Tortoise Group

10/11/2026

Tortoise Trot 2026 🐢☀️

Another beautiful morning with our fellow tortoise enthusiasts at Friends of Red Rock Canyon Tortoise Trot 5k and 17k!

Thank you for inviting us to share our mission and participate in such a rewarding event! 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🐢

09/30/2026

And with that, our 2026 clinic season is over!

One of the most asked questioned we received through our hotline for 2025 was "When are wellness clinics coming back?".

Our goal was to not only bring back our Wellness and Microchipping Clinics but to make the program more accessible to the hundreds of desert tortoise custodians that rely on our free service. We offered more clinics in a wider variety of locations across the valley to help accommodate transportation constraints and increased the number of appointments per clinic to provide more opportunities for tortoises to receive care.

But we could not have done it without you!

🐢 We want to thank all of our community partners who supported our program by hosting clinic events this summer.

🐢 We want to acknowledge and thank our volunteers who dedicated their time helping us facilitate health assessments and administer microchips.

🐢 And we want to thank those that continue to support our mission of keeping our Wellness Clinics free by making monthly or annual contributions.

Thank you to everyone who participated, from volunteers to the tortoises, for making 2026 a year to remember!

09/29/2026

The last Wellness Clinic of 2026! 🐢🌿

Last Saturday Tortoise Group conducted the final Wellness and Microchipping Clinic for 2026 and provided health assessments for 46 tortoises! Of the 46 more than half received free microchips to ensure their safe return to their custodian if ever lost.

We want to thank our community partners Cactus Joe's Blue Diamond Nursery and Mauri Landscapes for supporting our mission of providing quality care and information to our desert tortoise community.

We also want to say a big thank you to all the volunteers who assisted with clinic! Your passion for tortoises is truly palpable, and your support makes all the difference in the success of our program.

We hope to see you all next year!

09/25/2026

09/22/2026

Wellness Clinic Volunteers Needed! 🐢📏

Come and help Tortoise Group provide free wellness assessments and microchipping services to custodians of captive Mojave Desert tortoises!

Clinic Details:

Saturday, September 26th
8:30 am - 1 pm
Cactus Joe's Blue Diamond Nursery
12740 Blue Diamond Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89161

We specifically need volunteers who:

- Returning, experienced biologists / volunteers that are able to conduct external exams and/or microchipping.

- New biologists / volunteers looking to gain experience conducting external health exams and/or microchipping.

- Volunteers that are able to help out with general clinic operations (checking tortoises in and out, recording data, weighing, and measuring).

Register at https://tortoisegroup.org/volunteer-opportunities and make sure to indicate in the text box that you are interested in participating in Wellness Clinics.

New volunteers will need to complete an Interest Form and Waiver on our website before signing up!

We hope to see you there! 🐢🙂

09/18/2026

Desert tortoises are turning up on neighborhood streets during the summer months, a seasonal trend that can leave owners worried and searching for missing pets.

Aerial West with the Tortoise Group said seeing stray tortoises is not uncommon at all.

West, the group’s executive director, said the organization receives around a thousand calls a year about displaced or lost tortoises, and the number of calls tends to increase in the summer when the reptiles are more active.

More 🐢 at link in bio.

09/17/2026

Check out our interview with KSNV News 3, Las Vegas about the importance of creating an escape proof habitat for your tortoise! 🐢

During the summer months stray tortoises often appear throughout Sothern Nevada, having escaped from their custodian's care.

What can you do if you have lost your tortoise?

If you have lost your pet tortoise or found a stray you can utilize Tortoise Group's Lost and Found page on our website!

For Lost Tortoises: Head to https://tortoisegroup.org/lost-tortoise-form/ to report your tortoise as lost.

For Found Tortoises: Head to https://tortoisegroup.org/found-tortoises/ and report the tortoise as found in hopes of reuniting it with its custodian.

https://news3lv.com/news/local/pet-tortoises-on-the-move-in-summer-prompting-pet-owners-to-search-take-precautions-missing-pets

Desert tortoises are turning up on neighborhood streets during the summer months, a seasonal trend that can leave owners worried and searching for missing pets.

09/15/2026

It’s hatchling season! 🐢🥚

Hatchlings are starting to emerge meaning we have officially entered into fall! Female desert tortoises lay their eggs between May and June resulting in hatchlings popping up between late August through September.

But what do I do if I find a hatchling?

Finding a hatchling in your residential neighborhood is quite common this time of year. These hatchlings are often the offspring of captive pet desert tortoises and are the result of backyard breeding.

If you find a hatchling, your first step is to provide them with a temporary habitat that can easily be assembled with items you already have at home.

For more information regarding hatchling care, habitats and the importance of preventing backyard breeding head to https://tortoisegroup.org/care-sheet/ to find more information.

09/14/2026

Busy this Saturday? If not, we could use your help!

This Saturday, September 19th, Tortoise Group is recruiting volunteers to assist us with conducting fence inspection surveys for our Road Warriors Project!

If interested, follow the instructions below to participate!

We hope to see you out there!

09/08/2026

Another fantastic Wellness and Microchipping Clinic with our friends at Mojave Bloom Nursery! 🐢🌼

Last Friday, Tortoise Group volunteers worked together to provide health assessments for 35 captive desert tortoises! Among them 21 tortoises were able to receive free microchips to ensure their safe return to their custodian if ever lost.

Our clinic program could not provide this much needed care without the help of our volunteers and community partners. Thank you to Mojave Bloom Nursery for hosting this clinic and providing our attendees with expert advice on native plants.