Do tortoises HAVE to go outside?

Hi guys,

I'm considering getting a tortoise in the future but I don't have a garden or any outside space. Is it possible to keep a tortoise solely inside? Or will I have to wait until I live somewhere where the tortoise can roam outside?

Thanks!

Yes. You can keep a small species inside...but you will need to have adequate space. 4X8' is the minimum recommendation for an adult.

That's a significant chunk of real estate if you live in a small apartment. But...if you plan for it I don't see why you can't come up with something doable.

Don't forget you will need proper lighting...that will impose some limitations on how you can arrange things too.

It can be done. I have a redfoot tortoise and live in a cooler area. He has to be housed indoors for 9 to 10 months of the year unfortunately.

Can it be done, yes. Should it? That is open to debate.

And on that debate, I side with, they should be able to go outside when weather is warm. If you can't provide a little outdoor time, get something else. Would you want to be caged inside all the time?

The do need natural sunlight. So if on nice days you can take him to a park you know that doesn't put chemicals on the grass get a portable play pen .

phebe121 said:

The do need natural sunlight. So if on nice days you can take him to a park you know that doesn't put chemicals on the grass get a portable play pen .

Click to expand...

And that is advice we don't generally give on here.

Many torts do not handle change well and don't travel well.

Allowing them outside time on public land puts them at greater risk of picking up worms. You can never guarantee what has been tipped on the grass even if the park authority doesn't use pesticides or herbicides generally - it's public land; anyone could have done anything at any time.

I would not recommend this, even with a "playpen"

Torts need UVB.
It's free from the sun and otherwise you use lamps.

Torts need space.
While the minimum for an adult is said to be 4' x 8' - I have bitter experience of having to contain my Greek to an enclosure that size when he was recovering from illness - it was FAR too small for him.

So while getting a tort outdoors isn't essential, you are likely to come to a point where indoors just isn't big enough. If you're not likely to be able to provide the 8' x 4' minimum don't even think about it.

Please read our Beginner Mistakes thread which will help you to make your decision
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

JoesMum said:

And that is advice we don't generally give on here.

Many torts do not handle change well and don't travel well.

Allowing them outside time on public land puts them at greater risk of picking up worms. You can never guarantee what has been tipped on the grass even if the park authority doesn't use pesticides or herbicides generally - it's public land; anyone could have done anything at any time.

I would not recommend this, even with a "playpen"

Torts need UVB.
It's free from the sun and otherwise you use lamps.

Torts need space.
While the minimum for an adult is said to be 4' x 8' - I have bitter experience of having to contain my Greek to an enclosure that size when he was recovering from illness - it was FAR too small for him.

So while getting a tort outdoors isn't essential, you are likely to come to a point where indoors just isn't big enough. If you're not likely to be able to provide the 8' x 4' minimum don't even think about it.

Please read our Beginner Mistakes thread which will help you to make your decision
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Click to expand...

How small was the enclosure?

It's interesting to see it's considered a debate on this forum. I honestely don't know a tortoise keeper here who would ever suggest keeping these animals indoors or in such a small enclosure. You have to be able to keep tortoise outside in a much larger enclosure or don't buy a tortoise is the general advice here.

DPtortiose said:

It's interesting to see it's considered a debate on this forum. I honestely don't know a tortoise keeper here who would ever suggest keeping these animals indoors or in such a small enclosure. You have to be able to keep tortoise outside in a much larger enclosure or don't buy a tortoise is the general advice here.

Click to expand...

I feel the same way, DP. Where is "here"?

I believe that tortoises are wild animals. They haven't gone through years and years of human intervention to make them a domesticated animal. And as a wild animal, they belong outside. Tortoises get stressed when confined indoors. Are there exceptions to this rule? Heck yeah. We read about "pet" tortoises everyday here on the Forum. But the majority of tortoises are still wild animals, not pets, and should live outside.

jesusrobotmonkey said:

Hi guys,

I'm considering getting a tortoise in the future but I don't have a garden or any outside space. Is it possible to keep a tortoise solely inside? Or will I have to wait until I live somewhere where the tortoise can roam outside?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I agree with all the other posters here. Can it be done? Yes. Absolutely. It has been done before and with all the heating and lighting options available nowadays, its easier than ever.

Should it be done? Hmmm… Mixed feelings on that one. Done right, an indoor only tortoise could have a much better life than some of the outdoor ones I've seen. On the other hand I sure enjoy watching my tortoise marching around their large outdoor enclosures and interacting with their environments.

If someone is willing to invest the time, money and effort needed to house a tortoise inside all the time, I am not opposed to the idea. A case could be made that, with the proper set up, they are safer and better off inside under controlled conditions.

