24th July 

Yesterday I had an egg in the incubator that was chipped at both ends which was a little strange, sometimes they turn a bit when chipping their way out but not normally opposite ends. Today I had a pair of twin spur thighs hatch out of the egg, I had to break the shell open a bit as there was a bit of push-me pull-you going on & neither was winning. I will keep you informed as to how they are getting along, they are still in the incubator at the moment joined by the egg sac & will need to be cut apart when it has dried out.

                                                 22 June

First babies of the year hatched today, 6 hermann's all happy to be out the egg

3rd April

Tortoises are all out of hibernation safely and have been eating well for 2 weeks, eggs expected soon.

I am in the process of trying a new idea at feeding time. Every day I put fresh food down and the first thing the tortoises do is to climb all over it & urinate on it, that gets really frustrating. I have now built some wire mesh feed racks made from 2" weld mesh that the food can be placed in, the tortoises can now eat fresh food that has not been contaminated. They seem to getting along fine with it.

Good Weather for Hibernating

It has been a good winter for hibernating tortoises with the temperature remaining below 8C during the daytime & nights considerably colder. I have not had to put any tortoises in the fridges this year which is a cost saving, but things could alter in the next few weeks. If it stays cold for another 3 weeks I shall not bother with the fridges if it warms up, I shall put the lamps on and get them feeding as I normally wake them at the begining of March anyway.

Lights Have Gone Off

21st November

All the adults were bathed for the last time yesterday and today all heating has been turned off. The trouble is it is still too warm for them to hibernate, I will leave them for a few days to settle down to inactivity and if it still remains too warm I will put them in the fridges.

Being Starved

8th November

The adults are all inside now and have been starved since the 25th October. They have all been weighed & measured & get regular baths.

Babies are all eating well and are now on a diet of brassica leaves & lettuce as all the dandelions seem to have mildew.

21st October

The adults have almost stopped eating despite being shut in the greenhouses with heat lamp on & offered tomatoes, sowthistles and dandelions every other day. I normally stop feeding at the end of October & starve them through November before hibernating at the begining of December.

Babies are all inside and eating well.

24th July - Hatching going well

100 babies have now hatched with the hermanns doing better than normal with over 70 hatched.
Egg laying seems to be at a stand still with no eggs for nearly 2 months but they normally lay a few between August & October.
Food is now becoming a bit hard to find as we are very short of rain down here unlike most of the country we are very dry. We have had 6 months now with less than half of the monthly average rainfall and the sheep are getting hungry. The showers seem to go all around us with heavy downpours reported within a few miles.

28th June- Still hatching

65 babies have now hatched with 44 hermanns & 21 spurs with approx 50 fertile eggs still to go.
I have a trial going on at the moment with the eggs in one incubator on vermiculite and in the other they are on Irish Moss Peat which I have been using up until now with good results.
The idea being unless you try other things you are not sure if the one you are doing is the best. Resuts up to now indicate that both are performing well.

21st June - More hatching

50 babies have now hatched with 33 hermanns & 17 spurs out, 3 more eggs are in the process of hatching.
I have 6 very small eggs that are fertile which have been laid by a young female hermann, when they hatch I think they are only likely to be about 7-8 gms each instead of the usual 13-14gms.
A plentifull supply of strawberries is leaving all the tortoises red beaked but I don't think they are complaining.
Egg laying seems to be at an end for the time being with nothing laid for over 2 weeks.

8th June - update at last

Sorry I seem to have neglected my diary.
The Tortoises have been laying well this season with both incubators full. 34 babies have hatched this week mainly hermanns with the spur thighs just starting to emerge from their eggs.
The adults are now on a diet of dandelions, sowthistles and a generous helping of strawberries so they are wandering round with very red faces.

Being starved  2008-11-01 19:37:02

All the tortoises were wormed with panacur at the begining of October and they have all come inside now & I have stopped feeding them. They have all been bathed and checked over for any shell defects or shell rot, they have been weighed & measured and everything recorded.
I also have photographed all the tortoises so all can be reconised by their shell patterns and I have made up index cards with the microchip number of each tortoise beside its photo.

Starting to slow down  2008-10-05 09:15:58

The tortoises especially the spur thighs are starting to slow down as the days draw in. The spur thighs dispite being in the greenhouse with heating on are not bothering to eat as per usual for them at this time of year.
The hermanns (or some of them at least) are still nibbling at few leaves occasionally however they are still laying eggs, 11 layed in september& 5 so far this month.

What a terrible summer for Tortoises & us  2008-09-05 21:09:50

The poor tortoises are not getting much sunshine this year, It is a good job they have heated greenhouse to go back in to when they like, in fact some of them are rarely going outside at all.

2008 babies just started hatching  2008-05-26 12:53:31

This years eggs have just started hatching with a spur thigh just poking its head out this morning.
The adults have been laying well so far this year with both incubators full.

Tortoises Stolen  2008-04-10 10:04:47

I have had 2 baby hermann's, 11 x 2007 hatched spur thighs & a male spur thigh stolen If anyone is offered tortoises without CITES papers please contact the police.

Its too warm for hibernation  2008-01-27 18:09:18

Again we are in an unseasonally warm January and you must be sure to check your tortoises have not woken up. If the temperature gets above 10C there is a chance your tortoise might wake up. I have got all my tortoises in fridges with the temperature between 4C & 8C it seems to be the only way to keep them cold in our changing climate.

All indoors  2007-11-23 20:38:43

I have bought all the tortoises inside now from the greenhouses and started bathing them every other day in preparation for hibernation in 10 days or so. I have still been getting a few eggs laid but not as many as last year.c

I don't believe it!  2007-11-05 19:00:10

It looks like I have been neglecting this page for a long time, sorry.
Over 70 babies have hatched this year with more eggs in the incubator. The hermanns as last year are still laying right into november, strange behavior.
I have been starving all the adults for the past week and have started reducing the amount of time the lights are on. All adults were wormed in october and I shall soon start regular bathing.

17 hatched  2007-06-24 10:32:20

17 babies have hatched so far with another 4 eggs chipped this morning, ( Look at the whats available page to see photo of babies hatching) 6 spur thighs & 11 hermanns.
I had a bit of a scare the other day when I discovered the earth trip had gone off at three in the morning and I didn't find out tilll eleven next morning, the incubators had been without power for 8 hours. The temperature had dropped to 23C but it does not appear to have had any adverse effect on the eggs.

