Son to be Newbie from Illinois

[Braddaddy]

Hi from Illinois everyone!
My 12yr old and I are wanting to get a Russian Tort.. Or 2... Or 3... Lol
We have been reading up and gathering info for the past year and settled on the Russian.

My concern is this Midwestern weather! It gets cold, hot, dry, humid, windy, calm....on a daily basis!! For example: today it got to a high of 44° -hats and gloves on. Yesterday it hit almost 80°-shirts and sunscreen! Crazy.

We plan an indoor table approx 4x6or8 and an outdoor enclosure approx 10x15 (we have space to go larger outside if needed.)

What should we be worried about, or plan ahead for as far as the outdoor enclosure? Besides the weather craziness we get skunks, raccoons, foxes, opossums, squirrels and stray cats that enter our fenced yard as well as hawks and herons that fly overhead and a variety of other birds that visit our yard.
We also get garden spiders, mosquitoes, hornets, bumblebees, yellow jackets, wasps, honeybees, earwigs, etc etc...

Thanks in advance!!

 

[wellington]

Our weather is crazy sometime but with the means, space and enclosure any tort can be had. I'm
In the city of Chicago and have leopards and a Russian.
The bugs shouldn't be a problem, we don't have fire ants which can be a problem.
The birds you have could be. A chicken wire fencing over the enclosure will help too keep him safe. Lots of planting too to hide under.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome.

 

[Braddaddy]

Our weather is crazy sometime but with the means, space and enclosure any tort can be had. I'm
In the city of Chicago and have leopards and a Russian.
The bugs shouldn't be a problem, we don't have fire ants which can be a problem.
The birds you have could be. A chicken wire fencing over the enclosure will help too keep him safe. Lots of planting too to hide under.

Thanks.. We will be using chicken wire on the tops of the outdoor enclosure. Do Russians get affected by stinging insects?

 

[Braddaddy]

Hello and Welcome.

Thanks!

 

[TechnoCheese]

Please give these a read-
Russian Tortoise Care Sheet
https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Russian-Tortoise-Care-Sheet.80698/
Beginner Mistakes
https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/
Definitely don’t get a pair. Russian tortoises are very scrappy, and do best alone.
Yes, they can be stung by stinging insects, though it might not happen. Be sure to watch for ants

 

[wellington]

I'm sure they can be stung but not likly. There's always that one in a million that could be affected by a sting, but otherwise not likly to do anything.
We don't have fire ants, so I have not come across any bugs to worry about. Wild animals and birds will be a concern.

 

[DARKFIRE007]

I would go with galvanized rolled wire mesh from a home improvement place, you can use it on the ground to prevent digging escape and cover it with soil so they CAN dig, just not very far. It will be a good top as well, nail/screw it to a treated wood frame (a square with center board works well). Lightweight depending on the size of the wood, and can be locked pretty easily to the enclosure. For THAT size you may want to hinge it in the middle. It is also weather resistant.

Once secured from predators, the main threat is weather as you say. Make sure they have good hides to avoid overheating and be very careful with wet weather below 75 degrees I would say. Wet is fine as far as I know, but cold and wet should be avoided.

 

[ethan508]

I have a similar problem with weather. In the springtime temperatures can fluctuate widely. For the outdoor enclosure, I build a little tortoise house and put a thermostat controlled Ceramic heating element in it, so that if the weather gets iffy they can retreat a warm space (oftentimes I end up putting them in there when the temps drop). If the temperature is going to drop below 40 °F, I bring them inside and keep them there until I see sunny days forecast. In addition to the house, I have 3-4 different hidy places so they can retreat from sun, rain, hail, etc.

I'm in suburbia and there are some instances of skunks, racoons, cats, and wasps, but none have bothered my tortoises. My outdoor enclosure is open topped but a screen mesh is probably the safer bet. They are adults, babies I'd would 100% keep fully enclosed.