Adopting an elderly tortoise

[Swansong]

Hello, sadly my elderly aunt is no longer able to look after her tortoise (now in it's 50s ). She lives 3 hours away and Polly (tortoise ) has been in the custody of my aunt's Carer since Monday as she was becoming increasingly concerned about Polly's nutritional needs and the drop in temperature - still not hibernating. Social work have been involved and I will be travelling on the 4th to meet with them to discuss my aunt's situation and to bring Polly home with me. My concern is that she, Polly will be undernourished and how will this affect her ability to hibernate. This has all happened very quickly and I have no experience in caring for tortoises. I want to give it a go as it would be good to keep her in the family.
I will update the thread next week, meantime it would be really good to chat with some very experienced folk on this forum.
Many thanks

 

[wellington]

Do not allow her to brumate this year.
You need to spend this year getting her healthy.
What species is she?
Any brumating species that are being kept up for winter needs a brightly lighten day enclosure with warm temps. All over 80-85, basking temp 95-100 and night temps to not drop below 70.

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh, so sorry about your Aunt. That's a shame. We'll need to know what kind of tortoise Polly is. It might be a good idea to buy a very large plastic tub, the bigger, the better, and keep Polly up this winter. You'll need a good UVB light, a basking light, a feeding tile, a waterer, substrate and a hiding place. You'll also need to read our care sheets once you find out what kind of tortoise polly is. We recommend not allowing a new-to-you tortoise to brumate their first year with you. gives you a chance to get to know the tortoise and to see if she's healthy enough to brumate next winter.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello!

If you don't know tortoise specie, maybe you have a photo instead? Is Polly living outdoors?

Here is the link to the care sheet Yvonne mentioned:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

It might be overwhelming at start, but you may read only the most relevant parts first, ask questions and then go on.

That's information on tortoise brumation (and how to keep them awake - outlined above by Wellington): https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/toms-brumation-thread.201823/

 

[SinLA]

Hello, sadly my elderly aunt is no longer able to look after her tortoise (now in it's 50s ). She lives 3 hours away and Polly (tortoise ) has been in the custody of my aunt's Carer since Monday as she was becoming increasingly concerned about Polly's nutritional needs and the drop in temperature - still not hibernating. Social work have been involved and I will be travelling on the 4th to meet with them to discuss my aunt's situation and to bring Polly home with me. My concern is that she, Polly will be undernourished and how will this affect her ability to hibernate. This has all happened very quickly and I have no experience in caring for tortoises. I want to give it a go as it would be good to keep her in the family.
I will update the thread next week, meantime it would be really good to chat with some very experienced folk on this forum.
Many thanks

Very good of you to take it in! Once you get it on the 4th, post pictures and people will be able oo help you more...

 

[Swansong]

Do not allow her to brumate this year.
You need to spend this year getting her healthy.
What species is she?
Any brumating species that are being kept up for winter needs a brightly lighten day enclosure with warm temps. All over 80-85, basking temp 95-100 and night temps to not drop below 70.

Thank you. I'll find out what species she is on Monday and feedback.

 

[Swansong]

Oh, so sorry about your Aunt. That's a shame. We'll need to know what kind of tortoise Polly is. It might be a good idea to buy a very large plastic tub, the bigger, the better, and keep Polly up this winter. You'll need a good UVB light, a basking light, a feeding tile, a waterer, substrate and a hiding place. You'll also need to read our care sheets once you find out what kind of tortoise polly is. We recommend not allowing a new-to-you tortoise to brumate their first year with you. gives you a chance to get to know the tortoise and to see if she's healthy enough to brumate next winter.

Thank you so much. I will update with more info next week.

 

[Swansong]

Very good of you to take it in! Once you get it on the 4th, post pictures and people will be able oo help you more...

I will do, thank you.

 

[Swansong]

Hello!

If you don't know tortoise specie, maybe you have a photo instead? Is Polly living outdoors?

Here is the link to the care sheet Yvonne mentioned:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

It might be overwhelming at start, but you may read only the most relevant parts first, ask questions and then go on.

