Shelled Warriors Forums
 

Go Back   Shelled Warriors Forums > Tortoise Information > Housing

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 15-10-2016, 03:58 PM   #1
Gmannnsam
Junior Member
Egg
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 2
Default Advice on keeping tortoise outdoors

Would anyone be able to give advice on keeping our tortoise outside?
I am in the process of building an outside home for it and would like advice on heating and insulation for the house i am making. I have made two living areas for it, one is 600x600x300 deep and the other 1200x600x300 deep. I have made a hinged lid which I will weather proof with felt and and have weather strip to keep water tight when it's closed. On the larger area I have also punt an acrylic window in the lid to let the sun through. We live in Scotland so climate not great in winter.

There will also be a large out door area for it to explore.

Any help appreciated.
Gmannnsam is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-10-2016, 01:47 PM   #2
burnt toast
Senior Member
Adult
 
burnt toast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 5,243
Default

I have just made new housing for a group of Russians (nearly killed me!) Long story I was let down after ordering a large kennel & with the night time temps dropping so low I decided to make my own myself! (Woman, no diy skills, "where theres a will")

So anyway I used my old favourite decking. On a lot of my other housing I have just used polystrene to insulate but when I priced up the 2" thick jablite flooring sheets I discovered the small Cellotex was on offer and working out similar price so I opted for that. If you cut it slightly larger than the gaps between the struts? (Pieces of wood inside to hold the boards together!) It just pushes home and stays in place. I then laid a floor & bottom 12 inches of walls with the boards you use for lofts (about an inch thick) and used some off cuts of this to hold the insulation on top half in situ.

I have a 2 foot tubular on a thermostat & have hung their heat lamp from a hanging baskeet bracket (from the pound shop)

Mine is just a large box with a flap/ exit at the back which leads through to a small greenhouse with very deep soil. They seem to approve.
burnt toast is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-10-2016, 09:06 PM   #3
Ozric Jonathan
Senior Member
Adult
 
Ozric Jonathan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: West of Scotland
Posts: 4,226
Default

Hi there and a big welcome!

What species of tortoise have you got?

Your plans sound good. Lots of people use a material like Kingspan for insulation - DIY places usually have a few of these things to hand. And as Lynn says there is loft insulation too. You need to sandwich it.

Heating an outside house can be tricky because in summer it might easily get too hot. There are good thermostatic controls on the market.

Are you intending to keep the tort in the outdopopr housing during the winter and if so will it be up and active, needing a great deal of heat and light, or will it be hibernating?
__________________
Testudo Hermanni Hermanni (Corse) tortoises
Ozric Jonathan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-10-2016, 10:32 PM   #4
Gmannnsam
Junior Member
Egg
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 2
Default

Thanks for the replies. We have a hermanns tort that doesn't hibernate and it seems I am on the right track with the build. Everything I have built using 120x300 sleepers so nice thick timber walls. What advice can you give on using either the uva/b bulbs inside the house and/or one of those reptile radiators that I have seen online? Will need to get thermostat control is this ok for wiring up outside? Also what's your opinion on that foil insulation that looks like bubble wrap? I was considering this because its water proof and will insulate and keep the heat in. If we get extreme prolonged cold will bring him in doors anyway.
Gmannnsam is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25-10-2016, 01:14 AM   #5
Ozric Jonathan
Senior Member
Adult
 
Ozric Jonathan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: West of Scotland
Posts: 4,226
Default

Hi there, your build sounds impressive!

You can't use a combined lamp on a thermostat but there are lots of options including using halogen lamps for heat and a separate uvb tube.

Having electricity outside is very handy. I was lucky in that there used to be a garage in the garden and it had an electric supply so I was able to use that. It has a sensitive RCD trigger inside our house in case of anything going wrong. This cuts the supply instantly if there is a problem and I'd say it's essential for outside electrics.

Some keepers also insulate the floor because of the problem of heat disappearing into the ground.
__________________
Testudo Hermanni Hermanni (Corse) tortoises
Ozric Jonathan is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:06 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.