A pet tortoise is not always planned, these incredible creatures live for decades and are often passed down the family as a precious family heirloom. Or sometimes in different circumstances.
I inherited a tortoise
Way back in 2004, just as we had signed the contract to buy our house in Sussex, my Dad’s sister, my Auntie Margaret, sadly passed away.
In the mid 1950’s, Auntie Margaret had acquired a tortoise which she came to adore. She named him Hector and he had the run of her garden each summer. She had two beautiful gardens over the years; one in Lee on Solent on the south coast before moving closer to her son in Ware, later in life. The story goes that when she died, it is said her husband, Roy, didn’t want Hector, as Auntie Margaret loved Hector more than him! With that said, Hector moved back to the south coast to be looked after by us at Driftwood and the rest is history, so they say, with Hector becoming a minor celebrity with our garden visitors.
Tortoise needs
It was quite daunting at the onset, as we had never cared for a tortoise before. It can be tricky at hibernation time, getting the point of going to bed just right and then knowing when they are going to wake up again! More importantly, it was necessary to ensure we had a secure area for him to reside.
Hector originally came with a roughly made box for his summer home, which I thought had seen better days, so, I decided to make a grander version for him from scratch. I remember thinking at the time that the £100 I spent on the materials was a lot of money. Once built the house was set up in the special tortoise pen at the top of the garden. Every winter I put the house under cover to keep it dry, while Hector is hibernating in the garage in a tea chest!
Wake up call
So, each Spring, Hector tends to wake up in the 2nd or 3rd week of March, you can almost set your clock by it! The first thing to do when he rises to the top of the tea chest after awakening, is to give him a bath in warm water and clean his eyes and exposed body parts, along with his shell. Then, depending on the outside weather conditions you must decide whether to put him out in the pen or keep him indoors until the weather improves.
We tend to put him in the front porch until it is warm enough to go out full time. On sunny days he has the run of his pen, but if the nights are colder, we put him back in the tea chest in the back porch of the house at night.
Once the weather improves and there is no fear of frost Hector stays out in his pen full time making his own way into his house when he is ready for bed and waking up in the morning when it suits him! The house has a lift off roof so we can check on him if we need to!
Escaped Tortoise
Not long after we had acquired Hector, he managed to escape! He was nowhere to be found throughout the garden. In a sheer panic, knowing my Aunt was up there looking down on us and cursing me for losing her beloved pet, I set about checking with the police and posting notices in the neighbourhood, offering a reward!
After one week had passed, we had a phone call from a lady who lived about eight houses away, telling us she had found a tortoise in her garden. It was a very warm day and the lady had simply placed an upturned washing up bowl over Hector in full sun! When we arrived, I was horrified he was gasping for breath! Thankfully, he was no worse for wear and we took him home having paid the £50 reward!
Every year we open the garden, Hector becomes the star attraction, especially for the children. He loves attention and having his head and neck gently stroked.
His favourite food by far, is plain old lettuce and cucumber and he can consume a great deal in the summer months.
We are extremely lucky in Sussex to have a great tortoise group, the Sussex Chelonian Society. I became aware of them through the police, when I registered Hector as missing and they put me in touch with them. They run clinics several months of the year in Lewes, nearby, and so Hector goes for his annual check-up every October to make sure he is fit and well, ready for hibernation. You must hibernate them with an empty bowel, so you need to check that they have no food for about 2 weeks prior to hibernation. We soon established from the experts at the clinic that good old Hector is over 100 years old! That said, as he is likely to outlive me, he is named in my will to be passed back to my Aunt’s granddaughter, who is now a vet.
Regular as clockwork, about the end of September to the middle of October, Hector stops eating. He is ready for hibernation by early November at the latest. He is stored in a tea chest my aunt had used for decades that I have wrapped in bubble wrap for a little extra protection and is placed safely inside the garage that is cold but frost free.
We look forward to Hector waking up next month!
