I have an amazing, miraculous tale about our Hermann's tortoise. My daughter was given Daphne by her high school science teacher last year. We had the tortoise for a few months when she decided to take off on us last fall. Let me explain. My daughter had the tortoise out in the front yard last October while she was surfing her the internet on her laptop. Daphne took off without my daughter seeing where she went, and we searched for 3 days looking for her. We even used our hunting dog to pick up her scent to find her, but to no avail. The weather turned colder, and we gave up hope that she would survive the winter. I live in the northern United States, specifically in Minnesota. We just had the snowiest winter here in 20 years. We had a cold stretch where it was below 32 degrees for 7 weeks straight, with many days of high's temps. in the single digits and teens. According to what I have read, a Hermann's tortoise probably wouldn't survive in this kind of climate with such cold temperatures. Guess what my wife found next to the house under some straw while doing yardwork today? DAPHNE! I couldn't believe it. Daphne was covered in dirt, so it was obvious she had burrowed somewhere nearby, down into the ground. We 'lost' her six (6) months ago. We recently had some warmer weather with thunderstorms last night, so the change in seasons must have brought Daphne out from hibernation. Yea, there was some crying going on in our house today. She is safe and sound in her pen in the house, and seems to be none the worse for wear, but we will have to watch her for a few days. I had to post somewhere on a forum about this whole ordeal, and it seems perfect right here amongst tortoise folks. This whole thing really is a miracle. Hermann's tortoises are tough! Don't do what we just allowed to happen, but be assured that these animals are resilient and tough.