Tortoise Lovers, Meet Francis the Western Hingeback!

The western hingeback tortoise - what we called the Bell's hingeback in the last century, has become one of the most rare tortoise species in the country. I recently worked with the Mid Atlantic Turtle and Tortoise Society to give a new home to Francis. This tortoise had been living with a vet that nursed him back to health, and before that, had been living with a little girl that surely loved Francis but wasn't able to offer the care he needs. In this video, Weston and I pick up Francis from FedEx (yes, shipping tortoises with FedEx is safe when done well!) and then I get him set up in his quarantine enclosure.
If you like turtles and tortoises, join me live each week for the Two Turtle Tom LIVE! show. Binge all the episodes right here:

[@HarlinyBonnyelmorrocoy]

Hola Francis ❤❤❤❤

[@michelepruitt3145]

He's Gorgeous! 😁 I LOVE Turtles! 💚🐢💚🐢

[@twoturtletom]

Thanks so much Michele- this guy is really special- he was hatched somewhere in Western Africa and the stories he could tell. I hope this is his last home!

[@michelepruitt3145]

@twoturtletom I'm sure it is, you'll take Great care of him! 😁 You are the Turtle Daddy! 🤣 I LOVE Turtles! 💚🐢💚🐢✌️

[@candctortoises]

Congrats on this exciting addition, Tom!

[@twoturtletom]

Thanks Mike!

[@sheenaranae]

Yes Francice. A new addition to the tortoise crew

[@twoturtletom]

Yep! Looking forward to pairing this guy with Gladys next Fall.

[@sheenaranae]

@@twoturtletom yep can’t wait

[@roelwillems8050]

Hi Tom, how big is the "winter" enclosure.? Fore one tortoise? Greetings Roel from Holland. 👋

[@twoturtletom]

It’s been a while since I made this video but I use 4x2, 6x2 and 5x2.5 tubs. All measurements in feet.

[@OshunObara]

hi Tom, my name is Megan. I have a hinged bell back male tortoise for about 20 something years. I’m in my 30s and I got him when I was eight years old. I wanted to send you a picture of him, but I can’t via UA-cam. now that he’s in his 20s he’s walking around the house attacking all the shoes if you know what I mean. Lol could you help us out?

[@OshunObara]

ua-cam.com/users/shortsN2iPheOmvrc?si=wLnEEpfaPKLWOtIs

[@twoturtletom]

Hi Megan, I’d love to help you out. Shoot me an e-mail at [e-mail]

[@twoturtletom]

I’ll take a look!

[@OshunObara]

@@twoturtletom got it, thank you so much!