2007 babies hatching  2007-06-10 12:33:38

7 hermanns have hatched in the last week & 1 spur thigh, hopefully another 15 or so are due to hatch in the next week.
The weather has been brilliant for tortoises and they are all very active.
80 fertile eggs are still in the incubators & the adults are still laying a few eggs.

News at last  2007-05-23 18:56:25

Hi lack of updates lately due to a hand accident and trapped nerve in back which makes it uncomfortable typing.
72 fertile eggs in the incubators and a few still to check. The first ones should be hatching in a couple of weeks.
Due to the very dry april I am struggling to find sowthistles which are normally plentiful this time of year, even dandelions seem to be in short supply. I am still feeding some kale to bulk out the wild foods.

enjoying the sunshine  2007-04-13 09:49:58

The adults are enjoying the sunshine and are eager to get outside in the mornings. 15 eggs have been laid in the last week and none are over calcified so hopefully they should be fertile.

adults out in the sunshine  2007-04-06 20:09:58

The adults have been let outside for the first time this year today I think they enjoyed the Easter Holiday sunshine.
I pick up 5 eggs yesterday that had been laid by one of the young females (8 years old ) I must get round to giving her a name.
Babies are all doing well, the little twin is growing quite fast now. Please see new photo’s on the “what’s available” page all taken in the last few days.

Adults out in the greenhouse  2007-03-17 10:03:50

The adults have been put outside in the greenhouses as the sunshine provides a much better light for them and it does not take many minutes of sunshine to warm the greenhouses up enough to cut the lights out on the thermostat saving electricty.
Anne layed 4 eggs within 2 hours of being in the greenhouse but I am not expecting them to be fertile as she must have carried the eggs through the winter.

Tiny on the move  2007-03-10 12:13:52

Tiny twin has gained another 3gms this week and now weighs 18gms, it has taken a long time for her to gain weight but she is finally on the move.
We woke the adults up last thursday and all seem OK, they are getting daily baths and plenty of fresh greens, chopped apples and tomatoes.

New site  2007-03-02 08:53:48

Hi Everone, we are in the process of building a new site, it should incorporate all of the existing text and hopefully much more including a forum where you can put forward any questions or comments. The present diary will be in the form of a calander which should run much the same, Sorry for any inconvenience.
It is nearly time the wake the adults up ( probably Monday ) I will keep you posted.
The twins are doing well with tiny just starting to put on weight again after 3 months at 11gms

Hermann hatching going well  2006-12-15 17:21:29

The hermann babies are still hatching well with 9 to date hatched in December.
The day I put the adults into hibernation I found 2 more eggs both have now been in the incubator for 13 days and they are both fertile. Has anyone had any eggs layed later than the 2nd December from hermanns?

Hermann babies hatching  2006-12-05 06:25:37

The hermann eggs have just started hatching with 5 babies born this week and about another 30 due over the next 2 months, yes 2 months I found eggs being laid right up to hibernation with 2 being put in the incubator on the 1st December most of the eggs that are over 10 days incubation are fertile.
The adults have been put in their boxes with shredded paper for hibernation but it is still too warm for them to go into hibernation just yet but they are trying. I have bought 2 glass fronted chiller units for them to hibernate in but they have a fan running constantly in them which is quite noisy so I have abandoned that idea until I can find out how to disconnect the fan and try out the temperature range throughout the whole area.

better late than never  2006-11-08 18:12:30

Sorry I have been a bit lazy with the diary lately.
Twins are still doing fine with the larger one twice the size of the small one.
The hermanns are still laying eggs and I have about 30 in the incubator due to start hatching early in December. They seem to have got the laying season a bit out of kilter.
All the adults have been starved since the beginning of November and they are not very active apart from a few of the hermann females.
I have 2 chiller cabinets arriving soon which I intend to use for hibernating this year as our winters are so unpredictable, I can then keep the tortoises at a constant 5C without the fear of them waking up half way through the winter.

Hermann twins  2006-08-20 21:50:42

I have just had my first set of tortoise twins which I would not have thought possible. Yes two tortoises out of one egg both babies are doing well and eating. They have different shell patterns which surprised me as I expected identical ones.
84 babies hatched so far this season with onother 5 due this week, all are doing well and eating me out of dandelions and sowthistles.
The adults are getting a good supply of strawberries and tomatoes to supplement the sowthistles, dandelions and kale that they are getting.

Disaster followed by Joy  2006-06-25 21:50:32

Last year during the hatching season I had about 15 babies that did not hatch but were fully or nearly fully developed. I put this down to probable lack of moisture although the humidity in the incubator was kept as near as possible to 60% occasionally it did drop to 50%. What to do about! I already had 3 water trays in each incubator.
This year so I tried a new strategy of misting the eggs with water sprayed out of a carnivore calcium bottle every morning and keeping the peat on which the eggs were resting moist as well. BIG mistake after about a week of this I was holding an egg while candling it and it disintegrated in my hand, I checked the other eggs and found to my horror that 17 eggs were cracked wide open all were fertile varying from 10-30 days in the incubator. PANICK. Some of the eggs had seepage but most still had the inner skin intact so I glued them together with araldite as I had to do something. To my astonishment 8 of them have now hatched with a further 4 still in the incubator looking OK, some did not make it and had to be throw out.
15 hermanns have now hatched and I have about 75 fertile eggs left in the incubators and they are still laying well. It has been a good summer for eggs I have had approx180 but speedy ones are always infertile and that has accounted for 22 of them.
The tortoises are overdosing on strawberries at the moment, they are all going round with very red faces.

Good eggs laying season so far  2006-05-18 09:26:53

The weather is improving and the tortoises are looking happy.
They have laid 98 eggs so far of which 43 are fertile and 18 infertile the rest have not been in the incubator long enough to tell.
The tortoises had their first strawberries of the season yesterday and judging by the red faces I think they were much appreciated. Dandelions are in abundance now, time to gather the seeds and plant them in your garden just to annoy the gardener in the family but to the appreciation of your tortoise.

