My 43 year old tortoise has been awake for 3 weeks now.  I brought her hutch into the conservatory and kept a heater on day and night.  I gave her warm baths and for the first few days she was fairly active although not eating and drinking.  After 7 days she gave up and went back to the hutch where she almost went into a state of hibernation again.

I had heard that once they are awake they are supposed to stay up, so I rigged up a heat lamp (on a broom handle suspended between two chairs) and placed her under it.  Within hours she was eating like a mad-thing, and has been every day since;  I turn the lamp on about 8am and off again about 4pm, after which she goes back to her hutch. 

Hopefully the weather will get warm soon so that she can go out in the garden.

Am I doing the right thing?  I wondered how other owners of older outdoor torts are coping. 

Hiya,

Nope you're absolutely doing the right thing. You may be able to let her outside for an hour or two once she is warm. Certainly today our lot were in and out all day long

HTH
Darren

Mine are in a heated shed they are free to go in and out as they please just hope the sun is hare to stay