Lots Of Questions

[Oogway the russian tort]

Alrighty so I'm planning on building Oogway and possibly some females a outdoor enclosure in my backyard which I couldn't do before because of my dogs but I sectioned off part of the backyard. So I was wondering how big your enclosures are for 3 Russian tortoises(Pictures would be greatly appreciated). Now the other question is do you guys leave your tortoises all year round in Southern California weather to hibernate(I live near L.A.) and if a heated enclosure is needed in the winter time or just keep them inside. If my tortoises happen to mate can I just keep them outside to incubate with a chance of them hatching.
Thank you for taking your time on answering my questions .

 

[RosemaryDW]

I don’t have any answers about enclosure size for groups but I am also in Southern California and my wild caught, outdoor tortoise hibernates. She has a lovely heated night box that she uses in the spring but come fall and shorter daytimes it doesn’t matter. When she starts burrowing in the ground and losing weight, it’s time for her to go in her fridge for the winter.

My reptile vet has experience with Russians that do just fine in our climate with a heated box; they slow down but they don’t hibernate. That isn’t my experience with my single Russian; I do what her body is telling her to do.

I think most folks here will tell you to either hibernate them or put them in an indoor enclosure with artificial light through the winter. Either one is fine so long as you do it right. Fridge hibernation is easier for me to manage than a proper indoor enclosure.