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Old 30-03-2015, 06:16 PM   #1
Coffeg
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Default At what size is my horsfield tortoise safe to be outside in an uncovered pen?

Hi I have a 2 year old 8 cm horsfield tortoise which we bought last year. For his grist year with us we kept him in a large guinea pig run with hearing lighting etc and put him outside in a small covered pen on the very warmest days. However I don't like seeing tortoises caged and I'm keen to get him outside all summer. His new enclosure is large, surrounded by log roll and has suitable housing etc. my only concern is his size and whether he is still vunerable to attack. I would imagine he is way to big for a bird to carry off but not sure about a nothing else. The garden is secure but I guess a cat etc could get in. As it will be his first summer outside I'd be grateful for any advice. Thanks
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Old 31-03-2015, 09:50 AM   #2
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I would be very careful not sure where you live but a crow or magpie if unable to carry him off could do a lot of damage to him with their beaks or if you have seagulls around I have seen them get a cornish pasty down in one so a small tort would be no problem
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Old 31-03-2015, 09:59 AM   #3
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Quote:
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Hi I have a 2 year old 8 cm horsfield tortoise which we bought last year. For his grist year with us we kept him in a large guinea pig run with hearing lighting etc and put him outside in a small covered pen on the very warmest days. However I don't like seeing tortoises caged and I'm keen to get him outside all summer. His new enclosure is large, surrounded by log roll and has suitable housing etc. my only concern is his size and whether he is still vunerable to attack. I would imagine he is way to big for a bird to carry off but not sure about a nothing else. The garden is secure but I guess a cat etc could get in. As it will be his first summer outside I'd be grateful for any advice. Thanks

I put a tall shrub in the enclosures which discourages larger birds into the area.
If you have enough cover in the enclosure then its probably not a problem.
These tales of birds taking tortoises are few and far between. I have kept tortoises for over 34yrs and never had it happen. Or heard of any of my tortoise keeper friends have it happen.
If you live in an area with Seagulls it might be more of a problem.
You can also use a removable chicken wired frame over the top of the enclosure. I do this for my hatchlings.
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Old 31-03-2015, 10:23 AM   #4
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I live in an area heavily inhabited by seagulls and they are an absolute pest. You daren't leave any food outside unattended as they'll be off with it! All of my torts have enclosed pens for that reason. We also have a nature reserve nearby and get a lot of birds of prey. It's not a risk I'd be willing to take. I'd err on the side of caution whilst your tort is still little.
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Old 31-03-2015, 03:54 PM   #5
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Thank you. We definitely don't have seagulls but do have magpies. At this stage I'm going to keep his house in a covered pen to be on the safe sidestep was just interested to know what size he would need to get to be relatively safe from attack . I guess there's no easy answer. Will definitely try the shrubbery in the enclosure though. Thanks again
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Old 02-04-2015, 10:27 PM   #6
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Mine are always covered. We have seagulls, Magpies, birds of prey, crows. I had a large shrub in my old enclosure and last year I watched magpies hopping over their cover watching my torts and then going in through the shrub!!! That's the main reason I changed their enclosure this year. Saying that one day I was sitting outside with a bag of crisps,left them opened on the table for a minute and magpies were landing on the table sticking their head into the bag and taking a crisp!!! They are very clever!!!
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Old 03-04-2015, 08:20 PM   #7
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yes 8cm fine and or around 100 grammes. I have never covered any of mine and they hibernate out also, but do see the sense in it. Got stealth camera and foxes, birds, mice and rats come visit. The buzzards not interested. Mine could lift log roll ! Discarded for concrete slabs or make sure its pinned down hard and corners covered - if you do anything this is a must with escapologists. I have chicken wire under my horsfields enclosure - believe you me they dig ! Deep! I have seen mine climb up chicken wire so make sure all tucked up and out of sight and keep in mind they will climb on top of one another for a hitch up - that's a favourite. oh and make sure you have batteries in your torch for those nights searching ! good luck they are such fun horsfields!
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Old 18-04-2015, 08:41 AM   #8
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Yes I agree, horsfields are experts in climbing and digging, I have seen one of my adults about a foot up a conifer tree! have wire mesh covers on all their outside pens apart from the enclosure of my very large adults. I have seen the magpies watching my younger torts and I would never leave them unsupervised in an open pen x
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Old 18-04-2015, 10:10 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coffeg View Post
Hi I have a 2 year old 8 cm horsfield tortoise which we bought last year. For his grist year with us we kept him in a large guinea pig run with hearing lighting etc and put him outside in a small covered pen on the very warmest days. However I don't like seeing tortoises caged and I'm keen to get him outside all summer. His new enclosure is large, surrounded by log roll and has suitable housing etc. my only concern is his size and whether he is still vunerable to attack. I would imagine he is way to big for a bird to carry off but not sure about a nothing else. The garden is secure but I guess a cat etc could get in. As it will be his first summer outside I'd be grateful for any advice. Thanks
If you put a wired frame over the top of the enclosure it will stop large birds etc from getting into the pen. Cats are not a problem to tortoises, except when they eat their poo:0) But a wired frame will stop cats too.
Netting will also do the job, but harder to remove when you need to get into the enclosure:0)
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Old 26-04-2015, 10:04 PM   #10
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Personally i would never have an Open pen incase anything gets in. a simple mesh "Lid" would do the trick incase anything else manages to get in :S
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