The Egyptian Tortoise, Testudo kleinmanni Lortet, 1883

9783000623431LangtextThe Egyptian Tortoise, Testudo kleinmanni Lortet, 1883 is the smallest of the Mediterranean species of Testudo and the world¿s

second smallest tortoise species living today. Native to North Africa

and Israel, it is adapted to surviving under the extreme climatic

conditions of semideserts. In spite of conservation measures and

captive breeding programmes, the Egyptian Tortoise is acutely

threatened by extinction.

Even though maintaining it in human care is thought of as a challenge,

it has been gaining popularity amongst dedicated terrarium keepers

in recent years. Information on its complex husbandry requirements

has so far been scant and tedious to trace. The present book by

Franziska Biedenweg and Dipl.-Biol. Ricarda Schramm fills this gap

in that it is the first to provide comprehensive and detailed data on

the fascinating little beauty known as Testudo kleinmanni.

The authors discuss all relevant subjects, including the distribution

and ecology of this species in the wild, how the latter translates

into keeping and feeding it properly in captivity, what is required

for propagating it successfully, and how to best employ modern

technology to achieve these goals. An exhaustive list of the existing

literature and numerous colour photographs and graphics illustrate

the individual chapters.

The author¿s years of experience with keeping this species are

summarized in an annual care schedule that will provide guidelines

to the month-to-month keeping of this species. A loose copy of this

schedule is added to the book for ease of reference.