When I was a kid we got a tortoise, big mistake me and my friends done was to fill them up with food before we put them into hibernation it just seemed like the right thing to do, no internet them days, no professionals to ask they died
I got another one a few years later, infact I found it in our local park I was around 10 years old (38 years ago), this one never got hibernated, I was always too frightened.
This tortoise was kept in a back yard, it had shelter, food and water every day, I bathed it every day in the summer you know the years when we got proper summers and seasons, I even oiled its shell as thats what we were told to do as well
I remember it got every sort of greens plus tomatoes totally wrong foods, but just what we were told to feed it on, no extra heating, no weeds no greenhouse we thought we were doing the right thing. When winter came around it was brought into our home, kept next to a radiator and it never slept, we carried on feeding it, bathing it and generally doing what we thought was right although now we know this not to be true now.
I kept this tortoise for around 4 years, my mates all got dogs and I wanted one, never had one before, my dad told me I couldnt have both as it could hurt the torte when in the back yard together, I give my tortoise to a friend all seems like yesterday, oh another spin my friend became my brother-in-law. He kept the tortoise for about 3 years but it mostly lived in doors, the poor thing died.
Thats just a bit of back ground into my tortoise keeping, needless to say this time round and thanks to the internet I studied long and hard before doing it again, I feel like Im still learning.
I've read how they naturally live in the wild, they dont seem to go down for 3 months in Spain although they do seem to be able to do it here.
I think the best way to do it is let them naturally choose. Ive tried to keep mine awake in the large coldframe even having two lamps on, it didnt work this year, she went down herself and Ive allowed it. I will lock her in her den when it gets really cold with the tube heater set for 5c incase of freezing conditions, I have a wireless thermometer in her den so I can glance at the temperature from in our home but still checking her every other day.
When it gets to around 10 weeks I will start to place food in her coldframe and fresh water and open the den back up so if she wants to wake she can and she will be able to get to the water. Im sure in the wild if weather is still cold but they are dehydrated I'm sure mother nature would kick in and they would find water where ever.
This is similar to how Sandy keeps theirs although I have a den with the tube heater added just incase in mine.
Let them do it their way, they know best not us, if they have not been well then thats when I would take over and keep them awake.