Outdoor Winter Greenhouse for RF: Can It be done?

[rorostortoise]

Hey everybody! It has been a long time. I have greenhousee that I built over the summer that I would like to transition my tortoise into for the winter. He is getting far too big for the house to the point where another indoor setup can no longer be done. The greenhouse is pretty cheap, but it has more room than anywhere in the house could offer him (Probably same or more sq ft as master bedroom). The days are usually 40-50 degrees F and the nights are 15-30 F.
I had several ideas for warmth:
1. Make a well insulated 2x2 hide with all the stops
2. Put in a substrate that holds heat well
3. Fill it with high oxygen producing plants like snake plants to keep opening it up to a minimum
4. Get a greenhouse heater to run throughout the night, with the goal of 75-80 degrees
I could also put some grass seed down to try and get some vegetation. There would be benches that the plants would be growing on, so I would grow him some lettuce and other such leafy greens. I would spend as much time out there with him as I could so he could still get the interaction he needs (sitting next to me and getting shell scratches).
Thoughts? I will take advice about anything: diet, shelter, water, automation, etc.

 

[wellington]

@ZEROPILOT might be able to help on this, although he's in Florida.
I'm not sure a greenhouse will be warm enough when the sun's not out.
I also believe 75 to 80 might be too low. Zeropilot usually recommends mid 80's day and night.
See what he says
If you can heat it warmer day and night then it should work.

 

[rorostortoise]

@ZEROPILOT might be able to help on this, although he's in Florida.
I'm not sure a greenhouse will be warm enough when the sun's not out.
I also believe 75 to 80 might be too low. Zeropilot usually recommends mid 80's day and night.
See what he says
If you can heat it warmer day and night then it should work.

I can bump it up then, it would just have to run longer but theres no reason not to. Thanks for tagging zeropilot, I forgot we could tag people, lol.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

What is the greenhouse itself made out of?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello!
Perhaps, a heated night box is the best option. This way you can ensure that tortoise stays warm at night and protected from predators. Also it can be a place to warm up at the daytime.

With a greenhouse you can expect ambient temperature inside to be 15-20F higher than outside at best. And tortoise body temperature will be even higher than that.

You can get some good ideas from this article (unfortunately, it's not a step-by-step guide): https://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/climateframe.html

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm in Central Ca, and I think the climate here is probably similar to yours. I had several radiata living in a backyard area that included a greenhouse, but inside the greenhouse I had a heated, insulated night box. It's almost impossible to warm the inside of the greenhouse enough for tortoises. The heated, insulated night box was a must for me.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I have no experience with greenhouses or even keeping Redfoot outdoors when it's too cold. Although I do utilize night boxes with heaters a few nights a year. We're still talking around 58 degrees outside. We also have violent afternoon thunderstorms that would probably turn most greenhouses into a twisted pile of rubble in short order.
A few perks of living in the tropics.
An overnight temperature as low as the mid 60s wouldn't be dangerous as long as the daytime temperature gets up and over 80 degrees.
Prolonged exposure to cool/cold temperatures without getting warm enough to digest food and regulate body temperatures will lead to health issues for sure.
Whatever you do. The temperature has to be up between 80 and 88 for a "day" cycle. And kept above, say 64 degrees altogether.
Can Redfoot survive occasional spikes of temperatures into the 50s? Sure. But let's try to avoid it.
Keeping healthy tortoises healthy is easier (and cheaper) than making a sick tortoise well again.
Since we can play GOD with the weather, I'll always advise against taking things to the extreme...like...What is the lowest temperature that won't kill them?
What is the highest temperature they can survive?
Let's not find out.
We know the parameters where they thrive. Let's always try for that.