Western Hermann in Bay Area CA

[McScoots]

Hi All,

Ive had my 2 Western Hermmans (From Garden State Tortoise) now for 4 years. I didnt think they would produce until 6-8 years but during this spring, my baby girl laid 7 eggs and 3 have hatched. My question, i really want to keep the adults outdoors. and i know our temperatures (Bay Area/North Bay by the Golden Gate) are neutral, but my torts have had 2 respiratory infections, in back to back january months. And since ive never brumated them, do you think temps that drop to low 40s during the winter, and maybe highs of high 50s in the winter is ok? Does anyone here have western hermmans living outside 24/7, 365 days a year? Thanks in advance. My outdoor enclosure is 3x16 ft with hardware cloth lined on the bottom and chicken wire lined on the top. i dont have a heat source, and the enclosure gets 4-5 hours of sun a day. we have Racoons, bobcats, possums, coyotes.. dogs/cats, just to name a few predators.

 

[wellington]

No it's not okay. That's too cold and fluctuating. To brumate, it has to be done with a constant temp. You need to either build them a heated lighted shed to keep them up and awake thru winter or bring them in and house them inside or properly brumate them.
They also should not be kept as a pair. Pairs do not do well, it's stressful on both and one will be bullied or bred to illness or death.

 

[Tom]

Hi All,

Ive had my 2 Western Hermmans (From Garden State Tortoise) now for 4 years. I didnt think they would produce until 6-8 years but during this spring, my baby girl laid 7 eggs and 3 have hatched. My question, i really want to keep the adults outdoorView attachment 359759View attachment 359760View attachment 359761s. and i know our temperatures (Bay Area/North Bay by the Golden Gate) are neutral, but my torts have had 2 respiratory infections, in back to back january months. And since ive never brumated them, do you think temps that drop to low 40s during the winter, and maybe highs of high 50s in the winter is ok? Does anyone here have western hermmans living outside 24/7, 365 days a year? Thanks in advance. My outdoor enclosure is 3x16 ft with hardware cloth lined on the bottom and chicken wire lined on the top. i dont have a heat source, and the enclosure gets 4-5 hours of sun a day. we have Racoons, bobcats, possums, coyotes.. dogs/cats, just to name a few predators.

In this thread I explain how to use an insulated temperature controlled shelter to do this:

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

 

[McScoots]

No it's not okay. That's too cold and fluctuating. To brumate, it has to be done with a constant temp. You need to either build them a heated lighted shed to keep them up and awake thru winter or bring them in and house them inside or properly brumate them.
They also should not be kept as a pair. Pairs do not do well, it's stressful on both and one will be bullied or bred to illness or death.

thanks for the insight

 

[McScoots]

In this thread I explain how to use an insulated temperature controlled shelter to do this:

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

thanks for the tips, i'll look into this