Tortoise Sleeping Outside

[example999]

Hi,
I recently posted about the tortoise we have unexpectedly had to look after for 2 weeks. Everyday I bring him in at night and put him in the dogs bed with some leaves (We have a briard so it is a big bed). Should I bring him in everyday or just let him sleep outside?

Thank you,
Tim

[ClareandCo]

Originally Posted by example999

Hi,
I recently posted about the tortoise we have unexpectedly had to look after for 2 weeks. Everyday I bring him in at night and put him in the dogs bed with some leaves (We have a briard so it is a big bed). Should I bring him in everyday or just let him sleep outside?

Thank you,
Tim

Unless you have extra heat outside for him it is too cold. Down here in the southeast it is back down to single figures overnight.

Can you set up a large box with some topsoil in with a basking light for early evening/early morning? Presumably he is not sharing the bed with the dog and the dog is kept well aware from him?

[Pussygalore]

to be honest I wouldn't even put him out everyday unless the sun is out, if its dull/wet etc then he'll just be miserable, he needs a heated wooden house if he's to be outside in all weathers at this time of the year. I also think you'll need to think about making a proper table with a uv source and hot/basking area. If the tort was a garden tort who lived outside without any housing before comming to you and you wish to keep him the same then you need to know a bit more about the garden he was in ie was it south facing, where did the tort sleep at night and how did he hibernate, if he hibernated by digging down in the garden he might not even be awake yet again depending on where he hibernated etc. You might get away with just providing him with a dry house to use with some substrate/bedding in it but you need to know how he was kept, we had a very wet winter so if he was dug down then he must have had a well drained garden.

[becciwales]

They're only looking after it for 2 weeks!

[Suze65]

As it's only for two weeks, I would just bring him in at night , in a simple box and scrunched up news paper.

[Pussygalore]

I didn't see the two weeks bit but all the same the tort should be cared for in the same way its always been especially this early in the year, if it had been in the summer it wouldn't have mattered so much. I know how mine were cared for this early and wouldn't have let them be cared for differently by someone else even if only for two weeks, its why we hardly ever had holidays as we couldn't get anyone to either live in or visit twice a day. At our last house I had two friends who cared for all our animals and one did the mornings and the other the evenings and they loved it as we had quite a menagerie then.

[becciwales]

Oh I appreciate that but this tort just turned up while it's owner was away so this person has kindly said they'll keep it for 2 weeks, they weren't really asked, it just kinda happened. x

[Alan1]

We had white frost the past 2 mornings

[burnt toast]

We have had 18degrees & brilliant sunshine here most of this week but the last two nights it has been down to 4 degrees. I have a large male who likes to sleep in the greenhouse & hes been very disgruntled when I go & carry him in the shed! I would do as Suze suggested in overnight in large box.

[Hanako]

At 6 am it was only 5 degrees here in London for the last few mornings! Although it is very warm during day, it is very cold overnight.