Inheriting a tortoise - where should I keep him overnight? (UK) PLEASE HELP!

[Timmy22653]

I am inheriting a tortoise currently owned by my boyfriend's grandmother. She is no longer able to look after him - and sadly isn't able to answer many questions about his care either due to her memory issues.

The tortoise is around 50 years old. I believe he is a Greek Tortoise.

He currently lives in his own house (made by his late grandad) in the garage. He has the freedom to roam around their garden in the day time.

I do no have a garage to keep him in - but I do have a small metal shed.

However, I am also debating buying a greenhouse. This was something I was already thinking about before being asked to take on the tortoise.

I have done some research online but there seems to be varying opinions - is it better to keep him in a metal shed, greenhouse or his own pen (that we will build) overnight?

In the day time, he will have his own pen and free roam around the garden.

He has never had a heat lamp - and the garage he is currently in isn't heat regulated. He hibernates in this garage too. I have a loft I can hibernate him in or I could hibernate him the shed?

He has been left to his own devises for a good few years now - pretty much taking care of himself with just the grandmother leaving food out for him.

I am worried about possibly shocking him too much by taking him from a garage on a night and putting him somewhere too warm or too cold.

Thank for your help in advance!

PS: I am planning to visit a few pet stores to ask for expert opinions and have also been searching for experts online. I will not be bringing the tortoise home until everything is set up for him and I have enough knowledge to look after him property.

 

[Timmy22653]

Also - I have 8 clematis around my garden - I am seeing lots of conflicting information about whether they're safe?

I would be able to put a boarder around them to prevent him from eating them. However, he is a good climber? Thoughts?

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to this great forum! Our experts here will soon come along to help you. Meanwhile, if there are any pictures of him, can you please post them? We will first need to identify the species to be certain of how to advise you. Thank you!

 

[Timmy22653]

 

[TammyJ]

He is lovely. @Tom @wellington

 

[wellington]

I would not ask a pet store for advice. Most know nothing or very little about tortoises and will want to sell you all the wrong stuff.
A metal shed will likely get too cold for brumating over winter. It would be fine to use as a summer shed for night time and raining days if the tortoise has its own way to get too it, he could choose to use it or not. In winter the best way to brumate them is in a temp controlled area that doesn't get colder than 40'sF.
Tom can help you more with that, as I don't brumate mine, I have a Russian. I bring mine in to a heated shed or basement to stay up all winter.

 

[Timmy22653]

I would not ask a pet store for advice. Most know nothing or very little about tortoises and will want to sell you all the wrong stuff.
A metal shed will likely get too cold for brumating over winter. It would be fine to use as a summer shed for night time and raining days if the tortoise has its own way to get too it, he could choose to use it or not. In winter the best way to brumate them is in a temp controlled area that doesn't get colder than 40'sF.
Tom can help you more with that, as I don't brumate mine, I have a Russian. I bring mine in to a heated shed or basement to stay up all winter.

Thank you! I have a loft i can hibernate him in - or i could put him in a family member' garage since he is used to that.

Do you think the shed is better than the green house over the summer months - on a night?

Thanks again

 

[Tom]

Thank you! I have a loft i can hibernate him in - or i could put him in a family member' garage since he is used to that.

Do you think the shed is better than the green house over the summer months - on a night?

Thanks again

Hello and welcome. You have a lot of learning to do, and we will help you all along the way. Your questions are welcome!

Please be aware that most of the tortoise care info you find out in the world, online from all sources, and from vets or pet shops is all the old wrong info. That same wrong info has been passed from generation to generation, and each new generation learns it and repeats it. We are trying to break that cycle and get the CORRECT info out into the world. That is why you will get frustrated and feel like you are getting "conflicting" info. Because the correct info DOES conflict with the old wrong info.

Start here:

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

Read through this at least twice. Then, at the bottom, there is a care sheet specifically for your temperate species. The care sheet explains and shows how to house them, and it will help you answer your own questions. Shed, loft, greenhouse? We can't answer that. Only your thermometer can answer that. You must learn what the correct temperatures and conditions are, and then evaluate each of your options to figure out which of those environments can best meet your tortoises needs, and also what modifications, heating and lighting will be necessary to meet those needs in those environments.

You've got lots of time to figure out the brumation thing, but here is info on that if you want to study up ahead of time. Mammals hibernate. Reptiles brumate. Its a different process.

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

 

[PollyAda]

Welcome! I'm wondering if Tim has had his shell oiled with olive oil over the years. That would account for the black tar like residue that seems to be on the carapace. I believe this can trap bacteria, so I would gently try to scrub this off with a toothbrush or something similar when you bathe him. Might take a while, particularly if he's not a fan of baths, but I bet there's some beautiful colouration under there.