Joey the tortoise is awake!

what a lovely thread.

My Tortina has thankfully also survived another hibernation! Currently in the conservatory at night and wandering around the garden on the sunny spring days. She is about 90 years old, with a bit of a wonky walk as she doesn't have many claws left, but still gets up quite a speed when she sees breakfast arriving! My sister and I found her in our garden in 1964 and she was pretty big then. She came to live with me when my parents died in 2020. Now my grandchildren love her just as much as we did.

My Freda (a vet corrected us when she was Fred!) is still hibernating in the fridge in the garage. No movement a couple of days ago apart from a hiss. I’ll check again today. She must be well over 40 years old but we inherited her from an elderly friend.
I had a tortoise - Tilly -when I was a child. We couldn’t find her one autumn to hibernate her and as it was that harsh winter of 62/63 we never expected to see her again but she turned up in the spring having buried herself underground. We left her to do that each year after that but unfortunately after I’d left home mum didn’t check her enough after hibernation and she died.
Tilly was a bit of a wanderer and I almost lost her. I was a few doors away from home when I saw a child visitor to a neighbour putting a box in the back of a car with Tilly in it. What great timing - a few minutes later and I might never have seen her again.

I'd be very careful with a dog and tortoise, particularly while the tortoise is still small. Cats are fine with them, but it has been known for dogs to injure them with rough "play". An acquaintance of mine had a tortoise for many years which unfortunately had its head bitten by, they think, a fox and the poor thing didn't survive.

There’s a list of Blue Peter tortoises here, along with other BP pets. 🐢

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Peter_pets

Thank you for your help oldbat and AskAlice. My grandson has been offered a young tortoise needing a home.
Will s/he be OK around the family dog?

I am so pleased that Joey has come out of hibernation. My George didn't one year and I was absolutely bereft. He usedto follow me around the garden and was a character.x

Chocolatelovinggran

Oh AskAlice I was interested in your account. My eleven year old grandson is desperate to become a tortoise owner. Would this work, do you think?

We are members of the Tortoise Trust. They have lots of information on line and on Facebook group. There are many tortoises looking to be rehomed (no money to be exchanged). There is also a Tortoise Keepers course. My DD loves tortoises and we fostered one which now lives with her family.

Hello Joey! Happy spring.

Yes I remember the Blue Peter tortoise. I expect it encouraged many children to want one as a pet . I wonder what happened to it.

AskAlice, it is lovely to hear about your Joey, such a lovely thread.

Well, I am just loving this thread. Such happy stories! We had a tortoise when I was young. My mum found him wandering along a street but because Facebook etc didn’t exist, we never found out where he’d come from. We had him for a few years but sadly he didn’t make it through the winter, one year. 😥

Does anyone else remember the Blue Peter tortoise that they used to put into hibernation each autumn?

Happy summer days to Joey and Todd and any other GN tortoises. ☀️ 🥗 🌺 🍃

Oh, and how wonderful to have that family connection with your pet, Tortoiselover.

The largest of my tortoises was a Hermanns and was called Joe. I remember them all so well, all different characters. I would love to see a photo of AskAlice’s Joey - they really are such characters and I loved all of mine. Terrible that they were imported in huge numbers and those that survived were sold on market stalls. Thank goodness we are more aware and responsible now.

Tortoiselover - Joey is mentioned in my will and I have had the discussion with both my daughters. They know she is very important to me and either one of them is ready to take her on, as and when needed!

Mollygo - I know exactly what you mean! I always tuck her up for winter and wonder if I will see her again the following year.

Skydancer, actually they don't really get get lonely. In the wild they don't often meet with other tortoises as their natural landscape is vast compared to their numbers, apart from when they might bump into a male and mate (and that is a pretty awful experience for female tortoises, as the males bite and batter them in the process). I used to worry that mine would be happier with a companion, but was told by several very experienced breeders that they are not really sociable creatures. Although I'm sure that Joey recognises me and tolerates my presence!

My tortoise Todd woke up 2 weeks ago now. Eating well, but not ventured into the garden yet, too cold, he has a lovely area in the shed with a heat lamp which he is spending his days under at the moment. I inherited him from my dear mum and he's been in the family for over 50 years and was fully grown when we got him so we think he's at least 80! Please be aware though if considering getting a tortoise that they are for the whole of your life and beyond. My daughter will take Todd on when I'm no longer here, so it's something to think about. There are lots in rescue where the elderly owner has died with no one to take them on. Great characters though and very rewarding to keep.

Our tortoise is also awake and ready to go, though disappointed with the rain. He is older than we are, but still quite sprightly. Every time we tuck him away for the winter, I wonder if he’ll wake up again.

Thank you Rubysong, Rosie and sodapop

Skydancer, yes! When I still lived at home with Mum and Dad she would often plunder the cat's food - even though they are supposed to be vegetarian! And she would hoover up any bread that was put out for the birds!

I will post a photo of her after the hectic Easter family get-together tomorrow!

Germanshepherdsmum, I would hope and pray that some of them have survived! It would be lovely to think so. Mine was from a market stall in Hoxton market in London for the grand sum of half a crown!

Joey must know spring is on the way or she would have stayed asleep. I wish you both many more years together.

Oh ... sorry to go on ... but I remember mine loved cat food.