best way to set up a shed for winter enclosure? also future tort sitter for a few years?

CleoTheLeo

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I was looking to get some ideas on how to set up a shed for winter. I have a shed that is about 10x12 and will be running electrical out to it. I was wondering what is the best way to keep it heated and should I do anything to the floor. I was thinking of keeping my 6 year old tortoise in there this winter and keeping the door "cracked" so she could go out on nice days to an enclosed outdoor area and then lock it up at night. Is that what people typically do?

Also, I will be graduating from college in May and will most likely be taking temporary seasonal jobs across the country for a few years. I am considering finding a place for her to live for those years I am gone, with someone who already knows about tortoises and can provide her with the best care. I would be able to send a little bit of money to cover her food, electricity etc, but not much else. I want her back after I find a permanent job, but want to give her the best care while I am away. My parents are able to look after her but I would prefer her to be with someone who has or had tortoises. I would prefer she isn't kept with other tortoises and I don't want her to be used for breeding. Any ideas on where to look? I thought this forum would be the best place to start. It makes me so nervous and sad to think about being away from her and leaving her with someone I don't know, but I'm trying to do whats right and giver her the best life possible.
 

CleoTheLeo

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Where do you live & whats the climate like?

Live in the piedmont of NC. Starts to cool down at the end of October, gets into the 60s. We typically have the lowest temps in January and February around 40-55, can be rainy alot. Then march is high 50s to low 60s. And we usually have random really cold days or pretty warm days too scattered in there. we typically dont get much snow, maybe an a couple inches for a few days out of the year.
 

Yvonne G

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I live in central Calif. where avg. winter day temp is 40-45F and avg. winter night temp is 30F. Do a search for Dudley's rebuild. This design has been working well for me for many years and for four species of tortoise.
 

CleoTheLeo

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I live in central Calif. where avg. winter day temp is 40-45F and avg. winter night temp is 30F. Do a search for Dudley's rebuild. This design has been working well for me for many years and for four species of tortoise.
Thats awesome! Thank you for your idea. So do you just keep it open all day everyday when winter temps are 40-45 degrees and just close it up at night? Or do you keep it closed if the temps drop lower than that?
 

Yvonne G

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Because Dudley has a large body mass that stays warm for a long time, and he can be depended upon to go back in when he gets cold, his door is always open except at night.

The leopards are a different story. They don't understand 'getting cold,' and they don't go 'home' when they get cold, so sometimes I don't let them out.
 

CleoTheLeo

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Because Dudley has a large body mass that stays warm for a long time, and he can be depended upon to go back in when he gets cold, his door is always open except at night.

The leopards are a different story. They don't understand 'getting cold,' and they don't go 'home' when they get cold, so sometimes I don't let them out.
At what temperatures would you not let your leopards out? And are your leopards in a similar shed?
 

Yvonne G

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Yes, the leopard shed is the same. I let them out if the sun shines.
 

wellington

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I would not leave the door cracked open but make a tort level door within the door or side of the shed then cover that with plastic strips to help keep heat in the shed.
Most likely you will need to keep a leopard inside unless the temp outside was at least 75 or above but sunny.
My leopards are in a heated shed all winter. I'm in Chicago though with some snow and most winter days low 60's down to who knows, sometimes minus
 

Levi the Leopard

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The leopards are a different story. They don't understand 'getting cold,' and they don't go 'home' when they get cold, so sometimes I don't let them out.

To show the variation even amongst species, my leopard doesn't have this problem. He never forgets to go back, ending up cold and stuck outside. His tortoise house's tort door is opened every single day, even throughout winter. Rain, snow, no matter what every day. He likes to decide for himself if he will come out or not. Sometimes he'll come out in the snow, walk a lap and go back inside. So in my case, my tortoise door is open every day. He does have a light inside that I turn on during the cold season. That way he isn't in the dark on days he stays inside. BUT you have to get to know your tortoise. If Levi was like Yvonne's leopards and didn't put himself away, I likely would keep the door closed on cold days, too.

make a tort level door within the door or side of the shed then cover that with plastic strips to help keep heat in the shed.
yes, this. My tortoise door is about 12"x12" and has a double layer of plastic strips. The tortoise version of a doggie door! I believe this helps retain heat inside the house.
 

wellington

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To show the variation even amongst species, my leopard doesn't have this problem. He never forgets to go back, ending up cold and stuck outside. His tortoise house's tort door is opened every single day, even throughout winter. Rain, snow, no matter what every day. He likes to decide for himself if he will come out or not. Sometimes he'll come out in the snow, walk a lap and go back inside. So in my case, my tortoise door is open every day. He does have a light inside that I turn on during the cold season. That way he isn't in the dark on days he stays inside. BUT you have to get to know your tortoise. If Levi was like Yvonne's leopards and didn't put himself away, I likely would keep the door closed on cold days, too.


yes, this. My tortoise door is about 12"x12" and has a double layer of plastic strips. The tortoise version of a doggie door! I believe this helps retain heat inside the house.
I have one leopard, Billy, that puts himself in every night. My first leopard, Tatum, he likes to try and hunker down outside most of the time. I always have to check to see if he is in or not.
In winter he will hunker down in the coldest spot of his part of the shed. He has always liked the colder spots. I could never let him out in winter. The other one, Billy, I probably could, but I don't.
So totally agree one needs to learn their torts ways.
 

Yvonne G

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So otherwise you keep them in the shed all day?
The weather here is such that the shed doors are opened 95% of the time. Very few days are too cold, and when it is, the tortoises go right back inside on their own.
 
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