Marginated living outdoors?q

[yillt]

Hello.
My tortoise is five in July and currently in hibernation.
I was wondering if, in the summer months, he could live outside permenately.
My main question is: is there a min greenhouse I could buy that would sustain the temperatures.
Not a full out glass one but maybe a pop up one. If not, can I use a rabbit hutch or tortoise house that I have insulated with a cover and some sort of plastic flap? Thankyou

 

[Yvonne G]

If I'm remembering correctly, you're in Jolly old England? There are quite a few folks who keep tortoises in their gardens in England.

 

[Tom]

Hello.
My tortoise is five in July and currently in hibernation.
I was wondering if, in the summer months, he could live outside permenately.
My main question is: is there a min greenhouse I could buy that would sustain the temperatures.
Not a full out glass one but maybe a pop up one. If not, can I use a rabbit hutch or tortoise house that I have insulated with a cover and some sort of plastic flap? Thankyou

If you make the right set up with attention to providing the right shelter and temperatures for your area, then yes, he can live outside full time.

I have seen lots of people make nice outdoor set ups using cold frames and green houses in your neck of the woods. You might also need some sort of insulated heated box for cold nights and crummy weather days.

 

[yillt]

I'm terribly sorry for how bad this sounds, but I was wondering if someone could give me a link please as I just can't find one anywhere. I've searched pininterest and eBay and Amazon but they are all glass greenhouses bigger than a shed

 

[yillt]

Does this look good? It's v. Expensive but with the right care hopefully I could keep it for a while in good condition.

 

[yillt]

 

[WithLisa]

I would recommend something like this (I hope the link works). I also have a cold frame by Beckmann and it seems to be good quality (I have a more expensive model with Alltop plexiglass, but I think this one should be good enough since your tortoise is not a hatchling anymore).

 

[yillt]

I would recommend something like this (I hope the link works). I also have a cold frame by Beckmann and it seems to be good quality (I have a more expensive model with Alltop plexiglass, but I think this one should be good enough since your tortoise is not a hatchling anymore).

With that (Thankyou very much) would you just suggest cutting a tortoise sized hole in the plastic so he can come?

 

[WithLisa]

It's not necessary to damage it, you can make a base (of wood, bricks,...) with a hole.
I've used styrofoam because I already had it lying around and it's easy to work with. This is what it looked like newly build (still without the hole):


By the way, I would also recommend to get an automatic window opener to avoid overheating on sunny days when you are not at home to open the lid by hand (or close it if it gets too cold).