Things not to keep in the fridge

[reohn2]

If you are a student and live in a shared house,don't put you milk in the fridge without putting a leettle bit of green food colouring in it first

[pwa]

Eggs and tomatoes.

But the fridge is a good place for a hibernating tortoise, apparently. Just the right temperature. Unfortunately our fridge does not have space for that so Charlie is in an insulated box in the unheated conservatory until March or thereabouts.

Would they not be in danger of suffocating if you don't go into it that often?

They need very little air, especially during hibernation. In nature they dig themselves in to sandy banks and soil. They are built to survive in what for us would be impossible conditions. A fridge tends to be used on most days so monitoring is going to be more convenient than if he is in a shed or garage. And the danger of freezing is practically nil. Trouble is, of course, most of us already have too much stuff in the fridge and finding room for, say, a very large shoe box is out of the question. So Charlie is in the chilly conservatory in shredded paper, in a cardboard box that is itself within another box, with insulation between the boxes. And an escape route if he wakes and wants to get out. If he did that we would see him and resume feeding and watering.