Quote:
Originally Posted by Maddy
She's 6 and has always been fridge hibernated with proper wind down, 14 weeks asleep the previous year. My worry if I dug her up now and put her inside with the others would be if I messed up her internal clock, would she go down again safely this year?
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I have had tortoises go down in the garden quite a few times when I least expected it, and I keep iberas who don't go down as easily as horsfields.
If you know where he/she is, I would suggest you cover the area with leaves, sacking or an old carpet. These will protect against the frosts, which are the killers. Once a tortoise goes down a certain distance, the temperatures are stable and don't freeze.
The only thing you cant protect from is wet, if you know your soil has good drainage then it shouldnt be a problem. Tortoises do this in the wild without blinking. We are well and truly over protective (which is not wrong) but we need to let our heads rule not our hearts.
I would not recommend everyone let their tortoises dig down, but if a tortoise has chosen to, they know better than we do.
Mine dig down in my greenhouse soil, and only have a heater to come on if the temps drop to 5c, if the heater broke down, I would just cover the area with the above.