All going well  2006-04-23 09:24:22

Sorry for lack of updates.
All tortoises are now outside in the greenhouses and are let outside on warm days. I left them in hibernation a little longer this year due to the late spring, I usually wake them on the 1st march but this year it was the 3rd week in march before I turned the heaters on. All tortoises came out of hibernation OK and started eating within a few hours. I planted about a quarter of an acre of kale last summer for the tortoises and it has come in very handy this year as there is very little wild food about at the moment although I am finding a few dandelions for the little ones.
I have had eleven eggs so far but it is too early to say it they are fertile, I have my doubts about some of them.

Babies are popping out  2005-11-29 06:46:15

I have had 7 hermann babies in the last week all fit and well, 2 of the eggs that were in that batch although being fertile and having veins in at 10 days failed to develop and had dried up inside. I have had 40 + eggs this autumn but the last 2 clutches layed where slightly over calcified and were not fertile. Hopefully there are still about 20 left to hatch.
I am going to turn the heat off for the spur thighs today so they can go into hibernation. I have been bathing them every other day for the last 10 days, they have all been measured and weighed. I do have one (Penny) that I am concerned my be a bit on the light side so I am going to keep her awake and start feeding her again.

Still laying  2005-10-19 21:37:02

The hermanns are still laying eggs at the moment with 10 eggs found today with Iris laying 6 and 4 by an unknown tortoise. 29 eggs have been layed this month.
The spur thighs are slowly winding down with only a little bit of choosy eating going on but the hermanns are still tucking in most days.

Long time no info  2005-09-30 21:45:01

Sorry I have not updated for a while.
66 babies have hatched this summer and the hermanns have just started laying again about 6 weeks later than usual. Three eggs last weekend and a further four 2 days ago.
I have now taken all my babies inside as the nights are getting colder and the days are not so warm, I had to really search for some that had hidden well under the turf and thought they were going to stay out for the winter.
The adults are shut in the greenhouse most of the time now as the days rarely get that warm for any length of time. The spur thighs are winding down as usual well before the hermanns and are hardly eating anything but the hermanns are still eating as normal.

Still laying  2005-07-18 21:15:46

49 babies hatched so far with 3 more on their way out tonight. No eggs laid for about 6 weeks now but the hermanns generally start laying properly about the begining of August.
Food is getting a bit scarce now as all the sowthistles are going to seed and the leaves are getting mildew. The strawberries have also dried up at the moment. I have resorted to the lower leaves of the cabbages and sprouts I have planted for winter feed to supplement their feed at the moment. I think the tortoises are eating a fair amount of grass and clover that they are finding for themselves as I have not mowed the enclosures for weeks.

Hatching going well  2005-06-27 22:11:50

28 babies hatched so far 12 hermanns and 16 spur-thighs, five of the hermanns hatched have been from the 6 year old female. I had one baby that chipped a hole in the egg then died and 4 eggs that showed fertile at 10 days but did not develope.
The weather of late has been a bit hot for the tortoises and they have been hiding away during the heat of the day and only showing themselves early morning and late afternoon. I have been feeding mainly sowthistles and strawberries lately with a few cabbage leaves thrown in just to clear the garden.
All last years hatchlings that I have left have been outside for the last 4 weeks in covered pens.
I will try and get some new pictures on the whats available page, those of you that look regularly must be getting bored with the ones that are on there.

First hatchings of 2005  2005-06-15 21:45:59

The first babies of 2005 have hatched, at the moment I have 5 spur thighs (2 from Penny and 3 from Lucy) hatched and 2 hermanns both from a six year old female who up until recently I didnt think was old enough to breed.
Over 125 eggs now laid with 80+ fertile.

Egg bonanza  2005-05-17 20:53:38

Over the weekend I found 19 eggs, six from Jenny ( spur )
4 I think were layed by Lulu ( spur ) and 2 clutches one of 4 and the other 5 from hermanns. Carol ( spur ) layed 10 eggs yesterday ( Monday ). A grand total so far of 110 eggs.
The tortoises had their first strawberries of the season yesterday and went berserk for them.

All Laying Well  2005-05-11 19:58:59

Sorry there hasn't been any news lately, BT Yahoo broadband connection been out of action and it has taken them 2 weeks to sort it out. ( not very good service ).
81 eggs so far, 55 spur thigh and 26 hermann plus 4 broken spur eggs which were the result of one tortoise digging up a clutch that had just been laid to make her own nest site.
I have been feeding a few swede tops to the tortoises this year while wild food was short and they seem to enjoy them. A friend has been feeding beech leaves to hers and they seem to enjoy them as well. Sowthistles and dandelions are about in abundance now and it will not be long before the strawberry season, I bet the tortoises are counting the days.

Out in the greenhouse  2005-03-20 19:58:00

The adults are now out in the greenhouse and enjoying the sunshine, they all seem to be eating and quite happy especially the spur males who are back with the females. The hermann males stay with their females all the time as they do not seem to pester them quite as much as the spur males pester their females.
Lambing is going OK with the good weather helping no end, lambs are going out in the field between 24 & 48 hours old. Long may the good weather continue.

All Awake  2005-03-16 21:03:58

The tortoises are all awake now. The weather forcast for this week is getting warmer by the day so yesterday morning I turned all the heaters on and within an hour I had tortoises making their way out of the hibernation boxes. The hermanns as usual where the first out and the first to have a bath and a nibble. After this mornings bath I had observed at least half of them feeding. I offered a selection of spring greens and lettuce with the odd tomato, plum, pear and a few grapes thrown in, ( grabbed from the larder and out of the door before being spotted by the wife ).
I will try and keep updates regular but I am lambing again so it might be difficult.

Still sleeping  2005-03-02 21:28:56

I would normally have brought the tortoises out of hibernation yesterday ( 1st March ) but due to the coldest spell we have had all winter I have decided to let them have a lie in for a little longer. The problem is I start lambing the main flock of sheep in 10 days time and I like to make sure all the adult tortoises are awake and eating before I start.
The young tortoises are all doing fine and have been putting on weight steadily all winter.

Last of 2004 eggs hatch  2005-01-18 18:36:10

The last of the 2004 laid eggs have hatched giving a total of 89 hatched, 45 spur-thighs and 44 hermanns, the last ones hatched on January 7th.
The weather is not the best for hibernating with the mild weather causing some tortoises to stir, I am having serious difficulties keeping them below 10c. For next year I am thinking of purchasing a large fridge to hibernate them all in to save the worry of them waking early.

