Greenhouse for winter anyone??

[Chipdog]

I just moved up from Miami to Bluffton South Carolina. Back In Miami I just brought my Aldabras in if the temp was going to be in the low 50s (maybe a half dozen times in a year). Now it is going to be getting colder then that. I had planned on setting them up something in the garage but now I was wondering if it would be better to build some kind of a greenhouse. Has anyone here done anything like this?
I keep them in a 13' by 19' courtyard. I was thinking of making a frame out of 2x4s then mount some of that wavy clear roofing stuff you can get from home depot and using a heater if needed.

Ideas??

 

[Itort]

First of all I would visit commercial greenhouses in the area to see how they are setup and then workout some kind of greenhouse/barn combo (they are aldabras with the ability to walk thru walls). I would suggest some type of heater.

 

[katesgoey]

I keep my Leopard in a polycarbonate(sp?) greenhouse and we have much milder winters than you will get, but I would add to Larry's comments that you might need some type of humidifier set up in a greenhouse too.

 

[Yvonne G]

I have a greenhouse to over-winter my cacti. It's a 2x4 frame structure with plywood on the bottom sides and polycarbonate on the upper sides and roof. Without a heater it would be just as cold inside as it is outside. And during the summer its extremely hot inside. This year I have placed styrofoam insulation on the inside of the lower sides and another piece of plywood over that. Before you could see the 2x4s, but now I've finished it off inside to help hold in the heat a bit better. The heater works all night. Its supposed to cycle on and off, but its so cold outside that it never cycles off. Its very costly to run. Little greenhouses in my size, appx. 8'x10' cost around $1000. Since your Aldabs are still pretty small, that might be ok for a year or two, but I think it would be better to build bigger right from the start and save money from having to do it twice. My Aldabs are a little over 8 years old and are VERY close to 100lbs each. I'll go out and take a picture of their habitat and get back to you

Yvonne

 

[Yvonne G]

The winters here in Central Calif. probably aren't as severe as yours. It gets down to 30 degrees or so most nights and up in the 40's and 50's most days. The door to the Aldabrans shed is opened in the a.m. and the tortoises can come out, if they want to, even on the coldest days. They usually go back in on their own when they start to get cold. This is an overall view of their yard:

And this is the outside of their shed. Its made of wood and insulation:

This is a view of inside the shed:

If you DO decide to build a greenhouse for them, monitor the inside temp frequently, as the sun makes it VERY hot inside, even on cool winter days:

Yvonne

 

[Chipdog]

Thank you for the quick replies and the great pictures Yvonne.

One problem is that I am renting here. I haven't been able to sell my house in Miami yet.

I has thinking something a bit smaller and temporary. I guess I am thinking more of a "cold frame" then a greenhouse.

larger then the one in the picture but thats more or less what I was thinking.

any more input?

 

[Itort]

How large are your guys again ?

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't think you would be able to put a heater in a small cold frame. You need something big enough that you can protect the heater from the tortoises. A cold frame only protects the items placed inside from freezing, not from getting cold. During the day it gets really hot from the sun even on the coldest days, and at night, unless you provide a heat source, it gets almost as cold as the temp outside. The heat from the earth doesn't allow the ambient air inside the frame to get down to freezing, but it gets pretty cold.

Also, they need a lot of exercise in order to grow right and have strong bones, so even a larger cold frame probably wouldn't be big enough. How about something in the garage or a back bedroom?

Yvonne

 

[Chipdog]

They are still babes at about 9 and 10 inches.

I did make sure that the house i rented had a garage just so I could house them over the winter but I thought it might be better to keep them outside as long as I could. In the sun and on the grass.

I was thinking of building it to the same size they would have in the garage so I don't think exercise would be an issue. I was also thinking of plumbing the heated air in from an external heater just like we do with central heating and A/C. Maybe I could also hook up a exhaust fan to blow the hot air out during the day. Both on thermostats.

Maybe I can set something up like this just to keep them outside longer but still bring them in the garage when It gets really cold. At what temp do you think it would be too cold for them?


thank you again for the input
chip

 

[Yvonne G]

I use the 60's as my guide. I try not to allow my temperate zone tortoises experience anything lower than 60 degrees, but usually 65. Manouria are more cold hardy and I don't really know that much about the Aldabs, so I err on the warm side.

Yvonne

 

[Jentortmom]

I don't much about the alabs temp zones but I can say that my torts that are indoors only go out for a few minutes of sun if it is above 60 and sunny, if it is below 65 and cloudy they are in. And they don't get get out for hours until it is 70-75 and higher. Try emailing or pm Ed, he has a bunch of Alabs and he might know the lowest temp for them to be outside.

 

[Yvonne G]

At what temp do you think it would be too cold for them?
chip

I should have said that my Aldabs go outside every day on their own. Even on days that are rainy and in the 40's. However, they don't stay out long and go back in on their own when they start to cool down.

Yvonnne