Greenhouse?

counting

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Has anyone had a tortoise (particularly greek) range around a greenhouse?. We are a cold climate, he would likely need to come inside for the real cool months (unless we fully heat it which we are considering).It would be built off one wall of our house, greenhouse would be directly facing south. We would have a UV basking area indoors, with possible outdoor area in the hot months for direct sun.

Pros and cons?I quite like the idea of having a little greenhouse tortoise milling about while I work.

(I have an almost 10m old greek if it affects the answer, and I am located in snowy Canada)
 

wellington

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I have used the portable pop up plastic ones. They do not hold heat so yes will have to be heated and that would be expensive. I used my for the sunny days to let my leopard graze but I heated it and only left him out there a couple hours on sunny days.
I have also used them as winter enclosures in my basement still fully heated.
 

counting

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I have used the portable pop up plastic ones. They do not hold heat so yes will have to be heated and that would be expensive. I used my for the sunny days to let my leopard graze but I heated it and only left him out there a couple hours on sunny days.
I have also used them as winter enclosures in my basement still fully heated.

I'm hoping it might stay a bit heated, as our glass door facing the same direction heats the entire kitchen in -15c weather! But uncertain.
 

Tom

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Yes. People in Europe use these and have all sorts of creative ideas about how to do it. It can be done.
 

wellington

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I'm hoping it might stay a bit heated, as our glass door facing the same direction heats the entire kitchen in -15c weather! But uncertain.
While the sun is out beating on it, it should heat fairly well. However, heat rises so the ground/tort level will be colder and because it's all glass/plastic the heat will not be held in for nights or gloomy days so added heating will be needed.
 

Yvonne G

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I have three fairly large tortoises that live in a greenhouse during winter months. Bear in mind that unless you put in artificial heating, on cloudy or overcast days (no sun) the inside of the greenhouse is just as cold as it is outside. I have a large, insulated, heated night box across one end of the greenhouse where I lock the tortoises in at night, but I open the door in the a.m. and they can come out if they want, or stay in if they want. Because it's cold here and the greenhouse isn't heated, they usually come out and eat then go back into the night box.
new Greenhouse 10-16-14 day 6.jpg new greenhouse 12-4-18 a.jpg
 

Blackdog1714

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Insulating and heating the floors are key. Any double panes windows would increase the warmth captured but almost no actual uv. It can be done and my heart goes out to tortoise owners that get real winters!
 

jso

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I’m in the UK. Much further North than Yvonne.
3 adult torts (2 testudo ibera, one hermanni) live (in separate sections) in a GH from post-hibernation until late autumn, when they’re brought in to hibernate. It’s a GH built against a stone wall, with the usual low brick wall on the other two sides. Ie not all glass down to the ground, and even the sliding door at the end has a panel of aluminium in the bottom section (so no worries about trying to get through the glass) They have access anytime to enclosed landscaped/ planted areas, which they get to via “pop-holes” made by chiselling out some of the bricks. I close those holes up towards hibernation so they don’t go out and dig down where I can’t find them (The GH was here when we moved to the property)
I provide UV tubes and basking lights on timers. Certainly needed in the early and late weeks/months of our rather short summers, and I sometimes use them in cool non-sunny spells even in the summer - and there are too many of those in northern England! Actually I leave those lights on through the night in very late autumn as a kind of safeguard against surprise early frosts, although a GH heater might be better for that purpose- but maybe more expensive?
 

jso

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I have three fairly large tortoises that live in a greenhouse during winter months. Bear in mind that unless you put in artificial heating, on cloudy or overcast days (no sun) the inside of the greenhouse is just as cold as it is outside. I have a large, insulated, heated night box across one end of the greenhouse where I lock the tortoises in at night, but I open the door in the a.m. and they can come out if they want, or stay in if they want. Because it's cold here and the greenhouse isn't heated, they usually come out and eat then go back into the night box.
View attachment 285159 View attachment 285160
Very interesting, Yvonne. Do I understand from this that you don’t hibernate them? Or did you mean the winter months outside of hibernation time?
 

Yvonne G

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Very interesting, Yvonne. Do I understand from this that you don’t hibernate them? Or did you mean the winter months outside of hibernation time?
The tortoises that live in there are not the kind that brumate, so they are active all the time.
 

Yvonne G

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During warm weather the greenhouse doors are open and they have access to a nice, big yard.
 

jso

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I have non-hibernating species too, but no spare capacity in the GH, so have to resort to a mini poly tunnel on the lawn, and take them in and out manually. Not as good as giving them free movement, and choice, which the Med. torts have.
 

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