Christmas babies  2004-12-27 18:56:37

3 baby hermanns hatched on christmas morning and another one this morning, there is one more egg that has a small hole in and one other still to chip in this batch and one more batch due early in the new year.
I hope you have all had a merry christmas & are not suffering from over indulgence in what ever you chose to indulge in!
May I wish you all a Happy New Year.

All asleep  2004-12-11 15:28:48

The adults are now all in hibernation tucked up nicely in shredded paper in their boxes and covered over by duvets.
I have had 3 hermann eggs hatch this week with more expected. I am still managing to find dandelions and red deadnettle to feed the young ones on, but it is taking longer to fill a carrier bag, I have started to mix in a few lettuce leaves to make them go further.
A Merry Christmas to you all.

Preparations under way for hibernation  2004-11-29 21:20:39

The tortoises are all being bathed every other day at the moment in preparation for hibernation which should take place later this week if the weather is cold enough. All tortoises have been weighed and measured and the results checked against the chart to make sure all are in a good enough condition to be hibernated. In a few days time all heating will be turned off and they will be left to settle down for a nice winters break. I will fill their boxes with shredded paper and check the room stats to make sure they come on if the temperature drops below 3C.
The babies will remain awake for the winter under UVB heat and light bulbs.
I should have some hatching right up to mid January if all goes well inside the incubators

Still laying  2004-11-10 20:27:20

An unknown hermann laid 4 eggs this morning and one laid 5 eggs on the 8/11/04, I believe these both to be young tortoises as the eggs are on the small side. 24 hermanns now hatched in the last 6 weeks and possibly another 20+ to hatch.
I have stopped feeding the hermann's but have left them out in the greenhouse with heaters on just incase any more have eggs to lay.
Tiny alive and well but still only 9gms.

Hatching again  2004-10-30 14:24:38

The hermann's remain active and feeding and are still laying eggs, 5 last weekend and a further 9 last thursday. Hatching started again on friday with 8 born since then and about 9 more due over the weekend, all hermann's.
Tiny tort still only weighs 9 gms and he is 3 months old now.
The spur-thighs are only showing themselves occasionally when the sun lifts the greenhouse temperature right up, they have not eaten anything significant for the last few weeks.

Still laying  2004-10-07 21:26:38

The hermann's are still laying eggs, 2 on Tuesday and a further 5 today but unfortunately one was broken. Todays 5 were laid by two different tortoises but I have no idea who laid any of them as I have been busy dung spreading, not the best of jobs but someone has to do it!

Missy decides to lay at last  2004-09-14 20:41:25

I have had my first clutch of eggs from Missy (hermann) who is an old tortoise probable in excess of 60 who I have had for sometime but has never laid any eggs to my knowledge, ( I do find some eggs that have been laid and I haven't seen the female), five were laid and I will keep you informed wether they are fertile or not.
All adult tortoises have been wormed with panacur apple and cinamon horse paste in the last week.
34 eggs that have been laid recently by hermann females are fertile, I shall await the outcome.

Hermann's laying  2004-09-06 17:38:26

4 hermanns have laid eggs in the last few days, Eunice 6, Iris 5, Ursula 5 and Dot laid 4 but one was found to be broken. All these 4 normally have fertile eggs.
Spur-thighs are spending less time outside now as they are winding down for their winter kip. Hermanns are as active as ever.
Thankfully the weather has improved and harvest has been completed with just the straw left to get in.

Tiny Tort  2004-08-08 14:57:53

I have just had a baby spur-thigh hatch that was 4 weeks late. I have been watching this baby for some time as I knew from observations with a light that it was still alive ( I saw it open its mouth a week ago while candling the egg). When it hatched on thursday it weighed 9gms, about 5gms less than normal. It appears to be doing well.
2 hermann females have laid eggs this morning, Eunice laid 6 eggs and Dot 5, both females normally have good hatch rates, I am now expecting to see some more lay in the near future.

hermann's just decided to lay  2004-08-02 21:16:47

Iris ( hermann ) has just decided to lay 5 eggs if she follows last years pattern they will all be fertile, time will tell. 48 babies now hatched and all doing well, 43 of them are spur-thighs and only 5 hermanns.
Sorry for lack of updates, I have been busy haymaking while our brief summer was around, lets hope it hasn't quite dissapeared completely.
The tortoise are getting a diet of lettuce and dandelions at the moment as I have a lot of lettuce to thin out and they were getting bored with sowthistle. They seem to enjoy the change and are eating twice as much as normal.

Chris's ramblings  2004-07-22 19:54:23

5 spur-thigh babies hatched so far in the last few days with 3 more on the way. 2 are from Cilla, 2 from Carol and 1 so far from Jenny. Carol has done exceptionally well as this is her first year of laying eggs despite being quite an old tortoise and she has now had 6 babies and 3 more of her eggs are still to hatch.

problem with site  2004-07-11 22:14:26

Sorry about lack of updates the site has had a few problems.
39 babies hatched 34 spurs and five hermanns. There have been a few that were fertile that did not make it to hatching but results have been pretty good. Lousy weather for tortoises, where has summer got to.
A word of caution to anyone out there that still has creasote in stock ( it has now been banned apparently ), I have just been through a bought of creasote poisoning and it is not pleasant. I was coating a trailor in a barn that did not have enough ventilation and ended up in casualty with severe stomach and chest pains and am still recovering with bad circulation and breathing. If you have any dispose of it safely.

First hatchlings of this season  2004-06-13 19:56:21

The first 2 hatchlings were born this morning both spur-thighs from Lucy's clutch of eggs. I also have 3 chipping from Lulu's clutch. The 3 eggs from Iris hermann which should have hatched a week ago have still done nothing despite being fertile, it was the same last year with her first clutch, they were all fertile but none hatched, they all died at different stages along the way. Despite this Iris laid another 7 eggs last year in 2 batches and everyone of these hatched.

Smiling Faces  2004-06-08 19:39:49

The tortoises have been running around these last 2 weeks with big red smiling faces due to Malcolm's strawberries which they are getting in abundance. The spur-thighs are eating so many sowthistles and dandelions at the moment, topped off with strawberries I keep expecting them to explode. The hermanns are not eating so many greens but still tuck into the strawberries.
Cilla, Lulu, and Ziggy ( spurs ) have all laid in the past 14 days and I have had a holiday in Cornwall for 7 days!

