# Super quick baby desert tortoise indoor enclosure



## orgetorix (May 5, 2017)

Hello. I cam across this forum as a result of my searching on baby desert tortoise care. My neighbor is moving and taking her adult tortoises with her. last year, she had about 6 unexpected hatch lings show up in the backyard. Since then, they've lived outside (Southern California) segregated from the parents in an approximately 6' x 6' pen.

Now that she is moving, the parents are moving too, but 4 (maybe 5) of the 6 babies have found new homes, but we're getting down to crunch-time and I am set to inherit 1 or 2 of these little guys.

I would eventually house them outside, but my yard isn't set up to contain them quite yet. In the meantime, I'd like to set up an indoor enclosure that can be utilized for a couple years.

While I am doing my research, the babies will surely arrive before I can acquire or build an adequate enclosure. Are there any resources for cobbling together a super quick temporary enclosure? Maybe for a couple weeks/months? My initial though is something like those shallow rubbermaid-type enclosures with some substrate and a hide on side and a basking area on the other.

Thanks in advance for all your help!


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## Yvonne G (May 5, 2017)

Try to find a Christmas Tree Storage bin manufactured by Iris:








It's about 4' long and makes a great indoor baby habitat. Here's mine with baby desert tortoises in it:


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## orgetorix (May 5, 2017)

Thanks so much! It just so happens that I have 2 of those type brand new in the garage.


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## Tom (May 5, 2017)

I typed this up for russian tortoises, but care for DTs is identical. Those babies are lucky to still be alive…

Check these out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/


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## orgetorix (May 10, 2017)

Tom, thank you for the additional information. I intend to set up a an indoor enclosure similar to those of your Russians. One question. When you say the babies are lucky to still be alive, are you referring to the ones I may inherit or the ones in Yvonnes enclosure?


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## Tom (May 26, 2017)

orgetorix said:


> One question. When you say the babies are lucky to still be alive, are you referring to the ones I may inherit or the ones in Yvonnes enclosure?



I'm referring to the ones that have been living outside all this time in your original post. Outside all day is not good for babies. Its not good for adults either without the proper set up. Above ground temperature extremes are not good for DTs. Summer days are too hot and winter temps are too inconsistent. In the wild they live deep underground away from these temperature extremes. I would say the majority of hatchling DTs don't survive because people don't house them correctly or keep them hydrated enough. I've been trying for years to turn this around and show people how to house them so that they not only survive, but thrive.


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## orgetorix (May 26, 2017)

Thanks again for the reply and the clarification. Luckily these guys had access to both a hide and a shallow pool so hopefully they make it.


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## William Lee Kohler (May 28, 2017)

Tom said:


> I'm referring to the ones that have been living outside all this time in your original post. Outside all day is not good for babies. Its not good for adults either without the proper set up. Above ground temperature extremes are not good for DTs. Summer days are too hot and winter temps are too inconsistent. In the wild they live deep underground away from these temperature extremes. I would say the majority of hatchling DTs don't survive because people don't house them correctly or keep them hydrated enough. I've been trying for years to turn this around and show people how to house them so that they not only survive, but thrive.



So many on here feel it is best to keep pretty much all tortoises outdoors as much as weather allows so why is natural outdoor conditions bad for them? Desert tortoises live in pretty extreme hot days and cold nights as a regular cycle so something seems abnormal about your reasoning.


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (May 28, 2017)

Torts in the wild live in micro climates . They dig their tunnels so the opening is under a bush . Under ground temps Evan in the winter can be 72 degrees. The soil has moisture in it so Evan in the hot dry summer time the hole has more humidity in it .


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## Dovey (Oct 21, 2019)

I recently read a dissertation on Arizona desert sand cockroaches that reported 72 degrees and 95% humidity in a 3 foot burrow when ground surface temperatures were 115%. Wow.


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## Tom (Oct 21, 2019)

William Lee Kohler said:


> So many on here feel it is best to keep pretty much all tortoises outdoors as much as weather allows so why is natural outdoor conditions bad for them? Desert tortoises live in pretty extreme hot days and cold nights as a regular cycle so something seems abnormal about your reasoning.


Because no one can simulate the "natural" conditions that the tortoises would encounter in the wild, in their backyard. Also because multiple side-by-side comparisons have demonstrated that babies do better indoors in the correct conditions. And because, as the two posts following yours have demonstrated, desert tortoises do not experience the wild above ground temperature extremes found in the desert because of their fossorial nature. What is "abnormal" is subjecting them to the daily highs, daily lows, and extremely dry and desiccating above ground conditions found in a normal yard or enclosure. My way of reasoning yields 100% survival rates, and babies that thrive and grow. Following your way of thinking, the typical way of thinking about this species, yields dead baby desert tortoises.


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## William Lee Kohler (Oct 21, 2019)

Tom said:


> Because no one can simulate the "natural" conditions that the tortoises would encounter in the wild, in their backyard. Also because multiple side-by-side comparisons have demonstrated that babies do better indoors in the correct conditions. And because, as the two posts following yours have demonstrated, desert tortoises do not experience the wild above ground temperature extremes found in the desert because of their fossorial nature. What is "abnormal" is subjecting them to the daily highs, daily lows, and extremely dry and desiccating above ground conditions found in a normal yard or enclosure. My way of reasoning yields 100% survival rates, and babies that thrive and grow. Following your way of thinking, the typical way of thinking about this species, yields dead baby desert tortoises.



You make good points. I had the impression that they sheltered under brush much of the time in nature.


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