beginner

[gill]

I am currently preparing for my 3 year old horsefield tortoise who is currently housed in vivarium. I have done lots of reading mainly on this forum and i hope ive got it right. I plan to keep her outside and have insulated a dog kennel and made the door way smaller which leads into a raised bed. One side of the kennel is for basking with a comination bulb on a timer and the other side has a ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat. There will be hiding places in and out of the kennel and tortoise friendly plants which are pesticide free in the raised bed. I have tried to upload a picture without success. My main question is how long do i need to set the basking light on considering she will be outdoors and it is summer albeit a British one.

 

[Yvonne G]

We have a good Russian tortoise (Horsefield) care sheet pinned at the top of the Russian section.

 

[gill]

I cant find the information im looking for in terms of uv lamp requirements for tortoise living in outdoor enclosure and also managing transition from current indoor vivarium environment to my outdoor enclosure

 

[Clamhandsmcgee]

I cant find the information im looking for in terms of uv lamp requirements for tortoise living in outdoor enclosure and also managing transition from current indoor vivarium environment to my outdoor enclosure

If your tortoise spends a good deal of time outdoors I don't think you'll need to provide uv in your indoor enclosure. If not I'd use a Mercury vapor bulb "MVB" for it to have UV.

 

[Clamhandsmcgee]

I am currently preparing for my 3 year old horsefield tortoise who is currently housed in vivarium. I have done lots of reading mainly on this forum and i hope ive got it right. I plan to keep her outside and have insulated a dog kennel and made the door way smaller which leads into a raised bed. One side of the kennel is for basking with a comination bulb on a timer and the other side has a ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat. There will be hiding places in and out of the kennel and tortoise friendly plants which are pesticide free in the raised bed. I have tried to upload a picture without success. My main question is how long do i need to set the basking light on considering she will be outdoors and it is summer albeit a British one.

I would build a mini greenhouse for your tortoise. Something that would make it warmer than the ambient temperature outside. I'm not sure about your climate though, I've never been to the UK.