Outdoor temps, what is too low?

[ArkansasKelly]

Hey guys,

I have read many different opinions on this topic, so I thought I would consult you guys.

At what low outdoor temperature do you guys feel it is best to bring in your adults? 50's, 60's..etc?

Tonight is supposed to be 64 degrees, but the humidity is very high making it feel warmer. Will they be okay, or should I bring them in?

Thanks,

ARKelly

 

[Itort]

Kelly, with my breeding adults I would leave them out in the mid sixties with shelter. Subadults and smaller I consider 70 the minimum. I think the adults with their greater mass hold temp better in combo with soil temp.

 

[ArkansasKelly]

Kelly, with my breeding adults I would leave them out in the mid sixties with shelter. Subadults and smaller I consider 70 the minimum. I think the adults with their greater mass hold temp better in combo with soil temp.

Hey, thanks Larry,

These are adults and they do have shelter so I will go ahead and leave them out tonight. It is supposed to be in the high 80's tomorrow so they will warm up quick.

Thanks again,

ARKelly

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Kelly mine have 'acclimated' to upper 50's over the years. And you know they have plenty of dry leaves to bury into whenever. I doubt size has anything to do with it as the '06 [ 4+" ] are out too! The '07 are too small.. for that very reason.

So your Brazilian's are fine now until the upper 50's anyway. A friend in FL has no trouble with his Red's & Yellows into the low 50's. Last year I had a 'heated' hide and left them out as long as it got into the 60's during the day.

I'll get a few pics of the outdoor enclosures later this week when it's "sunny" and into the 80's consistently. { I expect my Brazilian might just 'nest' soon!!! }

nerd

 

[elegans]

I only brought my guys in three times this last year. When we get cold fronts here in South Florida they are almost always followed by a bright clear morning. I personally feel that the stress of moving them "may" be almost as much as the stress form the cold. I no longer bring in my redfoots until it is going to be below 50 F. I treat my SriLankan stars the same way with no ill effects. The only exception to this for me is if we are expecting rain with the system, them I bring them in. I am sure that we all would agree that a cold and wet tortoise is a disaster waiting to happen. As a side note in 1989 I was running a nursery when we had the coldest temps since I have lived here. I had my animals outside as I was running the nursery all day into the night. When I got home at 2 AM I brought my animals in. Much smaller collection at that time, Thank God. The outside temps were in the mid 30's and everyone survived. This is not something that I would recommend anyone try, but is shows how tough these guys can be. Best wishes Douglas Beard.

 

[ArkansasKelly]

Thanks Terry and Douglas,

I went ahead and kept them outside last night when it got into the low 60's and they did great. Tonight is only supposed to be in the low 70's so no worries.

I need to get my "baby" pen set up so I can put them out too. I probably will not leave them out after dark though. I would be paranoid.

Thanks again you guys,

ARKelly

 

[rattboy]

Hey Kel!

If you are still in position of the trio with Ling Ling, I can say with confidence that they will do fine in the temps you quoted. I kept them outdoors here in San Francisco. If you know much about the Bay Area around SF, it gets pretty cold and windy here at nights. They had a wind protected (and fog protected) hide and on exceptionally cold nights I would put out a pig blanket but they proved pretty hardy. Nights here are regularly in the low 50s and sometimes in the high 40s.

Provided the next day warms up nicely, they seem to do ok. I don't think I would recommend these temps in general but because its where I live, it wasn't much of a choice. They remained outside for months and our nightly temps are pretty consistently cold.

Any more babies? They even produced decently in the cold weather of the Bay...haha.

Paul

 

[ArkansasKelly]

Hey Kel!

If you are still in position of the trio with Ling Ling, I can say with confidence that they will do fine in the temps you quoted. I kept them outdoors here in San Francisco. If you know much about the Bay Area around SF, it gets pretty cold and windy here at nights. They had a wind protected (and fog protected) hide and on exceptionally cold nights I would put out a pig blanket but they proved pretty hardy. Nights here are regularly in the low 50s and sometimes in the high 40s.

Provided the next day warms up nicely, they seem to do ok. I don't think I would recommend these temps in general but because its where I live, it wasn't much of a choice. They remained outside for months and our nightly temps are pretty consistently cold.

Any more babies? They even produced decently in the cold weather of the Bay...haha.

Paul

Hey Paul,

Yup, these are one in the same. They are doing fantastic even with the cooler nights. Though, now the nights barely get into the low 70's and soooooo humid. Right up their ally.

As far as more babies, hatchling #4 is "breaking" into the world as I write this. She has been at it since the 4th. LOL Another one that took over 7 months to hatch. That sucks! I have not had a chance to load any pictures to photo bucket yet, but I have attached a few smaller pics to the post. Hopefully they can be seen. LOL

ARKelly

P.S. All hatchlings are from Jasmine.