Yvonne G said:

I feel the same way, DP. Where is "here"?

I believe that tortoises are wild animals. They haven't gone through years and years of human intervention to make them a domesticated animal. And as a wild animal, they belong outside. Tortoises get stressed when confined indoors. Are there exceptions to this rule? Heck yeah. We read about "pet" tortoises everyday here on the Forum. But the majority of tortoises are still wild animals, not pets, and should live outside.

Click to expand...

The Netherlands, there are of course people who keep tortoise in indoors (and some successfully as well) but the advice that was given to me when I started with tortoise was to keep them outside or don't keep them at all.

Testudo hermanni and other Mediterranean species are probably the most kept tortoise here because they are the most adapt to our climate. They are also rather cheap (about 40 to 70 euro) depending on their subspecies with T. (h.) hermanni being the most expansive.

Our climate is a pain for keeping anything else though, sulcata's and redfoot’s can only be kept outside seasonally. So they do have to be kept inside for a larger part of the year. So it's generally advised to not keep these species, unless you have an extreme amount of indoor space.

But perhaps I'm simply not looking in the right 'circles'. Though I'm still rather 'young' (mid twenty's) I tend to do more research and interview on dedicated forums and I'm a member of our national terrarium organization. This means I get my info from the 'older generation' that see our hobby as you see it; A slice of nature in their home to learn from and educate people about. The newer 'mainstream' generation of keepers that started after the increased commercialization of the hobby is often more active on facebook tend to see them as pets. I don't tend to comment or look on those kind of media, so I'm not sure what the general husbandry standards they advocate. (I know I'm making a gross generalizations and perhaps label people incorrectly, but I this is simply what I've observed over the last couple of years.)

Hi, a fellow Dutchie!
I do keep a redfoot in The Netherlands, currently planning on a large indoor enclosure and an outside enclosure with greenhouse for the summer. It can be done bit it takes money and space.

However, I'm not as enthusiastic as you about tort conditions in The Netherlands. Take a look at marktplaats (our Dutch craigslist) and you will see many many big torts in small dry enclosure for sale, even sulcata's in small glass terraria with sand and together with a Greek or Russian. It often makes me sad... :'(

DutchieAmanda said:

Hi, a fellow Dutchie!
I do keep a redfoot in The Netherlands, currently planning on a large indoor enclosure and an outside enclosure with greenhouse for the summer. It can be done bit it takes money and space.

However, I'm not as enthusiastic as you about tort conditions in The Netherlands. Take a look at marktplaats (our Dutch craigslist) and you will see many many big torts in small dry enclosure for sale, even sulcata's in small glass terraria with sand and together with a Greek or Russian. It often makes me sad... :'(

Click to expand...

I agree, and it's not just on marktplaats (craiglist). They recently rebuild the zoo in Emmen and even they keep sulcata's in a way that wouldn't be recommended by most if any serious sulcata keeper on this forum. But I've yet need to meet a breeder who advices anything other than a spacious outdoor enclosure, all the articles published by Lacerta states that an spacious outdoor enclosure is a must. The enclosures I've seen on the largest dedicated Dutch reptile forums are pretty much only outdoor enclosures and I haven't read anything recommend anything else for the last 3 years or so. I'm totally not denying there is still a lot of mistreated animals out there, but I'm not seeing the same discussion as the one in this thread. You keep them outside in a spacious enclosure or not at all.

But like I stated perhaps I'm too much involved in the 'wrong' circles or simply forgetting/blocking out things. Is your experience about this discussion with the Dutch reptiles community different?

I feel they need to spend at least a couple of months a year in the real sun. They can be kept indoors all the time but I don't think it is a moral thing to do as they act differently indoors and outdoors. I see my little boy smile when he is out . No matter how big table you make them, how expensive your lights are or how many interesting things you put inside, nothing beats the sun. So yes, I feel they need to go outside, even for a few hours a day. That's just my opinion of course, I'm not saying it is the law. But I do know breeders who won't sell you an animal unless you have some outdoor space.

I totally agree with Kori5 here. Torts are used to live in the wild where they roam around as they wish without "red lights/borders/boundaries" so as to speak.

Just a question here: do we feel the same about other reptiles? Should snakes, agamas, gecko's etc also live outside for a part of the year at least?

Yes. Nothing should be locked up inside all the time.

DutchieAmanda said:

Just a question here: do we feel the same about other reptiles? Should snakes, agamas, gecko's etc also live outside for a part of the year at least?

Click to expand...

Difficult question as it so depends on the reptile and your climate. If you had the right climate, yes I would ideally want them to get out too.

Many of those don't have the need to walk the huge distances that torts do though.

Kori5 said:

Yes. Nothing should be locked up inside all the time.

Click to expand...

So very true.