Book Review: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Turtles…

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Turtles…
By Liz Palika

(This article originally published on Turtletopia.com in October 2000.)

Format: Hardcover, 270pp.

ISBN: 0876051433
Publisher: Macmillan General Reference
Pub. Date: December 1997

If you’re a beginner, this book is definitely for you! As a new turtle/tortoise keeper, you will need guidance that is not loaded down with technical or scientific jargon (and it’s a nice perk that the book wasn’t written in the 70′s!) Liz does a great “spell-it-out” overview of various species and general care and maintenance for the beginner. She also makes it very easy to read and with lots of practical information based on her vast experiences.

If you love to read a how-to book, this is one you will enjoy. But if you love fancy photos, 4-color pictures for reference purpose, etc… it’s not what you need. For a beginners manual, this book is really quite good. With a lighthearted writing style and little tidbits of trivia, this will be an enjoyable read.

In this book…

1. Is a Turtle or Tortoise Right for You?
   1. What Are Turtles and Tortoises?
   2. What Are You Expecting from a Turtle?
   3. What Does Turtle Ownership Require?
   4. What Does Your Family Think?
   5. What Kind Would You Like?
   6. Finding a Turtle or Tortoise for You
2. Welcome Home
   1. Let There Be Light!
   2. Oh Yea, It’s Hot!
   3. Water, the Magic Liquid
   4. What Else Do You Need to Know?
   5. Home Sweet Home: Aquatic or Semi-Aquatic Turtles
   6. Home Sweet Home: Terrestrial Turtles or Small Tortoises
   7. Home Sweet Outside Enclosure
3. Open Wide
   1. You Are What You Eat
   2. Evaluating Your Pet’s Health
   3. Sex, Marriage, and Children
   4. Sleeping the Winter Away
4. The Who’s Who of Turtles
   1. In the Water and Out
   2. The Landlubbers
   3. The Boxed Set
5. The Who’s Who of Tortoises
   1. Teeny Tortoises
   2. The Middlemen
   3. The Special Beauties
   4. The Really Big Boys

Appendix A: A Latin Lesson
Appendix B: Where to Learn More
Appendix C: Glossary of Turtle and Tortoise Terms

Buy the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Turtles & Tortoises (The Complete Idiot’s Guide) >>