Cool Weather Sunning

[Tom]

The importance of sunshine for tortoises cannot be over emphasized. I live in an area that is sunny most of every year and my torts get outside regularly, so I don't use any UV lighting indoors. Well, with the onset of fall, there have been a few days that I skipped putting them out because it felt too cool. A couple of days ago, it was 64 degrees at around 11am. I wasn't going to put them out because it just felt too cold. I went and laid my hand on the dark colored substrate in their sunning enclosures and it felt pretty warm. Out of curiosity, I went and got my little temp gun. It was 85-95 except in the shady areas which were in the 70's. I decided to put them out for a little bit and just check on them periodically. This is what I found on a 64 degree day:

This was the coldest reading I got.

This was the warmest reading I got.

It was the same story with the baby leopards. They were all 94-97.

 

[RV's mom]

And they were all "... daddy, put us outside!!!"

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

We let ours graze all day anything above 50 degrees. They seem to like it.

 

[Neal]

Richard Fife mentions this in his leopard tortoise book. Even though the temperatures are low, the tortoises are still able to bask and reach an internal temperature that is necessary to digest food.

 

[Edna]

I used my south-facing sheltered porch to extend our sunning season here, but I'm pretty sure that last weekend was the last sunning we'll do. The thermo on my porch now says 20 degrees, and it's snowing. It's MVB for us until spring

 

[ticothetort2]

I noticed this yesterday as well, San Diego is starting to cool down a bit and I was worried that Tico would end up having to use a MVB for the winter. Even with the temps in the low 60's I was reading in the high 80's to mid 90's in his outside tote. Although I have his outdoor enclosure the winter sun just doesn't hit it as much as in the summer, so I just put him in a big rubbermaid that I can move around with the sun.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

It's getting cold in Colorado! Taco is restricted to her indoor double-wide with MVB, her heat lamp and her red bulb, till we get some more fair days.

She was lucky to get out for an hour ot two almost every day for the last couple of months while we had exceptionally warm fall weather.

 

[Angi]

Okay I am putting mine out now.