WELCOME TO

ORTLIFE

Hi! I'm Rick!

Welcome! I am the founder and owner, and I'm living the TortLife! I vowed to dedicate my time ensuring owners and breeders are equipped to handle the demands of properly caring for these precious reptiles.

TortLife is committed to educating tortoise owners and breeders through the exchange of information, ideas, and knowledge. I have teamed with organizations such as Treasure Coast Tortoise King and Treasure Coast Wildlife Hospital to make sure we give you the most up-to-date information on the care and safety of your four-legged reptilian family members.

In this community we are more like a family, so we encourage you to share pictures and stories of your shelled TortLife babies. Let us see how your babies are growing!

Don't forget to join our Facebook group!

ortoise Trivia Time (TTT)!

Did You Know...?

A tortoise is a turtle, but not all turtles are tortoises?

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Yes, you read that right! Just because a turtle has a shell, doesn't mean it's a tortoise. A turtle is any shelled reptile belonging to the order Chelonii. The term "tortoise" is more specific, referring to terrestrial turtles. Does it have webbed feet and a flatter shell? If so, it's probably a turtle. Stubby feet and a domed shell? Probably a tortoise. Is it swimming in water? Definitely a turtle, as tortoises typically can't swim.

Harriett, a Galapagos tortoise, lived for approximately 175 years!

Harriett was originally known to be cared for by Charles Darwin in 1835. In the years after he was gone, she was taken to England, and eventually landed in Australia where Steve Irwin's family took care of her until her passing in 2006. Of course she wasn't born in 1835 because that would mean she would have only been 171, but she was already in existence when Darwin found her. How is that for a long life-span?

Tortoises entered space before the Soviets, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin!

It sounds unbelievable right? Well, it's true! Two Steppe tortoises were taken aboard the Soviet Union's Zond 5 spacecraft in 1968. They entered space, circled the moon, and returned safely to earth becoming the first living creatures to survive space flight!