A few more eggs  2004-05-19 22:10:16

Tortoises are steadily laying a few more eggs with 2 unkown spur thighs laying 5 & 7 eggs, I suspect them to be Speedy & Carol by the shape of the eggs but who knows. One hermann dropped 2 eggs at random arround the pen without bothering to dig a nest, I assume these will turn out to be infertile. Ziggy laid 4 eggs last weekend.
Some of last years babies are getting their first taste of strawberries and they have quickly cottoned on to how good they are fisty cuffs at the breakfast table.

Weather takes a turn for the worse  2004-05-05 21:29:22

The weather has not been good here for a few days now and the tortoises very seldom venture outside, just a quick run round and then back inside. Lucy, Cilla and an unknown tortoise all spur-thighs have laid in the past 2 days, 5,3 &3. A total of 78 eggs now nestling in the incubators

DELIVERYS TO DEVON & CORNWALL  2004-05-02 14:07:10

Anyone in the south west wanting a baby tortoise or tortoises please contact me in the next 2 weeks as I am doing a delivery run towards the end of the month to Devon and Cornwall.
3 eggs from an unknown Hermann were laid yesterday, unfortunately I broke one digging them out ( very careless ).
27 eggs in the incubator are fertile. Speedy's 9 & Carols 8 are all infertile.

Egg laying continues  2004-04-26 20:04:06

On Friday morning pancake laid 6 eggs followed on Saturday by an unknown hermann, who laid 3 eggs. Sunday morning had Carol (spur-thigh) laying her first ever clutch of eggs since I have had her, 8 in all and almost round unlike the normal elongated shape.
58 eggs in the incubator 51 of them from spur-thighs. Just like last year the spurs are laying a lot earlier than the hermanns.

wet morning  2004-04-18 16:16:17

Not a very pleasant day today with rain from 5am onwards, tortoises very slow to come out of their boxes this morning but that didn't stop Delia (hermann) laying 6 eggs but unfortunately the bottom one was broken. 41 eggs to date in the incubator but one of Iris's 4 does not seem to be fertile, the yolk has settled to the bottom and no veins are appearing at the top.

Another eggy day  2004-04-17 20:51:53

The female spur-thighs have been busy again today.
Speedy has laid 9, Lulu 4 & Ziggy 1, I think she must have been disturbed as she normally layes about 5 and will probably lay again tomorrow.

Good laying week  2004-04-16 21:16:53

22 Eggs have know been laid this year with Lucy laying 5, Penny 5, Jenny 6 and Cilla 2 all Spur-thighs. I have put these in the incubator to join the 4 laid by Iris of which I now know at least 3 are fertile.
Plenty of dandelions are now available and the sowthistles are just starting to get going so finding food should no longer be a problem.

First eggs of the new season  2004-04-07 19:52:37

Monday 5th April. I have taken the tortoises out of their winter quarters and put them in the greenhouses where they can have access to more light and enjoy frolics outside when it is warm and sunny.
Wednesday 7th Iris (Hermann) was obviously very happy about this as she laid 4 eggs this morning, they are now safely in the incubator. The weather has taken a turn for the worse and tortoises are having to make do with the greenhouse but they seem content

Lambing drawing to a close  2004-04-02 20:10:59

End of lambing is in sight with only 36 to go, then I can concentrate on getting the tortoises outside. The days are getting longer and I am sure they will benefit from some sunlight when it does shine out from behind the clouds. Last year they were out in the middle of March which last year was glorious.

Awake and a shock in store  2004-03-16 21:12:26

Saturday 13th. I have woken my tortoises up now, two weeks later than usual, due to the cold spell at the beginning of March. All tortoises are fine with the hermann’s being as they usually are, happier to be woken than the spur-thighs. Hernmann’s were eating within 2 hours of being awake but only one spur-thigh seemed inclined to have a nibble.
The tortoises had a shock in store for them (and me). 11.50pm I was awoken by a phone call from my neighbour saying there was a fire in my barn which joins the tortoise shed. I grabbed some clothes and rushed with my wife leaving daughter Amber to phone the fire brigade. The top barn was ablaze, we managed to get in and get all the sheep, the sheep dog (drift) and a tractor out to safety with help from the Avery’s next door.
Next was a dash to the tortoises to get them all to safety, packing them all in boxes and any container to hand and passing them on to helpers who got them away from danger. Not an easy task in the dark as all lights had been fused. All tortoises ( 126 in all ) ended up in our kitchen for the night completely covering the kitchen floor.
The fire brigade arrived and after 4 engines spent the night here dousing flames things are getting back to normal. Luckily the tortoise house was saved and they are all back in place.
Many thanks to all who helped, we are indebted to you.

All doing fine  2004-02-16 19:47:55

All the hermann's that have woken are doing fine and eating well. Bathing is now being done every other day.
Last years hatchlings are all doing extremely well with a 100% survival rate.
Lambing on the other hand started badly with several abortions due to toxoplasmosis but has now settled down and all now seen to be ok. 9 ewes left to lamb in this batch then we will have a brief respite untill the main flock starts lambing on the 14th March.

Tortoises waking up  2004-02-09 19:33:25

Due to the very mild weather we were experiencing last week I have had 12 adult hermanns wake up, they were sitting on top of the shredded paper with their heads out. I have taken these out and put in a pen with heat and light, bathed them and offered them food which they started on almost immediatlly. I am bathing them everyday at the moment and keeping an eye out for any others waking up but the weather has turned a bit colder now so it should not be a problem.
Watch out for your tortoises.

Happy New Year  2004-01-05 17:48:14

The last but one egg has hatched for this season the remaining one is about half normal size but I can see a live tortoise inside, that makes 96 so far.
The suffolk sheep have started lambing with the first lamb yesterday afternoon. Its a good job the adult tortoises are all in hibernation, that saves me trying to find food for them as well as the babies. I am still finding a few dandelions, red deadnettle & chickweed other weeds are hard to come by.

hermann's caught up  2003-12-19 20:49:02

The hermann's have caught up and overtaken the spurs with babies hatched, 92 babies so far this year with the hermann's now 4 in front and five more due, 2 this weekend and 3 on New Years Day.
Adults all seem quiet with this colder weather coming just at the right time for hibernation.

