Humidity & Dry climate question

[cochransrc]

We are looking at getting another tortoise, since our Hermanns hatchling passed away. We would like to be able to keep him outside (when he’s old enough) but we live in a very dry climate...Colorado. We also don’t have a large back yard, so we don’t want it to get to outgrow our backyard. Any recommendations for breed? And at what age do you start reducing the humidity levels? TIA

 

[daniellenc]

Greeks, hermanns, and Russians all stay small but would still need an 8x4 enclosure. Depending on where you’re in Colorado they’d still need to come in when temps dip below 60 or you’d need a heated night box. The outdoor space should be larger than 8x4 but can be built to look like a landscaped part of your yard. It really just depends on how much space and money you want to spend to provide proper indoor/outdoor accommodations. People keep sulcatas in Colorado so it’s doable.

 

[Tom]

We are looking at getting another tortoise, since our Hermanns hatchling passed away. We would like to be able to keep him outside (when he’s old enough) but we live in a very dry climate...Colorado. We also don’t have a large back yard, so we don’t want it to get to outgrow our backyard. Any recommendations for breed? And at what age do you start reducing the humidity levels? TIA

I'm also in a very dry climate. I add water tubs or buckets to my outdoor heated night boxes to add some humidity to the shelters where my adult outdoor tortoises spend a large percentage of their time. This should work well for any of the species that come from relatively arid regions.

Why did your Herman's tortoise die? I'd want to figure that out before getting another.

 

[Yvonne G]

One thing to keep in mind, the russians, some hermanns and the greeks all brumate (hibernate) in the winter, and the grown tortoises can live outside all the time, dry or not. They get their humidity when you water their outdoor space to keep the plants growing.

 

[cochransrc]

I'm also in a very dry climate. I add water tubs or buckets to my outdoor heated night boxes to add some humidity to the shelters where my adult outdoor tortoises spend a large percentage of their time. This should work well for any of the species that come from relatively arid regions.

Why did your Herman's tortoise die? I'd want to figure that out before getting another.

At What age can I not worry about the humidity level needing to be high? In case they are spending a lot of time outside, I don’t want to hinder their shell from growing properly.

So we’re making quite a few changes to our tortoises habitat but we had him for a month before he got sick and stopped eating (when I purchased him I thought he was going to be 5 to 6 month old but he was only two months old) he quit eating and drinking and he died about 10 days later(We tried so many things to save him but it was to no avail) I believe that some of the things that may have contributed towards his death (but I’m not confident in one more then another). We didn’t have a heat lamp at night, So the temperature was getting to 68°. He was not hanging out under the heat lamp during the day but I am wondering if the UVB/UVA mercury bulbs that we were using were not working properly? So we got UVB strip lamps, in addition to uvb lamps and when the UVB mercury bulbs are about six months old we will replace them with heat lamps.
For the first week that we had him I was soaking him every other day until I realized he needed to be soaked every day. Also, I was mistaken and thought he was not supposed to have a water bowl inside of his habitat due to the risk of drowning, so we did not add a water bowl until about a week before he got sick so I don’t know if that had anything to do with his passing as well. We kept his humidity at 70 to 80% at all time and fed him a great diet so I don’t think those two things had anything to do with it.
I really don’t believe that a baby tortoise just dies randomly so I know something that we did contributed towards it but I don’t know if it is combination of everything or one of the things that I mentioned above so we’ve gone ahead and changed everything that I have mentioned above.

 

[cochransrc]

Greeks, hermanns, and Russians all stay small but would still need an 8x4 enclosure. Depending on where you’re in Colorado they’d still need to come in when temps dip below 60 or you’d need a heated night box. The outdoor space should be larger than 8x4 but can be built to look like a landscaped part of your yard. It really just depends on how much space and money you want to spend to provide proper indoor/outdoor accommodations. People keep sulcatas in Colorado so it’s doable.

I was thinking those were the only 3 types of tortoises that would work in our climate, thank you for confirming! We are planning on fencing off an 8x10 area in our backyard for our future tort. But want to wait until we move to a larger yard (possibly in a few years, if we end up relocating to Texas) before bringing home a large tortoise, which would be awesome! Currently we have a walk out basement so our sides to the yard are narrow and steep and would be difficult for a tort to climb up to get into a sheltered area.
The indoor area is a good size too.

 

[cochransrc]

One thing to keep in mind, the russians, some hermanns and the greeks all brumate (hibernate) in the winter, and the grown tortoises can live outside all the time, dry or not. They get their humidity when you water their outdoor space to keep the plants growing.

So at what age can they stay outside? Is it close to full grown? I would love for them to be able to hibernate and live as natural as possible. I was thinking if they hibernated, when I gets cold, I could move a dog house, with a heat lamp over them to keep them warm, but still in hibernation. Is this a crazy idea?

 

[daniellenc]

No if you bromate specific temps must be maintained but you could not brumate and bring them in too.

 

[Yvonne G]

So at what age can they stay outside? Is it close to full grown? I would love for them to be able to hibernate and live as natural as possible. I was thinking if they hibernated, when I gets cold, I could move a dog house, with a heat lamp over them to keep them warm, but still in hibernation. Is this a crazy idea?

Yes, it's a crazy idea. When a tortoise is brumating he needs to be in a place where it's colder than 49, but not colder than 40F. No heat required. You can box him up and put him in a back closet that doesn't get any heat, or if the garage or garden shed stays that temperature, he can go in there. But not a heat lamp.

 

[cochransrc]

Yes, it's a crazy idea. When a tortoise is brumating he needs to be in a place where it's colder than 49, but not colder than 40F. No heat required. You can box him up and put him in a back closet that doesn't get any heat, or if the garage or garden shed stays that temperature, he can go in there. But not a heat lamp.

Okay, we do have a shed. It just seems crazy putting him in a box lol. But it makes sense. So when the temperatures drop to zero which doesn’t happen very often ( we may have 1 or 2 cold snaps during the winter) would I just take the box and put him inside of the garage with blankets around it? what would be your suggestion for that? Thank you for talking to me about this! I’m thinking my house is to warm. I will use our heat temperature gun and check my storage unit temperature in our basement, but I think it will be around 65

 

[cochransrc]

Yes, it's a crazy idea. When a tortoise is brumating he needs to be in a place where it's colder than 49, but not colder than 40F. No heat required. You can box him up and put him in a back closet that doesn't get any heat, or if the garage or garden shed stays that temperature, he can go in there. But not a heat lamp.

Okay, we do have a shed. It just seems crazy putting him in a box lol. But it makes sense. So when the temperatures drop to zero which doesn’t happen very often ( we may have 1 or 2 cold snaps during the winter) would I just take the box and put him inside of the garage with blankets around it? what would be your suggestion for that? Thank you for talking to me about this! I’m thinking my house is to warm. I will use our heat temperature gun and check my storage unit temperature in our basement, but I think it will be around 65

 

[Yvonne G]

Ideally you should find a spot where you don't have to keep moving the box.