Just for the record, Henry the tortoise hibernated on September 16th and is now safely installed in his winter home. This is a customised rabbit hutch which is now in a cool, dark place in our frost-free garage. He has always been slightly out of sync with the seasons, and even more so during the past couple of years. It will be easy to see when he wakes up and starts moving again and although this could happen in 10-12 weeks I do not expect to see anything until early January 2010. Then the whole annual cycle should start again.
Just Williams 
Sleep well, Henry!
Nice to know Henry is safely ensconced in his hutch. I read about the tortoise that someone rescued on the highway over in the UK somewhere and instantly thought of Henry and how lucky he is to be in a good home! This is a little earlier than last year even, isn’t it, for him to start his hibernation?
I am not sure of exact dates but I think he is about a week later than last year. There seems to be a period before hibernation when Henry emerges from under his bush for a very short period only on one sunny day in three. He comes out on to the grass and then dozes for a couple of hours before going back again. He seems to be waiting for me to tell him when to hibernate by putting him in his hutch where it will be uniformly cool and dark and undisturbed.
Theoretically, he could be awake again by Christmas – for the first time in the 25 years (or thereabouts) that he has been with us.
I was wondering about Henry the other day. The weather here is a touch cooler, and everyone is getting themselves worked up about autumn. I was thinking he might be heading for his hibernation relatively soon.
He does look quite dashing in his photo – the dandelion is a nice touch. Thanks for letting us fans know about his activity (or lack of activity, more precisely).
Dashing indeed! Mustn’t let Henry see that or he will be getting big-headed, especially if he discovers that he has fans!
Have a nice long sleep Henry!
I haven’t hibernated Daisy E. (Hermann) yet…not sure whether to this year?
Anyway, here is my new tortoise and turtle appreciation group for anyone who loves tortoises
tortoiseandturtlelove@googlemail.com
We’re seeking new members! 🙂
I’m sorry for posting a second time, I couldn’t see a way of editing my first post which has the missing web site link for the tortoise group – well, here it is
http://tortoiseandturtlelove.ning.com
Everyone who loves tortoises is welcome! 😀
Faith and Daisy E.
No problem. I have signed up to your tortoise group on Henry’s behalf. I am sure he will be interested to find out how, and why, Daisy Elizabeth avoids hibernating.
It just occurred to me that a woman I keep up with might be of interest to you. She lives in Georgia, I believe, and is deeply involved with turtles and tortoise rescue. This link should take you to a page that has wonderful photos of the rehabbers and the creatures themselves:
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/Willow13/comment.html?entrynum=18
Thanks for the link Shoreacres. Super pictures. Amused to read that turtles have long memories and I assume it applies to tortoises as well.
By the way, in theory, Henry could wake from hibernation in another four weeks, though probably not until January. So the daily “Henry Inspection” will be starting soon.