# New to Desert Torts.. I need some advice



## HrdHeaded1 (Jul 28, 2008)

Howdy..
Ok.. once again the long story short is.. Bill was nearly ran over in the road. We safely picked him up and brought him home. Right now he is in the kiddie pool in the garage, and during the day roaming the back yard eating all my clovers and dandilions lol. I think I will be bringing him into the house at night since the temps are dropping slowly.

The folks on here have identified him to be a desert tort, so here I am.

What I need to know I guess is what type of enclosure do you make for these guys? Do any of you have some pictures of your enclosures that I could see? We are thinking about building a cinder block enclosure with a chickenwire type lid to prevent anything from getting to him. 

All ideas would help! Ohh and here's a picture of "Bill"


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## Yvonne G (Jul 28, 2008)

I don't think something you can put a chicken-wire lid on will be big enough for a desert tortoise. They need lots of space. If you are going to bring the tortoise in at night, there's no need to worry about predators. Just go around your backyard fence and be sure its in good shape, with no rotten places or spots where he can dig out. Be sure the gate latches securely. Of course...no in-the-ground pool, as they will drown. If you don't want to allow him the whole back yard, then fence off the side yard for him. They need more space than just a small pen. This is my desert tortoise pen:







As you can see, its quite large and holds only three tortoises. I don't bring them in at night, but each evening I go around and make sure all the tortoises are in their houses and I block the doors so predators can't get inside.


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## HrdHeaded1 (Jul 28, 2008)

Ty for sharing that picture with us! Today bill had full run of the back yard munching on clover and dandylions. However, I think I will just pen off an area for him to roam in freely. He's a quick lil guy that's for sure! 

Ok, you say you don't bring yours inside at night, but how cold is too cold to leave them outside? Reading up on everything I can get my hands on right now lol I live in WA state so the temps at night right now are dropping to the 50's. Not to mention.. it rains here A LOT!

Thanks again folks for helping me out here. I just want to make sure Bill has enough room and proper care that he deserves.


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## Yvonne G (Jul 28, 2008)

HrdHeaded1 said:


> Ok, you say you don't bring yours inside at night, but how cold is too cold to leave them outside? Reading up on everything I can get my hands on right now lol I live in WA state so the temps at night right now are dropping to the 50's. Not to mention.. it rains here A LOT!



That makes a WHOLE LOT of difference. Desert tortoises come from a really hot and dry area of SW United States. Your climate isn't really good for him, so you are going to have to work harder to keep him healthy. Just remember: warm/wet=ok...COLD/wet=VERY BAD!! So in your case, you will need to bring him in on days that are below, say, 65 and wettish and for sure at night. So if its raining, but its in the 70's it might be ok to leave him outside, but if it were me, I'd just make him an indoor habitat and keep him in whenever its wet outside, regardless of the temp. If you have the space, a box about 4'x8' probably would be ok for a TEMP indoor enclosure. Of course, the bigger, the better. And if he has an outdoor pen to go to on warm sunny days, it won't be so bad for him being cooped up indoors in a smallish habitat.

Yvonne

P.S. I don't know why, because I can't see Bill's underside, but something tells me Bill is female!


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## chelonologist (Jul 28, 2008)

yeah, that gular looks suspiciously female. perhaps Willamina would be a better name...

Yvonne's warning about cold wet conditions is good advice. Desert tortoises can tolerate very cold temperatures, but extended periods in cold, WET conditions are a recipe for disaster (respiratory infections). An outdoor enclosure is still possible, providing you can give your tortoise a warm dry area to retreat to, even when it's raining outside.


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## Crazy1 (Jul 28, 2008)

Informational sites for Desert tortoise care.
http://www.tortoise.org/general/descare.html
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/kandb.htm
http://tortoiseforum.org/need-info-t-1605.html

Here are some of the pics of my DT outside pen made of cinderblocks. They are stacked 2 high and contain them nicely plus you can move them like building blocks. You can also use them in the Garage if you need to to make him a pen inside.
http://tortoiseforum.org/playing-in-the-water-t-2451.html
http://tortoiseforum.org/finally-finished-building-my-enclosures-for-now-t-3040.html

Hope these help some.


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