Help northern ca tortoise keepers

Jenminer

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Feb 1, 2017
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Northern California
Hello. I do not yet own a tortoise, I am trying to do as much research as possible before getting one. I live in Northern Ca on 5 acres,our temps can drop below freezing sometimes and Summer's can get into the low100s sometimes. I want my future tortoise to have access to the outdoors when it's old enough. I would be very grateful to any Northern Ca tortoise owners who could give me any advice on keeping a tortoise in this climate.
 

majxmom

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Mar 28, 2014
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Hi, I live in Knightsen, near Brentwood and Antioch. We usually get at least 5-10 days of overnights in the 20s and there are many summer days over 100 here. We made our Barstow a burrow in the ground. My farm is basically flat ground and the water table is very high in winter, so I found a high spot and dug down into it so he would still be higher than most ground. We made a burrow out of Cinder blocks placed in a U. Then a thick piece of plywood, like one inch, on top and dirt piled over it. This dirt keeps the burrow cool in the summer and insulates in the winter. He spends 98 percent of his time in the burrow in summer, comes out to eat, drink, and bask, and goes back in. In winter, he regulates himself very well for brumation. After I am sure he has gone into brumation, I check the forecast every night. I will leave him alone until it gets below 45 at night, then I lay a sheet of plywood over his burrow entrance and then lay a plastic tarp over the entrance and all the top dirt. This insulates him very well but I wouldn't want to trust it if we had extended periods of nights in the 20s. I use the plywood to stop water from collecting in pockets in the tarp and then pouring into the burrow. Any time the weather gets nice, I take off the tarp and flip up the plywood. I've seen Barstow come out as early as January 4 and as late as February 4, which he did this year. Once he comes out, I just make sure that I cover him up any night it is cold or rainy but leave it open. I don't seem to have to worry about wildlife getting at him here. If you have raccoons or anything that might tear him up, you will want to have a door to close up. I have had Barstow for 53 years now, so you will want to have someone to whom you can pass down this long-lived pet. If you have too many cold nights to keep him outside, you can brumate them in your garage in a box. Good luck!
 

Tom

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Hello. I do not yet own a tortoise, I am trying to do as much research as possible before getting one. I live in Northern Ca on 5 acres,our temps can drop below freezing sometimes and Summer's can get into the low100s sometimes. I want my future tortoise to have access to the outdoors when it's old enough. I would be very grateful to any Northern Ca tortoise owners who could give me any advice on keeping a tortoise in this climate.

Hello and welcome. What species are you interested in?
 

Jenminer

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Location (City and/or State)
Northern California
Thank you for this information, I have considered building an underground house for a tortoise. What kind of tortoise do you have?
 

Jenminer

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Northern California
Hello and welcome. What species are you interested in?
It depends on the information I get from other Northern tortoise keepers. I have done a lot of reading on the needs of various species, but I would like to hear some first hand accounts before I make decision. I am fond of the Greeks, Hermanns,Marginated and the black mountain tortoises.
 

Tom

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It depends on the information I get from other Northern tortoise keepers. I have done a lot of reading on the needs of various species, but I would like to hear some first hand accounts before I make decision. I am fond of the Greeks, Hermanns,Marginated and the black mountain tortoises.

If you make an indoor and an outdoor enclosure, you will eliminate a lot of the climate variables. Any of the Testudo species that you mentioned should thrive in your climate.
 

Jenminer

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Northern California
If you make an indoor and an outdoor enclosure, you will eliminate a lot of the climate variables. Any of the Testudo species that you mentioned should thrive in your climate.
Thank you. Something else that has been concerning me is we have many oak trees here, are oak leaves dangerous to tortoises if they eat them?
 

Kapidolo Farms

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majxmom

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Mar 28, 2014
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Thank you for this information, I have considered building an underground house for a tortoise. What kind of tortoise do you have?
I have a common CDT, the California Desert Tortoise. They are very hardy and easy to care for, and Barstow certainly interacts with me quite a lot. He will come out if I call his name. If I spread out a blanket and sit down, he comes and sits with me. That's him in my avatar picture. I estimate he is 60-70 years old.
 

Big Charlie

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I'm in the central valley and I have a 17 year old sulcata who lives outdoors full time. In the winter he has a heated mini house he sleeps in. Most winter days, he comes out to eat for a few hours, even if it is cold or rainy. He gets all his food from the grass, weeds, and plants growing in our backyard.
 

Big Charlie

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Love Sulcatas, does the rain and cold effect his health at all? Also, how do you like to hear his house?
If he isn't kept warm, he can't eat. He doesn't mind being out in the rain as long as he can warm up afterwards. If he didn't have a heated place to go, it could be dangerous or even deadly. A baby has less tolerance and should be kept mostly indoors for the first few years.

His night box is styled after Tom's: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
It is about 4 foot square. There is a heat panel in the ceiling and a heat mat on the floor, both controlled with a thermostat.
 

TammyJ

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I have a common CDT, the California Desert Tortoise. They are very hardy and easy to care for, and Barstow certainly interacts with me quite a lot. He will come out if I call his name. If I spread out a blanket and sit down, he comes and sits with me. That's him in my avatar picture. I estimate he is 60-70 years old.
Congrats on having Barstow for 53 years!!! That's great.
 
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