Outside Temps

[Veery]

For those of you in colder climates, when do you usually start to bring your tortoises outside? I'm in New York, and even in the hottest part of the summer, temps aren't regularly in the nineties, let alone in the spring. Should I bring my tortoise in for part of the day to get those high basking temps? I want her to get as much natural sun as possible, but I'm concerned about it not being hot enough for her.

 

[Gillian M]

Hello @Veery and a very warm welcome to the forum to you and your cute little tort.

Please give your tort daily soaks in warm water so as to avoid dehydration and pyramiding. Is it humid back there? Torts need that as well.

Read the "Beginners Mistakes" Thread as well as the care sheets available to begin with.

 

[Veery]

Yep, her humidity is fine, and I'm not worried about her indoor enclosure at all. But when the warm weather comes I want to get her outside for most of the day if I can, but I'm worried that the temps might not be high enough.

 

[Gillian M]

Yep, her humidity is fine, and I'm not worried about her indoor enclosure at all. But when the warm weather comes I want to get her outside for most of the day if I can, but I'm worried that the temps might not be high enough.

How hot is it?

 

[Veery]

Well as I said in the post, it doesn't get into the 90s (F) until about July/August, and even then it doesn't always get there. On the days that is warm or hot out, but not that hot, do people usually give their toys supplemental great, or just let them stay out all day? In an enclosure, obviously

 

[Pearly]

Hello Veery, I am not sure about your species, I keep the Redfooted, but from being active on this forum for almost 2 yrs I understand that all tort babies do best in warm/moist habitats, with temps of at least 80F and humidity 80%. There should be no night time temp dips. With humidity that high you never want them to be any cooler than 80F due to risk of respiratory infection. I raised mine their first year in humid terrarium with 80F temp in the darker side of the tank and 85-87 in the bright side. The temp substrate inside of their hides is consistently 79F, the air measures at 80-81F i have a black light hanging directly over their biggest rock hide and that's where the like to go most of the times. That's what i do for the RFs. It should work universally on any baby but let's wait for some experts to chime in

 

[Tom]

As long as its 65+ and sunny, dry, without a lot of wind, you can put babies out.

Get an infrared temp gun and check surface temps in the outdoor enclosure early and often. You can also check the tortoises carapace temp.

Your tortoise only need a half hour a couple of times a week to meet its UV needs, so don't feel like it has to be outside all day all the time. Do what you can, but don't stress too much about how many hours a day your tortoise gets to be outside.

 

[GBtortoises]

I live in the northern Catskills of New York State and have been keeping and breeding tortoises here outdoors for 35 years. I keep primarily northern Mediterranean species such as Hermann's and Greeks. All of mine, babies to adults, go out in the spring once we begin to get days with full sunshine and temperatures in the mid 60's. That's usually around mid to late April where I live. They remain outdoors 24/7 through about mid to late October. Some of my adults of some species live outdoors year round. They hibernate through the winter and thrive throughout the other seasons here. It's very easy to keep most species outdoors in New York State.

Every area of the U.S. allows for most any tortoise species to be kept outdoors for some period of time. How long and how often will depend upon the species, it's environmental requirements and the microclimate that you intend to keep it in. The key to being successful is to know those environmental requirements of the species by doing research to find out the climate and environment that the species inhabits in the wild. From that you'll learn the temperatures, humidity levels and other parameters that the species is evolved to thrive in. Then you need to learn and monitor your own microclimate in the area that the tortoise will be kept. Knowing all of that will enable you to confidently know when and how long your tortoise can be outdoors in your area.

 

[JoesMum]

Have you seen this? I put it together to explain about what I do in the UK
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/outdoor-accommodation-in-a-colder-uk-climate.140866/

 

[Veery]

I live in the northern Catskills of New York State and have been keeping and breeding tortoises here outdoors for 35 years. I keep primarily northern Mediterranean species such as Hermann's and Greeks. All of mine, babies to adults, go out in the spring once we begin to get days with full sunshine and temperatures in the mid 60's. That's usually around mid to late April where I live. They remain outdoors 24/7 through about mid to late October. Some of my adults of some species live outdoors year round. They hibernate through the winter and thrive throughout the other seasons here. It's very easy to keep most species outdoors in New York State.

Every area of the U.S. allows for most any tortoise species to be kept outdoors for some period of time. How long and how often will depend upon the species, it's environmental requirements and the microclimate that you intend to keep it in. The key to being successful is to know those environmental requirements of the species by doing research to find out the climate and environment that the species inhabits in the wild. From that you'll learn the temperatures, humidity levels and other parameters that the species is evolved to thrive in. Then you need to learn and monitor your own microclimate in the area that the tortoise will be kept. Knowing all of that will enable you to confidently know when and how long your tortoise can be outdoors in your area.

Thank you very much! This is just what I wanted to know. I live very near the Catskills, so it's encouraging to know that you've been doing this here successfully for so long. Garnet is a Marginated tortoise, and she's only about two years old, and still little. I've kept her primarily indoors for the past two years, with stretches outside in the summer.

What do you do to prevent predation? I've heard horror stories of rats getting to tortoises, especially when they're hibernating. I don't have a big rat problem where I live, but there are plenty of other predators around which would have little trouble getting into a simple outdoor enclosure. I've been thinking about keeping her out during the day and in at night to keep her safer, but if she can safely stay out for a large part of the year, that'd be great. Thanks very much!!!!

 

[GBtortoises]

I live in a very rural area where predators are plentiful. But so are natural food sources. I don't have any problems with predators because most don't have a need to come close to human activity. In a more suburban or urban setting it is probably more of an issue because predators are being "invited" in because there is more good garbage in a more confined range. Rats aren't common in my area except in close proximity of farming. I'd be more concerned about feral cats, family dogs and children than any wild predators.

 

[KevinGG]

Same here. I live in the mountains and haven't had a problem with predators. Never seen a raccoon. Just saw rats a couple of weeks ago, so this year Im going to start locking the tortoises/box turtles in at night.

 

[Clawem]

I also live in NY Orange county and my Sulcata's are out all summer until usually November. I use a heated night box for them so they always
have someplace warm to go into.