What to do in the rain?

[raymond]

Should I let him still roam around or keep him inside untill the rain stops

 

[ascott]

Cool/cold + wet =Bad news

I am on watch here for rain (likely later today) along with the cold temps here and the high winds I will be bringing the men folk into their brumating boxes and will put them back out early tomorrow am if the rain has passed....it is the count down here anyways for them to come in....

 

[thatrebecca]

My two CDTs come in when it's cold and rainy, as it's predicted to be here in LA today. Last spring, even though their burrow stayed dry, after they stayed out on a couple rainy days/nights they started yawning a lot, which can be an early indicator of a respiratory infection. They're both slowing down a lot anyway, so I suspect they won't mind a day in the laundry room today.

 

[Yvonne G]

If you live in an area where it turns cold when it rains, then I would make sure your tortoise is in his house with the door closed. If the weather is mild in the rain, it is quite ok for him to be out in it. It does rain in the desert.

 

[nancykj]

i put tarps over their houses last night but did not close the doors. do they know enough to go in out of the rain?
it hasn't started raining in woodland hills where i live, yet, but is raining hard here in santa monica now

 

[raymond]

It's raining off and on no sun and the temp is 57 outside so I have a room I converted into a reptile room for snakes and others I collect when I go out herping( to collect venom clean mites and treat winds ) I have him in there till it warms up or is proper to have him outside he seems to like it in there because the floor is covered in sand

 

[thatrebecca]

Folks in more rural, desert-like locales may have an easier time of it on rainy days. One thing I learned this spring was how different my relatively urban back yard is from the desert. Even with my efforts to build a nice enclosure with underground hides that stay dry in the rain, it's still quite a different environment from a natural desert burrow -- at 8 inches down, with a concrete roof and irrigation lines running nearby, there's still lots of temp fluctuation and damp air that makes its way into my hides. One of my projects during brumation season is to work on that, but in the meantime, for my juveniles, rainy days under 70 degrees are indoor days.

 

[raymond]

I also built a underground den and found that if u throw sand around the understanding structure along with whatever came out of the hole and a little in the den itsself it hold the heat in the den better then just the dirt

 

[raymond]

If the temp is 71 and the ground is still moist can I let my CDT outside to roam and feed

 

[thatrebecca]

Same exact conditions here and my two are out. There is ample sun for warming up, and they both took advantage.