A little tortoise video

SilverLinings

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I love tortoises, I think they are fascinating in a kind of primeval way! I don't know much about them though. I did realise that some breeds hibernate and some don't, if they are a non-hibernating breed then can they live outdoors in the UK in the winter (when it's not too cold) or do they live indoors with/without a heat lamp?
 

scats

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I love tortoises, I think they are fascinating in a kind of primeval way! I don't know much about them though. I did realise that some breeds hibernate and some don't, if they are a non-hibernating breed then can they live outdoors in the UK in the winter (when it's not too cold) or do they live indoors with/without a heat lamp?

Tia is a horsefield and they can be hibernated but they suggest not doing this until they are 5 years of age. Tia will be 4 this year so she hasn’t hibernated and I’m not sure if I will yet.
She lives indoors with a heat lamp on a thermostat. Her basking area is between 28-31C and I keep the rest of the room at around 18-20c.
 

SilverLinings

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Tia is a horsefield and they can be hibernated but they suggest not doing this until they are 5 years of age. Tia will be 4 this year so she hasn’t hibernated and I’m not sure if I will yet.
She lives indoors with a heat lamp on a thermostat. Her basking area is between 28-31C and I keep the rest of the room at around 18-20c.

Ah, I think the current temperatures in my house would unfortunately be far from conducive to healthy tortoise keeping!

As Tia is still quite young has she reached her full size yet?
 

scats

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Ah, I think the current temperatures in my house would unfortunately be far from conducive to healthy tortoise keeping!

As Tia is still quite young has she reached her full size yet?

She could grow a little more. They usually make between 8-10 inches. I haven’t actually measured her in a while but she’s definitely grown a little since the summer.
 

millikins

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She's very sweet. I was given one by a colleague, I don't think she'd been fed properly as a baby as her shell hadn't grown properly at the back but she was otherwise happy. I gave her to someone who had 3 others, we also had a ferret at the time and the risk of him one day getting to her was too great.
 

Quigleyandme

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I love tortoises. I lived in the Seychelles for a while as a kid and we had giant tortoises in the garden, their choice, not captive. When we moved to the UK my sister had a tortoise given to her that lived in the house. Our dodgy cat used to collect all it’s food and put it on a chair.
 
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