Selecting a Turtle/Tortoise species

[LobsterOfJustice]

I'm interested in setting up an outdoor enclosure to keep a turtle or tortoise outside year round. I have a large area I can fence in and enclose. I'm wondering if I can get some help in narrowing down which species I should be looking at. I live in North Carolina, USDA Zone 7b, recently updated to 8a. My main criteria is something that can live outdoors full time. I plan to provide a heated shelter if necessary. For the past few days, I have been considering a Hermann's Tortoise. My only concern is the area I'm planning to enclose gets some sun, but its certainly not full sun all day. Its in a backyard with trees and some of the enclosure will get periods of full sun but most will be indirect sun (not full shade - although I will include access to shaded space under the deck). I'm wondering if this sounds okay or if I should be pursuing a different species which is more accustomed to a woodland/forest environment. A lot of the outdoor enclosures I'm seeing on forums, facebook, and youtube seem to essentially be completely in full sun.

I am new to terrestrial turtle/tortoises, but I have kept all manner of herps growing up (including two species of aquatic turtle) and currently keep dart frogs and Rankin's dragons, so I am familiar with reptile care requirements in general.

 

[zovick]

I'm interested in setting up an outdoor enclosure to keep a turtle or tortoise outside year round. I have a large area I can fence in and enclose. I'm wondering if I can get some help in narrowing down which species I should be looking at. I live in North Carolina, USDA Zone 7b, recently updated to 8a. My main criteria is something that can live outdoors full time. I plan to provide a heated shelter if necessary. For the past few days, I have been considering a Hermann's Tortoise. My only concern is the area I'm planning to enclose gets some sun, but its certainly not full sun all day. Its in a backyard with trees and some of the enclosure will get periods of full sun but most will be indirect sun (not full shade - although I will include access to shaded space under the deck). I'm wondering if this sounds okay or if I should be pursuing a different species which is more accustomed to a woodland/forest environment. A lot of the outdoor enclosures I'm seeing on forums, facebook, and youtube seem to essentially be completely in full sun.

I am new to terrestrial turtle/tortoises, but I have kept all manner of herps growing up (including two species of aquatic turtle) and currently keep dart frogs and Rankin's dragons, so I am familiar with reptile care requirements in general.

It sounds all right to me for almost any tortoise. They don't need or want full sun all the time. Partial sun and shade are actually preferable in most cases. As long as the tortoise can get into the sun somewhere in the enclosure and warm up when it wants or needs to do so, it should be fine.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Any temperate species would probably work for you.

Info for your research:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Info on temperate species:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[wellington]

Just keep in mind, that any species will need to be kept warm in the colder winter months. Some species will brumate if not kept warm enough and brumating should be done on purpose not left up to the tortoise to do on its own.

 

[turtlesteve]

in my opinion the best candidate species for you is an eastern hermanns tortoise. They are native to a climate very similar to the southeastern US. I have kept a group outdoors year round without issues here in SC, but keep in mind that if you let them brumate outdoors you will have to build them a shelter where they can easily dig into the soil and stay dry, and then make sure they use that shelter. You also need to have soil that drains well (e.g. not clay). But, since they will dig in to brumate, they won’t need supplemental heat at all.

Greek tortoises may also work (some subspecies) and possibly other Testudo species if you can keep them dry in winter. The main issue is we sometimes get long drenching winter rains and this is problematic for tortoises that dig underground to brumate - most species come from places with less rain in the winter. Eastern hermanns tolerate more winter rain in the wild than other Testudo.

Since you are willing to provide a heated shelter, i would also consider South African leopard tortoises or possibly mountain tortoises Manouria emys, as both tolerate cooler weather very well. Leopard tortoises want more sun than would manouria. These would need far less heat than more tropical species, but neither will be able to protect themselves from freezing weather like testudo could. Star tortoises, sulcata, or redfoots would be a poor choice as outdoor temps are only workable for them 5-6 months of the year.

If you are amenable to terrestrial turtles, cuora flavomarginata would be an excellent choice as well and would not require any heat. Or, possibly North American wood turtles or box turtles (if NC allows that).

 

[turtlesteve]

I will add, eastern Hermanns are the only tortoise I currently trust to brumate outside on their own… because of such similarly of climate. Other species it would be safer to bring inside to brumate in a controlled fashion (e.g. monitor temps and check on them periodically).

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Basically, the choice between temperate and tropical species comes down to the colder weather and how you are able to accommodate for your tortoise.

With temperate species you have to be ready to brumate if you want to keep your tortoise mainly outdoors:

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

(Remember that you have to be ready for winters when you can't brumate because the tortoise is sick etc. Then you have to be ready to keep your tortoise indoors over the winter. Also, brumating outdoors can be very risky due to a variety of reasons and many choose not to. I suggest you look into the risks.)

And with more topical species you have to build a proper heated shelter:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

(As for tropical species, the smaller ones will be easier to keep happy and healthy in a colder climate.)