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Objecitive: Establishment of 20 blood reference values of terrestrial tortoises kept in Germany and comparison of the parameters of four different species of mediterranean tortoises. Material and methods: Blood samples were taken from the dorsal coccygeal vein of 61 clinically normal terrestrial tortoises kept in Germany, and 20 hematological and biochemical parameters were analyzed. All animals tested had been raised in or were part of one of five selected tortoise collections for at least three years. All of them were housed outdoors from spring to fall and underwent hibernation regularly. Their diet consisted of exclusively herbivore nourishment. All 61 terrestrial tortoises belonged to the following species: Testudo marginata (marginated tortoise, n = 16), Testudo graeca (spur-thighed tortoise, n 15), Testudo hermanni (Hermann’s tortoise, n = 22) and Testudo horsfieldi (Russian tortoise, n = 8). Results: Median, minimum and maximum values and p-values were determined for the following parameters: packed cell volume (PCV), alanin aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH), alkaline phosphatase (AP), creatine kinase (CK) uric acid, urea nitrogen (BUN), cholesterol, glucose, fructosamine, total bilirubin, total protein, albumin, cholinesterase (CHE), sodium, potassium, total calcium, ionized calcium and inorganic phosphorus. Conclusions and clinical relevance: Statistically significant differences between tortoise species were detected for 10 out of 20 parameters. The obtained results lead to the conclusion that species differentiation within the group of "mediterranean tortoises" is very important when interpreting blood parameters.