Tortoises not returning to heated home

[tortoise-n00b]

Lately all my tortoises are sleeping outside of their heated home (it's cold now where I live).
Before it was just one guy who has been doing that for a long time...but now it's all of them.

I catch them outside in the morning in the cold and I put them back into the house. Then later I see them outside again. Any ideas what it could be?

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Lately all my tortoises are sleeping outside of their heated home (it's cold now where I live).
Before it was just one guy who has been doing that for a long time...but now it's all of them.

I catch them outside in the morning in the cold and I put them back into the house. Then later I see them outside again. Any ideas what it could be?

Depending on where you live, it may be too warm. Also, what species? You simply want to take the edge off, not heat them , but put them at a comfortable temperature. You could also try taking a piece of wood to block the entrance.
I use a large block of wood in front of my russian tortoises door on cooler days, but remove it when it gets warm so they can take advantage. We get cold winters in TN, so I'm sure to round them up if need be before the temps drop.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

You're not doing anything wrong. Some tortoises just don't know what's good for them.
We get a few "cold" nights here. And I always have to look for a few of my torts hiding in bushes etc and place them physically into the heated houses.
If its really cold. I then place cinder blocks against the door flaps to keep them inside until morning because one or two might exit the houses after I leave.

 

[Noelluene]

What kind of tortoise are they? What is the temperature in their heated home?

My Hermann's sometimes also sleeps outside his heated hole, which is fine for me bc it doesn't usually get very cold where I live. During those few cold nights if he isn't sleeping inside the tortoise house I move him inside myself.

 

[Tom]

Lately all my tortoises are sleeping outside of their heated home (it's cold now where I live).
Before it was just one guy who has been doing that for a long time...but now it's all of them.

I catch them outside in the morning in the cold and I put them back into the house. Then later I see them outside again. Any ideas what it could be?

What species?
How many?
What sort of shelter?
How are you heating the shelter?
What is the temperature in the shelter?

They are supposed to come out and bask during the day. If there is no sun, they just wait for the sun. My solution has been to put a "sun" in their night box by mounting a flood bulb on a timer to the ceiling.