That's information on tortoise brumation (and how to keep them awake - outlined above by Wellington): https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/toms-brumation-thread.201823/

Thank you so much. I've messaged my aunt's son to ask if he knows what species she is. No pics yet sadly. Yes she's lived outdoors all her life. I'm not in touch with the Carer directly so she may be inside at the moment? I was informed indirectly that the SSPCA were advising.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you so much. I've messaged my aunt's son to ask if he knows what species she is. No pics yet sadly. Yes she's lived outdoors all her life. I'm not in touch with the Carer directly so she may be inside at the moment? I was informed indirectly that the SSPCA were advising.

Ok, no problem. You can just give a read to the posts I've linked and prepare for the "Tortoise day" Don't hesitate to ask questions and to check your "tortoise shopping list" with us (this would help you to get the right start without putting a fortune on unnecessary pet shop stuff).

 

[Cathie G]

Welcome and good blessings to you 🤗 it's so nice you're trying to keep your aunts tortoise as an heirloom. That is what they truely are.

 

[Swansong]

Hello, sadly my elderly aunt is no longer able to look after her tortoise (now in it's 50s ). She lives 3 hours away and Polly (tortoise ) has been in the custody of my aunt's Carer since Monday as she was becoming increasingly concerned about Polly's nutritional needs and the drop in temperature - still not hibernating. Social work have been involved and I will be travelling on the 4th to meet with them to discuss my aunt's situation and to bring Polly home with me. My concern is that she, Polly will be undernourished and how will this affect her ability to hibernate. This has all happened very quickly and I have no experience in caring for tortoises. I want to give it a go as it would be good to keep her in the family.
I will update the thread next week, meantime it would be really good to chat with some very experienced folk on this forum.
Many thanks

Hello all. Just wanted to say thank you for all your advice and to update you on Polly. I had real concerns about being able to care for her properly given I had no experience or the necessary equipment. I forgot to mention that I also do in house dog boarding!
The carer who had been looking after her, (and whom I'd had no direct contact with as all communication regarding my aunt and Polly had been though the SW) was present when I arrived at my Aunt's.
I asked her about Polly's welfare and explained my concerns. Turns out she has everything she needs to keep Polly well indoors over the winter. She has bearded dragon (will keep them separate)
She will be able provide Polly with an adequate outdoor enclosure in the Spring.
She was so overcome with emotion when I asked if she would like to keep Polly that I knew immediately that she was in good hands. She had already had her assessed by a vet who remarkably had no concerns over her general health.
The other wonderful thing is that she is providing invaluable support for my aunt ( who thinks Polly is hibernating in the shed!We'll have to cross that bridge come the Spring) and is now able to contact me directly with updates on both of them.

Thank you again. This is a great forum!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you for the update! Happy to know that Polly is in the good hands.

 

[Cathie G]

Hello all. Just wanted to say thank you for all your advice and to update you on Polly. I had real concerns about being able to care for her properly given I had no experience or the necessary equipment. I forgot to mention that I also do in house dog boarding!
The carer who had been looking after her, (and whom I'd had no direct contact with as all communication regarding my aunt and Polly had been though the SW) was present when I arrived at my Aunt's.
I asked her about Polly's welfare and explained my concerns. Turns out she has everything she needs to keep Polly well indoors over the winter. She has bearded dragon (will keep them separate)
She will be able provide Polly with an adequate outdoor enclosure in the Spring.
She was so overcome with emotion when I asked if she would like to keep Polly that I knew immediately that she was in good hands. She had already had her assessed by a vet who remarkably had no concerns over her general health.
The other wonderful thing is that she is providing invaluable support for my aunt ( who thinks Polly is hibernating in the shed!We'll have to cross that bridge come the Spring) and is now able to contact me directly with updates on both of them.

Thank you again. This is a great forum!

That's so lovely 🤗 that your family's tortoise and aunt are under a watchful eye . I'll bet it's really cheering up your aunt to know her tortoise is being taken care of.😊