Need help. Russian tortoise sleep in the rain

[kazjimmy]

I recently adopted a young Russian tortoise. He eat normal and moving around. yesterday and today was raining outside. This young tortoise went out from his hiding concrete hole and lay into the rain. At first i think he just want some water but he actually laying there for the whole day. I have to hand move him from the rain back to his hiding concrete. Is this something normal for the Mediterranean tortoise? Or he is just too young to know where to hide?

 

[dmmj]

One of my male Russians did this everytime it rained. I had to move him everytime. As far as I can tell some do it.

 

[MichaelL]

Mine would always do this (probably from the instinct when in their native habitat, it rains scarcely so whenever it does they come out) It got pretty annoying, here in Fl during the rainy season it sometimes rains every day in the afternoons for a few months. Russians shouldn't be exposed to so much wetness so when i knew it would rain or when it just started drizzling, I would take them out of their in ground burrow (they hadn't come out for the rain just yet since it had just started drizzling) and place them in a water tight little hide box thing I made in their enclosure. I would block the entrance with a cement block, and take the block away after it stopped raining. After a few weeks of doing this, they actually learned to go into the dry hide/box when it began to rain or downpour. Previously, they would just lay in the rain like yours. It still amazes me how they learned to go in and it was such a relief that I didn't have to dash outside to put them in when it began raining. Smart creatures!

 

[RosemaryDW]

Mine goes out also; made me nervous as all get out when she was new to us. I’m in agreement with @MichaelL; they are programmed to come out when it rains in their exceedingly dry climate. Mine attempts to make her same circuit around the yard but doesn’t go far these days; sits in one spot that has some protection.

I don’t see her giving up this tendency any time soon. Fortunately we get little in the way of real rain and our schedules let one or the other of us to be home enough to haul her out if it’s looking like a bad day. We do occasionally lock her up on really wet days but rarely. I just make sure her heated box is extra warm that day and night so she has a solid chance to get warm and dry whenever we put her back in it.

They are definitely susceptible to respiratory infections so you don’t want them doing it often or for long periods of time. In Baldwin Park I think there is not a ton of annual rain fall? Less to worry about than some locations, perhaps, but smart of you to think about it. Minimally you’d want a way to block off the enclosure during big storms.

His concrete area has good drainage, right? I’d worry more about that getting waterlogged, personally. Ours tiny yard has little drainage and had flooded twice during the winter; we hibernate her inside instead. Also perhaps not an issue in your space but I like to ask.

 

[wellington]

As long as it's not cold I wouldnt worry and just put him in the hide for night time. Ifs it's cold then I wouldnt let him be in the rain at all