Snuggling down nicely  2003-12-05 19:50:22

All the adult tortoises had a bath on the 1st December and all the heaters were turned out later in the day. The night time boxes have all been filled with fresh shredded paper and the tortoises have snuggled down nicely for a winter kip.
This morning I opened the boxes just to check all was ok and made sure all tortoises had paper underneath as well as on top of them and all seemed very sleepy. I have now placed a duvet on top of the box and blocked the pop hole at the bottom. I shall not disturb them again unless I hear noises from inside the boxes.

New pictures on whats available page  2003-11-28 19:35:09

I have just placed some new pictures on the whats available page that were taken yesterday.
The adults are being prepared for hibernation, they have all been taken into their winter quarters and are only receiving heat lamps for 4 hours a day. Bathing is taking place every other day to encourage them to empty out any waste products they may still have inside them. All heating will be turned off next week and if the weather is cold enough I expect them to go into hibernation. I will them cover them in shredded paper in their boxes and wrap duvets over the boxes. I keep the room they are in protected from frost by convector heaters on stats set at 3C.

Christine's First Baby  2003-11-20 19:27:13

Christine's first baby hatched this morning the only one out of the last clutch of eggs although several were fertile all the others failed to reach maturity and hatching. All her previous clutches have been infertile. She does have some of another clutch laid later still in the incubator.
Big Mamma's 4 eggs have all hatched and hatchlings are doing well. Total is now 17 hatched in November with a few more due at the end of the month and 25 or so due in December.

Finding food is getting difficult.  2003-11-15 21:48:19

Trying to find enough wild food for all the babies is becoming quite difficult, nearly all the dandelions and sowthistles here have powdery mildew due to the unusual weather this Autumn. I find I am having to supplement with lettuce, curly kale and sprout leaves at the moment which I prefer not to have to do this early in the winter.
14 babies now hatched in this batch, big mamma's first 2 of the year hatched this morning, 2 more in this clutch of eggs to go and she still has 2 more clutches in the incubators. What a good girl!.
Not good news on the sheep front. First lot of scanning results show lambing percentage is down in the pedigree Suffolks and all sheep are being fed a home mixed meal and hay due to the continuing lack of rain and no grass.
Also just to make matters worse we have a return of a severe eye problem in the entire flock which cost £2000 last winter to treat. It would be enough to make me pull my hair out if I had any!. I am trying to get Royal Veterinary College interested in it and to help us out. I will keep you informed

well well  2003-11-07 19:54:28

On bathing the adults yesterday I noticed that big mamma was thinking about laying again but she didn't like the soil which had become dry and flat. After a watering can of water and a bit of mixing and reshapeing which she obviously approved of she went and laid 5 eggs 30 minutes later.
Another 3 hermann babies have hatched in the last 2 days and all are doing well.

4 babies hatched  2003-11-05 19:53:41

4 hermann babies have now hatched this month and 2 eggs were chipped when I looked at 5 o/clock, should be hatched by the morning.
The June born hatchlings are growing very well almost to well. The July born ones or most of them are hiding away most of the day and spend very little time eating and are only growing at half the pace of their older siblings.
I have weighed and measured all the adults today to check if they are in good enough condition for hibernation. They seem to have had a good summer, even the old adults have grown in length and have put on weight.
Heat lamps are only on from 10am till 3pm at the moment and the temperature in their boxes is down to 15c. I will gradually reduce this as the month progresses.

Nearly time to stop feeding  2003-10-25 18:40:11

The time is drawing near when I shall stop feeding the tortoises and bring them inside to their winter quarters, the day lengh will gradually be shortened and the temperature slowly dropped to allow time for the food inside them to be digested before hibernation is started.
Eunice laid 5 eggs yesterday, that must be the last clutch of eggs this year surely. Total laid to date this year is 187.
2 hermann babies hatched this morning both doing fine.

hermann's gone silly  2003-10-19 22:28:04

I am not quite sure what is happening at the moment but the hermann's must be thinking its spring. Big mamma layed six eggs on the 7th ( 4 of which are fertile ), Christine layed 7 eggs on the 15th and today Iris layed 3 eggs, Annabelle layed 5 eggs and Ursula layed 4 eggs. All hermann's are still eating well and yet the spur-thighs hardly stir in their greenhouse. Both greenhouses are kept at the same temperature and both get equal sunlight.
36 eggs in the incubator are now known to be fertile with 19 eggs yet to determine.
Busy day tomorrow all the sheep have to be sorted into separate batches determined by breed and age and turned out with the rams.
The winter corn has been planted in the last few days and all we need now is some rain.

Iris lays again  2003-10-03 21:12:56

Yesterday Iris layed 4 eggs, that is her third clutch this year, her previous clutches have been fertile but unfortunately none hatched from the first lot, they all seemed to give up half way through. The second clutch is due to hatch next month.
Still can't tempt the spurs to eat, they seem determined to wind down for hibernation while the hermann's are still active and eating.

First eggs  2003-09-30 20:28:17

I found 3 eggs on Sunday morning in the hermann greenhouse while digging over the soil mound, I hadn't noticed any tortoises digging during the week but I have a weekly dig just in case. I think these three eggs must be the first eggs of a young female because of their size, about half that of a normal egg. I will keep you informed whether or not they are fertile.
Two of Christine's eggs are fertile the rest do not appear to be. I think that makes about 24 to hatch in November all hermann's, if they carry on at this rate they will catch up the spur-thighs who have had 44 babies.
Still desperately in need of some rain here, the sheep haven't seen a green blade of grass in ages and the dandelions are brown and blotchy. I think even if we get rain now it is getting to late in the year for much grass to grow. All of you with lawns will probably be breathing a sigh of relief that you can put the mower away, spare a thought for the sheep.

Hidding away  2003-09-18 19:17:30

Not so much activity from the tortoises these days despite lamps on in the greenhouse set at 30C and night time boxes at 15C. The tortoises spend most of the day hiding in their boxes and only venturing out about 9am for a short while.
Big Mamma (hermann) layed 4 eggs yesterday, not to excited though as she only seems to lay one fertile batch out of three and I cant work out how she is doing it.

