Rain

[pinhead]

I am trying to figure out what everyone does when it rains hard? Do you bring in your Tortoise of let them deal with the rain? It is still a little cool here to have them outside 24/7 but the days are in the upper 70s and I feel the sun does them good. Oh it is a Russian . Thanks Eric

 

[dmarcus]

All of my outside tortoises will go into there houses by themselves, but if its raining really bad, I will check to ensure they are inside there house and if not I will go ahead and place them in there...

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

I have a shelter for all my tortoises outside that they can go into that keeps them warm and dry. For my Sulcatas I use dog houses. My Greeks and Russians I use storage bins layer on their sides.

 

[GBtortoises]

I am trying to figure out what everyone does when it rains hard? Do you bring in your Tortoise of let them deal with the rain? It is still a little cool here to have them outside 24/7 but the days are in the upper 70s and I feel the sun does them good. Oh it is a Russian . Thanks Eric

First and foremost, any tortoise in captivity, regardless of species, should have adequate, completely dry shelter in order to be able to protect itself from severe weather conditions. Primarily flooding and dampness. If they have dry quarters most species, especially temperature climate species such as Russians, can easily withstand periods of cold temperatures. Most Russian tortoises do not like to be wet or rained on. But some many will come out of hiding very soon after the rain stops to forage for food. Especially if the sun comes out right after the rain passes. Other temperate species like Hermann's and Marginateds and some northern Greeks will actually come out and forage in the rain as long as temperatures are above 65 and the rain isn't too hard. Again though, adequate dry shelter is absolutely necessary, regardless of the weather or temperatures.

 

[Yvonne G]

I just make sure that all of them are inside their shelters (which are dry).

 

[Baoh]

Mine choose to seek shelter (deck, burrow, or bushes) or not. Several of my animals will feed, drink, and/or wallow during the rain. This is especially the case for my Burmese black and yellow foot tortoises.

 

[Michael Bird]

Unfortunately, I don't have room for an outside enclosure so I'm not sure how my Jordanian Greek would react to real rain, but I can say what she does when I make it 'rain' artificially in her tortoise table by misting with a spray bottle. Almost every time I start misting, she will come running and stare at me with her neck stretched out and wait until I spray her directly and she will usually stay that way until she is thoroughly soaked. I've even made a game of it now and then to see if she is really trying to get rained on by spraying an area until she moves to that location, and then spraying another spot to see if she will follow the 'rain'. She will almost always follow the water. I don't know if it's normal behavior for Greeks to play in the rain, but mine definitely seems to enjoy it. This is in addition to regular warm water soakings so I don't think it's just an attempt to get some extra humidity.

To answer the actual question: If the tortoises have a secure, dry place to go, I say let them decide if they want to stay out in the rain or if they want get away from it.

 

[yoda3106]

Have a look on my threads that I have started, I recently asked the same about my Greeks we went home to the uk for a week and left them out in there enclosure back in Cyprus and they were fine and 3days it was torrential rain, sand storms and thunder and lightening, guess what? They apparently loved it and when they had enough, they dug themselves done and saw it out!!

 

[DixieParadise]

My yellowfoot has her own shelter in her enclosure. She does go there when it is raining hard. I caught her outside yesterday when it was drizzling. She looked so good when she was clean.

My RF's have their own night time enclosure. So, if it is raining very hard and they cannot seek proper shelter in their hides, I put them up for the day.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I was a little concerned at first for my juvenile sulcata Kobe. But after one torrential downpour, I realized his outdoor pen will not flood, and he does have access to shelters, so I just leave him be. Last time, we had a big pour last week, he actually stayed out for most of it.

 

[Neal]

It rained hard here yesterday. I had all my tortoises outside, including the hatchlings. They all seemed to enjoy it. About half were hiding and half were out grazing. Just make sure they have a place to stay dry so they can get out of the rain if they want.