Another year, another hibernation coming to an end!

Wow what an amazing story. How lucky that you both found each other and have shared a lifetime. Please let us know when she is fully awake. What is her name?

How lovely😊

I’m so envious. I love tortoises. I had one as a teenager and sadly when I went away on holiday with the school my Mum let it wander round the garden and it escaped. We searched the area for ages to no avail. I was broken hearted. I often wonder if he or she is still alive. I really hope so. I hope your dear pet has many more happy years ahead.

How lovely. Our pets bring us so much joy.

Wonderful.

Gosh how lovely. I love tortoises!

Absolutely wonderful.

What’s her name?

What a lovely story!
I hope she has many more happy years.

There was a tortoise on the Yorkshire Vet this evening, she was quite old too, but not as old as yours. The couple who brought her in adored her. She had a blockage of some kind (possibly impaction) but Matt, the vet, fitted a stomach tube for feeding and medication and she recovered.

I would love a tortoise! Meanwhile my house is full of pot and cermamic ones- they don't need to hibernate!

Well done for caring for her so well- it must be wonderful to wake her up and have her company again soon. I'm more than alittle jealous...

That’s really a sweet story 😍

That’s good news!

It’s always an anxious time of year if you have a tortoise 🐢

Thank you all! Basgetti, her name is Joey. Until she was about 8 or 9 we didn't know she was a girl but the name has stuck! Gran22boys, that is so sad. Several of my childhood friends had tortoises that disappeared and were never found again. Luckily we had a walled garden when I was young in central London so she never managed to escape, although she did try to climb the wall via the climbing roses several times! Tortoises are amazingly adept at climbing

I'm looking foward to re-introducing her to my 3 year old GD this Spring. She (GD not tortoise!) just about remembers seeing her last summer and knows her name, so it will be lovely to see what her reaction is to meeting her again. My two older GC (9 and 13) love her too. She is also mentioned in my will to ensure that one of my AC takes on the responsibility which they are happy to do.

Allira that is a wonderful story. I've struggled to find a vet that has specialist knowledge of tortoises. Luckily Joey has never had a serious health problem that has needed urgent treatment. Her nails are a little long now and I did wonder if they needed cutting, but I have been told by other tortoise owners online that as long as she is active and has access to digging areas and hard surfaces to filed them naturally they should not cause a problem unless they curl up (a bit like an ingrowing toenail in humans!)

I'll post a photo when she comes out of hibernation.

What a lovely story. We had two tortoises when I was growing up and they spent every Winter in the garage, covered with straw in a wooden box. We eventually gave them away to a friend of my mother's and I often wondered what happened to them.

Thank you AskAlice for sharing your heartwarming story of Joey. In these troubled times it lifts the spirit to share your joy, and relief!

Delightful story, thanks.

Wow! What a lovely story. Yes please a photo of Joey would be very welcome. Buying her when you were 5 years old that is incredible! I can imagine how good it feels to know she has survived her hibernation.
Watching ' Amblance " on tv this evening a patient told the paramedic that she named her tortoise Michelle - that made me smile!

Here she is, out in the warm sunshine today. She's had her bath and a good drink this morning, and is now eating so all is well!

That's a lovely story a uplifting one in this sometimes worrying world .

Oh, she's lovely AskAlice, the sun on her back must make her feel so nice

She’s gorgeous! I had a tortoise called Thomas, I guess I was about 7, she hibernated then I never saw her again ☹️☹️

Our tortoise emerged at the end of March. We inherited him with the house. The previous owner said she’d inherited it from her mother and had had him for about 20 years. So that makes him over 60. I always breathe a sigh of relief when he appears.

Thanks for the photo AskAlice

She looks happy in the sun!