sbwalker5
Member
I currently live in a rented flat, where we keep 7 month old Marginated Tortoise, Douglas. We are close to buying our first house within the next few months, and I've been looking at some information on outdoor enclosures, as the house would have a sizeable back garden. There is a lot of great information on here, but specifics on Marginated tortoises seems limited. There are a few basic questions here, so if anyone could help or advise with any of them, I would be extremely grateful..
Thanks
Does anyone keep their Marginated Tortoises outside, either all year or temporarily during warmer months? (particularly interested on the views of anyone in the UK climate)
How long should I wait before attempting to house him outside? I'd guess a couple of years at least - he's only 5cms long at the minute! Hopefully though, this summer I can give him some limited, supervised, protected outdoors time.. (ideas?)
Obviously whilst still juvenile, any outdoor enclosure should be covered with mesh, or wiring for protection. But would this apply when he reaches a larger size/adult age? They grow to an average 14", so at what size would he be ok with an open top outdoor enclosure?
And finally, would he be ok roaming (and grazing) on a normal lawn? I've seen somewhere that it might be too damp, and I'm not sure if standard grass is OK for him to eat. So would it be best to dig up an area for an enclosure, and leave it with a mainly soil base?
Thanks to anyone that can advise..
Thanks
Does anyone keep their Marginated Tortoises outside, either all year or temporarily during warmer months? (particularly interested on the views of anyone in the UK climate)
How long should I wait before attempting to house him outside? I'd guess a couple of years at least - he's only 5cms long at the minute! Hopefully though, this summer I can give him some limited, supervised, protected outdoors time.. (ideas?)
Obviously whilst still juvenile, any outdoor enclosure should be covered with mesh, or wiring for protection. But would this apply when he reaches a larger size/adult age? They grow to an average 14", so at what size would he be ok with an open top outdoor enclosure?
And finally, would he be ok roaming (and grazing) on a normal lawn? I've seen somewhere that it might be too damp, and I'm not sure if standard grass is OK for him to eat. So would it be best to dig up an area for an enclosure, and leave it with a mainly soil base?
Thanks to anyone that can advise..