Newbie with adult Russian tort asking about extreme heat

[Cathy5920]

We live in the foothills of the Sierras in No. Calif. We are experiencing extreme heat and I'm worried about my new Russian tortoise. I have had her about 6 weeks. She is spending most of her day in her burrow in her outdoor enclosure. The humidity in her enclosure is about 50% and I spray her and her substrate (Reptibark) lightly with water several times during the day. Today I came home and was happy to see she was soaking in her water dish. I am afraid she is too warm even though I keep her under the patio cover after an hour or so in the morning out in the sun. (My husband built this great enclosure with wheels on it so I can move her in and out of the sun.) Tonight when she went into her hide, as she does every night, it was still 99° outside! Should I bring her inside when it's so hot? I keep the A/C at 77° during the day and 74° at night inside.
Signed,
Worried Mom

 

[SinLA]

Can you provide photos of her and her enclosure? How old is she?

do you have a temperature gun? How hot is it during the day?

 

[wellington]

If you get a temp gun, about 10 bucks or so, you can temp the hide. If it's cooler than the outside, more into the 80's she likely is fine. If it's as hot inside the hide as out, than it wouldn't hurt to let her sleep inside your house at night.
You can spray the enclosure down more to lower the temp around her. Always be sure she has shade and can walk out into the sun should she want too.

 

[Cathy5920]

Can you provide photos of her and her enclosure? How old is she?

do you have a temperature gun? How hot is it during the day?

THANX for replying. I don't have a temperature gun. I have a thermometer and hydration measuring device (I forget what you call them). She burrows under the piece of wood and she can go into the hide through the archway. It gets to 100° inside her enclosure, but I haven't measured the temperature inside the hides. I don't know how old she is, but she is at least 7 years old because the lady who gave her to me had her that long. Yesterday I found her inside her water dish. Her enclosure is on wheels so I move it in and out of the sun. Since it gets over 100° here she spends most of the day under the patio cover.

I'm also wondering how she gets all her vitamin D and UVB rays if she spends most of her day in her hide.

I want to keep her outside to mimic her natural habitat as much as possible. I take her out once or twice a day so she can wander around the yard. She was eating rocks so I got her a cuddle bone.
Thx for your help.

 

[SinLA]

What are the dimensions overall, it looks pretty small for an adult.

You can toss ice cubes into her hide in the morning, and it may stay cool all day. That is what I do with one of my hides and it stays in the 70s/80s when its 90s or higher outside

 

[Cathy5920]

I thought it was a tad small, too. My husband put so much time, energy and effort into building that enclosure, I didn't want to say anything. He did add the extra "room" on the end for her hide and made it taller so she could climb. That's why I take her out to walk the yard. Thanx for the ice cubes idea. I'll go do that now...

 

[Tom]

We live in the foothills of the Sierras in No. Calif. We are experiencing extreme heat and I'm worried about my new Russian tortoise. I have had her about 6 weeks. She is spending most of her day in her burrow in her outdoor enclosure. The humidity in her enclosure is about 50% and I spray her and her substrate (Reptibark) lightly with water several times during the day. Today I came home and was happy to see she was soaking in her water dish. I am afraid she is too warm even though I keep her under the patio cover after an hour or so in the morning out in the sun. (My husband built this great enclosure with wheels on it so I can move her in and out of the sun.) Tonight when she went into her hide, as she does every night, it was still 99° outside! Should I bring her inside when it's so hot? I keep the A/C at 77° during the day and 74° at night inside.
Signed,
Worried Mom

Check the temperature inside the hide. 99 is not too hot as long as the tortoise is in deep shade and not in danger of being cooked by the sun.

Hubby did a lovely job, but it needs to be at least 4x8 feet, and bigger than that would be better. It would be cooler if the tortoise could be on the ground and have a burrow dug down into the earth.

Check this out and look for the temperature species care sheet near the bottom:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Sarah2020]

Check shade either privide an umbrella or tall plant or drape a cloth over some of the open part. I highly re moment a digital temp gun and then you can provide shade accordingly. I smiled at pic 2 as that is 100% tortoise looking for an escape. Good growth lines. Your aiming for slow smooth growth. read the care sheet provided and i recommend weighing weekly and keep a log also regular warm shallow water soaks help hydration.

 

[Cathy5920]

Check the temperature inside the hide. 99 is not too hot as long as the tortoise is in deep shade and not in danger of being cooked by the sun.

