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.
