Inherited tortoise need confirmation I'm doing this right

[dan_2k_uk]

Hi. I know I could look up many of these answers, and I have tried, however there's many different answers and I just don't seem to be able to settle my nerves so any and all comments will be appreciated and taken onboard.

I have inherited a tortoise from my grandfather who passed away in early February. His brother found this tortoise in a road and couldn't find an owner so my grandfather took her in. This was around 55-60 years ago so we've no idea how old she actually is. From a post I made on Reddit someone identified her as a Mediterranean/Greek tortoise of some sort?

She was presumed brumating underground in his greenhouse and has surfaced last week and needs to move from his old property to mine this weekend. I quickly needed to make a home for her and between yesterday evening and this afternoon I've knocked this up.

Space is 3x3m and walls are just over 0.5m tall.

The grey hutch in the right of the photo I've insulated with a mix of celotex and silver bubble foil and has a 100w CHE at one end. Last night I ran it without a thermostat to test it's heating capacity and it was 3.5°c outdoors at 2am and the hutch was at a steady 16°c around the middle. I have a thermostat to fit in the morning to control this to whatever temperature would be suitable. It's has a bubble foil floor topped with rubber matting.

The polycarbonate lean to on the left hand side is raised off the ground on a wooden shelf with bubble foil below and a rubber mat on top. The walls that aren't polycarbonate are lined with bubble foil insulation. It gets sun for most of the day.

The other bits are just stuff I had to hand to add something of interest to the enclosure.

I'm in south west England UK.

The big question is will she be able to go in this enclosure 24/7 or even at all. It's forecast to be 5°c at night and 10°c by day for the next week.

From what I understand now she is awake and has eaten she needs to be kept awake. Will this setup be suitable to achieve this outdoors?

If not as a very temporary solution I've realised I have a 4x3ft camping trailer in the garage I could utilise as an emergency measure if I ordered a suitable light however I'm going away for 3 days next weekend and would prefer to leave her as maintenance free as possible if I can. I also don't think my garage is that much warmer than outside.

I dont currently have a way of netting the top but could come up with something if I need to. There are cats and jackdaws/magpies in the area.

Any pointers or comments appreciated

Thanks in advance.

Photos hopefully attached

A very apprehensive Dan

 

[wellington]

@TeamZissou

 

[Yvonne G]

What did your grandfather feed the tortoise? It would be so nice if it could graze on things growing in your garden instead of living on pavers.

 

[dan_2k_uk]

What did your grandfather feed the tortoise? It would be so nice if it could graze on things growing in your garden instead of living on pavers.

Before the summer gets going that is my plan.

I have some scrubland next to a greenhouse where I can create a similar environment to what she used to have at his.

I just dont have time to set that up right now with her imminent arrival and am trying my best to give her the most I can while I make that happen. My actual lawn gets quite waterlogged and is currently quite boggy so the only real option for being outdoors was the pavers. I know it's not ideal but between his various sheds and greenhouses she will have spent quite a bit of time on concrete while moving between them.

I think she mostly ate whatever she came across in his lawn, plus I'm sure many weeds as he was an avid gardener.

 

[Yvonne G]

Before the summer gets going that is my plan.

I have some scrubland next to a greenhouse where I can create a similar environment to what she used to have at his.

I just dont have time to set that up right now with her imminent arrival and am trying my best to give her the most I can while I make that happen. My actual lawn gets quite waterlogged and is currently quite boggy so the only real option for being outdoors was the pavers. I know it's not ideal but between his various sheds and greenhouses she will have spent quite a bit of time on concrete while moving between them.

I think she mostly ate whatever she came across in his lawn, plus I'm sure many weeds as he was an avid gardener.

We all just do the best we can, and you're under the gun so to speak with your grandfather's passing. My condolences. The space you've made is nice. It has walking room, a shelter, water and a sight barrier. It should do nicely until you can make something more permanent.

 

[Tom]

Hi. I know I could look up many of these answers, and I have tried, however there's many different answers and I just don't seem to be able to settle my nerves so any and all comments will be appreciated and taken onboard.

I have inherited a tortoise from my grandfather who passed away in early February. His brother found this tortoise in a road and couldn't find an owner so my grandfather took her in. This was around 55-60 years ago so we've no idea how old she actually is. From a post I made on Reddit someone identified her as a Mediterranean/Greek tortoise of some sort?

She was presumed brumating underground in his greenhouse and has surfaced last week and needs to move from his old property to mine this weekend. I quickly needed to make a home for her and between yesterday evening and this afternoon I've knocked this up.

Space is 3x3m and walls are just over 0.5m tall.

The grey hutch in the right of the photo I've insulated with a mix of celotex and silver bubble foil and has a 100w CHE at one end. Last night I ran it without a thermostat to test it's heating capacity and it was 3.5°c outdoors at 2am and the hutch was at a steady 16°c around the middle. I have a thermostat to fit in the morning to control this to whatever temperature would be suitable. It's has a bubble foil floor topped with rubber matting.

The polycarbonate lean to on the left hand side is raised off the ground on a wooden shelf with bubble foil below and a rubber mat on top. The walls that aren't polycarbonate are lined with bubble foil insulation. It gets sun for most of the day.

The other bits are just stuff I had to hand to add something of interest to the enclosure.

I'm in south west England UK.

The big question is will she be able to go in this enclosure 24/7 or even at all. It's forecast to be 5°c at night and 10°c by day for the next week.

From what I understand now she is awake and has eaten she needs to be kept awake. Will this setup be suitable to achieve this outdoors?

If not as a very temporary solution I've realised I have a 4x3ft camping trailer in the garage I could utilise as an emergency measure if I ordered a suitable light however I'm going away for 3 days next weekend and would prefer to leave her as maintenance free as possible if I can. I also don't think my garage is that much warmer than outside.

I dont currently have a way of netting the top but could come up with something if I need to. There are cats and jackdaws/magpies in the area.

Any pointers or comments appreciated

Thanks in advance.

Photos hopefully attached

A very apprehensive Dan

Read through this, and look for the temperate species care sheet near the bottom:

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

One problem I see is that the concrete pavers will eventually wear through the feet. You need either dirt, or substrate or something like that for the tortoise to walk and live on.

Questions are welcome. We will help you sort through the conflicting info.

 

[dan_2k_uk]

Read through this, and look for the temperate species care sheet near the bottom:

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

One problem I see is that the concrete pavers will eventually wear through the feet. You need either dirt, or substrate or something like that for the tortoise to walk and live on.

Questions are welcome. We will help you sort through the conflicting info.

Thanks.

I plan on this being as short term a solution as possible while I make something better and permanent in a different location in the garden.

I'll review the links tomorrow as I've just got home from a night shift.