Ornate Box Turtle

“Turtles need rescuing?” “Yes, unfortunately.”

Tortoises are horribly mistreated in captivity, just like any other captive animal. Whether the mistreatment comes from improper care, lost interest, or neglect, tortoises deserve a better home and better treatment.

Northwest Tortoise has the same goal with each tortoise/turtle that passes through our doors: is to rehabilitate them until they are healthy and adopt them to people who understand what it takes to treat a turtle/tortoise correctly. Turtles and tortoises are not ‘throw away’ pets. They are exotic pets and require a deep level of understanding in order to provide a lifetime home.

Northwest Tortoise invests extensive time vetting potential owners. If you are looking for a quick adoption process, expect to fill out a short form, and get immediate approval, I recommend you look elsewhere.

If you’ve done your research and you are ready for a shelled pet for life apply here!

A note on determining age: Unless there is a hatch date for a turtle/tortoise there is no reliable way to determine age. Age cannot be reliably determined by size, rings on the shell, damage on the shell or any other speculative methods. The following ages are an educated guess based on information from the previous owner and 25 years of experience working with turtles/tortoises.