Too hot for outside?

[Maude]

Hey all-Quick Question,
I live in Charleston,SC, where the actual summertime temperatures get to about 96-99. The humidity here is extremely high so with our heat index the "feel like" temperature can get between 106-115. At what point do I need to bring Maude back inside-or do I? Her pen has several shady spots and a big place she can soak. Can she overheat? They are native to South America right? Do the temperatures in their native habitats get this hot?
THANKS!
Catherine and Maude

 

[jeffbens0n]

I think she will be OK as long as she has plenty of shade and water. Another option would be spraying her enclosure down a couple times a day when it is really hot. Some even do this with a timer set to spray them automatically.

 

[Missy]

Lana has a mud hole that she loves to cool down and get dirty

 

[DixieParadise]

I live in Texas and we have had triple digits for the past few months. I have my torts out during the day. Their enclosure is quite shaded, but I do water it down 3 - 4 times a day, plus soaking them before they go in and misting them when they come out. They find comfort in their hides and I don't mess with them, except when they haven't moved. I just check to make sure they are ok. So far so good.

 

[CJSTorts]

I'm in Florida with high temps and humidity. My torts live outside 24/7. They have a shed box, tall grasses/plants to hide in, and a large water dish to soak in. I spray them down about 3 times a day (more on my days off). They seem to be doing fine, they sit in the shade during the hottest part of the day, and will always come out when someone comes by their enclosure.

 

[Madkins007]

Maude- if you are worried about it, take a thermometer and take readings in various places in the habitat. I bet you'll be surprised at the readings you actually get!

 

[DixieParadise]

Good idea Mark, I think I am going to do that just our of curiosity myself.

 

[dmmj]

As long as the tort has shade it should be fine, I seem to recall reading a long time ago that shade provided by trees can lower the temps by as much as 30 degrees, so some shade should work nicely.