Slowing down....

Ah , don't they look cute , how will you know when it's time to put them to bed Gee , do they just go to sleep ?

awww i just love them

She just wraps them in that newspaper and sticks them in the draw in the kitchen and they get the hint Amy.

Here come,s Gee with the camera ...get in line guys ....great photo,,,

Oh Bless.......isnt that cute.......

No nightcap first Toto or bedtime story ..........

Of course they have a bedtime story, Amy (the story of the tortoise and the hare)! As the days cool down they stop eating/drinking and become very slow. I already have their boxes ready plus bags of shredded paper to make sure they are really snug. Little 'Un is still too small to hibernate so will come indoors to keep me and Chloe company :)

Fantastic tortoise trio..
..sweet dreams. xxx

I don`t really know much about them Gee and automatically assumed they all hibernated. How old are they?.......

Josie, large one, is probably between 80-100, Jubilee is 40-50 and Little 'Un is about 10 or slightly less. It is difficult to tell unless you have them from hatchlings, Lincslass. I let Josie and Jubilee hibernate until just after Christmas and then bring them indoors until Spring. My dining room is turned into a tortoise den with heat lamp and newspaper flooring :)

Wow they are so cute and just to think that Jubilee is older than me! lol

Awww....that is so cute. How do you tell their age Gee....do their shells have rings like a tree trunk?

They're lovely :o)

So Good 2 see all 3 of them Gee :)

Ahhhhhhhh... all ready 4 hibernating............

I afraid it is not that easy, Gilli, their ages are only guestimates (by the vet). We know Jubilee is over 30 because I have had her since 1977. I think they estimate it by weight, size and type of tortoise :)

rrrrrrrrr They are so cute, i myself did'nt know that they can be to young to go to sleep for winter.

I wonder where Josie has been in her long lifetime? It's amazing to think about it.

Fab photo Gee & info on your torties...don't know much about them tho we had them as kids. How old do they have to be before they hibernate...& do they know?!!

Hi Fluff - its not so much an age thing but more weight. They have to be fat enough to survive the hibernation so have to be weighed before they are packed away! They ease down over a 2-3 week period, not eating/drinking. Then they are ready to sleep. Alternatively they can be brought in and spend the winter under a heat lamp. I let the 2 big ones hibernate for approx 10 weeks only. That is plenty long enough. It's always a relief when they wake up after Christmas :)

Lovely photo Gee, they are so lovely. It doesnt seem long since they had their bath when they woke after hibernating last time.

I can't believe they are getting ready to hibernate again, how this year has gone. Love this pic, and enjoyed reading your comments about their ages and how they wind down to hibernate and all......and all....!

Lovely to see your tortoises. I had one as a child and used to put it in a box with straw in and holes punched into the cardboard for air. We used to place it in the hall as it was always cool there. We didn't have central heating then. When he woke up in the SPring I used to bathe him.

I bet you used to watch Blue Peter as well Linda, ha ha. I remember Valerie Singleton etc. describing how to put the tortoises to bed.

You've got it Dawnsaut although we didn't have a telly until I was nine years old.

I remember watching Blue Peter and the bedding down of the tortoise too! Now straw is a no-no, as it is suspected of causing problems to their eyes. Shredded paper is used and they are double boxed. Hopefully our increased knowledge means more survive :)

Its a good thing the straw has been identified as a problem.
I seem to remember on Blue Peter that they wrote in white paint on their shells :-)

Yes, they did, Dawn but that's another no-no now!! Blue Peter never did it, but some people drilled holes in the shell and tethered the poor little things so they couldn't roam. Makes me cringe to think of it :(

I was coming to that Gee, the drilling of the shells ..... looking back now it was so cruel wasnt it.

It was, Dawn, but mostly it was done, I think, out of ignorance. Thank goodness things have improved, not just for tortoises but for lots of other animals too.

I agree Gee, its a much better life now for most animals

I think that when someone buys an animal they should get a booklet given to them on how to keep it as well.

That would be brilliant, Linda. My grandchildren have always had to buy a book or download info from the internet before having any pets as well as having family discussions about them. They have rats and hampsters at home and guinea pigs at the cattery where my granddaughter does Saturday work:)

Sounds like you're a family of animal lovers Gee, like us :-))

Lovely for your grandaughter to have the experience of working with animals Gee.

She loves it, Linda, as well as boarding cats they take in cats for the Cat Protection people so often have kittens too. They also have rabbits, peacocks, a goose, hens and, of course, her own guinea pigs. The owners of the cattery have been adopted as another set of grandparents and they are lovely, lovely people :)

They obviously take great care in all they do. Well done to them for their good works.