I quite like rainy days. It’s nice to have an excuse to stay inside and hibernate all warm and snuggley. Talking about hibernating, my friend’s tortoise Thomas has just awoken after 17 weeks asleep. Sophie and I brought him round some cucumber as a good morning gift. He won’t have eaten for around 25 weeks as tortoises stop eating a while before they actually fall asleep. This ensures that there is no food left to ferment in their bodies. Thomas prefers different plants and foods at different times depending on whether its hot or he is having a shell growth spurt. Thomas is domesticated and really, in his warm lighted vivarium, he doesn’t strictly need to hibernate. Yet nature dictates that he will stop eating, and then, when is the time is right he will go to sleep.  Instinct will also tell him when its time to wake up. My instinct tells me I need to drink some hot chocolate with marshmallows on for extra comfort. Isn’t nature brilliant.