hi everybody, i know this may seem like a daft question but is it possible for an outdoor enclosure to be a little overwhelming for a baby tort, we built twiglets outside enclosure a few weeks ago, its more elongated than wide as its only tempory (4ft x 2 ft approx) i have lots of weeds growing a heather plant for him to hide under a pot, stones etc... 

its just that even though we have a heat lamp and i make sure her temps are ok and she has both light and shaded areas she just hides all the time, she isnt very active at all and will dig down at lunch and stay there till i take her in at night,

when i have her indoors in her adapted cage shes up and about quite active early morning, sleeps in the afternoon then shes up for an hr or so in the early evening before she settles down for the night

i know she likes to have the tv on and shes quite nosey if people are about   any advice would be welcome because eventually i want to have her in a permanent set up outside once weve built her permanent enclosure xxxxx

Hiya

I don't think the current weather is doing any of our torts much good.  Mine prefer to stay under their lamps only venturing our for short periods, before returning to the warmth.

It is better to let your torts have outside time and personally I wouldn't reduce the size of Twiglets enclosure, but I would ensure that he does go back under the lamp to warm up regularly.  Presumably it is in some kind of shelter which he can access  from his enclosure?

Helen

Hi,

This is not a daft question at all and it depends how big your tortoise is. Can you be abit more specific?

Also what species is he?

Ali

sori i forgor to mention twiglet is a baby russian about 2.5inches, her enclosure is under  the pergola which has a  clear roof on it so it doesnt get wet but i keep her substrate slightly damp just enough to stop any loose soil or sand particles getting in his eyes, when i have  got her out from under the soil  to bring her in about 7pm shes so cold so she gets under her heat lamp for a bit  before bedding down for the night, the weather isnt helping , other than that shes eating and putting on  weight i will post a pic of her enclosure thanks everybody xxxx

I don't think an enclosure can be too big, it's this yukky weather that's the problem.

Be sure that the cover over the enclosure is not blocking out the sun's UV rays. If the rays have to pass through the perspex, the UV will be filtered out. If they are coming in from the side, not a problem.

In this yukky weather I bring my two 2 year old Russians, Echo and Shadow in much earlier than 7pm.  Mine are in under their lamps from about 4pm.  I would leave them out longer of course if our weather was kinder.  I just find if I leave them out any longer they start burying down for the night.

My adult Russians have free access to indoor or out and they tend to come inside of their own accord about 6 pm to warm up under their lamps.

Don's right about ensuring that the UVB rays are still able to reach them. It's something we don't always think about I'm sure.

Helen

I have had exactly the same problems.  Its worse than having a baby: I worry so much.  I let my 1 year old Jeremiah out when it is warm enough to wear a t shirt, and bring him in when it isn't.  If I am out all day, I keep him in.  I don't know if that is right, or how much cold they can take.

I was wondering, as you've got a Russian, how you constructed the borders of your enclosure. Russians are known for being able to dig long burrows (3 meters is not unknown), so they can dig down and out in a very short time if the walls of the enclosure aren't buried deep into the ground.

Nina

hi nina,

the enclosure that ive got him in is constructed of concrete blocks, the very bottom has a steel wire flooring over the soil, then a layer of pea shingle and soil, another layer of wire, then about 15 inches of her sand/soil mixture so the lowest he can go is 15 inch which is alot for a 2.5inch torti, the corners are rounded off so he cant shimmy up them and then we have the wire mesh caging over that to protect him from cats and kids. hes never left alone long enough to be able to burrow down too far i always keep an eye on him just in case as ive been told they are great escape artists. xxxxxx

Hi Shazzler, I saw a picture of your enclosure in the pics section, it looks very impressive

Viv

I've just seen the pic too -- looks great, and very escape proof! [g]. Sounds like you done a super job on the construction of that enclosure.

Nina

 aw thanks guys thats very nice of you to say so, but that enclosure is just the tempery one, ive posted a quetion asking for advice about the new one that were building( hint hint <vbg>) its gonna be bigger and better and i will post pics as soon as its ready xxxxxxx