Russian tortoise enclosure

[Jude2000]

Hi. I have a beautiful 9yr old Russian tortoise. Very happy and healthy and has just started going outside this year. I'm in UK so she doesn't normally get to go out til May / June 😔. My question is , although she has a nice enclosure with lots to do ,she mostly chooses to hide or go in her house. I'm wondering if I am doing something wrong or if I can get some advice how to improve things if necessary. The enclosure is 7ft x 5ft. I think I've managed to attach some photos but I had a few problems 🤞🐢🐢. Any advice will be gratefully received. Thank you.

 

[Tom]

Hi. I have a beautiful 9yr old Russian tortoise. Very happy and healthy and has just started going outside this year. I'm in UK so she doesn't normally get to go out til May / June 😔. My question is , although she has a nice enclosure with lots to do ,she mostly chooses to hide or go in her house. I'm wondering if I am doing something wrong or if I can get some advice how to improve things if necessary. The enclosure is 7ft x 5ft. I think I've managed to attach some photos but I had a few problems 🤞🐢🐢. Any advice will be gratefully received. Thank you.

The first and most obvious question is: What is the temperature out there? Followed closely by: Is it sunny?

If it is suitably warm and sunny, then your tortoise is simply not used to this new environment, and will take some time to become familiar with it and comfortable in it. I would recommend making the enclosure much larger. At least double that size, and have a temperature controlled night box with a basking lamp in it for inclement weather and cool cloudy days. The night box idea is shown and explained here:

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

Using the night box will keep your tortoise safe each and every night, and will allow your tortoise to go out much earlier in spring and stay out later in fall, regardless of the weather.

 

[Jude2000]

The first and most obvious question is: What is the temperature out there? Followed closely by: Is it sunny?

If it is suitably warm and sunny, then your tortoise is simply not used to this new environment, and will take some time to become familiar with it and comfortable in it. I would recommend making the enclosure much larger. At least double that size, and have a temperature controlled night box with a basking lamp in it for inclement weather and cool cloudy days. The night box idea is shown and explained here:

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

Using the night box will keep your tortoise safe each and every night, and will allow your tortoise to go out much earlier in spring and stay out later in fall, regardless of the weather.

Thank you for your reply. It's 20 degrees C here today and very sunny . I will definitely look into making her a night box . I normally bring her indoors every night to avoid anything getting to her. ( I'm a worrier !!). I'll also make her enclosure bigger , I just thought that bigger would mean more places for her to hide . I'm trying to upload a photo of her enclosure but it keeps failing . 😔

 

[Tom]

Thank you for your reply. It's 20 degrees C here today and very sunny . I will definitely look into making her a night box . I normally bring her indoors every night to avoid anything getting to her. ( I'm a worrier !!). I'll also make her enclosure bigger , I just thought that bigger would mean more places for her to hide . I'm trying to upload a photo of her enclosure but it keeps failing . 😔

20C is cold for a torts that comes from an area of the world that is 33-40C this time of year.

 

[Jude2000]

20C is cold for a torts that comes from an area of the world that is 33-40C this time of year.

Yes, UK is rubbish for nice hot weather !! Now I'm confused, are you saying that she shouldn't go outside at all unless it gets much warmer or she needs some form of heating during the day. I was just thinking that any time out in the sun would be good for her. Sorry for all the questions. 😬

 

[Tom]

Yes, UK is rubbish for nice hot weather !! Now I'm confused, are you saying that she shouldn't go outside at all unless it gets much warmer or she needs some form of heating during the day. I was just thinking that any time out in the sun would be good for her. Sorry for all the questions. 😬

There is not an easy answer to this... I struggle with this in my winters, which are similar in temperature to your summers. Adults of Testudo species, in theory, should be fine and active at 20C in sunny weather, BUT, sometimes the ground is just too cool and they choose to park in the shade under a bush, and they just sit there being cold and hidden. If your tortoise seeks out the sun and is active and eating, then 20C and sunny should be fine. The sun will keep them much warmer than 20C. But if your tortoise just goes and sits in the shade, and stays cold, then there is no point in it being outside. Here in my climate it is 33C in the shade today, so all the tortoises of all species are up and active and staying mostly out of the sun, so that they don't OVERheat.

What to do in your case? Having a heated shelter with a basking lamp in it, like what is pictured in the thread I linked, will/should work wonders. Your tortoise will just live outside, so there will be no stress of moving back and forth, which seems to bother some Russians more than other species. Your tortoise will be safe and protected at night. It will get cooler overnight, but never too cool, and it can warm up to operating temperatures INSIDE its own shelter under the heat lamp which is on a timer, so it comes on in the morning, and stays off at night. Then when you open the door later in the morning after the sun is up and things are warmer, the tortoise can come out and search for food or do tortoise adventuring stuff since it is already up to operating temperatures.

 

[Jude2000]

There is not an easy answer to this... I struggle with this in my winters, which are similar in temperature to your summers. Adults of Testudo species, in theory, should be fine and active at 20C in sunny weather, BUT, sometimes the ground is just too cool and they choose to park in the shade under a bush, and they just sit there being cold and hidden. If your tortoise seeks out the sun and is active and eating, then 20C and sunny should be fine. The sun will keep them much warmer than 20C. But if your tortoise just goes and sits in the shade, and stays cold, then there is no point in it being outside. Here in my climate it is 33C in the shade today, so all the tortoises of all species are up and active and staying mostly out of the sun, so that they don't OVERheat.

What to do in your case? Having a heated shelter with a basking lamp in it, like what is pictured in the thread I linked, will/should work wonders. Your tortoise will just live outside, so there will be no stress of moving back and forth, which seems to bother some Russians more than other species. Your tortoise will be safe and protected at night. It will get cooler overnight, but never too cool, and it can warm up to operating temperatures INSIDE its own shelter under the heat lamp which is on a timer, so it comes on in the morning, and stays off at night. Then when you open the door later in the morning after the sun is up and things are warmer, the tortoise can come out and search for food or do tortoise adventuring stuff since it is already up to operating temperatures.

Thank you so much for this Information. I'll definitely take this advice on board and get started on a heated outside house for her. I really appreciate your help. Lucky you, living somewhere nice and warm 😄

 

[Tom]

Lucky you, living somewhere nice and warm 😄

There is no luck involved in where I live. It was done very intentionally, and at great costs. It sure does making keeping tortoises easier and less stressful.