Transferring tortoise from indoors to outdoors

[Luvmytortoise]

Hello everyone.

This is my first year keeping Hermann's. They spent all winter in doors in a 70' room temp with a basking spot of 95'.
I built a 10'×5' enclosure for them in my backyard and yesterday I decided to transfer them outside being that the temps outside are now reaching 80's during the day and 60's at night.
My question is; why do they keep hiding and don't appear to be interested in sucking up the sun?....also, they are not eating much either. Could it be that night time temps are a bit too cold for them? In the morning I had to dig them out and put them in the sun by hand, but a few minutes later they went back to their hiding places.
By the way, the sun doesn't reach their box until around 10 am. I live surrounded by houses. Once the sun reaches them they have full sun for about 5 or 6 hours before my neighbors house hides the sun again.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Maybe they need time to adapt?
I forgot to mention that I live IN NJ.
Steve

 

[Tom]

What you did was very shocking. To go from stable constant indoor temps directly into completely different outdoor temps in a totally unfamiliar environment would scare the heck out of any tortoise and make them want to hide and go off food.

How about back tracking a bit? Bring them back inside to the environment and temperatures that they know and are familiar and comfortable with, and GRADUALLY take them outside for short periods of the great outdoors. Start with just an hour or two a day during fair weather and gradually leave them out longer and longer. By midsummer when nights temps are warmer and they are more used to their new enclosure, then I would attempt leaving your tortoise outside overnight.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Good suggestion.

Mine like to bask in dappled sun and do not like to be fully exposed, so plenty of plants and hides and sight breaks are necessary.

 

[Akikinorris]

We've just put Norris in his outdoor house but in a very familiar garden which he's grazed in for 3 yrs, weather permitting. He is a little shell shocked but still has access to familiar territory and can come back in house with his ramp as he has always done. Hoping he will settle soon.

 

[laura106]

idont think mine could stand outside

 

[RainsOn]

Torts do everything slowly: eat, get sick, heal, swim, walk, run?, AND . . adapt.
Put yourself in their place. Without a coat, you run from a toasty warm house into cool fall temps - Brrr! Quick, find shelter!

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Torts do everything slowly: eat, get sick, heal, swim, walk, run?, AND . . adapt.
Put yourself in their place. Without a coat, you run from a toasty warm house into cool fall temps - Brrr! Quick, find shelter!

I'm not sure I've ever seen mine run
Go on supervised 'walks' with your buddies for awhile, and then progress to all-day outdoor access, then at night.