New tortoise need help!

[Greg Earnest]

I just got a tortoise and have been reading a lot online. Right now it's indoor and I want to move it outdoors. It's naturally an outdoor reptile so why not keep it there! I was thinking of buying a dog kennel 5x8 and burying it a foot under ground so and putting hardware cloth under so no chance of burrowing out. I'd then grow plants for a different but natural variety. Does this sound like a good plan? What would you do

 

[Greg Earnest]

Pictures above are of my tortoise (tourtisosaurus rex) t-rex for short and what he is currently living in substrate is coco coir and organic orchid bark

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Greg, and welcome to the Forum!

I'm hoping the first picture is showing a sleeping tortoise, otherwise he looks pretty sick. If he's living in that "Tortoise House" he's in sad shape, indeed. You are correct this desert tortoise needs to be outside. That "house" is way too small for him. Set him up outside in a well-planted, safe and secure outdoor habitat, with a waterer he can climb in and out of, a feeding tile or rock and a couple hiding places.

I don't think you need to worry too much about him digging out. If you just protect the edges of the kennel, that would be good enough.

Here's where my desert tortoises live:

 

[Greg Earnest]

Thank you for the response! Yea he is sleeping just the only picture I have when he's not sleeping he's waking around a ton trying to explore. That's why I want to go outside with him and give him the best treatment possible

 

[Greg Earnest]

One more picture

 

[Yvonne G]

ah...it's good to see his eyes open. That's always a bit scarey (seeing a picture with the eyes closed) because we don't know if its sick or not from the picture.

Don't you just love that pink tongue? And how they keep from biting it is beyond me.

It looks like he may be a bit dehydrated. It's ok to put him in a tub of shallow water for about 15 minutes a day.