Newbie

[jojoM83]

Hi all,
Wow what a fantastic place to be for a newbie tortoise mum!
I collected Roy at the weekend to come live with us. He's a 10 year old spur thighed and has been living outside in the UK and brought inside in winter. Not been hibernated yet.
He has a wooden insulated house outside. The weekend was hot and he was out zooming about the garden all weekend. However it's now 17c and raining. Should he be under his indoor lamp? Can he go under it to recharge and go back out or do I leave him? Advice greatly appreciated please.
Jo

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello and welcome!
I think our UK members can share how they keep their tortoises. @zolasmum @MaNaAk @idcowden, please?

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome
Yes, you can bring him inside during conditions that are not ideal and put him back out when it's better out.
You can also build him a heated outdoor hide that he can choose to go into, to warm up, on those kinds of days too.
You may have to teach him it's the place to go, by placing him in it a few times before he catches on.

 

[MaNaAk]

Dear @jojoM83,

Welcome! Roy is very cute and you have a lifetime of hilarious moments ahead of you. Jacky is an 88 year old Spur-thighed Tortoise and here in Essex I have tried to get her out as much as possible. She has not eaten when it was colder but it is going to warm up again and today she has started to eat again. I would leave the heat lamp for a little while as the expect 30 degrees Celsius at the weekend but please keep posting so that we can keep advising you. How old is Roy?

Natrah

 

[Tom]

Hi all,
Wow what a fantastic place to be for a newbie tortoise mum!
I collected Roy at the weekend to come live with us. He's a 10 year old spur thighed and has been living outside in the UK and brought inside in winter. Not been hibernated yet.
He has a wooden insulated house outside. The weekend was hot and he was out zooming about the garden all weekend. However it's now 17c and raining. Should he be under his indoor lamp? Can he go under it to recharge and go back out or do I leave him? Advice greatly appreciated please.
Jo

Hello and welcome!

Here is the care info for your species. In this thread I show pictures and explain a way to do outdoor housing that helps to compensate for uncooperative weather. You might be able to retro-fit your existing shelter.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

And much more helpful info here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome!

 

[jojoM83]

Dear @jojoM83,

Welcome! Roy is very cute and you have a lifetime of hilarious moments ahead of you. Jacky is an 88 year old Spur-thighed Tortoise and here in Essex I have tried to get her out as much as possible. She has not eaten when it was colder but it is going to warm up again and today she has started to eat again. I would leave the heat lamp for a little while as the expect 30 degrees Celsius at the weekend but please keep posting so that we can keep advising you. How old is Roy?

Natrah

He's very inquisitive and funny already! He's 10 years old. Thank you so much x

 

[jojoM83]

Hello and Welcome
Yes, you can bring him inside during conditions that are not ideal and put him back out when it's better out.
You can also build him a heated outdoor hide that he can choose to go into, to warm up, on those kinds of days too.
You may have to teach him it's the place to go, by placing him in it a few times before he catches on.

Thank you so much. I do appreciate it x

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to you and Roy!

 

[jojoM83]

Hello and welcome!

Here is the care info for your species. In this thread I show pictures and explain a way to do outdoor housing that helps to compensate for uncooperative weather. You might be able to retro-fit your existing shelter.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

And much more helpful info here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome!

Thank you so much Tom. I will take a look. I've been reading so much on here. All so helpful x