# When can CDT live outside???



## New Desert Tortoise Mommy (Apr 15, 2015)

When its cold i can bring them inside. But at night in Cali its kind of cold but not bad if they have a hide to hide in. And for winter they hibernate in the garage or inside. 
But anyways 2 questions...

-How old do they need to be to start living outside? If they have 100% full coverage from predators.

-whats a good substrate to only put inside the hide for extra warth? 
Ex. I see for sulcatas people put hay. So what about cdt? 

Please and thank you


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## Tom (Apr 15, 2015)

1. Its not age for me, but size. Once they are around 6-8", if I have the right enclosure, I will let them live outside full time. But this also depends on where you live and what the weather is like. Its hotter and sunnier where I live than it is closer to the coast. Do you get June gloom? Prior to that size, I prefer to let them be inside in a big enclosure during nights and inclement weather and outside during fair weather. I only put hatchlings outside for an hour or two tops.

2. I use the native dirt for outside. If you wanted to put something else in the hide, you could use orchid bark, coco chips or cypress mulch. You can use grass hay if you like too. I prefer orchard grass hay or bermuda hay.


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## New Desert Tortoise Mommy (Apr 15, 2015)

Tom said:


> 1. Its not age for me, but size. Once they are around 6-8", if I have the right enclosure, I will let them live outside full time. But this also depends on where you live and what the weather is like. Its hotter and sunnier where I live than it is closer to the coast. Do you get June gloom? Prior to that size, I prefer to let them be inside in a big enclosure during nights and inclement weather and outside during fair weather. I only put hatchlings outside for an hour or two tops.
> 
> 2. I use the native dirt for outside. If you wanted to put something else in the hide, you could use orchid bark, coco chips or cypress mulch. You can use grass hay if you like too. I prefer orchard grass hay or bermuda hay.




Yes i have just plain native dirt and top soil with nothing in it for outside. I pretty have them outside all day long and i bring them in towards night because southern california weather is pretty nice now for them day and night. 
They have a big outside enclosure i built and adding the 100% protection mesh wire around and they cant see outside of it because wood is on the bottom barrier and i was hoping it would be okay to have them outdoors until it starts getting cooler because some nights i cant make it home until very late or not at all. So they have protection from predators, also have hides and im making a "house" almost so they can sleep in over night if its okay. Ill measure them when later on tonight. 
Any thoughts on this?


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## New Desert Tortoise Mommy (Apr 15, 2015)

Oh and as for june gloom im not quite sure as of right now.


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## Tom (Apr 15, 2015)

New Desert Tortoise Mommy said:


> Oh and as for june gloom im not quite sure as of right now.



Are you new to SoCal?

I think its fine to leave them outside after dark if they are big enough to be outside for hours at a time. I even do this with my tropical species. I just try to get them in heated their boxes before it gets _too_ cold. Sometimes I don't get the leopards put away until 10 pm with temps in the low 60's. A few hours of cool temps won't hurt them, and it definitely won't hurt a temperate species like your DTs. But I would not leave a smaller one outside all night without being sure he was in some sort of shelter. We get cold nights here.


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## New Desert Tortoise Mommy (Apr 15, 2015)

Tom said:


> Are you new to SoCal?
> 
> I think its fine to leave them outside after dark if they are big enough to be outside for hours at a time. I even do this with my tropical species. I just try to get them in heated their boxes before it gets _too_ cold. Sometimes I don't get the leopards put away until 10 pm with temps in the low 60's. A few hours of cool temps won't hurt them, and it definitely won't hurt a temperate species like your DTs. But I would not leave a smaller one outside all night without being sure he was in some sort of shelter. We get cold nights here.




No not new... just very brain dead right now from school and house work and grocery shopping and cant recall. 
And the temps here usually not bad here at night. When its too cold ill bring them inside. For the boxes i want to have something inside it to give them a warmer place to go to at night when i cant come home. Which is why i asked what i can put inside of it  Thank you soo much.
Im just really excited about this enclosure i built outside and it will be completly safe for them and i would just love if they could sleep outside at night sometimes. I even want to make a fun banner or something with their names on it


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## Tom (Apr 15, 2015)

I think in practice the problem that you will find is that they might not put themselves away into their box at night. If you don't come home and they sleep out in the open, it could be a problem. Some of them put themselves away like clock work after a brief "training" time, while others don't. I won't leave that to chance. The whereabouts of each and every one of my tortoises is checked upon every night, if not by me, by someone. Most nights this consists of simply checking that they are in the box and shutting the door. I have around 50 tortoises of various species, and even the ones who usually put themselves away, occasionally don't for one reason or another. If I wasn't checking every night, there would have been problems.


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## Tom (Apr 15, 2015)

New Desert Tortoise Mommy said:


> No not new...



How about this? Can you tell me the general region of Southern CA you are in? This will tell me what sort of climate you are in and what sort of adjustments might help you and your tortoise.


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## New Desert Tortoise Mommy (Apr 15, 2015)

Thats a good point. My babies always are good like clock work with going in their hide now. But theres always a chance they might not go. Im in the riverside area.


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## Tom (Apr 15, 2015)

New Desert Tortoise Mommy said:


> Im in the riverside area.



Ooh. Good tortoise weather out there. June gloom isn't an issue for you.


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## ascott (Apr 15, 2015)

New Desert Tortoise Mommy said:


> When its cold i can bring them inside. But at night in Cali its kind of cold but not bad if they have a hide to hide in. And for winter they hibernate in the garage or inside.
> But anyways 2 questions...
> 
> -How old do they need to be to start living outside? If they have 100% full coverage from predators.
> ...



If you have night boxes that they can access...are you wanting 80 degree temps in there or are you wanting the temps to drop to night temps? I mean, if you want toasty 80 then perhaps use some type of pig blanket or the like....if you are wanting the temps to drop to night temps then no need for any source of warmth....you can simply make sure that their houses are snug in relation to their size....and if you make an above ground hide...make it as long as you can so that they can go deep in or remain towards the opening depending on the temps...this allows them the ability to work a hide similar to what a tortoise in a natural dug burrow does all day long...in your area, you should not have an issue with the most extreme colds....so that is a plus..how large are the torts now? To me that is more of a factor than age....


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## New Desert Tortoise Mommy (Apr 16, 2015)

This is all very helpful thank u so much i feel better now about it. Im very excited for the finish of the torts new enclosure


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## BeeBee*BeeLeaves (Apr 17, 2015)

Quick word of caution:

Last Friday, Dr. Greek came to speak at the OC CTTC meeting. I am still haunted by some of his pictures of sick animal patients.
And dead ones. One poor CDT had his head removed by a raccoon. The picture, one big bloody hole where his sweet little head had been. Ugggh.
Like I said, I am still freaked by it. Poor thing. Now I love little raccoons but did not know that they could be so naughty.
So brutally evil. Little Jekyl and Hydes. I am stunned that they do that in the cover of night. So please-please-please ...
Please be careful if you have raccoons in your area. Make sure your tortoises are safe and secure at night so that does not happen to you.


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## New Desert Tortoise Mommy (Apr 17, 2015)

Thank you i will. Safety for them is my #1 priority


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