Outside Horsefield

[Steffb]

Hi Bert has dug himself up again after disappearing late summer last year. He is 9 years old and a Horsefield.
He was kept indoors but then disappeared last summer and is now back with us. We no longer have his table as it was very small annd only went in ant night anndcto warm up for the day under his lamp. and would like to offer something outdoors permanently for him.
He enjoys being free rein in the garden but it’s becoming wetter in Manchester UK these days and I’m not sure it’s warm enough for him outside yet. He woke 2 days ago and I’ve been bathing him in a warm bath with reptoboost- can anyone offer some help with creating the best option for him. Probs just for wetter days and nights as he enjoys being free rein.

 

[Tom]

Hi Bert has dug himself up again after disappearing late summer last year. He is 9 years old and a Horsefield.
He was kept indoors but then disappeared last summer and is now back with us. We no longer have his table as it was very small annd only went in ant night anndcto warm up for the day under his lamp. and would like to offer something outdoors permanently for him.
He enjoys being free rein in the garden but it’s becoming wetter in Manchester UK these days and I’m not sure it’s warm enough for him outside yet. He woke 2 days ago and I’ve been bathing him in a warm bath with reptoboost- can anyone offer some help with creating the best option for him. Probs just for wetter days and nights as he enjoys being free rein.

Hello and welcome to the forum. In this thread I show pictures and explain exactly how to do what you are talking about. Check it out and please feel free to ask lots of questions:

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

Much more helpful info in these two threads too:

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

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Would highly discourage him brumating outside, temperature fluctuations are main concern but also him getting lost like he did.
The links above are full if all the information you need

Being from the uk myself, I’d personally recommend having an indoor enclosure on the back burner, or perhaps an adapted shed, I know how unpredictable our weather can be.

Hopefully you might find this useful for indoor side of things, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), sizing(you can get away with smaller indoors if you can build a larger outdoor space when weather permits), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they come in handy!