Advice on nighttime temps

[thatrebecca]

Is there a good temp guideline for when my juvenile CDTs should stay out and when they should come in at night? I've been using 65 degrees as the cutoff where I bring em in, based on nothing but a hunch. In general, they seem a lot happier when left to sleep outside in their burrow, but I don't want to let them get too cold. (A couple weeks ago they started yawning a lot, so I worried about a respiratory infection. I started bringing them in at night and the yawning stopped.)

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I leave mine out all night with no issues. They can handle cool temperatures. How big are they?

 

[Tom]

Rebecca, WAIT UNTIL SUMMER. When we are through with the June gloom and nights are consistently warm and dry and days are always hot. THIS is the time to move indoor raised young juveniles outside and then let them acclimate to cooler weather in the fall.

 

[thatrebecca]

So... Wait till end of June regardless of temps? Gomez is shaking his tiny tortoise fist at you, Tom, but I understand. Bringing them in at night already got rid of that yawning.

(She's the size of a bread plate. He's the size of a salad plate. This weekend I need to actually measure the little guys so I can answer the size question without using table settings).

 

[Tom]

CDTs can handle the cold damp temps just fine, IF they are acclimated to it. As you've seen, moving them from indoors to outdoors in the wrong weather at the wrong time of year can cause problems. I'd continue the "out all day and sleep inside" routine for a while longer. You'll have to watch the weather. I don't know how hard the June gloom hits where you are. It doesn't get into my valley up here most of the time even though its cold and clammy just a few miles away down in Sylmar. If we get hot dry days and warm nights in June, then you can start leaving them out. If you keep seeing gloomy overcast days and cool night, then wait to put them out full time. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. In good weather, put them out and leave them out. If we get a cooler spell, start bringing them in again.