General Chat

Well Harold the 50 plus year old tortoise has been out of hibernation for about 4 weeks now

He wanders around the patio and sometimes goes into his house at night ,or he settles behind a big pot that has a yukka growing in it

Have tried putting lettuce out but he wasn't bothered.

Bingo , yesterday it was sunny and quite warm in the patio area so I put a plastic plate down with lettuce ,diced cucumber and a dollop of cat food . He was very interested and was sniffing at it and then opened his mouth in a chomp and ate some cucumber and some lettuce .

He hasn't as yet done his ablutions which wil pass the plug he makes to block himself up for hibernation . I may have to give him a warm bath to get things moving but as the weather is up and down temperature wise I am waiting to make sure he is eating ok and his body is working ok

Each year I have heeby jeebies till he is in working order .would hate to lose him as we have had him since 1968

Glad to hear Harold is up and about, be careful this weekend as I think the temperatures are due to drop again.

What an amazing creature and story!

with a low-maintenance domestic critter like that, you can spend your own winters travelling without having to find a carer ... unlike with the darned cats ...

That's true Joonie
Once he is settled and no longer wanting to wander I put hay in his house and bed him down

His house is big rabbit hutch raised up on bricks which he goes in and out of . I bed him in and lock both doors and block the wire side with a piece plywood hubby made to fit with air holes drilled into it

Once he is settled you can forget him till spring .

I never hibernate my two So they walk around the house all Winter though the do go sluggish every so often Tennyson the smaller one is really naughty. But Edie McCreedy the big one is always good though she eats for England :-(

Our house is open plan with a separate kitchen so it's not practical to let him wander around it . I did one year keep him in the kitchen but came home every day to a dirty smeared kitchen floor which stank so gave up on that .

We did try hibernating him in a box in the garage but one time he had climbed out of the box and wandered . Hubby came home from work and backed the car into the garage and then felt the back touching something so he stopped and got out to see what is was . Lucky Harold is a big boy otherwise he would have been crushed .

We settled then on him having his own house on the patio .its tucked in on one side that doesn't get the blazing sun in it so he is comfy . He know it's his house as he comes and goes into it . It's raised up on one course of bricks so the bottom keeps dry . Gets renewed every few years when the wood starts to rot

Not sure what type he is but he is a big boy and weighs over 6lbs . I take him to the vet as he starts to slow down on the eating and he gets a medical check and a vitamin injection to see him over the winter .

The vet loves him as she has 6 rescued tortoises ,she doesn't hibernate them but they have their own room in her house for the winter and a run in the garden for the summer

I have a Viv on the floor with heating and the right lighting for Winter
I leave the doors open so they come and go as they please
But in the Summer they go outside to get the suns rays on their shells
Tennyson came here for 4 days 5 years ago
when Stray got her lounge plastered
and Yes he is still here
But Edie McCredie was given to me as a prezzie
she wasn't eating in her last home and they where worried about her

I put her under the lights and she hasn't stopped eating lol
I've had her two years and she is the size of a dinner plate
Tennyson is a different type so much smaller :-D :-D
They get on well with all my other pets
though Tennyson sometimes try's to get fruity
with Steve my cat ;-) ;-)
Some people think Tortoises are boring
But my Two have real personality
i feed mine mostly on Weed and they are thriving :-D :-D

Harold gets fed on a basic of lettuce .cucumber, apple and a dollop of cat food

He likes strawberries and has treat of them in season . He also looks tomatoes but only when he fancies them .

I tried tortoise mix with dandelion leaves but he wasn't interested .

Think we must have his diet ok cos he is still with us nearly 50 years later

:-D :-D

You must be doing something right Shirley
I do hope mine live as long
Though I think Edie McCredie will be in a zoo by then
as she will be to big for a normal home

She will be like the size of a chair moving round the house by then :-D :-D
I collect weed and mix it with Florette salads from Iceland
and grow a lot of food myself in the front Garden between my flowers
They are also partial to strawberry's and water melon
They also love Pansy's
I sometimes find them eating the cats dinner
and once Edie run off with a Yorkshire pudding off my plate
which I had left on the floor
I also add a supplement powder and a calcium powder every other day