What is the general consensus on IN-DOOR housing of tortoise?

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Rhyno47

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As long as you can supply them with sufficient exercise, lighting, humidity, food variety, & supplements they should be fine. I let mine walk around the house a lot, after they soak so they dont crap everywhere. They seem to enjoy the space.
 

Isa

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OMG Maggie, Bob is so cute in the snow :D
Hermy lives inside a good part of the year. I try to put him outside as much as possible during the summer. I do all I can and even more for Hermy to be happy in his tort table. Maybe I am selfish, I do not know, what I know is that Hermy has food all year long, he does not have to be scared of predators and he has a mommy and a daddy that love him very much :D
 

terryo

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I never knew that they could go out in the snow...being it's so cold. I LOVE those pictues. That last one would have be good for December in the photo contest.
 

Stephanie Logan

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Hear, hear! I agree with Chad. I saw pictures (in my Vinke and Vetter book on South American tortoises) of local villagers preparing for a feast with live Chacos on a long spit, to be roasted alive and then eaten. I've got to say, I couldn't even look at that picture for more than a split second. It made me physically ill to even think about someone after my Taco with bad intentions...

I am glad that my little critter, for all of her bone deformities, will have me here for another 30+ years to keep her warm, fed, soaked and hugged. And I do put her outside in good weather--but I feel comforted by bringing her in when it's cold. :)
 
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Maggie Cummings

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I feel the need to tell all the newbies looking at Bob's pictures that Sulcata should not live in the snow, they need to be kept above 65 degrees and about 85 or 90 degrees. Bob and I are rebels and we don't always follow the rules. And even tho you see him in the snow he didn't stay out very long. Larger tortoises can stay in the cold longer because their core temperatures stay warm longer, but Bob lives in a heated insulated shed that is his and Queenies. So please don't think it's alright to throw your Sulcata out in the snow. Bob is smarter then the average tortoise because he has been well socialized and taught things. He is smart enough that when he gets cold he goes back inside and gets under his basking light which I just read is a 275 watt Trex. When smaller tortoises get too cold they stay out because they get too cold to move. So in the case of me and Bob it's a matter of do as I say, not as I do...
 

alfiethetortoise

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Great Pic's of Bob in the snow! I guess that with an animal like bob, they are smart enough to know whats best for them.

Alfie lives inside at the moment in a vivarium, but he will be outside in the summer months when weather improves. I know that many people on this forum dissaprove of such measures, but i feel that it is the safest way for alfie to be inside because of my 18 month old daughter. Alfie is allowed out of his vivarium every day for a run around the living room, and he has lots of things to do in his enclosure. At night, i open one of the glass doors to allow extra ventilation. Not everyone is lucky enough to live in such warm temperatures and we are alredy at around 10-15 degrees here and its only just October. Perhaps i shouldn't have a tortoise at all, and yes perhaps it is selfish, but an open tortoise table inside would not be safe, and my outbuildings are cold...
 
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