do You Wanna Build A. . . Snow Sea Turtle?
When I was a kid growing up in Utah we built snowmen during our times off from school. My older sister always led the charge and I built the head, com [...]
Vet Attaches Lego Wheels Onto Tortoise to Help it Walk
What happens when a juvenile spur-thighed tortoise can’t use its hind legs due to metabolic bone disease? You equip it with a set of wheels, as a Germ [...]
Bad News For Australia’s White-Throated Snapping Turtle
Australia’s white-throated snapping turtle (Elseya albagula) is in danger of becoming extinct due in part to the construction of dams as we [...]
