Pák
Active Member
Hi all 
I just want to make this thread as an open discussion, if there is someone who has some thought to share about the topic.
I just moved my sulcata outside to a fenced area of the garden, about 807 square feet. She's currently 2.5 years old and weighs around 10 pounds. A happy little tortoise!
What I’d like to start a conversation about is this: while my tortoise was living in his indoor enclosure (from autumn to spring), he usually preferred to sleep in a spot where the temperature was between 72–75°F (22–24°C). During summer, the room was much warmer, so he tended to spend his nights in areas around 77–79°F (25–26°C).
Yes, of course, the terrarium had a warm zone of about 80.6°F (27°C), but he still didn’t choose that area for sleeping most of the time. There was also a basking spot at around 95°F (35°C), which he happily used during the day.
Now that he’s moved outside, he instantly loved his outdoor house and has used it every day since the very first night. However, once the heat wave hit, I noticed that he goes into his house at night as usual, but then comes back out shortly after—probably because it’s too hot inside.
The house is in full shade all day, but still, if the outside temperature is above 86°F (30°C), even reaching 95°F (35°C), it’s hard to keep the inside much cooler. On those evenings, the temperature inside his house is usually between 84–88°F (29–31°C), and those are the nights when he chooses to sleep outside instead.
So my question is: has anyone else experienced this? What’s the typical temperature in your tortoise’s shelter and outside during hot nights? And what could be a good solution—should I install a fan to help cool things down faster in the evening?
Some pictures for starting the conversation in a better mood:
I just want to make this thread as an open discussion, if there is someone who has some thought to share about the topic.
I just moved my sulcata outside to a fenced area of the garden, about 807 square feet. She's currently 2.5 years old and weighs around 10 pounds. A happy little tortoise!
What I’d like to start a conversation about is this: while my tortoise was living in his indoor enclosure (from autumn to spring), he usually preferred to sleep in a spot where the temperature was between 72–75°F (22–24°C). During summer, the room was much warmer, so he tended to spend his nights in areas around 77–79°F (25–26°C).
Yes, of course, the terrarium had a warm zone of about 80.6°F (27°C), but he still didn’t choose that area for sleeping most of the time. There was also a basking spot at around 95°F (35°C), which he happily used during the day.
Now that he’s moved outside, he instantly loved his outdoor house and has used it every day since the very first night. However, once the heat wave hit, I noticed that he goes into his house at night as usual, but then comes back out shortly after—probably because it’s too hot inside.
The house is in full shade all day, but still, if the outside temperature is above 86°F (30°C), even reaching 95°F (35°C), it’s hard to keep the inside much cooler. On those evenings, the temperature inside his house is usually between 84–88°F (29–31°C), and those are the nights when he chooses to sleep outside instead.
So my question is: has anyone else experienced this? What’s the typical temperature in your tortoise’s shelter and outside during hot nights? And what could be a good solution—should I install a fan to help cool things down faster in the evening?
Some pictures for starting the conversation in a better mood:
