scared of the gardeners?

[tortoiseforum1]

i was just feeding my leopard tortoise (our gardeners had just gotten here) and he started scrambling to get away and hide. usually he just goes for the food or water. it seemed like he was pretty scared so i put him somewhere he could hide, and when I was setting him down, he started scrambling again, when usually he just sticks his legs out and waits to be set down. could he be scared of the noise or sound of their machines? has this happened to anyone else? i'm worried because this has never happened before and he seemed frantic. any ideas or suggestions would be great.

 

[Tom]

What size and age leopard? Do you have a heated night box? I'd just put the tortoise in the night box on days when the gardeners are coming. Let it back out when they are done.

 

[tortoiseforum1]

He is about 9 inches, and we think he's 3? (does that sound right?) And yes, we sometimes bring him inside, and we'll do that when the gardeners are coming. Thank you!

 

[Tom]

He is about 9 inches, and we think he's 3? (does that sound right?) And yes, we sometimes bring him inside, and we'll do that when the gardeners are coming. Thank you!

Inside? Does he have a large indoor enclosure?

How are you housing him? Indoors or out?

 

[tortoiseforum1]

He lives outside, but sometimes we bring him in with a heat lamp when it's cold.

 

[Tom]

He lives outside, but sometimes we bring him in with a heat lamp when it's cold.

Our climate here is not suitable for leopards with out some extra heat. The nights are much too cold. You are lucky you haven't had a problem prior to now. You need to build a heated night box for your tortoise. It needs to sleep in there every night, and it can stay in there on cold winter nights and days too. I even add a low wattage flood bulb to some of mine so they can warm up to temperature even on cold rainy winter days.

Here are some examples:

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

Double Door Night Box

As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...

tortoiseforum.org

Having a box like this will keep your tortoise warm, give it shelter from the elements, protect it from nocturnal predators, and also give it a safe place to hide form the gardeners.

 

[tortoiseforum1]

He already has a doghouse that he sleeps in at night, would you suggest that I put a heat lamp or something in that? Also, I read that leopard tortoises are okay as long as it gets above 70 degrees, and doesn't drop below 50 degrees? Thank you for letting me know, because I want him to be safe and comfortable.

 

[Tom]

He already has a doghouse that he sleeps in at night, would you suggest that I put a heat lamp or something in that? Also, I read that leopard tortoises are okay as long as it gets above 70 degrees, and doesn't drop below 50 degrees? Thank you for letting me know, because I want him to be safe and comfortable.

I'm sorry to say that there is all sorts of incorrect and bad info out there in the world. Letting a leopard get into the 50s or even 60s at night in SoCal is a recipe for sickness. I've have rescued and rehabbed countless tortoises because people read the same thing you read somewhere. The temps you listed would be okay for a Testudo species, but not for a leopard. You are very lucky that he's not gotten sick yet.

Dog houses are designed for dogs. They don't work for tortoises. I came up with the boxes linked above after years and years of trying to make Dogloos, dog houses, rubbermade deck boxes and sheds, and houses made of cinderblocks and plywood work. They just don't work and they are not efficient. It took years of experimentation, adjustments and modifications to come up with the designs I've linked for you.

In summer, when days will be near 100 every day, I set my box thermostats to 70-75. In spring and fall when days are warm but nights are cold, I set the box thermostats to 80. In winter when we have our weeks of cold overcast rainy weather, I set the thermostats to 86, so they always have somewhere to warm up.

Heat lamps and CHEs are no good for larger and taller tortoises like adult leopards. They will burn the top of the carapace. Its made even worse in a dog house or something similar, because the air temp and floor in those stays cold, so the tortoise just parks under the heat lamp for hours and hours, and never gets its core warm enough, and the top of the carapace "slow burns".

You need a well insulated and sealed box that will hold in the heat and stay warm with minimal electrical use. You then need to use heating elements that will do the job without doing harm to your tortoise. I've shown you two different heating strategies that both work very well in the previously linked threads.

I'm up in Santa Clarita, near Magic Mountain. I'm happy to talk tortoises and help out any time.

 

[tortoiseforum1]

The dog house we got is insulated and sealed, and the door is on one side, so the heat stays in better. There's a think layer of timothy hay in the bottom as well. Would you suggest we get a heat pad? Or is there a specific heater that you recommend? The heat lamp we have was recommended, and it has a red bulb, but it stays on a pretty low heat, because we don't want his shell to burn. Thank you for all your help!

 

[tortoiseforum1]

I just ordered a heat pad and a temperature controller. would you suggest that i bring him in at night until they get here?

 

[Tom]

I just ordered a heat pad and a temperature controller. would you suggest that i bring him in at night until they get here?

Depends on temperatures. If you can keep it at 80 and not burn the top of the shell, then he can stay outside. I wouldn't use a red bulb though. They need it dark at night.

A heat mat is good, but that won't do it alone. You'll need a radiant heat panel over head too. Also, you can't use hay with a heat mat, so you'll have to remove all of that when the time comes.

Can we see a pic of the dog house? I've never seen one that was insulted and sealed. How big is the door? Are you able to close the door at night? Are there door flaps to keep the heat in when the door is open on a cold day?