Live in the finger lakes region of New York state, and I was wondering if today may be warm enough for my Russian tortoise to go outside? I will check the temperature and post it.
It's around 48*.
It's around 48*.
Warm enough?
- Thread starter hunterk997
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As long as you put him in a sheltered portion where the sun is shining, but there is no wind, he should be ok outside. It is usually a lot warmer on the ground in the sun than the ambient temp says it is.
In their native Central Asia, Russian tortoises don't come out of their burrows until the air temperature in the shade is at least 68*F (Lagarde et al. 2002). They also don't come out on very cloudy or windy days, because that also makes it harder to warm up. Males tend to come out sooner because, being smaller, their bodies warm up more quickly than those of the females. So personally, I follow that rule of thumb and don't take my guys out unless it's at least 68*F in the shade, sunny, and not too windy.
Use a temp grand check the temps in the area you want to put them. Then check their carapace temps when you put them out and then periodically. If they are cooling bring them back in. If they are warming, you are good to go.
48 sounds too cool to me. I'd wait until it was a little warmer than that.
48 sounds too cool to me. I'd wait until it was a little warmer than that.
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hunterk997 said:
The simple answer is "no", 48 degrees is not warm enough for a tortoise to be taken outdoors after a long period indoors, sunshine or no sunshine.
Even if that tortoise brumated (hibernated) outdoors it still would not be out yet in temperatures that low, again, regardless of sunshine or not. Indoor tortoises should not be brought outside until the daytime temperatures are in at least the low to mid 60's and sunny. The ground should be somewhat dry too, not still damp from snow melt or early spring rains.
By doing so anytime before those conditions appear, you are placing a tortoise in conditions that could initiate respiratory problems due to cold and dampness. That is especially true of spring time conditions in the Northeastern U.S. where the ground is typically cold and damp through at least early May.
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