Bring him inside???

[Espie]

Hello,
I adopted an abandoned Russian tortoise 3 weeks ago. I live in Sacramento. He has an outdoor pen and he loves being out there. I brought him in twice when the temp at night dropped below 40 degrees and he hated it. My question is its raining today and will be in the 45 to 50 degrees through out the night. He is in his dry house. But should I bring him ? I know he doesn't like the indoors and I dont want to stress him out. Any nice helpful advice is appreciated. Picture of him

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Yes
Being inside will stress him out. But being cold and wet will cause him to get actually sick.

 

[Tom]

Hello,
I adopted an abandoned Russian tortoise 3 weeks ago. I live in Sacramento. He has an outdoor pen and he loves being out there. I brought him in twice when the temp at night dropped below 40 degrees and he hated it. My question is its raining today and will be in the 45 to 50 degrees through out the night. He is in his dry house. But should I bring him ? I know he doesn't like the indoors and I dont want to stress him out. Any nice helpful advice is appreciated. Picture of him

Please read this: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/

Among many other aspects of Russian tortoise care, it explains the best ways to deal with the issue you are posting about.

Also, what is that you are feeding him? If its fruit, they should be given fruit. If its squash, then it should be grated up and mixed with greens.

 

[Espie]

Thanks for the link, I pretty much have what it suggested for the indoors and out door enclosure for him. This guy eats a mix of greens, carrots, that is a soft squash he didnt like them grated. Theres also hen n chickens growing in his pen and he like roses, he has a perch and 2 water bowls. He has a dry house outside, I was worried it might get to cold.
I just brought him in for the night and he went right to sleep. Maybe the last time I brought him in to early.

 

[Sleppo]

Thanks for the link, I pretty much have what it suggested for the indoors and out door enclosure for him. This guy eats a mix of greens, carrots, that is a soft squash he didnt like them grated. Theres also hen n chickens growing in his pen and he like roses, he has a perch and 2 water bowls. He has a dry house outside, I was worried it might get to cold.
I just brought him in for the night and he went right to sleep. Maybe the last time I brought him in to early.

Hi

Yes bring inside with temps like that. I don't leave mine out if its lower then 62-65, cold and wet is a recipe for illness for sure. I also wouldn't feed carrots, check that care sheet again for better food options. Good luck.

 

[Espie]

Thank you. So about the carrots, I've read a few care sheets, some say carrots some dont, some also say give apples twice a week and some say no fruit. Do you have a Russian? And has the carrots or apples harmed him? I dont want to give him anything that will harm him.

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

Thank you. So about the carrots, I've read a few care sheets, some say carrots some dont, some also say give apples twice a week and some say no fruit. Do you have a Russian? And has the carrots or apples harmed him? I dont want to give him anything that will harm him.

Russian tortoises should not eat foods high in sugar such as carrots, apples, fruit, etc. as a rule of thumb. As a very rare treat, sure, but you take the chance of them only wanting the sweet treats. The scientific reason is because they can't process the sugars. The leafy tops of the carrots are fine. I will say that mine gets a chunk of watermelon from our organic CSA each August when they harvest the melons.

 

[Espie]

Russian tortoises should not eat foods high in sugar such as carrots, apples, fruit, etc. as a rule of thumb. As a very rare treat, sure, but you take the chance of them only wanting the sweet treats. The scientific reason is because they can't process the sugars. The leafy tops of the carrots are fine. I will say that mine gets a chunk of watermelon from our organic CSA each August when they harvest the melons.

Awesome thank you, I will remove from his plate.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Are you able to install a radiant heat panel on the top of his enclosure? To make it a heated night box, with a thermostat? That way you can make sure he’s kept warm at night; we use one in spring and then a bit in the fall before hibernation.

@Tom has some great threads about building a small nightbox for a Russian but they are old enough now that the links to his pictures are broken. So I’m linking to the box we built: https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/a-very-heavy-russian-night-box.147438/. My husband way overbuilt it so I’m just suggesting you look at the second picture to see the heat panel.

We keep it in the fifties for a couple of days after she comes out of hibernation so it’s not too fast of a transition but tend to keep it at 65 after that. You can then check your tortoise’s temp at night with something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMI632G/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20 to make sure her temps are good. If it’s going to be rainy and dark for a day or two we bump the heat up in to make sure our tortoise has got a spot in there where she can get warmer.

Our box is quite dry and it sounds like yours is too but maybe for next year or this fall you can think about building one of these or hiring a handy friend to do it. It makes our life so much easier. The heating element is pretty much the only pricy item; you can make most of the rest out of a few bits of wood.

@Tom do you have any threads for small tortoises with active pictures these days? They are the easiest ones to follow step by step, in my opinion.

 

[Espie]

Yes, thank you for the link. We where actually thinking how could we improve it. This really helps. Thank you

 

[Lyn W]

There's a lot of old information being circulated on the web and places like FB.
The caresheet linked above is the most up to date you'll find so forget any others you've read.
If you follow the recommendations on Tom's caresheet your tort should thrive.
There have been posts from keepers about carrots being a choking hazard and caused death even for the bigger species, so grate any solid foods and mix in well with the greens.
As well as the caresheet www.thetortoisetable.org.uk is a good guide to tort safe foods.

 

[Espie]

There's a lot of old information being circulated on the web and places like FB.
The caresheet linked above is the most up to date you'll find so forget any others you've read.
If you follow the recommendations on Tom's caresheet your tort should thrive.
There have been posts from keepers about carrots being a choking hazard and caused death even for the bigger species, so grate any solid foods and mix in well with the greens.
As well as the caresheet www.thetortoisetable.org.uk is a good guide to tort safe foods.

Thank you Lyn. I really appreciate it I will adjust the feeding and update his pen. He is doing a lot better coming in at night. He found his borrow and went right to bed.