Indoor vs Outdoor time?

Jenni88

New Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2018
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona (Low Desert)
My 3 month old Leopard tortoise has an indoor enclosure and an outdoor enclosure, and my question is can I leave him outside all day (weather permitting) and just use his enclosure in the sun room at night? I read of a lot of people only taking them out for a few hours but mine loves the sun and in the desert we rarely get rain (and the temps are warming up). Would it hurt him being out there so long at this age or no?

(He has a hideaway, a shaded area, water, grass, and fine fencing above him to keep birds away)

Thanks in advance!
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,661
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
No. At 3 months if it was warm I probably wouldn't take him out unless it was for a very short time 15-20 minute. Needs to spend most of the time in a closed chamber.
 

TechnoCheese

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
4,505
Location (City and/or State)
Lewisville, Texas

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,391
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
It's very easy for the sun to cook a baby tortoise that's contained in an enclosure and set in the sun, even if it's not that hot out. I don't put my babies out until they're a year old or so.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,270
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
My 3 month old Leopard tortoise has an indoor enclosure and an outdoor enclosure, and my question is can I leave him outside all day (weather permitting) and just use his enclosure in the sun room at night? I read of a lot of people only taking them out for a few hours but mine loves the sun and in the desert we rarely get rain (and the temps are warming up). Would it hurt him being out there so long at this age or no?

(He has a hideaway, a shaded area, water, grass, and fine fencing above him to keep birds away)

Thanks in advance!
Some sun and outdoor time is good for babies. All day outside is bad for them, regardless of climate of current weather. I've done several side-by-side comparisons to reach this conclusion. Babies housed outside all day grow 2 to 3 times slower than their clutch mates fed the same foods and given the same routine and sleeping in identical indoor enclosures. When the indoor group was all around 300 grams, the outdoor group was barely breaking 100 and they all showed some mild pyramiding despite being housed in a large 4x8 heavily planted enclosure with damp ground and watered several times a day.

Babies just do better when housed mostly indoors. Several breeders on this forum leave babies outside all day, and I regularly get asked by their customers to help explain why the baby doesn't grow and eventually dies. I keep telling people not to buy a baby from someone who keeps them outside all day, but they still do it. My general rule of thumb is one hour of outside time per inch of tortoise 3-4 times a week. I don't leave sulcata or leopards outside all day until they are 5-6 inches.
 

Salspi

Active Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2017
Messages
339
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago
So, if I put my hatchling out in natural sun for 30 minutes a day, do you think that would cause at least some degree of pyramiding?
 

New Posts

Top