COLD weather and SULLIES

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CELLMASS

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i have a 2.5 year old tortoise and intend to keep him/her outside for the winter.

does any1 have any experience with a sulcata in the winter season, this is my first winter with a tort.

i plan on keeping em' outdoors for the winter, and bring him inside if its real cold at night. what degree is too cold for a tort? i have no indoor inclosure, no uva/uvb source. he does have a 12'x12' pen outside, but thats it. hes growing fast and really healthy. im just concerned about night temps.

any suggestions, comments, advice, tort tales? lay em' on me.
 

jlyoncc1

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Where are you located? What are your night time/day time temps?
 

DeanS

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Regardless of where you live a sullie should NEVER be kept in temps under 80-85 degrees during the day...and night temps need to be above 65...this is a basic rule of thumb! I personally NEVER let mine get below 90 during the day or 75 at night. They need to be humid, wet and hot if you want to maintain a healthy, happy tort.
 

CELLMASS

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oh that would help. i live in arizona. maricopa city. i dont have to worry about summer temps, nor winter day time temp. it does get cold in the desert, especially at night, maybe around 65 or lower in the winter.
 

Tom

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CELLMASS said:
i have a 2.5 year old tortoise and intend to keep him/her outside for the winter.

does any1 have any experience with a sulcata in the winter season, this is my first winter with a tort.

i plan on keeping em' outdoors for the winter, and bring him inside if its real cold at night. what degree is too cold for a tort? i have no indoor inclosure, no uva/uvb source. he does have a 12'x12' pen outside, but thats it. hes growing fast and really healthy. im just concerned about night temps.

any suggestions, comments, advice, tort tales? lay em' on me.

I don't move mine outside until they are a bit older. My current adults didn't move outside until they were 7 years old.

However, it doesn't really matter where they are as long as they have space and the right temps. I let my adults get down into the sixties as long as its good and dry, but I wouldn't let younger ones, like yours, drop below 70. I use 70 as the lowest of lows on a cold night AND I'm assuming that they can still warm up and bask during the day.

Indoors would be much safer for such a youngin'.
 

tobibaby

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give him shelter, like a dog house or a shed and put a heat lamp in it.. when its too cold just put him in the shed
 

CELLMASS

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the lady i adopted him from said he lived outside year round, the tort came by his lonesome with no shelter, no lamp, nothing. so i assume she just left the tort outside year-round. she didnt know much about him either. i have only had him for about 6 months. i got him at the very start of summer.
 

motero

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tobibaby said:
give him shelter, like a dog house or a shed and put a heat lamp in it.. when its too cold just put him in the shed

This is simple and about all you need in the Phoenix area. Set up the heat lamp with a timer. And keep the temperature above 60 on the cold nights. Others in the area do keep there Sulcatas out side year round, but most have let them burrow where the burrow will dictate the night time lows. Younger torts like yours need more warmth than a burrow.

1. Provide heat.
2. Move inside at night.
3. Dig deep burrow when he is bigger.
4. Keep reading this forum and learn lots of good stuff.
 

chadk

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DeanS said:
Regardless of where you live a sullie should NEVER be kept in temps under 80-85 degrees during the day...and night temps need to be above 65...this is a basic rule of thumb! I personally NEVER let mine get below 90 during the day or 75 at night. They need to be humid, wet and hot if you want to maintain a healthy, happy tort.

In the summer, when day time temps tend to range from 70 to 80, I turn off the heat and just let the torts live naturually with what nature gives them - rain or shine. I live in Western WA, so we get a good deal of rain in the summer. I don't offer my outdoor torts any source of UVB other than the sun. But in the winter, I do give them calc+d3.

In from fall through early spring, I leave the CHEs on 24x7 for the torts to bask under and warm up as they need. Then I have a space heater in the shed as well that does not let the ambient temps drop below 75. They go out into the cold (snow, rain, etc) to graze on weeds, then come back in when they feel too cold.

If I lived in a warmer climate, I'd do as others suggested and offer a simple shelter with a CHE for warmth.
 

CELLMASS

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Jermosh said:
Cool, I live in Maricopa as well. :)

nice. do you have a sulcata? how old, how big what do you feed, and what do you do with you tort in the winter?
 

Jermosh

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CELLMASS said:
Jermosh said:
Cool, I live in Maricopa as well. :)

nice. do you have a sulcata? how old, how big what do you feed, and what do you do with you tort in the winter?

Yes I have 2 juvies. If you want to see a nice setup, take a trip down to http://www.leafandfeatherfarm.com/. They are awesome, huge animal lovers and have some really cool birds and tortoises to look at. Ask for Bob or Dan and they can walk you through edible plants for your landscaping. Also Chitwoods on JWP can get you hayflakes and they are also a great place to buy other goods like propane and animal food of all kinds.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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I would never let a small tortoise like yours sleep outside without a shelter. You can get a dogloo on Craigslist for free frequently and a CHE or night light wouldn't cost muct. You can get a clamplight fixture for K-Mart for $9 and black lightbulbs are $4 and that with a shelter would keep him from getting sick. But you are running the risk of a small tort like that getting sick left at night without protection.
 
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