E-mail problems  2003-09-14 15:23:30

I seem to be having e-mail problems again, if you do not receive a reply from me it is because yours has not been recieved. Please try turbochris@btconnect.com or phone 07813471228.
4 of the eggs layed on the 3rd September are fertile the other one has no sign of anything happening.
Iris ( hermann ) layed 3 eggs yesterday morning, that takes the total in the last 14 days to 20.

more eggs  2003-09-12 21:53:49

This morning at breakfast time Eunice ( hermann ) was spotted digging a nest hole, after bathing babies and feeding all the adults she had covered it all back in again. Exploration discovered 5 eggs, one a little on the small side. The eggs were marked with females name and dated then put in the incubator. In 10 days we will know if they are fertile.

4 fertile  2003-09-10 21:49:09

The clutch of eggs with 4 in are all fertile, there are veins appearing at the top of the eggs, the other three are showing no sign yet.
Another 5 eggs where found on the 3rd September from the hermann's again. The hermann's usually have a burst of laying in the autumn but the spur-thighs are starting to wind down and spend most of thier day burying themselves only to be dug up by me in the evening and put back inside the greenhouse.

No news is good news  2003-09-01 21:24:34

Sorry have been to busy harvesting and holidaying to keep you up to date. Just come back from 2 weeks relaxation in Cornwall, one week in Fowey and one in St Ives, dissapointed about lack of surf but still managed to do my back in surfing ( pratting about like a teenager! when I should know better at my age.)
In need of some rain in this part of the country the grass has all gone brown and the sheep are having to work had to find enough food. Things looked much greener in Cornwall.
Baby hermann that had the hole in its underside is growing well and the hole has nearly closed.
Two baby spur-thighs hatched while I was away, one tiny one that only weighs 10gms, I had been convinced that that egg had nothing alive in it as you could see through over half the egg when held against a light.
I discovered two clutches of hermann eggs this morning that had been layed while I was away, one of three eggs the other four.
My Uncle who has been playing tortoises for me while I was away can have a break now for another year. Thanks Uncle Dick.

not quite perfect  2003-07-30 21:21:29

The last hermann of that clutch hatched yesterday but has a slight problem, its shell does not meet on the underside where the yoke sack was. Normally this hole closes after a few hours, sometimes a day or so, but this hole covered by a thin layer of skin is about 1cm across and shows no sign of closing, I think its a case of waiting to see what happens.
Its weigh day on friday, I'll let you know how all the babies are doing, they seem to be growing well.

All quiet  2003-07-26 15:45:05

Not an awful lot happening at the moment, no eggs have been layed and tortoises have been enjoying the sunshine.
3 hermann's have hatched this week with one more to go in the next few days, 2 eggs out of this batch although fertile at 10 days have not developed and are still clear when held against a light.
New toy to play with on the farm this week in the shape of a new tractor with loader, a replacement for one written off by a nice horse box owner who was late getting to a show and misjudged her width when passing our stationary tractor.

Been Busy  2003-07-17 22:18:43

Sorry I have been too busy hay making to keep you up to date. 51 babies have now hatched including the 2 small eggs that Lucy laid along with the 3 bigger ones. All babies are doing fine and are eating dandelions, clover, soft leaved sowthistles, nipplewort and the odd bit of chickweed.
The adults have been neglected lately, I have feed them in the mornings and left them to get on with it. Yesterday I dug over the soil mounds in the greenhouse's to check for eggs but none were found. I dampened down the soil and reshaped the mounds, maybe that will encourage them to lay again.

40 hatched and one more on the way  2003-07-05 14:29:42

I now have 40 babies 10 hermann & 30 spur-thighs with one more spur on the way out as I type this. The last 9 eggs that were layed I don't think were fertile as I cannot see any veins showing and they should be by now, (14 days).The 4 that were layed just before them are fertile.
I think the adults are getting bored with their diet of sowthistles, consumption of them is on the decline, its been
so easy feeding them for the last month with an abundance of sowthistles and they were enjoying them. Strawberries are running short now but they have had a good run of at least 7 weeks with strawberries on most days.
No eggs to report in the last 2 weeks. First babies born have put on about 9 gms in 3-4 weeks.

24 babies  2003-06-23 20:19:16

24 hatchlings have now successfully entered the world, 10 hermann and 14 spur-thighs all doing well.
2 lots of eggs have been layed a 4 and a 9 but I failed to see who layed them, ( to busy getting sheep sheared ). Both from spur-thighs, they look like speedy's eggs by their shape but I hope they are not,( she hasn't layed any fertile ones yet). Tortoises are hiding away during the heat of the day now and are only active in the morning and late afternoon.

Hatching going well  2003-06-14 11:00:00

Hatching going very well with 13 hatched so far and 4 eggs chipped. Dots other 2 eggs hatched successfully, Lulu has 2 out and Penny 3.
Delia has one egg just started but her other 2 are failures despite being fertile early on. One baby had died at about 1/4 formed and the other egg had just started to get veins in it then something must have gone wrong. Tortoises are still going mad on thier morning strawberries and giant sowthistle's with dandelions thrown in for good measure.

hatching  2003-06-09 11:00:00

This years babies are just starting to hatch. All hermann's so far despite Lulu's ( spur-thigh ) being due to hatch first. Annabelle's five eggs have all hatched successfully one on sunday and four on monday, Dot has one hatched and two with holes in and babies heads popping out. Penny and Lulu both spurs, have one egg apiece that have started hatching. Pictures soon to be put on the site.