Hubby did a lovely job, but it needs to be at least 4x8 feet, and bigger than that would be better. It would be cooler if the tortoise could be on the ground and have a burrow dug down into the earth.

Check this out and look for the temperature species care sheet near the bottom:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you, Tom.

 

[Cathy5920]

What kind of temp gun do you recommend? I see lots on Amazon...

 

[Cathy5920]

Check shade either privide an umbrella or tall plant or drape a cloth over some of the open part. I highly re moment a digital temp gun and then you can provide shade accordingly. I smiled at pic 2 as that is 100% tortoise looking for an escape. Good growth lines. Your aiming for slow smooth growth. read the care sheet provided and i recommend weighing weekly and keep a log also regular warm shallow water soaks help hydration.

Thank you, Sarah.

 

[Cathy5920]

Sorry for all the Qs. How does my Russian (named Terra) get all the vit. D3 and UVB rays if she spends her day in her hide? Under the patio cover outside.

 

[SinLA]

I thought it was a tad small, too. My husband put so much time, energy and effort into building that enclosure, I didn't want to say anything. He did add the extra "room" on the end for her hide and made it taller so she could climb. That's why I take her out to walk the yard. Thanx for the ice cubes idea. I'll go do that now...

That’s fine, keep his great work and build an extension. Make a hole in the side and extend it out. You can actually build the new side to be 100% predator proof and you can keep her there overnight. That’s what my setup has.

Here is a good temp gun:

Etekcity Infrared Thermometer... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMI632G/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[BeeZee1]

if you do not have a digital infrared temperature gun you need to get one - not just temping weather but water for soaks, etc

 

[BeeZee1]

please get rid of the bark immediately and replace with plain topsoil - no additives, no manure and no chemicals and of course no sand (there will be a wee bit of sand to keep it from clumping)
your tort needs to thermoregulate and cannot if the substrate is incorrect
I am in NorCal also and mine do not go out when it is too hot

 

[Tom]

please get rid of the bark immediately and replace with plain topsoil - no additives, no manure and no chemicals and of course no sand (there will be a wee bit of sand to keep it from clumping)
your tort needs to thermoregulate and cannot if the substrate is incorrect
I am in NorCal also and mine do not go out when it is too hot

No. This is bad advice and opposite of what works best. Soil and sand should never be used as tortoise substrate. That is old wrong info from before we knew better. Fine grade orchid bark is the best substrate for us to use.

Please read #4, 5 and 6 here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Cathy5920]

That’s fine, keep his great work and build an extension. Make a hole in the side and extend it out. You can actually build the new side to be 100% predator proof and you can keep her there overnight. That’s what my setup has.

Here is a good temp gun:

Etekcity Infrared Thermometer... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMI632G/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Thank you. O.M.Gosh! My husband is already engineering a large space in the yard for her enclosure so Terra can roam. It's under a redwood tree and gets morning sun with afternoon shade. I may have to dig up the soil or add lots of Reptibark cuz the ground is so hard. We'll feed her and let her sleep in the small enclosure on wheels that he built. It's all good... so many great suggestions. I feel better already. My next Qs will be about hibernation.

 

[SinLA]

I just posted this in another thread but here is my enclosure, and there is a lockable door between them that I open in the morning and close at night after making sure he’s safe in the enclosed part. You could easily do this by putting a door in the wall of yours. you can see the door in the second photo bottom left

 

[Sarah2020]

Sorry for all the Qs. How does my Russian (named Terra) get all the vit. D3 and UVB rays if she spends her day in her hide? Under the patio cover outside.

Diet and food . Assuming she out a bit on a sunny day. If not I would drag her out. They normally like to bask mine follows the sun around and moves around the enclosure.

 

[Sarah2020]

Thank you. O.M.Gosh! My husband is already engineering a large space in the yard for her enclosure so Terra can roam. It's under a redwood tree and gets morning sun with afternoon shade. I may have to dig up the soil or add lots of Reptibark cuz the ground is so hard. We'll feed her and let her sleep in the small enclosure on wheels that he built. It's all good... so many great suggestions. I feel better already. My next Qs will be about hibernation.

Tortoise burrow = escape! I really recommend lining the base with chicken wire or 1 inch square wire roll, beyond the edge of the enclosure then I added a layer of small pebbles not gravel for drainage with bark on top. I top up my outside enc with bark from inside when I change it.