When it's raining...

[mariab1]

It's raining here in "sunny" tucson - I brought Ronny in, put him in a paper bag filled with hay in the bathroom...was that the right thing to do? (paper bag lying flat so he can crawl out if he wants)

I'm afraid he has never been in the rain before and the last couple times it has sprinkled he kinda "freaks out" and circles around until I put him in his hut and he realizes "oh, that works"

Just wondering what people do when it's pouring and they have outside DTs..
thanks
-maria

(here is a picture of him when he climbed into a pot..no help needed)

 

[wundawhoim]

he's beautiful!!

It's raining here in "sunny" tucson - I brought Ronny in, put him in a paper bag filled with hay in the bathroom...was that the right thing to do? (paper bag lying flat so he can crawl out if he wants)

I'm afraid he has never been in the rain before and the last couple times it has sprinkled he kinda "freaks out" and circles around until I put him in his hut and he realizes "oh, that works"

Just wondering what people do when it's pouring and they have outside DTs..
thanks
-maria

(here is a picture of him when he climbed into a pot..no help needed)

 

[Millerlite]

As long as he has hides to get out of the rain he should be fine. Also it can't be cold and wet, cold and wet always causes problem, If its a warm and rains then he should be good, but always provide a way out of the rain, and a dry place he can go too.

Bringing him indoors isnt bad either... I would of did it too if i was unsure better safe then sorry.

 

[Meg90]

I really don't think he's a desert tortoise....he looks like a sulcata to me???

 

[Yvonne G]

I really don't think he's a desert tortoise....he looks like a sulcata to me???

No, he's a desert. Before Mariabi1 got Ronny he didn't have the best of care, but its better now!

Yvonne

 

[Shelly]

I really think some of you guys pamper your torts WAY too much.
At my house, when it rains, the torts get wet. No big deal.

 

[tortoisenerd]

I would make sure he has a hide where it is sloped so the water will run out. Keep him out if it's warm enough, or bring him inside to a planned enclosure (even a Rubbermaid tub with substrate that may be small but fine for one night). He should be able to get used to rain with the proper planning so that he doesn't get cold and wet or get flooded out. It rains in the wild too!

The thing I would be worried about would be keeping him on the bathroom floor. Even in summer it can be cool, especially with air conditioning running. Check how the drafts would be for you lying naked on the floor...seriously. I know he's big, so this could be tough though to have anything set up off the floor. That is why making sure his outdoor enclosure is safe for rain could be easiest.

Or, have a little heater that you can run for him that would be safe if needed (he shouldn't be able to touch it and if it tips it should turn off). One thing to watch out for is how much heat and a/c dry out the air. The humidity would probably do him some good. I'm familiar with Tucson, and with the summer monsoons it should still be warm enough for him if he stays dry. Just make sure his hide isn't flooded, and as you said, help him go into the hide if he doesn't on his own. He'll learn too!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

But it IS a big deal. A desert tortoise out in the rain stands a very good chance of getting an URTI and that would mean money for Vet visits and medicine, and the possibility of a very sick tortoise that could die.
The saying goes...wet and warm is fine, wet and cold is not, so it really would be the call of the keeper. I live in the Pacific NorthWest and if it rains here all my animals have to come in because it would be cold and wet. I have a 60 pound Sulcata who might stay out in the rain, but he has a doggie door so staying out would be his call. However,
I personally think that leaving a desert tortoise out in the rain is simply asking for trouble.

 

[Shelly]

Comparing rain in the Northwest to rain in Tucson is comparing apples to oranges. I have had 3 desert Torts for 13 years. They have spent every minute of it outdoors. They are happy, healthy. and active. I don't "soak" them, I don't fortify their food with calcium or vitamins, I haven't built them cute little houses. I don't even feed or water them. Yet somehow they've thrived. Desert torts are very sturdy animals. That's how they live to be 100 years old!
Some of you people need to relax a teeny little bit, and not worry about every little thing.

 

[bettinge]

Again, Location is everthing! Today is the Forth of July, but it felt like the forth of March at the Parade this morning! Torts that thrive in some parts of the country have to be handled different in the colder parts of the country. I really love winter and snow, but from a tort perspective, it sucks!

 

[Laura]

Mine are outside rain or shine, they have heat when its cold and a dry place to get out of the rain. Make sure its hides cant get flooded.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Comparing rain in the Northwest to rain in Tucson is comparing apples to oranges. I have had 3 desert Torts for 13 years. They have spent every minute of it outdoors. They are happy, healthy. and active. I don't "soak" them, I don't fortify their food with calcium or vitamins, I haven't built them cute little houses. I don't even feed or water them. Yet somehow they've thrived. Desert torts are very sturdy animals. That's how they live to be 100 years old!
Some of you people need to relax a teeny little bit, and not worry about every little thing.

