Miniman8
New Member
Hi everyone, I came across this forum site while looking for a tracking device for my Russian/Horfields tortoise.
His name is Lightning McQueen from the film(named by my grandchildren) when he goes for a walk he is really fast & that’s how we got his name.
We got him 2 years ago as a rescue from a local guy who rescues tortoises, he had been fed the wrong food for a long time so his shell is the wrong shape, much flatter than it should be, he had also had his right rear leg broken & not set properly, this is now ok so he can walk great on it, he is quite grumpy & if you pick him up he hisses really loud at you, but he will come over to you if you talk to him.
We live in a rented house with a 100 foot long back garden (yard), it has a fence all round with a wall at the far end, so it is pretty secure, last year when the weather warmed up we put him out in the garden, he was in his run with his outside house making up one side, he would take himself into the sleeping area & it was not for about 2 or 3 days that I realised he was not there, we searched the whole garden but we have loads of bushes & a huge hedge down one side but we could not find him, we kept on searching but no sign, we thought he might have dug out under the fence, then 3 1/2 months later I was mowing the lawn & there he was in front of me at the edge of the lawn, he was covered in dry earth so we think he did what Horfields like to do which is dig.we were over the moon to have him back.
Before we got him he had not hibernated & we have not hibernated him & will not try this winter either he just refuses point blank to go to sleep, we have the right temperature etc. but no way is he hibernating, we have a tortoise table I made for him from a piece of worktop (countertop) with 6 inch high sides screwed on all the way round with a lamp to keep him warm during the day, this is in our unheated utility room it gets cool but not cool enough to send him into hibernation.
He is out in the garden as the weather here is still quite warm, he is digging some good holes in my lawn at the moment, he is buried as deep as his shell.
We love him especially the grandchildren.
Sorry this post has gone on a bit, I will take some pictures tomorrow & post on here.
Tom
His name is Lightning McQueen from the film(named by my grandchildren) when he goes for a walk he is really fast & that’s how we got his name.
We got him 2 years ago as a rescue from a local guy who rescues tortoises, he had been fed the wrong food for a long time so his shell is the wrong shape, much flatter than it should be, he had also had his right rear leg broken & not set properly, this is now ok so he can walk great on it, he is quite grumpy & if you pick him up he hisses really loud at you, but he will come over to you if you talk to him.
We live in a rented house with a 100 foot long back garden (yard), it has a fence all round with a wall at the far end, so it is pretty secure, last year when the weather warmed up we put him out in the garden, he was in his run with his outside house making up one side, he would take himself into the sleeping area & it was not for about 2 or 3 days that I realised he was not there, we searched the whole garden but we have loads of bushes & a huge hedge down one side but we could not find him, we kept on searching but no sign, we thought he might have dug out under the fence, then 3 1/2 months later I was mowing the lawn & there he was in front of me at the edge of the lawn, he was covered in dry earth so we think he did what Horfields like to do which is dig.we were over the moon to have him back.
Before we got him he had not hibernated & we have not hibernated him & will not try this winter either he just refuses point blank to go to sleep, we have the right temperature etc. but no way is he hibernating, we have a tortoise table I made for him from a piece of worktop (countertop) with 6 inch high sides screwed on all the way round with a lamp to keep him warm during the day, this is in our unheated utility room it gets cool but not cool enough to send him into hibernation.
He is out in the garden as the weather here is still quite warm, he is digging some good holes in my lawn at the moment, he is buried as deep as his shell.
We love him especially the grandchildren.
Sorry this post has gone on a bit, I will take some pictures tomorrow & post on here.
Tom