Had a break  2003-06-05 11:00:00

Just come back from a seven day break on the Fowey estuary in Cornwall, its nice to get away but you are always wondering how things are going back home with all the animals, are there any problems and are they coping. main worry is a power cut to the incubators and is it going to happen in the middle of the night when no one noices so the back up generator is not started. Things don't seem to bad on my return. Found six eggs in the hermann mound on the morning of my return but no idea who laid them. Expecting the first of this years hatchlings in the next 2 or 3 days.

over the 100  2003-05-16 11:00:00

Lucy has been a good girl and layed 5 eggs taking the total to 101 in the incubator. Three were normal size and oval but 2 were small and round. Ziggy's five eggs are fertile as are Lulu's and Penny's, Delia's solitary egg appears to be infertile which is strange as her last clutch were all fertile. Tortoises are now on to summer treats, the first of this years chuck out strawberries from Malcolm my neighbour, they didn't take long to devour the 30 or so strawberries they had yesterday and again this morning. Plenty of nice juicy sowthistles around at the moment along with big dandelions with leaves in excess of 25cm long and 10cm wide in the polytunnels.

nearly 100  2003-05-05 11:00:00

Midday today and Ziggy is busy laying her second clutch of the season, but I am not to optermistic of them being fertile her last clutch dosn't look if they are. 96 eggs in the incubators at the moment.

bad eyes better  2003-05-03 11:00:00

Tess the tortoise that had the bad eyes when I got her, has made a full recovery. The eyes were very sunken when the hard crusts came out but over time they have inproved and are now back to normal. I am still putting anti-bacterial ointment in and shall do for another week just to make sure all is OK.
Speedy laid her second clutch of eggs yesterday afternoon, 10 large round eggs, her eggs are always round instead of oval.
Today Delia layed 1 egg, Lulu layed 4 and Penny 3, all layed eggs last month and they were all fertile.

mutterings  2003-04-30 11:00:00

Sunday the 27th produced 4 eggs from Iris ( hermann ) . Fleurs 7 eggs all seem to be fertile and so is the patched up one, whether it makes it to hatching is another story.
Lambing has all but finished ( one left to go ) and we have had some welcome rain at last. Starting to get the first of this years sowthistles from my neighbours polly tunnels, big thick leafy and tender and the tortoises love them. I have been collecting dandelions seed again and sowing it in areas for the tortoises.

bad eyes  2003-04-25 11:00:00

I recently acquired some adult spur-thighs from a local person who felt they could no longer look after them, they were still in hibernation when I collected them. I put them under a heat lamp then gave them a warm bath about 2 hours later when they had stirred. On waking I discovered on had severe eye trouble. I took some digital photo's and e-mailed them to Andy Highfield of the tortoise trust who suspected severe bacterial infection and suggested an immediate veterinary examination. After a trip to my vet who suggested bathing in warm water 2 or 3 times a day and applying
an anti-bacterial cream twice a day things are looking up. After the second day the tortoise managed to extract one piece of horrible white solidified gunk with her front leg and the eye although sunken and a little cloudy at first has now cleared and she has vision in that eye. A repeat has now happened in the second eye and hopefully vision will be restored in that one soon. I am continuing with the anti-bacterial cream until I am sure all is OK.
On the egg front Fleur ( spur-thigh ) laid 7 eggs on the 17th April and an unknown hermann decided to scatter 3 eggs around the greenhouse, one of which had been broken on the 21st. Lucy ( spur-thigh ) laid 8 eggs on the 24th after several aborted attempts over about 5 days.
I have candled the eggs in the incubator and the first three lots laid seem to be infertile but the rest are showing signs of blood vessels appearing at the top of the egg.

Sleep  2003-04-15 11:00:00

The silly season has nearly finished ( lambing nearly over ) and I can get some sleep at night. I went to shut the tortoises up on Sunday night about 7.30pm and discovered Annabelle ( hermann ) in the process of laying her eggs so I had to twiddle my thumbs for a while. She duly laid 5 eggs. Monday was a quiet day and in the evening I dug over both mounds ( just in case I had missed anything laying ) and damped them down. This was obviously a good move Dot and Delia both hermann's decided it was just right for them to lay and this morning about 11.30 I collected 3 eggs from each. On shutting them up this evening I found one egg laying outside on its own with a
small crack in it, I have put a piece of selotape over the hole and placed it in the incubator, I will let you know what happens.

eggs everywhere  2003-04-12 11:00:00

Yesterday morning when I went to feed the adults Penny( spur-thigh ) was in the process of digging an egg pit but the sides kept falling in, she soon abandoned the task. Before feeding them I decided to damped down the mound again and firm it. Obviously this was to their liking as Ziggy (spur-thigh ) started digging a hole within
minutes. Giving her an hour to complete the task I returned to collect the eggs but found Lulu ( spur-thigh ) just 9 inches away laying her eggs and Ziggy just about finishing covering hers in. Returning an hour later I collected 5 eggs from Ziggy's nest and 4 from Lulu's.
This morning Penny had another attempt this time more successful laying 4 eggs. In the other greenhouse Missy (hermann) was busying herself with the task of producing more offspring, 5 eggs collected. A treat was in order tomatoes and cucumbers all round. The dandelions I planted last year are growing well and keeping all the juveniles well fed.

more eggs  2003-04-10 11:00:00

Weather still cold and the tortoises are being left shut in the greenhouse all day, which leads to yesterdays misfortune. Speedy a large spur-thigh female was looking for somewhere to lay but the soil kept filling back in the hole because it was to dry. Having observed this I dug over the mound and added some water as I mixed it up.
Obviously I did a good job because she laid there later in the day, unfortunately I didn't spot her. Because the tortoises are all inside they have been basking under the lamp where she laid and all the activity had uncovered the top four eggs which they duly broke. I ended up with 4 for the incubator.

eggs  2003-04-03 11:00:00

1st April and the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Tortoises left shut in the greenhouse all day but there is a good side, Camilla ( hermann ) decided to lay 7 eggs.
3rd April, the weather has remained cold for the last 2 days so Tortoises have remained shut inside the greenhouse, Spur-thigh males have been taken out as they keep harassing the females while they cant get away. Big Mumma ( hermann ) laid 7 eggs today unfortunately one was broken so 6 joined the others in the incubator,
which is steady at 31.5C.

first egg  2003-03-20 12:00:00

I went to shut up the tortoises tonight and was greeted by the first egg of the season ( a hermann ) it was left on top of the mound, it must have been a young one that layed it, ( or a lazy one ). Tilly now eating lettuce, cucumber and cabbage leaves.

out in the sunshine  2003-03-18 12:00:00

I opened up the popholes today to let the tortoises outside as the weather is so good. They were out like a shot. Tilly has just started eating cucumber for the first time, her nose has been dry for several days now and she is feeling a lot happier.

torts go out  2003-03-16 12:00:00

It has been such lovely weather I have put tortoises out into the greenhouses during the day, only Tilly remains inside. All the other tortoises are eating like they have been starved.