BATK

In Britain the overwhelming majority of animals used as pets are mammals.  A similar majority of farm animals are also mammals. The husbandry, biology and veterinary care of mammals is reasonably well understood by farmers,pet owners and vets.

Tortoises are reptiles and their needs are different. The critical difference is that mammals keep their bodies at the correct temperature by burning food internally to provide the heat to control their body temperature.Tortoises need to bask in the sun in order to raise their bodies to the correct temperature. They need both shade and sun in order to be able to do this. The tortoise does this consciously in the same way as we are conscious of the need to eat and drink.

Tortoises can put up with many potentially lethal conditions for long periods. At first sight this seems an advantage, but unfortunately this too often results in the owner not knowing that something is wrong. There are tortoises that are suffering from many potentially lethal problems and the owners say "oh, it's all right, he's been like that for years". Unfortunately, putting right the effects of bad husbandry can also take years, but only if corrected in time.

BATK is a charitable organisation set up to provide information to tortoise owners so that general husbandry of tortoises can be improved.

We are carrying out a considerable amount of research in order to improve our knowledge, and we are in touch with others doing similar work in many different parts of the world. We issue newsletters, hold talks and information days. We can offer personal husbandry advice and recommend specialist vets in case of problems. Specialist Vets treatment is essential for all unwell tortoises and urgency is paramount.

Since BATK started, there has been a marked improvement in the general health of our members' pets, and a lowering of the appalling death rate. There is still much to do and learn.
Firstly extending BATK membership enabling tortoises to benefit from improved care and husbandry; secondly  researching as much as possible and getting the information out to the public; and thirdly widening our research to help owners of tropical tortoises, as numbers of these species are increasing in the United Kingdom.

All our research is ongoing. Please keep up to date with BATK information.

All donations are spent on our objectives.

We are all volunteers but we love what we do and care deeply about the Tortoises.

Join our Association now if you want your tortoise to thrive and not just survive.

To see the latest BATK Events taking place click here