I wasn't "comparing" I was simply stating how I care for my animals. I even said the PNW rain is cold and wet, not a good thing. But before I moved here I lived in Calif close to my sister's turtle and tortoise rescue that she has had for a number of years and she rescues a great number of Gopherus agassizii. I am very familiar with their needed care. I have raised a number of desert tortoises and so I feel qualified to speak on them and their care. While they might not need to be removed from the rain in AZ and Calif they DO in the PNW and that's what I was saying. Desert tortoises are not sturdy, they are fragile and that is why there are very low numbers in the wild, none at all in the Mojave and they are now a threatened species.
I believe when we offer advice it is pointed towards optimum care and a new keeper, I would certainly NOT tell a newbie that his desert tortoise could stay out in the rain, warm or not. The wet rain in AZ could very well cause an Upper Respiratory Infection that could bring the hidden micoplasma to the fore because of the humidity.
While I would agree that some keepers need to relax and not worry so much I would think that your tortoises are not getting the minimum quality of care. They do need added calcium to their food and it's quite possible that yours might need a supplemental feeding as well. What is the quality of their graze? What tells you that they are thriving? How do you know they are happy?
Bob's shed is not a cute little house it's a large ugly shed that cost quite a bit to have finished off and insulated. That is not a 'cutesy' thing, it's flat out necessary in the PNW because of how cold it gets here...and the length of time tortoises need to stay indoors.
I would agree that the care my tortoises get up here is very different from the care they received in Calif, but the change in the part of the US where I live hasn't changed the advice I give.

 

[Millerlite]

Honestly You can keep him outside even when its raining especially if its a summer rain. Like i said before as long as he has a spot where he can get out of the rain. Most tortoises love rain. I dont think hes freaking out to much, He might just be getting excited. A lot of my tortoises would hang out in the rain and i always though they didnt know where the hide was and when i put them in the hide they came running out. Tortoises can surprise owners on how much instinct they have. They have been on this world for millions of years.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I realize it's probably alright to leave them out in a summer rain in the south but I sure would worry about the humidity with them, or with one that is already compromised...I supposed it really isn't any different then Bob playing in the sprinkler on a hot day...I guess with me it would matter what the ambient temp is at the time it's raining...and Bob being from a hardier species

 

[Millerlite]

I live in california and when it rains the temps drops and its almost always a cool rain which is bad, only tort. i ever let stay out with those rains were my mt. tortoises. But i have lived in tx and IL and when it rained it was a nice warm rain, the temp. never dropped, and humidity in Tx never got to high IL was just always humid. THe rain was almost shower like it was so warm. I would say its like when you use the hose for the first time when its been sitting in the sun. Humidity for short periods of time wont effect them either, Desert tortoises run into rain in nature as well. Some years more then others, if anything the rain might even benefit them in some way. I also found that when I let my tortoises be tortoises, and let them outside and stay outside for as long as weather permits. they always grew a little faster, and always grew a lot smoother. I think its the best way to raise a tortoise, let them be a little wild. I do it to all tortoises i've owned usually they are out at age 6 months, and stay out most the year.. My mt. tortoises as of right now been out a week and a half without me brining them in, it gets cold but every morning they seem healthy and thriving and even growing and getting heavier.

 

[Yvonne G]

Here where I live, in Central Calif, when it rains it is usually cool. We almost never have a summer, warm rain. But, when its cool, my tortoises don't come out of their houses. So, if they are still outside (as opposed to in their hibernation boxes) when it rains, they are usually inside their houses, and it is dry in there. But if any of them are out in a cool rain, I just pick them up and place them inside their house.

Didn't you make Ronnie a shelter on the patio? I seem to remember a picture of the patio with a shelter (and a cat!). If that's the case, just make sure he's inside his shelter when it starts to rain. No big deal. It does rain in the desert, and the tortoises take advantage of this to drink from the puddles. A little bit of rain isn't going to hurt him unless he gets chilled.

Yvonne

 

[CGKeith]

I live about an hour North of Tucson and have a couple of young DT's, will be 3 yrs old this year.

This winter they both came out of their burrows during night time rains, on 3 separate occasions.

This was the only time they were out all Winter.

I would say that the temps were probably in the low to mid 40's during those rainy nights.

Although they have fresh water available at all times, they chose to come out in the rain.

 

[mariab1]

Thanks for all the responses...seems like a debate between some - but because Ronny is not in the best of shape I will probably introduce him to this weather bit by bit.
He has a couple places to go to get out of the rain - and all are rainproof (no flooding and such) and yeah the rain here during the summer is usually warm rain - quite humid too.

I'd just like to say (in a teasing way) to 'Shelly' - if you don't really do ANYTHING for your tortoises, I'm gonna have to say they aren't really YOURS...they seem more like neighbors!
Just teasing!!

Again, thanks for all the advice, I'm taking little bits of information and applying them as need be; he's doing very well in his new environment btw, I've laid down some grass for him and his seed mix should be coming soon so I will be planting some of that for foraging - but I do need to give him more to *do*
What the heck do desert tortoises do for "fun"?
He just stares at the new neighbors moving in next door...I'm pretty sure he is getting bored with that..and I'm pretty sure they are getting a little freaked out - whenever they walk by there he is just staring like "hey..hows it going? I'm Ronny..this is my awesome bachelor pad, come chill out, have some petunias"
What does everyone's tortoises do to pass the time?

 

[Yvonne G]

eat...try to breed...eat...wander...eat...sleep...

Yvonne

 

[chelonologist]

I'll add my two cents. I've seen wild Mojave desert tortoises come out to drink in the rain in the dead of winter. These were very thirsty animals that didn't have many drinking opportunities during the previous summer season. And boy did they move slow - it was COLD. These animals were able to retreat back into their cozy burrows afterward, where it was likely nice and dry. Exposure to winter rain in captivity is probably a very bad idea.

Desert tortoises LOVE summer rains, and I suspect your tortoise was moving around a lot in the rain because he was excited to get a drink. You might try spraying some water in his enclosure during a hot summer day and you'll get a good response from him.