# Tortoise sleeping outdoors?



## Hector108 (Mar 31, 2016)

I have and outdoor and indoor tortoise enclosure, in the outdoor one she has an artificial homemade burrow or "cave". I just wondered would it be okay if my tort sleeps outside during the night when the temps are good and there is no rain coming? And then during cold or humid nights to bring it indoors. I currently leave it outside during good days and at night put it indoors. She actually likes the pallets she makes, and when i put it in the burrow it comes out. Should i put a little door so that it doesnt get out overnight if it is okay for it to stay out overnight.


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## Hector108 (Mar 31, 2016)

Sorry about that i thought that button was to correct an error i made in the first one. Lol


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## Hector108 (Mar 31, 2016)

Dont pay attention to my reply after my post


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## wellington (Mar 31, 2016)

LOL. I would only let her sleep outside if you can either lock her inside the hide or if there is absolutely no way an animal can get to her.


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## ascott (Mar 31, 2016)

Hector108 said:


> I have and outdoor and indoor tortoise enclosure, in the outdoor one she has an artificial homemade burrow or "cave". I just wondered would it be okay if my tort sleeps outside during the night when the temps are good and there is no rain coming? And then during cold or humid nights to bring it indoors. I currently leave it outside during good days and at night put it indoors. She actually likes the pallets she makes, and when i put it in the burrow it comes out. Should i put a little door so that it doesnt get out overnight if it is okay for it to stay out overnight.




Gopherus berlandieri? If the ground/hide is dry and the temps don't drop into freezing and the tortoise has time to acclimate a little...then yes. I would also make sure to know what, if any, active predators are in your area and take caution the best you can....may we see a pic of the Texan, please?


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## Tom (Mar 31, 2016)

What species and where are you? How secure is the area? How common are predatory animals where you are?

I like for them to sleep outside with the proper accommodations if the temperatures are correct for the species.


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## turdle yerdle (Mar 31, 2016)

Is your back yard fenced?


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## Hector108 (Mar 31, 2016)

ascott said:


> Gopherus berlandieri? If the ground/hide is dry and the temps don't drop into freezing and the tortoise has time to acclimate a little...then yes. I would also make sure to know what, if any, active predators are in your area and take caution the best you can....may we see a pic of the Texan, please?



How fo i post a pic


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## Hector108 (Mar 31, 2016)

My backyard is totally fenced and the only thing i worry about is cats becuase they can climb the fence


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## Hector108 (Mar 31, 2016)

@ascott how do you know its a Texas tort. No worries i got permit


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## Hector108 (Mar 31, 2016)

Tom said:


> What species and where are you? How secure is the area? How common are predatory animals where you are?
> 
> I like for them to sleep outside with the proper accommodations if the temperatures are correct for the species.



It is a Texas tort. I live in Brownsville, Texas. It is fenced and only neighbors cats cross over once in a while.


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## Hector108 (Mar 31, 2016)

This is her. She is captive bred about 4 in. Long , but her previous owner didnt have a permit for it. He had little girls and they painted the shell (which i really did not tolerate) and they fed her food from the fridge. I obtained it from him and now its mine (once again, i do have a permit)


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## ascott (Mar 31, 2016)

Hector108 said:


> This is her. She is captive bred about 4 in. Long , but her previous owner didnt have a permit for it. He had little girls and they painted the shell (which i really did not tolerate) and they fed her food from the fridge. I obtained it from him and now its mine (once again, i do have a permit)



Awesome....what a great moment caught for a picture....fantastic....


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## ascott (Mar 31, 2016)

Hector108 said:


> @ascott how do you know its a Texas tort. No worries i got permit




I simply read your prior posts before I participated in the thread


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## ascott (Mar 31, 2016)

Hector108 said:


> This is her. She is captive bred about 4 in. Long , but her previous owner didnt have a permit for it. He had little girls and they painted the shell (which i really did not tolerate) and they fed her food from the fridge. I obtained it from him and now its mine (once again, i do have a permit)



After reading here that the tort is only 4 inches long....I would still bring the tort indoors at night and or lock inside a completely fail proof locked night house....I would do this until the tort is a few inches larger....just what my gut is saying....


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## Hector108 (Mar 31, 2016)

Yes thank all you very much for the help guys!


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## Jodie (Mar 31, 2016)

That is a great picture! I love it. What a ham. I too would not leave that small of a tort out overnight.


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## ZEROPILOT (Apr 1, 2016)

I wouldn't worry about cats. But at just 4" I'd worry about a lot of other critters taking off with it or just eating him/her while it sleeps. Raccoons and even rats could and will chew on them.
Larger birds like owls will sure take them away.
Unless it is an enclosed and secured area. I simply would not.


