I have just been given a Gracia Iberia via a third party from someone who had grown tired of it. I have read every detail I possibly can but am stuck on two points. could some very knowledgable person advise me please. I have read on the site that it is a hibernating tortoise however the third party has relayed that it has never hibernated. My personal home is a cold one and at the moment I am putting him in his very shredded paper stuffed sleep area at night and under her basking lamp first thing in the morning for the rest of the day. Is this OK please? He is eating very well.

Also the person who had him was very old and there is NO papers with him...... I have read that this species should be registered. Is it possible to register him in retrospect? Many thanks.

Hello,

Hi - Thanks for reply ---- we won't be selling him so thanks about certification answer. I have no idea how old he is.... he is eating extremely well. Photos attached. Thanks again

Thanks for the pics Happy,

Thanks very much Tom. Would the "extra" growth be attributed to not being hibernated; too much basking lamp or UV or rich food such as strawberries?

I hasten to add that strawberries etc. will NOT be in it's diet from the time we "rescued" him.

I am amazed at how clever he is..... seriously, after the second day in his new very large tray (out of an old internal caravan door) he puts himself to bed in the sleeping compartment at 11.00p.m. All help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Yes not hibe'd, poss no supplements, poor quality uvb, poss not outside in summer & poor diet.

Hi again and thanks for help..... I  am sure Aristortle is appreciative - a matter of life or death! He weighs 250 grammes exactly and I am feeding lettuce and dandelion - which he is consuming vastly.

Will his shell eventually go to normal as he grows older?

When in your opinion should I start the ending of food as per hibernations sheets..... in other words - do you think he is sufficient body weight to survive hibernation or should I take another month feeding, supplements and leaving light on overnight?

One final question please...... when he is sunbathing his front legs "pulse" slightly in and out - is that normal?

Many thanks indeed.

No lettuce! 

Hi Tom - thanks again for your help. The previous owner told my brother that tort had lived on lettuce. Reading up on them I did see Cos lettuce ok but after reading your post I listed the plants as specified in the Tortoise Table website. I bought a few trays of pansies and violas and even paid a fortune for a Prayer plant -as listed. He has ignored all of them - even the flower from the pansy! I deliberately did not give him the alternative of the lettuce nor the YOUNG dandelion leaves but he has not eaten...... trompling over the pansies to show his annoyance!

Your opinion would be appreciated - thanks