4 Year Old Tortoise Care

Barbaraella

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Feb 12, 2015
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My husband and I live near Portland, Oregon presently. I have two leopard tortoises that are two years old. I keep them in an enclosure that is 80 to 100 degrees during the day depending in which part of the enclosure the tortoises are with a temperature of 70 to 80 degrees at night. Humidity ranges between 50 to 75 percent. Is this correct? They seem to be thriving. The next question is that in two years we will be moving to the high desert in central Oregon. It is much drier there outdoors than here and gets much colder in the winter. The leopards will be four years old when we move there and I was wondering what their temperature and humidity needs would be at that time.
Please advise.
Barbara
 

Tom

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I'd keep it a little warmer at night and I'd separate them. Tortoises should not live in pairs. Its bad for both of them.

What size enclosure are they in?

They will have the same temperature requirements throughout their lives, but how you provide those temps will vary from person to person and it will vary in different climates too.

@Team Gomberg
@leigti
@Jodie

You guys want to chime in here?
 

Jodie

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For my adults, inside and out, I provide a humid night box. I keep it 80F or above, and at 60% humidity.
Outside I have an insulated box. I use Kane mats and an oil filled radiant heater on a thermostat. I keep water on shelves for humidity. I put them in every night and close the door.
Inside I use a radiant heat panel and Kane mats again on a thermostat to maintain 80F in the night box. I use coco coir substrate in the box, and keep it moist to maintain humidty. Kane mats cannot be covered so I attach them on a raised platform in half of the box, if that makes sense.
My juveniles go outside for days only, and have inside enclosures similar to the adults. For their night box, I use large dog kennels. Insulated on the bottom, plastic over windows, and heavy plastic hanging door. I keep a Kane mat and a CHE in these.
I keep my adult females in a group of 4. All the others have their own enclosure.
Hope this makes sense, and helps.
 

Levi the Leopard

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I have a 4 year old leopard tortoise, Levi and live in southern Oregon.

Levi lives outside all year long. He has the entire backyard to himself and a heated, fully insulated tortoise house with a door so he can come and go out as he pleases. His thermostat averages 80°F. A little lower during the hot summers and a little warmer during the cold winters. I make sure he's inside the house every night and lock his door. In the morning, I open it and he comes out by mid morning.

In my part of southern Oregon, spring, summer and the start of fall are no problem. It's not SoCal weather anymore (his first 2 years were in SoCal) that's for sure, but it's definitely manageable. Winter is tougher on him, so I'm making some changes before next year.

During the winter, he stays in his heated house pretty much all day and gets "breakfast in bed". Every 3 days or so I bring him inside for a warm soak and a good poop. If it's cold yet sunny, he gets some grazing time in the sun before going back into his house. I also add extra doorway flaps and cover his house with a clear shower curtain for an additional wind barrier over the doorway.

My plans this spring are to build him a larger heated house, add a section for feeding and add lighting.
Ideally (and maybe eventually) I'd like a greenhouse with his heated house inside of it. Or better yet just a large heated shed.

I brought 3 leopards with me to Oregon and quickly realized I did not want to have to make 3 of these separate accommodations! So, I sent 2 away to warmer states. Doing this for 1 tortoise is enough for me. You'll have to do all of this for 2.
 

leigti

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I have 2 Russian tortoises, one adult and one hatchling. not leopards. Russians tolerate temperature change better than leopards. So I think the above answers will be much more helpful. I would think that you would have to bring the tortoises indoors for the winter, I'm not sure a heated night box would really work well because they would pretty much have to stay in it for months at a time. And in the summer you will have to make sure you have plenty of shade cover and lots of plants to help keep the humidity up.
 
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