The Tortoise Table

Hi, and I hope you're all well. I'm sorry to say that my old fella has died in hibernation. I think he was about 80. I'd love to give a tortoise a new home and will keep looking at the section on the website, but I wanted to ask from what age can you keep a tortoise in the fridge for the whole winter...16 weeks? When I inherited Fluff (my brother bought the tortoise for my Mum so had the honour of naming him) he was already old, and I had him for four years, but he had always lived outdoors, even hibernating outdoors at Mum's. I have nowhere to keep a tortoise table at all, so outdoor living and then a long hibernation is the only option. Also, something I've been meaning to ask for ages...are flowers as nutritious as leaves, say from the same plant? Just something I've wondered over the last few years!
Thank you,
Hannah

Hi Hannah,

I'm so sorry to hear that your elderly tortoise died in hibernation -- it must have been devastating for you.

Regarding getting a new tortoise, I'm afraid that if you don't have room indoors for a tortoise table, you would have to have somewhere outdoors where heat can be provided when there is prolongued cold and wet weather, so that the tortoise would be able to warm up on cold days. Tortoises are ectothermic -- meaning that they don't make their own body heat like mammals do, and depend completely on the temperature around them to warm up enough so that their systems (digestion, respiration, etc.) function properly.

After a long hibernation (and 16 weeks is the longest you should hibernate a tortoise, because after that their immune systems become compromised) they need to be able to warm up and we had a long wet, cold spring, so all tortoises would have needed extra heat to function properly. Lol, I always think that there is a reason why tortoises aren't indigenous to the UK -- we don't have the right climate for them. Tortoises also don't do so well in wet and cold when they are hibernating -- a drier cold is better for them. Many tortoises do successfully hibernate outdoors, either in insulated boxes in a brick-built building like a garage. However, if we have a warm spell and they start to wake up in the middle of winter, they can start losing body fat and also won't successfully go back into full hibernation. The other danger of hibernating outdoors is rats and foxes. Only last month we had someone write to us because a fox had bitten most of the leg off their tortoise and it had to be amputated.

I'm sorry to bring up all these negative points, especially as you and your family have successfully kept your tortoise for many years, but I thought I ought to at least point out the negatives of keeping a tortoises outdoors 24/7. We do know of people whose tortoises live outdoors, as long as the tortoise has a dry place to go to when it rains, and he has a heated area (many people use a well insulated wendy house with a heater on a thermostat and timer, and that seems to work well), then they can live successfully outside. We would be happy to suggest some inexpensive ways that you could provide this. A young, small tortoise would find it more difficult to live outdoors without supplemental heat because they lose body heat faster than a bigger tortoise.

Regarding flowers and leaves -- that is an excellent question! I think to some degree it depends on the particular species of plant. as some plants will have different nutrients in their flowers and leaves. Tortoises do need a lot of fibre, and both the leaves and the flowers (and to some extent the stems) provide good nourishment and fibre.

Do you know what species your tortoise was, or what species you would like to have? I'd be happy to send you a care sheet for any species, so that you can see in more detail what the options are.

Nina