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## Hector108 (Apr 1, 2016)

Would cockroaches bite them


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## ascott (Apr 1, 2016)

Hector108 said:


> Would cockroaches bite them



Yes. But are you referring to the big gross common "water bug" type roaches? Or those nasty little disease infested German roaches? Water bugs will likely not harm the tortoise....the reason I say I would not leave that size of tortoise out overnight is for a couple of reasons, if you should have a sudden drop in temp the tortoise does not have a lot of size to hold it over until warmth, or you, arrives....and if a storm should drop a lot of rain suddenly, the tort is just too small and not as sturdy as a larger one....I mean, tortoise hatch in the wild all of the time and about 2-5 out of 100 will actually make it into a viable reproductive size....so yes, they can survive in the wild....but your yard is not the wild with all of the microclimates naturally available...and a larger tortoise can withstand sudden changes a lot easier than a youngster....that is what drives my opinion of not leaving a little one out on its own overnight unless you are able to completely secure it...again, just my opinion....that tortoise is in your care and you are in charge of its safety--not me, right


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## ZEROPILOT (Apr 1, 2016)

Roaches would not be an issue.
South Florida has more roaches than people.
Ascott has some great points.


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## Hector108 (Apr 1, 2016)

Yeah i kept it in an indoor enclosure over night


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## Hector108 (Apr 1, 2016)

I had a 50 ft long × 15 ft wide outdoor enclosure for it but i am starting preparations for it to be securely housed in my entire back yard (like1/4 of an acre) it will have all necessities. Totally escape proof and since i live where they are found i dont have to worry too much about climate (only when raining or cold).


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## Hector108 (Apr 1, 2016)

The american roach is the one i am talking about


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## ascott (Apr 1, 2016)

Hector108 said:


> I had a 50 ft long × 15 ft wide outdoor enclosure for it but i am starting preparations for it to be securely housed in my entire back yard (like1/4 of an acre) it will have all necessities. Totally escape proof and since i live where they are found i dont have to worry too much about climate (only when raining or cold).



Sounds like a great space and I am sure the tortoise will appreciate your work  and we have those darned "water bugs" here too...we use to not have a high population, because at one time we had a great variety of fence lizards (blue belly and such) and great populations of them around our house/property and they would hunt those water bugs down from their day hiding places and such...then a neighbor cut loose two female cats that were not fixed, which turned into 10 cats which turned into 20 cats, well you get it right? So, as time has passed those cats have in turn cleared all gophers and squirrels from the property with their master hunting skills....which was a welcome help...but in turn some birds lost their life along with a large population of the beloved lizards....well, the main mother cat simply failed to show up one day and there after her male offspring have taken up in other yards and spread out, females have followed them off and now we have I believe two to four cats that will linger and they are only minor hunters....so I suspect over the next year or two we may get the lizard population increasing....which in turn will get those darn water bugs back in check....but hopefully the gophers and squirrels will not get the news flash....


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## Hector108 (Apr 2, 2016)

ascott said:


> Sounds like a great space and I am sure the tortoise will appreciate your work  and we have those darned "water bugs" here too...we use to not have a high population, because at one time we had a great variety of fence lizards (blue belly and such) and great populations of them around our house/property and they would hunt those water bugs down from their day hiding places and such...then a neighbor cut loose two female cats that were not fixed, which turned into 10 cats which turned into 20 cats, well you get it right? So, as time has passed those cats have in turn cleared all gophers and squirrels from the property with their master hunting skills....which was a welcome help...but in turn some birds lost their life along with a large population of the beloved lizards....well, the main mother cat simply failed to show up one day and there after her male offspring have taken up in other yards and spread out, females have followed them off and now we have I believe two to four cats that will linger and they are only minor hunters....so I suspect over the next year or two we may get the lizard population increasing....which in turn will get those darn water bugs back in check....but hopefully the gophers and squirrels will not get the news flash....



Lol , sounds horrible i dont really like cats. Cats wont hurt tortoise from what i have read, but i can't trust them. Poor lizards. Do roaches bother or bite your tortoises? And ty for eveything


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## ascott (Apr 2, 2016)

Hector108 said:


> Lol , sounds horrible i dont really like cats. Cats wont hurt tortoise from what i have read, but i can't trust them. Poor lizards. Do roaches bother or bite your tortoises? And ty for eveything



I don't believe the tortoise pay much attention to the roaches...I have seen a cat curiously poking its heads into one of the burrows...and I have seen the tortoise in that burrow walk right on up into them and the cat jumped out of the way... I was a little uncomfortable when the better hunters were around but did not see anything happen, so became a little less worrisome...I think that I only get a little nerved when the coyotes come through the property...it is kinda a love hate relationship with regards to them...they are a valuable equalizer within the balance of wildlife here...yet that skill absolutely has very little discrimination from one meal to another..stray dogs are an occasional hazard as well....

You know, the way I see it is, you do your best to offer protection in the way of a protected area...and then you just kinda have to let it do its thing...you know what I mean?


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## Hector108 (Apr 2, 2016)

Yup, i thankfully dont have any coyotes near and dogs have no way in the outdoor enclosure.


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