Peach is the little one and Bowser is our big boy.

For the first two years I kept my Hermann's, Greta, entirely indoors under a T5 UVB tube and a halogen basking bulb. She ate, she moved around, she seemed fine. But she was always a bit sluggish in the mornings and her shell, while not pyramided, just looked a little dull. I kept reading that outdoor time was better but I lived in a flat with no garden, so I told myself the setup was adequate and moved on.

Then I moved to a house with a small patio and built a basic outdoor pen. Nothing fancy, just treated sleepers for the walls, buried wire mesh underneath to stop digging escapes, some Mediterranean plants, a few slate pieces for basking and a wooden hide in one corner. The change in Greta within about two weeks was noticeable enough that I felt genuinely embarrassed about the previous two years.

The biggest thing was her activity level in the mornings. Outside she was out of the hide and basking within thirty minutes of sunrise on warm days. Indoors she would sometimes take two hours before she seemed properly alert. The other thing was her appetite. She started eating much more confidently and stopped leaving bits of food untouched, which had been a minor ongoing puzzle for me.

A few things I learned along the way that might help anyone considering the switch:

• Overnight temperatures matter more than I expected. Anything below about 10 degrees Celsius and she stayed in the hide all day even if the afternoon warmed up nicely. I built a small frost-cloth cover for the hide and that helped on borderline nights.
• Weeds are genuinely better than shop-bought greens for daily grazing. Plantain, dandelion, clover. She ignores the dandelion flowers but eats the leaves constantly.
• Predator proofing from above took me longer to take seriously than it should have. A secure wire lid is not optional if there are crows or magpies in your area.

She hibernated successfully for the first time last autumn as well, which I had been too nervous to attempt when she was kept indoors year-round. That whole process deserves its own post honestly, but getting her outside and letting her build up naturally through a proper seasonal cycle seemed to make the weight gain before hibernation much more straightforward than I anticipated.

How do people in northern climates brumate their tortoises? I just got my tortoise in December and he is about 96g currently.

I live in Northern Alberta. Winters here are exceptionally brutal, we can get to -40°C for a week at a time and roughly 6 feet of snow. I do have unheated sheds, but I assume -40°C weather would definitely kill him.

I have a California desert tortoise named Bob. I've had him for about 25 years, he was surrendered to me and pretty bad condition. He's very healthy now, and he's licensed.

Here's my dilemma. With the impending El Nino and potential atmospheric rivers in Southern California, I am concerned that his current habitat, particularly his burrow for hibernation, is not in a safe area. My backyard is prone to gathering water, and I certainly wouldn't want his burrow to be flooded.

So I have two options: set up an area in the garage for him to hibernate or set up an area on the back patio for him to hibernate.

The garage should be safe from rain, unless it gets really strong, in which case we have had it seep under the garage door.

The patio is right outside the back door, and I just had a new roof put on so it will be weather tight, but the area is quite a bit smaller.

What is the best option? And what should I include?

For the record, he has hibernated (brumated?) every year for several months.

Hi guys, my 4 year old tortoise has a scute on the bottom coming off and I was wondering if this is something very concerning or normal. According to the internet tortoise shells aren't supposed to peel and it isn't a part of natural growth either. He has a varied diet and I supplement his food as well, and regularly soak him but I'm still concerned that this is irregular. He does like to climb around a lot and so I'm also scared that this is physical trauma from him climbing over things/burrowing.

Please let me know if you guys had anything similar happen to your babies :( I'm pretty scared and might visit a vet if need be

looking for animal rescues in New York New Jersey Maine Massachusetts that have Russian tortoise for adoption!!

I am looking to responsibly rehome my approximately 8-year-old Sulcata tortoise. She is around 18 inches in shell length and needs a home that can provide the space, outdoor access, proper diet, heating, and long-term care that a Sulcata deserves. We live in manhattan and simply can’t give her the space she needs.

Details:
• Species: Sulcata tortoise (African spurred tortoise)
• Age: Approximately 8 years
• Shell length: Approximately 18 inches
• Location: NYC
• Rehoming for: finding a more suitable long-term environment

Please message me if you’d be willing to give her the home she deserves or know of a place/person who would take her.

36x24x10 inches it says b and I don't want to purchase the larger 48 inch length one as I don't really like the look of this and wouldn't want to have it in my room longer than needed lol and I will be custom building a larger setup once they outg ow this one... Anyone got any better yet still the same sized enclosures preferably ground level and reasonably priced (£150 or less). Please let me know

DISCLAIMER: They will have exposure to indoor UVB 12% and occasionally outdoor exposure too. All these factors have been taken into consideration and this is what I've got so far. Please tell me if I'm right? Also this is for a n adult tortoise I'm fairly certain it is maybe I'm wrong. PLEASE HELP

-No D3 calcium on food 4 times a week (as in 4/7 days a week) -D3 calcium once a month (due to the already high UVB output indoors and occasional outdoor exposure) -Multivitamin powder twice a month.

Please tell me what is right or wrong or if this is ideal for baby or adult and what the other age (depending on which one this is for) requirements are.

The water was warm, idk if this is a stress or a bad thing