Can I keep Russian Torts outside on the Olympic Peninsula (zone 8b) full-time?

[amandac12]

Backstory: We took in Ender ~5yrs ago when a family member could no longer care for him. Sadly, he went missing in August of 2022 and was nowhere to be found. Shortly after we began our search, Potato was found roaming a school parking lot in the next town over. A wonderful family took him in, as they also had a Russian, but since they couldn't keep him we decided to give him a permanent home. Fast forward to two days ago, a lovely couple found Ender basking in their yard about a block away and returned him home to us! He is thankfully unscathed and healthy, although he was a bit dull and dirty before a good soak.

Conundrum: Potato is now in what used to be Ender's 3X8 indoor enclosure and I am faced with the decision of either building a second indoor enclosure or moving both boys outside to their own enclosures. However, we don't have the space for two large enclosures indoors unless they're stacked, but I worry the top tort would get too hot, so I am leaning more toward building a large secure enclosure for each of them in our backyard. I can build them small enclosures indoors for the winter if necessary, likely two 3x3 tables, but I'm thinking they would do well outdoors full-time if given the proper heat and safety. We have fairly mild winters, with no real extremes of either heat or cold but we do get snow at least once during winter.

So, can I keep them outdoors full-time in zone 8b or is that just a pipe dream? Thanks for any advice!

 

[Yvonne G]

The thing is, they really shouldn't get wet while brumating. If you can pull them in, maybe to a fridge, or boxes in a garage, they probably would be ok. They do just fine here in Central Cal living outside all the time and they brumate on my carport in doghouse-like enclosures. As long as the sun shines in summer they can be outdoors, but brumate them where it's cold and dry.

 

[amandac12]

I definitely wouldn't leave them to the elements at all, especially while brumating, but neither has ever shown signs of wanting to brumate either. While we haven't had Potato long, he did the same thing Ender has done every winter, which was burrow into his enclosure's hide for a week or so (~2 feet of substrate) and then make all the noise afterward to let me know they are awake and hungry LOL Regardless of their attitudes about it though, I would provide dry boxes/hides for them to either brumate or do their week-long sleep. I also know that Ender most likely survived this past winter in the wild by brumating, so I'll have to keep an eye out this next winter to see if he shows signs of wanting to brumate or if he'll return to old habits.

 

[Yvonne G]

If he lives outside, the shorter days and cooler nights of Autumn tell them to get ready to brumate. Living in the house with heat and lights, sort of messes that instinct up.

 

[amandac12]

That makes sense! So should I plan to bring them inside to a smaller enclosure (I will most likely divide the current enclosure into two) like they're used to, or should I actually brumate them? I have never tried it, and it honestly scares me to put them in a fridge as many others do.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Don't go about it half way...Either a full on hibernation or keep them up. The weather in the PNW is so wonky lately and here many weeks are below freezing. You are only 270 or so miles away from me, your weather can't be that different than mine...

 

[amandac12]

Don't go about it half way...Either a full on hibernation or keep them up. The weather in the PNW is so wonky lately and here many weeks are below freezing. You are only 270 or so miles away from me, your weather can't be that different than mine...

I'll just keep our winter routine then, only with smaller enclosures. It definitely has been wonky! We are in the Olympic Rain Shadow, between the Olympics and the Pacific, so we get less rain than the rest of Western WA, and our temperatures can vary greatly for the same reason. Today, for instance, we're at a comfy 68° with blue skies, but my family near Olympia/Tacoma is at 80°. We don't get multiple nights in a row of freezing, thankfully, and snow is usually a one-week deal at most. We're very lucky up here on the Peninsula!

 

[wellington]

You could build them each a good size night box that is insulated and heated on a thermostat and put that in their outside enclosures. Lock them in each night and let them out each morning during summer. No heat should be needed during the warm months. In the winter months, add heat, basking and uvb bulb for those colder days that they are awake. This way you can give them a bigger winter enclosure than to small 3x3.

 

[amandac12]

You could build them each a good size night box that is insulated and heated on a thermostat and put that in their outside enclosures. Lock them in each night and let them out each morning during summer. No heat should be needed during the warm months. In the winter months, add heat, basking and uvb bulb for those colder days that they are awake. This way you can give them a bigger winter enclosure than to small 3x3.

This is exactly what I am wanting to do, thank you! I will be making it as predator-proof as possible, but after Ender's mysterious disappearance last year, we will be locking them both in a night and setting up a camera for when we're out of the house.

 

[wellington]

This is exactly what I am wanting to do, thank you! I will be making it as predator-proof as possible, but after Ender's mysterious disappearance last year, we will be locking them both in a night and setting up a camera for when we're out of the house.

Keep in mind, I don't know your type of weather. However, in winter here in Chicago, we get cold and snow much more than you. I have just one Russian and two leopards and they all winter in a insulated heated shed. Which is just a much bigger night box.

 

[amandac12]

Keep in mind, I don't know your type of weather. However, in winter here in Chicago, we get cold and snow much more than you. I have just one Russian and two leopards and they all winter in a insulated heated shed. Which is just a much bigger night box.

Oh gosh, our winters could almost be considered tropical compared to a Chicago winter LOL It's relieving to hear that it can be done with the proper precautions and enclosure though!