Outdoor Accommodation in a Colder (UK) Climate

JoesMum

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Would a heated house that’s protected from rain and allow them to come & go be sufficient for keeping them outdoors through these colder months?
I don’t know much about the Californian climate; you’d need @Tom or @Yvonne G for that expertise.

In theory, with properly heated and insulated accommodation yes you can. Have a look at what’s done with Sulcatas as they cannot hibernate so must be kept active and eating all winter.

The alternative is fridge hibernation so you guarantee temperature stability. Some have reported that doing this even for a couple of weeks helps the tort reset for being awake
 

Tom

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I appreciate your liking my recent post and wanted to ask for your advice, if I may. I sense my 2 Greek torts living outside could be exhibitinge quasi hibernation behavior. My male, Scooby, is now burrowed in the dirt and just seems to have stopped eating (as of yesterday). My female Sheldane is still coming out to bask briefly but eating much less. We’ve never hibernated a tortoise and I wasn’t planning to start. It would be hard here bc the Bay Area temps fluctuate so much - it can get really warm suddenly even in the midst of “winter”. Is it important to try and fully hibernate them? Would a heated house that’s protected from rain and allow them to come & go be sufficient for keeping them outdoors through these colder months? Also, my male is in soil that is a bit moist so I worry it could get him sick and that I need to move him. Should I create a cold house with straw or the coconut fiber substrate? Thx so so much, any advice you have would be most appreciated.
Read this thread. In it outdoor housing in our kind of climate is explained. You need to separate your two and there are pics of a great way to do it here:
 

jensem17

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This is amazing. Joe is living the dream! I imagine that since Joe has the run of the entire garden that there was some extra work required to close any gaps under the fence... would you mind sharing what you did to escape proof your garden? We have a hedged 12x12 courtyard that I have been eyeing as a tort garden.
 

JoesMum

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This is amazing. Joe is living the dream! I imagine that since Joe has the run of the entire garden that there was some extra work required to close any gaps under the fence... would you mind sharing what you did to escape proof your garden? We have a hedged 12x12 courtyard that I have been eyeing as a tort garden.
Our garden, like many in the UK, is fenced with close boarded fencing all the way round. It’s easy to have a secure are with this. We just have to make sure the foxes haven’t dug their way underneath and created an escape route.

This section isn in Joe’s bit, but it’s currently unobscured by plants so you can see what it looks like!
image.jpg
 

Sensimillia

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Thanks for the advice :D

Am a new Sulcata owner and live in East Sussex, UK. Looking to build a outdoor enclosure for her.
Am glad I clicked your post. Not too far away from me so all above (except hybernating) applies.

I have a Dog kennel on order and will also be making a cold frame. I didn't know about slate being good at absorbing heat so will be adding some of that too.

Thanks again :D
 

LJL1982

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This has been a huge reassurance that my ibera can go back into his hutch in the garden in the days...but I love the idea of a kennel with a light!
 

Lyn W

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This has been a huge reassurance that my ibera can go back into his hutch in the garden in the days...but I love the idea of a kennel with a light!
I think JoesMum used to hibernate Joe for the winter, but because of our climate he had warm places to go on our cooler days when he was outside during the summer. Only the best for Joe!!:<3::tort:
 

mchambers58w

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This is an excellent thread. Thank you for posting. I'm very very late to reply to this so apologies for digging it back up!

I have a couple of questions on this, if you don't mind:
1) Could the kennel be used for both basking in the day with a lamp and night time if I used a CHE during the night, as long as I check the temperature and have the two sources on timers? I ask this to see if I could just use one space. Do you see any issues with this method?
2) Would there be any benefit in adding a UVB source in that same enclosure?
 

mchambers58w

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This is an excellent thread. Thank you for posting. I'm very very late to reply to this so apologies for digging it back up!

