Should he be outside overnight?

[shelby47493]

We made my desert tortoise an outdoor enclosure this year and as far as I know, this will be his first winter as a full-time outdoor tortoise. It has been around 35 degrees Fahrenheit at night, but I didn't realize just how cold it has been until this morning when the top layer of his water was frozen. It is usually pretty sunny during the daytime and it has been about 65 degrees. Should I bring him inside until winter is over?

 

[Tom]

Read this. It explains how to house them and how to keep them in winter. You've got to either brumate them correctly, or bring them inside into a properly heated and lit enclosure. Leaving them outside with no heat often kills them.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Jan A]

We made my desert tortoise an outdoor enclosure this year and as far as I know, this will be his first winter as a full-time outdoor tortoise. It has been around 35 degrees Fahrenheit at night, but I didn't realize just how cold it has been until this morning when the top layer of his water was frozen. It is usually pretty sunny during the daytime and it has been about 65 degrees. Should I bring him inside until winter is over?

What Tom said. If your outdoor enclosure is not heated or insulated, you haven't finished your project. Torts have no internal force that warms them. It's up to you to do that for them. Yes, they warm up on a sunny day, but no, the warm temps during the day don't keep them warm at night. Doesn't really matter much the time of year. Heads up to you for questioning what you were thinking.

Once you read the caresheet, read Tom's recommendations on building an outdoor enclosure to weather thru. Otherwise, bring him indoors. But please, keep your baby warm.

 

[Yvonne G]

Desert tortoises brumate during the winter. If you don't live in an area with weather like where they live in nature then you should not allow him to brumate outside. I have had success bringing them in to a cement dog house-like structure on my car port. It is insulated and holds a steady temperature during the winter months, never getting down to freezing nor warming up past 45F degrees.

If you don't want him to brumate (Tortoises are ectothermic (cold blooded) and they don't actually hibernate, but instead enter a period of dormancy that is referred to as “brumation.” Unlike mammals, reptiles are not in a true state of sleep during this time.) If you don't want him to brumate, then you must set him up in a heated enclosure in the house. He'll need lights (UVB) and heat, everything that was provided for him outside.

 

[shelby47493]

Desert tortoises brumate during the winter. If you don't live in an area with weather like where they live in nature then you should not allow him to brumate outside. I have had success bringing them in to a cement dog house-like structure on my car port. It is insulated and holds a steady temperature during the winter months, never getting down to freezing nor warming up past 45F degrees.

If you don't want him to brumate (Tortoises are ectothermic (cold blooded) and they don't actually hibernate, but instead enter a period of dormancy that is referred to as “brumation.” Unlike mammals, reptiles are not in a true state of sleep during this time.) If you don't want him to brumate, then you must set him up in a heated enclosure in the house. He'll need lights (UVB) and heat, everything that was provided for him outside.

This was very helpful. I am having a hard time finding information online so I would love to ask some questions. On the days where it is sunny outside, should I put him back outside and bring him back in once the sun goes down? Do I need to provide food for him? Should I have him soak every few days?

 

[Tom]

This was very helpful. I am having a hard time finding information online so I would love to ask some questions. On the days where it is sunny outside, should I put him back outside and bring him back in once the sun goes down? Do I need to provide food for him? Should I have him soak every few days?

The answer to these questions depends on if you are brumating him, or keeping him up and heated.

To brumate they have to have their gut emptied, and gradually be brought down to 45-50 degrees, and it needs to stay that temperature consistently all winter. If you want him up, eating and sunning on warm days, you will need to provide an indoor heated enclosure, or an outdoor enclosure with a heat source for basking on colder days, and a warmer overnight temp.