Adopted 45 year old Tortoise!

Bennygal

New Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2017
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
UK
Hi there,

So I’m joining the tortoise forum to find out more about owning a tortoise that Ive voluntarily inherrited.

Her name is Benny, yes she has a boys name because everyone thought she was a boy for about ten years until she laid some eggs.

So theres lots of good stuff about tortoise tables, and hibernating your tortoise, but Benny has pretty much been left to her own devices in my grandads garden for the past 45 years, and digs herself down or in to soil or compost, and then pops up again april/ may time.

Should we stop the habit of a life time, and hibernate her ourselves, indoors and safe, or let her get on with it?

Thoughts please.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
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Jan 23, 2008
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93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
If you are keeping the tortoise in the same general geographical area as your grandad, then I'd say yes. Keep things as is. But be sure to provide a nice place for her to hibernate, like what she had at grandad's. I'm assuming Benny is a Greek tortoise? We have a nice care sheet for the Greeks pinned at the top of our Greek section.
 

JoesMum

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Oct 26, 2011
Messages
21,610
Location (City and/or State)
Kent, South East England
Hello and welcome to a fellow Brit :)

Please take care over hibernation temperatures. I have found that it's been difficult to get temperatures steadily low enough for safe hibernation until January - I live in Kent. A warm week can rouse your tort and make life very difficult. If you live in a similar area to your Grandad then our tort should be just fine :)
 
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