Lovely day!!

[Bex]

As the sun was out and it hit 16 here today, although a little windy the girls had their 1st hour outside

It took Tiny approx 5 mins to munch thru the sow thistle (that took ALL winter to grow) I made sure I saved some for next time by putting a partition up and it worked!

Speedy enjoyed her wander and bath too

[Nina]

Oh my goodness -- I can't tell you how much that lifted my spirits! I feel like springtime has arrived -- what lovely photos! My two are still languishing in the fridge, but they'll be out the first week in March and I hope they have weather like Tiny and Speedy had today. Thanks so much for cheering me up and giving me hope that warm weather is on its way.

Nina x

[lin]

Oh, Bex. That is sending me to my bed to dream sweetest of dreams. Beautiful photos and thanks so much for sharing them with us.
Lin

[Bex]

I’m so glad I made you smile

I just cannot get Tiny to hibernate! I got her in the November and she was so small and poorly I just kept her warm and fed but now she wakes up as soon as she hears me in the morning! She warms under her lamp, eats some food and goes back to bed by lunchtime til it’s morning again. Is this ok? She’s been like this every year.

Bex x

[Nina]

Hi Bex,

If I remember correctly, you got Tiny in 2016 or 2017, and you were certainly right not to hibernate her that first year, as she was unwell and you had only just got her. But she should be fine to hibernate now (meaning next year as it's a bit late for that now).

Did you give her a winding down period that is essential before hibernation? You need to withhold food from her for about 3 weeks (maybe a bit more or a bit less depending on her weight), whilst bathing her frequently so that she is well hydrated. At the same time you gradually reduce the hours of heat and light, so that by the very end of winding down she is in a cold room with no light, and then she is ready for hibernation --- either in an insulated box in a brick built building outdoors, or in a fridge. Because of changes in our weather, hibernating in a box is becoming less popular and more people are using fridges because the ideal temperature for hibernation is 5C (if it gets down to freezing then soft tissues can be damaged and if it gets up to 10C they start to lose body fat), and that is the standard temperature in a fridge. We can send you lots of information on winding down and various metods of hibernation, but maybe you already have them.

Tiny being active in the morning and then going back to bed for good at lunchtime isn't unusual, although she probably ought to be waking up again for a period in the afternoon. It might be that she is wanting to hibernate, but if she has full hours of daylight and heat every day then she probably won't. At least she is still eating (which many tortoises don't if they want to hibernate), but as she isn't getting so much exercise at the moment you could think of reducing the amount that you feed her by a little, so that she doesn't grow too quickly and get a bumpy shell. In order to hibernate, tortoises need to sense that the days are gradualy getting shorter and the temperatures cooler (but how to do that is all in the winding down instructions). I certainly wouldn't think of hibernating her now, because good weather is on the way, but you have plenty of time to think about it for next year.

Nina