I have a couple of questions on this, if you don't mind:
1) Could the kennel be used for both basking in the day with a lamp and night time if I used a CHE during the night, as long as I check the temperature and have the two sources on timers? I ask this to see if I could just use one space. Do you see any issues with this method?
2) Would there be any benefit in adding a UVB source in that same enclosure?
To add, I am based in the UK in Kendal, Cumbria if that helps with advice
 

Lyn W

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To add, I am based in the UK in Kendal, Cumbria if that helps with advice
Hi and welcome,
What species of tort do you have - that will affect the advice you're given.
This is an old thread and @JoesMum (Linda) hasn't posted for a long while - but she might if she gets an alert now I've tagged her.
Linda lives in Kent so there's generally a difference in temps and humidity etc to further north in colder Cumbria, but I think she used to take Joe indoors overnight and just put him out in the kennel during the day. It's been a while since I read what she says so I could be wrong.
I use the medium version of the kennel for my leopard. It is heated 24/7 with a Habistat Reptile Radiator ( sort of a flat che) which rests on a metal grid that I fitted so that it could lie flat rather than fit it to the sloped roof. He lives indoors all year around in an adapted room with basking lamps and uvb tube etc in but has free access to the garden for basking in the summer.
 

mchambers58w

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Hi and welcome,
What species of tort do you have - that will affect the advice you're given.
This is an old thread and @JoesMum (Linda) hasn't posted for a long while - but she might if she gets an alert now I've tagged her.
Linda lives in Kent so there's generally a difference in temps and humidity etc to further north in colder Cumbria, but I think she used to take Joe indoors overnight and just put him out in the kennel during the day. It's been a while since I read what she says so I could be wrong.
I use the medium version of the kennel for my leopard. It is heated 24/7 with a Habistat Reptile Radiator ( sort of a flat che) which rests on a metal grid that I fitted so that it could lie flat rather than fit it to the sloped roof. He lives indoors all year around in an adapted room with basking lamps and uvb tube etc in but has free access to the garden for basking in the summer.
Hello

Thank you so much. They’re a Horsfield tortoise around 4 years old.

I think Joe lives in the cold frame at night time but I could be wrong.

Sounds like what you have is what I was asking about so could be done. Many thanks.
 

Lyn W

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Hello

Thank you so much. They’re a Horsfield tortoise around 4 years old.

I think Joe lives in the cold frame at night time but I could be wrong.

Sounds like what you have is what I was asking about so could be done. Many thanks.
No - the cold frame was just another warm spot for him in a different part of the garden - he spent nights in her conservatory and she hibernated him in a fridge over winter but that's for another day.
Have you done an Introduction yet? If so you may have already been told about these threads but just in case, they will help you with make sure your tort has everything he needs

[/URL]

and this will explain all the do's and don'ts of tort keeping https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/

Both have up to date information. There's a lot of old and unsafe information still circulating and pert shops rarely know about tort care an usually sell unsuitable and unsafe equipment for profit but if you follow the advise above you should have a happy and healthy tort. If you check on the forum before buying lamps etc we cab save you money by telling you what to avoid.
Just be aware that Russians are great escape artists - they can climb and dig, so if he is going to have free range of the garden you'll need to have secure boundaries or he'll be off! It will probably be easier to make him a large Houdini proof enclosure.
 
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mchambers58w

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No - the cold frame was just another warm spot for him in a different part of the garden - he spent nights in her conservatory and she hibernated him in a fridge over winter but that's for another day.
Have you done an Introduction yet? If so you may have already been told about these threads but just in case, they will help you with make sure your tort has everything he needs

[/URL]

and this will explain all the do's and don'ts of tort keeping https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/

Both have up to date information. There's a lot of old and unsafe information still circulating and pert shops rarely know about tort care an usually sell unsuitable and unsafe equipment for profit but if you follow the advise above you should have a happy and healthy tort. If you check on the forum before buying lamps etc we cab save you money by telling you what to avoid.
Just be aware that Russians are great escape artists - they can climb and dig, so if he is going to have free range of the garden you'll need to have secure boundaries or he'll be off! It will probably be easier to make him a large Houdini proof enclosure.
Thank you. Yes all into done and their home has been quickly adapted to take in all of the great information, although only slight tweaks were needed.

Next, I am making them a larger outdoor enclosure. They already have one that they spend a lot of time in during the summer months but I’m at least doubling it if not more next month in anticipation of the summer. :)
 
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