Do I need an outdoor enclosure for my Greek?

[deenamw]

I've had my Greek for about 2 years and I was just now wondering if I should get a outdoor enclosure for him. The enclosure that I have for him right now is 2-3 feet and he is constantly banging on the glass what does this mean?

 

[leigti]

Hello, welcome to the forum. Tortoises don't understand what glass is sometimes and they will keep trying to walk through it. Where do you live? Depending on the claimant most people are able to have their tortoise outside for at least a few months a year. Your tortoise needs a much bigger enclosure. Check out The care sheets in the species specific section. Russians and Greeks can be kept pretty much the same way. Also check out the enclosures section for some ideas. You've come to a great place for all the information you will need. And we love pictures of tortoises and their enclosures.

 

[Yvonne G]

Depends upon the size of your tortoise. If he's almost full grown, then I'd say, yes, he needs to be outside.

 

[leigti]

For now, you can just tape a border of paper around the outside bottom 6 inches or so of the tank. This way your tortoise can't see out.

 

[kirsty Johnston]

Hi
It seems like the enclosure is a little small for a Greek that's a couple of years old. The minimum would be 3 x 6 foot. Like @leigti mentioned glass confuses torts and would recommend getting a new bigger enclosure made of ply wood.
With regards to an outdoor enclosure it depends on where you are. I have an outdoor enclosure for my Greek tortoise but I live in the UK and he rarely gets out but I personally think the enclosure outside is worth it because he enjoys his outdoor enclosure much more than the one indoors!
Hope you manage to get everything sorted

 

[Tom]

You really ought to have both. You do need a much larger enclosure indoors, but it would also be good to have a large, safe, well designed outside enclosure too for fair weather.

Here are some examples:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/cheap-easy-simple-sunning-enclosure.14680/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/simple-sunning-enclosure.104351/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...table-but-safe-outdoor-baby-enclosures.30683/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/semi-underground-russian-box.98590/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/heating-an-outdoor-russian-night-box.116180/

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum.

I have had a Greek tort for about 4.5 years and I live in a flat: even if I thought of an outdoor enclosure, it just would not have worked. But my beloved tort gets exposed to the sun, has a light, and I even take him for 'walks' when the weather permits.

 

[deenamw]

Hello, welcome to the forum. Tortoises don't understand what glass is sometimes and they will keep trying to walk through it. Where do you live? Depending on the claimant most people are able to have their tortoise outside for at least a few months a year. Your tortoise needs a much bigger enclosure. Check out The care sheets in the species specific section. Russians and Greeks can be kept pretty much the same way. Also check out the enclosures section for some ideas. You've come to a great place for all the information you will need. And we love pictures of tortoises and their enclosures.

I live in Texas so it's always warm outside. The times I take him outside though he just sits there. Is that normal?