Cold

[Marshalls]

We have a 3 year old Leopard Tortoise. For the past 6-8 months we have been keeping her outside in an insulated enclosure with a heating pad (along the one wall) and a ceramic heat lamp. The temperature usually stays around 85 degrees even on colder nights (it never really drops below 40 here). In the beginning we would find her sleeping under a bush in the morning and soon realized that she wasn't staying in at night. Finally after 2-3 weeks of us placing her back in after she wandered out she stayed in all night. Over the past week we noticed that she is coming out again. We find her along the side of her enclosure in the corner - pulled into her shell. Any ideas as to why she won't stay in? We thought maybe it was the crickets (they seem to flock to her enclosure) or that she got turned around in the dark after coming out but from everything I have read she can see fine at night. Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Tom]

This is normal. You need a latchable door and every evening you need to put her in her enclosure, and every morning you can unlatch and open the door.

As you've seen you can't leave the choice up to the tortoise. They will choose poorly. You are lucky she hasn't already gotten sick.

Here is one way to do it:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

What kind of heat mat have you got? Most of them are not effective when mounted on a wall.

CHEs are not good for larger tortoises or high domed tortoises. You'll burn the top of the carapace and still not warm the tortoise's core. This slow-burning of the top of the carapace happens all the time. Its easy to prevent, but can't be undone once it happens.

 

[Marshalls]

This is normal. You need a latchable door and every evening you need to put her in her enclosure, and every morning you can unlatch and open the door.

As you've seen you can't leave the choice up to the tortoise. They will choose poorly. You are lucky she hasn't already gotten sick.

Here is one way to do it:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

What kind of heat mat have you got? Most of them are not effective when mounted on a wall.

CHEs are not good for larger tortoises or high domed tortoises. You'll burn the top of the carapace and still not warm the tortoise's core. This slow-burning of the top of the carapace happens all the time. Its easy to prevent, but can't be undone once it happens.

Thanks for your help! We have the Zoo Med Repti Therm Habitat heater... that combined with the ceramic heat lamp really seems to keep it nice and warm. It said that bedding on top of the heating pad was a fire hazard and someone suggested having it on the wall instead. The thermometer rarely drops below 80/85 degrees even on the coldest nights. Right now we have double doggie door flaps (sliced into 3 sections each) which she can easily go in and out but it keeps the heat in well. We can start blocking it though...

Do you think there is anyway she is bothered by the crickets? I know it sounds crazy but they are so loud and it seems like she comes out more when they are the loudest... on a similar note do you know how to get rid of crickets in a way that is not harmful or annoying to her?

 

[Tom]

That sort of heat mat should be on the floor, with no substrate on top of it, and controlled by a thermostat. Personally, I would buy the Kane mat as it has internal safeties built in to keep the mat from ever overheating. ZooMed simply copied their design, but did it with cheaper components and lower standards. Having talked personally with Craig Kane several times on the phone about his products and how safe they are, its worth the money for peace of mind at night.

Door flaps are great for hold in the heat when the door is open, but you still need a door to keep the tortoise in and nocturnal predators out.

Crickets won't harm a large tortoise. To get rid of them use roach motels. Place them up on the walls with tape, or in other areas where the tortoise cant's reach them. These are simple sticky traps with molasses in them to attract the insects into the glue. No dangerous pesticides of any kind.

 

[Yvonne G]

Tortoises that come from areas of the world where it doesn't get cold have no conception of getting cold. They want to go out and find a good place to hunker down for the night, not realizing it's going to be too cold for them out there. Like Tom said, you put the tortoise in its shelter every evening and block the door so it can't get out until you let it out in the a.m.

 

[Marshalls]

That sort of heat mat should be on the floor, with no substrate on top of it, and controlled by a thermostat. Personally, I would buy the Kane mat as it has internal safeties built in to keep the mat from ever overheating. ZooMed simply copied their design, but did it with cheaper components and lower standards. Having talked personally with Craig Kane several times on the phone about his products and how safe they are, its worth the money for peace of mind at night.

Door flaps are great for hold in the heat when the door is open, but you still need a door to keep the tortoise in and nocturnal predators out.

Crickets won't harm a large tortoise. To get rid of them use roach motels. Place them up on the walls with tape, or in other areas where the tortoise cant's reach them. These are simple sticky traps with molasses in them to attract the insects into the glue. No dangerous pesticides of any kind.

All good advice! Thanks so much for your help!