Winter Eating Habits

[Penelope25]

Hello all!

I am curious about what to expect this winter. I have a 15 yr old Leopard tort that I adopted this summer. I live in So Cal, (Long Beach), and I have never had a tortoise that doesn't hybernate before. I am building a heated night box at present and should have it done soon.
My question is, will my tort leave the box and eat? Will she just come out on sunny days? How often should I soak her, if at all?

Thank you for any input you have.

 

[cooky_luvs]

Hello all!

I am curious about what to expect this winter. I have a 15 yr old Leopard tort that I adopted this summer. I live in So Cal, (Long Beach), and I have never had a tortoise that doesn't hybernate before. I am building a heated night box at present and should have it done soon.
My question is, will my tort leave the box and eat? Will she just come out on sunny days? How often should I soak her, if at all?

Thank you for any input you have.

I don’t notice a winter decrease in eating for mine, almost wish they would! Lol I feed them in their house where it’s nice and warm, doubtful they would come out to eat if it was cold. I only allow mine out in the winters on days above 70 degrees.

I don’t soak in the winters since the hose runs cold and they’re too big to soak in my house. Don’t want to risk a chill but they self soak at times in their water bowl.

 

[Megatron's Mom]

Great question. I am also wondering how this will work

 

[Renee_H]

I don’t notice a winter decrease in eating for mine, almost wish they would! Lol I feed them in their house where it’s nice and warm, doubtful they would come out to eat if it was cold. I only allow mine out in the winters on days above 70 degrees.

I don’t soak in the winters since the hose runs cold and they’re too big to soak in my house. Don’t want to risk a chill but they self soak at times in their water bowl.

Do you struggle to maintain temps in there? I so wanted to make a walk in shed but ended up making a 4x4 house. What are your shed dimensions?

 

[cooky_luvs]

Do you struggle to maintain temps in there? I so wanted to make a walk in shed but ended up making a 4x4 house. What are your shed dimensions?

This shed is 10 x 6, I only just recently had it built and set up, but I don’t think I will struggle with the temperatures because it’s smaller than my other shed and has a shorter ceiling height. I’ll be watching it close as it gets colder though.

My larger shed that houses red-foots is 16x8 and has been running for four years now and I’m able to keep that one 84° unless it gets down to 10 degrees outside. When it gets that cold I have to throw in a second hot oil heater. Luckily being in Texas, it doesn’t get down that cold very often. The insulation makes all the difference though, the more insulation the better and easier on your bills also. I would definitely encourage you to go the largest you can because the more space they can comfortably walk within during the winter time the better in my opinion. Of course it depends on budget and space etc.

The 4x4 space will be much easier to heat adequately though!

 

[Renee_H]

This shed is 10 x 6, I only just recently had it built and set up, but I don’t think I will struggle with the temperatures because it’s smaller than my other shed and has a shorter ceiling height. I’ll be watching it close as it gets colder though.

My larger shed that houses red-foots is 16x8 and has been running for four years now and I’m able to keep that one 84° unless it gets down to 10 degrees outside. When it gets that cold I have to throw in a second hot oil heater. Luckily being in Texas, it doesn’t get down that cold very often. The insulation makes all the difference though, the more insulation the better and easier on your bills also. I would definitely encourage you to go the largest you can because the more space they can comfortably walk within during the winter time the better in my opinion. Of course it depends on budget and space etc.

The 4x4 space will be much easier to heat adequately though!

I’m in Los Angeles so we usually have warm ish days year round

 

[cooky_luvs]

That’s good as long as you have a lot of days over 70 and she can get out a lot a smaller house would be fine. If it’s a bit cooler than 70 if there’s lots of sunshine and she can bask and bring up her core temperature that works also. I have lots of shade trees in my yard which is fantastic when we have above 100° but not so great when it’s cooler and the trees block out the sun that could warm up the ground. Different climates definitely allow for different set ups. I have been unimpressed with how cold Texas winters have gotten in recent years

 

[Renee_H]

That’s good as long as you have a lot of days over 70 and she can get out a lot a smaller house would be fine. If it’s a bit cooler than 70 if there’s lots of sunshine and she can bask and bring up her core temperature that works also. I have lots of shade trees in my yard which is fantastic when we have above 100° but not so great when it’s cooler and the trees block out the sun that could warm up the ground. Different climates definitely allow for different set ups. I have been unimpressed with how cold Texas winters have gotten in recent years

Even California winters have been too cold and wet for my liking. My enclosure is in a good spot in that there is a sunny spot somewhere most days. That spot changes with the movement of the sun but if she wants to find sun there is some to find (unless clouds ofcourse) but also lots of shade too which I was grateful for during our last heat wave. Its been low 60s in the morning when I open her door and she comes barreling out and stomps around looking for breakfast. I hope that continues. We shall see how it goes!