Too hot to be outside?

[Kori5]

Hi . We are planning to build an outdoor enclosure for our Hermanni that would only temporary (this summer) be on our balcony as we are moving this autumn. It would be a wooden table, 300 cm long and 90 wide with coir, some shade water etc. But the problem is...we measured the temps on different parts of the balcony and the readings are crazy. Direct sun readings say 45 C!!! So obiviously we are concerned what to do. The balcony gets sunshine from 12-6 pm. Would it be too dangerous for our tort? I forgot to mention, we live in the Mediterranean and summers are very hot.

 

[Yvonne G]

It would be pretty hard to provide a cool area in a tort table. Tortoises live in very hot climates, but they manage the heat by burrowing or resting under trees and bushes.

 

[Kori5]

That's what I thought . He would probably be fine in late afternoon when it gets cooler but we'll have to think what our alternatives are. This is only this summer as the next one he'll have a huge outdoor run but we want to make him happy . @spudthetortoise how do you manage as you have an table type for outdoors?

 

[Tom]

If I measure the temp of a dark rock sitting in the sun in summer here, it can read as high as 82C. It burns your hand to touch it. That is not what you need to be measuring. What you need to know is ambient temp in the shade. During hot summer temps, the enclosure should be 2/3 to 3/4 shade. Deep shade like from trees, or solid overhead barriers, or maybe a mounted umbrella? You can also add misters and sprinklers to keep things cooler. Bushes that are wet from sprinklers will cool ambient temps by 6-7C just through evaporation.

I think your plan is workable. Build your table, make your shade, and then use a remote thermometer probe to check all the temps at various times of the day. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Kori5]

If I measure the temp of a dark rock sitting in the sun in summer here, it can read as high as 82C. It burns your hand to touch it. That is not what you need to be measuring. What you need to know is ambient temp in the shade. During hot summer temps, the enclosure should be 2/3 to 3/4 shade. Deep shade like from trees, or solid overhead barriers, or maybe a mounted umbrella? You can also add misters and sprinklers to keep things cooler. Bushes that are wet from sprinklers will cool ambient temps by 6-7C just through evaporation.

I think your plan is workable. Build your table, make your shade, and then use a remote thermometer probe to check all the temps at various times of the day. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Thank you so much! I measured the temp in the shade an it says 28 C. We ordered a new thermometer and will start building things this week. You gave me hope this may work. I'll keep you posted, guys.

 

[Tom]

Thank you so much! I measured the temp in the shade an it says 28 C. We ordered a new thermometer and will start building things this week. You gave me hope this may work. I'll keep you posted, guys.

I guarantee that its hotter here than there in summer, and most of my tortoises, except little hatchlings, are outside all summer long during the day. Temps here get over 38 outside regularly, and sometimes over 43. And I'm talking about ambient in the shade, not ground temps in the sun. I use lots of shade and lots of water to keep them cool and hydrated.

 

[Kori5]

I guarantee that its hotter here than there in summer, and most of my tortoises, except little hatchlings, are outside all summer long during the day. Temps here get over 38 outside regularly, and sometimes over 43. And I'm talking about ambient in the shade, not ground temps in the sun. I use lots of shade and lots of water to keep them cool and hydrated.

Well we were shocked after the readings as we expected lower temps but we measured it wrong . Here temps reach maximum of 37 C so It must work. We bought some fake plants, some real ones, two sunshades various huts etc. I'll post pictures after we fix everything.

 

[Gillian M]

Good luck in building the new enclosure!

And please take care if it's that hot.

 

[Kori5]

So we made the table, filled it with coir, put some saucers and huts inside and a mesh on the top. He has two sunshades. Termometer/hygometer says 32C in the shade (on the substrate near his hide)and 82 % humidity. Is it too hot for him? The temperature readings are from 2:30 pm. He walked a little and then burried under the hut. What is the max shade temperature they tolerate? I'll post pictures as soon as we decorate everything. He needs some plants inside and we'll make Tom's humid box .

 

[Tom]

So we made the table, filled it with coir, put some saucers and huts inside and a mesh on the top. He has two sunshades. Termometer/hygometer says 32C in the shade (on the substrate near his hide)and 82 % humidity. Is it too hot for him? The temperature readings are from 2:30 pm. He walked a little and then burried under the hut. What is the max shade temperature they tolerate? I'll post pictures as soon as we decorate everything. He needs some plants inside and we'll make Tom's humid box .

Max temp in the shade should not exceed 36-37.

Is the sun hitting the top of this shade shelter? You might need something like an umbrella to block the sun during the hotter part of the year.

Even in a table you can still make a buried shelter by digging down to the bottom, putting in a little wooden structure, and burying it so that there is only a little door opening. Keep it damp and it will be cooler and function as a humid hide.

Something like this:

 

[Kori5]

Max temp in the shade should not exceed 36-37.

Is the sun hitting the top of this shade shelter? You might need something like an umbrella to block the sun during the hotter part of the year.

Even in a table you can still make a buried shelter by digging down to the bottom, putting in a little wooden structure, and burying it so that there is only a little door opening. Keep it damp and it will be cooler and function as a humid hide.

Something like this:
View attachment 175397

It looks great! We'll build something like this and add extra coir. We do have two umbrellas covering 3/4 of his enclosure so he can choose the sunny side or the shady one. And it was 32, 33 C under the shady side, under the umbrella. In his hide (curently it is a rodent hut with coir on top) it was 31 C. He seemed ok with the temps but did rest in his hide in the hottest part of the day. Later he was marching again.

 

[Gillian M]

It looks great! We'll build something like this and add extra coir. We do have two umbrellas covering 3/4 of his enclosure so he can choose the sunny side or the shady one. And it was 32, 33 C under the shady side, under the umbrella. In his hide (curently it is a rodent hut with coir on top) it was 31 C. He seemed ok with the temps but did rest in his hide in the hottest part of the day. Later he was marching again.

Can't wait to see pics!

 

[Tom]

It looks great! We'll build something like this and add extra coir. We do have two umbrellas covering 3/4 of his enclosure so he can choose the sunny side or the shady one. And it was 32, 33 C under the shady side, under the umbrella. In his hide (curently it is a rodent hut with coir on top) it was 31 C. He seemed ok with the temps but did rest in his hide in the hottest part of the day. Later he was marching again.

They will usually just wait out the heat of the day.

Try to do deep with the hide. The deeper you get it, the cooler it will stay.

And don't be afraid to let him stay inside on super hot days. When temps here top 100+ degrees F (37 C) I leave babies and small ones inside.

 

[Kori5]

He spent the whole day outside as it was a little cooler today. He was one happy tort . We're gonna put some weeds inside to make it a little more interesting for him. Nothing too fancy as this is only temporary for this summer, we're moving and he's gonna have a big dog kennel sort of thing next summer .