Outside temps

[Jay Bagley]

So I still have another 2 and a half months or so of winter left here in Michigan, been daydreaming of Summer and just wishful thinking. I was just wondering what some of your guyses experiences and recommendations would be when summer hits what temperatures I can safely bring him outside in. He's roughly 7 and 1/2 inches long now. Michigan weather varies so much day today it could be 70 with 70% humidity one day and 90 and low humidity the next. We just had a day last week that was 54°, then 21° the next. I won't be putting him outside full time or anything, but more less field trips for a couple hours a day when weather permits. So was just wondering at his size, when is cold too cold for him, or when is it too cool where humidity will play a negative roll. Is there an ideal temperature / humidity I should shoot for outside. At a certain point does wind play a role in this to? Thank you for any advice.

 

[vladimir]

As long as it was above 60 and sunny I would let Vlad out for supervised grazing sessions. Depending on sun and wind I would keep the sessions shorter, but above 65 or 70 he seemed to have no problem hanging out for as long as I'd let him. You can use a temp gun on his shell to keep an eye on how he's doing too

 

[vladimir]

Honestly I let him tell me when he wants to go inside most of the time. He knows the way from the yard to the porch and will climb up the stairs and wait at the door when he wants to go back inside [emoji16]

 

[Jay Bagley]

As long as it was above 60 and sunny I would let Vlad out for supervised grazing sessions. Depending on sun and wind I would keep the sessions shorter, but above 65 or 70 he seemed to have no problem hanging out for as long as I'd let him. You can use a temp gun on his shell to keep an eye on how he's doing too

That sounds good, I didnt know if it wasnt 80 outside but high humidity if it would effect him badly or not.

 

[Jay Bagley]

Honestly I let him tell me when he wants to go inside most of the time. He knows the way from the yard to the porch and will climb up the stairs and wait at the door when he wants to go back inside [emoji16]

Yeah I think I was probably overthinking it, think I'm turning into a hypochondriac when it comes to this guy.[emoji2]

 

[vladimir]

Yeah I think I was probably overthinking it, think I'm turning into a hypochondriac when it comes to this guy.[emoji2]

Totally understandable [emoji39]

 

[Big Charlie]

It depends on the size of your tortoise. The advice for a hatchling is different for a tortoise that is large. A larger tortoise has more body mass that takes much longer to cool down. For example, my 100 pound tortoise can come out of his 80F house into 50F weather and his core will stay warm for hours while he grazes. With a smaller tortoise, you have to be more careful.

The temperature of the air is not necessarily the temperature of the ground. If is 60F and sunny, it is likely that a patch of ground that has been heated by the sun is much warmer than 60F. If you get a temperature gun, you can test the temperature of different surfaces and the temperature of your sully's shell.

There was an interesting study done by @JoesMum where she showed that the temperature of blue slate was much warmer than the temperature of other surfaces, even on a relatively cool day.

 

[Jay Bagley]

It depends on the size of your tortoise. The advice for a hatchling is different for a tortoise that is large. A larger tortoise has more body mass that takes much longer to cool down. For example, my 100 pound tortoise can come out of his 80F house into 50F weather and his core will stay warm for hours while he grazes. With a smaller tortoise, you have to be more careful.

The temperature of the air is not necessarily the temperature of the ground. If is 60F and sunny, it is likely that a patch of ground that has been heated by the sun is much warmer than 60F. If you get a temperature gun, you can test the temperature of different surfaces and the temperature of your sully's shell.

There was an interesting study done by @JoesMum where she showed that the temperature of blue slate was much warmer than the temperature of other surfaces, even on a relatively cool day.

That makes a lot of sense, he's roughly seven and a half inches long and just shy at 3 lb. I have a temp gun, I never even thought about bringing it with me. It's a great idea, I will definitely bring it with me when I go. One of the few times I brought him outside last year, they said it was 72 out. But once I got him out, with the wind It felt like low 60's.

 

[Big Charlie]

That makes a lot of sense, he's roughly seven and a half inches long and just shy at 3 lb. I have a temp gun, I never even thought about bringing it with me. It's a great idea, I will definitely bring it with me when I go. One of the few times I brought him outside last year, they said it was 72 out. But once I got him out, with the wind It felt like low 60's.

The wind probably affects you more than him. Get down on his level and see if you can feel it as much.

 

[Jay Bagley]

The wind probably affects you more than him. Get down on his level and see if you can feel it as much.

I will do that, does humid air play any role if cooler out?

 

[Big Charlie]

I will do that, does humid air play any role if cooler out?

Probably, cold and humid can make them sick.

 

[Jay Bagley]

Probably, cold and humid can make them sick.

Thanks for your help and advice, I will put it to good use.

 

[JoesMum]

There was an interesting study done by @JoesMum where she showed that the temperature of blue slate was much warmer than the temperature of other surfaces, even on a relatively cool day.

This
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/demonstrating-the-effect-of-blue-slate-on-temperature.141716/

 

[Jay Bagley]

This
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/demonstrating-the-effect-of-blue-slate-on-temperature.141716/

Thanks JoesMum!!