How cold is to cold at night

[Dėad Lee]

I know if I searched I could eventually find the answer, I looked a little and kept pulling up the wrong info so I figured I'd just ask.
I have my two redfoots outside and it's still getting into the 80's during the day, but it's starting to cool off at night, tonight it's going down to 55, I do not have a heated hide outside, how cold is too cold for them to stay out all night. BTW I have been bringing them in at night, I was just wondering if I had to yet

 

[allegraf]

Where are you located? How large are they? Is there a hide that can provide shelter from wind and retain some heat from the day?

 

[Dėad Lee]

Where are you located? How large are they? Is there a hide that can provide shelter from wind and retain some heat from the day?

I'm in Pennsylvania. My male is about 10 inches, maybe 6# the female is about 8 inches maybe 3 1/2 lbs. TheI hide can protect them from wind and where their enclosure is they are pretty protected from wind, but I wouldn't say their hide retains much heat, it's my first summer havin them and I didn't get a good hide built outside because of some medical issues.

 

[JoesMum]

Ignore this please - posted in wrong thread

 

[JoesMum]

Ignore this please - posted in wrong thread

I will reply to this one now.

Redfoots are from tropical climate and require a constant and steady temperature well above 55F. Temperature should not drop below 80F for this species. Any lower and they will get sick.

You will need suitable indoor accommodation for each of them from now on.

@Anyfoot is in the UK... Also not the warmest climate for redfoots... and can hopefully offer further advice.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I have two, incandescent lamps inside of my two night boxes out in my tortoise pen. They can raise the temperature by up to 7 degrees. But I bring my tortoises indoors if the night boxes reach 59 or below.
55 for any length of time is too low. But not outright deadly.

 

[allegraf]

The reason I ask about retaining heat and where you are from is important, in Florida, the sun can beat down all day during the winter and the earth stays warm, especially in the corners of the pen where they have dug down under the hides. So long as it will heat back up the next day(78F or higher), 58-is is the lowest I am comfortable with. Generally anyone under 6" comes in when temps go below 70F-no exceptions. The adults seem to handle the dip in the cold since the sun is usually back out the next day and the heat is back on. This of course is during the few "cool" days in our "winters". If night temps dip below 58-ish-everyone comes in, regardless of the next day temp.

 

[Anyfoot]

My situation is different to @allegraf. Have a large heated tort house that the adults can come and go from at will when I open the hatch. We dont open the hatch if it's below 55f and that depends on the weather. 55f and sunny is a lot different to 55f with wind and rain. Some adults go outside and some don't when it's cooler, They retreat back to 82/86f when they want to. I have one dumb male that never goes back indoors on his own. He always goes to sleep in the same bush regardless of temperature. I have to put this one back every night.
My 3 juveniles are 6 to 8" SCL and live with the adults. They won't go outside unless I put them out, that said the 8" juvenile is starting to get brave and ventures out off her own bat, she's getting weighty now. My babies do not go out unless it's 75f or above. Even then it's only for an hour and they just hide anyway under cover.

 

[MPRC]

I'm on Oregon and I bring them in if it is going to be 58 or lower for more than a few hours. Also if it is cool overnight and the morning is supposed to be overcast they come in.
I'm with Anyfoot in believing that 55 and sunny is way different than 55 and rainy. If it's sunny and 55 and I shoot their black shells with the temp gun they are almost always in the 80s themselves.

 

[Redfool]

There’s a big difference between full adults and juvys. I have 4 RFs, 13 inches and 15 lb average all 20+ years old. They have a good sized block insulated hot house with 2 CHEs and supplemented with a piglet mat if needed. In the winter their house gets covered with multi moving blankets for insulation on top and all sides. They can come and go when they please even when covered. My cutoff outside temp in winter is 45 degrees, at this temp inside their house temp stays in the 70s. Anything lower they come inside. In central Florida we rarely get many cold days strung together so they get to go back out quickly. I would only do this with older hardened adults not young ones. I have had them come out of their bunker when it’s in the 50s for some forage and water then go back in to bask in the heat. They have even come out to lay eggs in Dec and Jan. When a cold snap is predicted, they are fed heavily in case they have to come inside for a few days just as they did during the Irmacane. Hatchlings and yearlings should never go under 78f night 85f daytime.