Moving torts outdoors

[ThePaganJew]

I have an adult male Russian, two 5 1/2" girls and one 2 1/2" girl that have been living inside over the winter. I live in the Sacramento area and right now our daytime temps are in the 70's and the nights are in the low 40's. I was wondering when if would be safe to keep at least the bigger ones outside in an enclosure full time and how would be the best way to acclimate them to it.

 

[Kerryann]

I have an adult male Russian, two 5 1/2" girls and one 2 1/2" girl that have been living inside over the winter. I live in the Sacramento area and right now our daytime temps are in the 70's and the nights are in the low 40's. I was wondering when if would be safe to keep at least the bigger ones outside in an enclosure full time and how would be the best way to acclimate them to it.

I am not sure but I think the nighttime temps are still hibernating temperatures. I am sure there are some people in that temp range that know for sure.

 

[Yvonne G]

Your weather is probably similar to mine here in Clovis. I've put my russians out.

In your case, where the tortoises have been indoors for the winter, I would turn off any night time lights and heat for about a week before I move them outside. If they are already used to cooler nights, it's probably ok to put them out now. But make sure they are all inside their house if it rains.

 

[ThePaganJew]

Right now they don't have any extra light or heat at night but it stays about 70-72 in the house all the time.And yes they will have a place inside if it's raining, I wouldn't leave any critter outside in the rain without at least some protection.

 

[kanalomele]

Hi I'm quite near you in the Sacramento area. All of my adults are awake from brumation and outside full time now. Since these must be relatively new torts to you I would suggest a very secure outside enclosure that they are in during the day. Bring them in at night for right now. Until you know their personalities better and can spot any difficulties they may behaving I would keep a close eye on them as they acclimate. Have they been together the whole time? Did you have a vet do a stool check? Definitely keep them separate from your hatchling. Where'd these ones come from? They are a great species to work with I have had mine for nearly 20 years now. If you needlocal help or advice feel free to contact me here.

 

[ThePaganJew]

Hi I'm quite near you in the Sacramento area. All of my adults are awake from brumation and outside full time now. Since these must be relatively new torts to you I would suggest a very secure outside enclosure that they are in during the day. Bring them in at night for right now. Until you know their personalities better and can spot any difficulties they may behaving I would keep a close eye on them as they acclimate. Have they been together the whole time? Did you have a vet do a stool check? Definitely keep them separate from your hatchling. Where'd these ones come from? They are a great species to work with I have had mine for nearly 20 years now. If you needlocal help or advice feel free to contact me here.

Sorry life has been nuts and I forgot I started this thread. I've had them for a couple years but it wasn't until last year that we bought a house and made an outdoor space with them. So this is the first year that we have to figure out when to move them out. We've gotten them from various places, vendors from shows, rescues, one from Petco and a breeder. The male lives separate and the girls were living together, the smaller girl isn't a hatchling but 2 years old, the two true hatchlings are living by themselves. We got stool checks done and they were wormed before joining the group. Thanks for the advice, and they were brought inside for the rain/thunder storm.

 

[Tom]

I'm going through something similar right now too. You are just a bit to the North of me. I'm putting mine out earlier and bringing him in later each day. Of course this is somewhat temperature and weather dependent. They should always have some sort of substantial shelter outside. Once they are out they can use this shelter to avoid getting too hot in summer and too cold at night. There are many way to accomplish this. Building it in ground or underground will give you the most stable and least extreme temperatures.