Outdoor Housing

Although the UK climate is not ideal for keeping tortoises outdoor all year round, during the warmer months, it is much more beneficial for your tortoise to enjoy an outdoor, secure enclosure.

This page will give you some tips on creating the perfect outdoor environment for your tortoise.

The first thing I have in mind when creating an outdoor enclosure is safety.

An outdoor enclosure needs to be 100% tortoise proof, but also 100% predator proof. Tortoises are very good escape artists, and can get out from even the smallest of gaps!

If you have a burrowing species- such as horsfields, then you need to have ground protection in your enclosure. Most keepers find that digging chicken wire or another tight mesh under the substrate in their outdoor enclosure is effective. Remember to dig a few feet into the ground, and lay down the mesh around the sides and along the bottom of the enclosure.

The next step is to make sure there are no sides that could easily be knocked over by a tortoise to use as an escape route.

Another thing to remember is that tortoises are very smart at making 'ladders' I have personally observed tortoises use things such as, branches, rocks, and even other tortoises to climb out of their enclosures. I have also seen tortoises use tight corners as 'chimneys' to shimmy their way out of enclosures.

Once I am certain that an enclosure is tortoise proof, I then go about making it more tortoise friendly.

Substrate

Keeping your tortoise's enclosure as natural as possible is very beneficial to your tortoise.

A part of this is choosing a suitable substrate.

for Mediterranean tortoises, I recommend a semi-dry substrate to recreate their semi arid habitat in the wild. This can be easily created by using a sand and soil mixture. I prefer to mix the soil and sand using a 70:30 soil: sand ratio.

Because my tortoises like to dig down to sleep, I make sure that the soil is deep enough for them to cover the tops of their shells. However, some species, such as horsfields, prefer to burrow into the soil. for this reason, a deep substrate is most suitable.

Heating and Lighting

A question I often get asked is "What sort of shelter does my tortoise need?"

There are various ways of keeping your tortoise outside.

The first, and simplest, is to have two enclosures- one indoor and one outdoor. Your tortoise can warm up in the morning and then be popped outside into their outdoor enclosure to soak up some natural UVB. This can be hard if your tortoises are large, and may also stress out your tortoise. However, some keepers use this set up effectively.

Another option is to have one enclosure that can be moved easily inside and outside- Such as a tortoise table. Many keepers with small tortoises find that an enclosure such as a guinea pig cage or hamster cage is a very simple and effective enclosure. It is light, so can be moved outside easily, and the bars can be used to hang lamps when indoors, and offer protection from predators.

Another option is to have a sheltered outbuilding, such as a tall cold frame, a kennel, or a shed/greenhouse attached to your outdoor 'pen' This is used a lot by keepers with multiple tortoises, or tortoises too large to keep inside. The benefit to this type of enclosure is that you can keep your tortoises year round outdoors, providing that the outbuilding is insulated, and also that your tortoise can have free choice whether or not to go outside. However, this can be expensive and rigging up an outbuilding with electrics can sometimes prove tricky.

Stimulation

It is important to provide mental and physical stimulation for your tortoise in both their indoor and outdoor enclosure.

I plant weed seeds; Dandelion, Plantain, Clover and Sow thistle grows particularly well in my enclosure, but you maybe able to grow other weeds. I also provide bushes, such as lavender and heather. My tortoises really enjoy digging under the bushes and hiding, although it is scary when I am on all fours searching for a tortoise, that is probably laughing at me from under the lavender bush, it is much more natural for them to dig under vegetation.

Another plant that the tortoises enjoy hiding under is 'Carex grass' it grows rapidly to about 30cm tall and is very bushy, the tortoises like to hide under it, even after the grass has died it makes an effective hide. Another grassy plant which is effective, is "Lemon grass".

Alongside plants for hiding under and stimulation, I also provide weeds and other flowers for grazing. This includes Dandelions, plantain, clover, sow thistle, hawksbit and rough hawksbit. I also include plants such as lavatera, saxifraga, and pansies for my tortoises to graze on.

As well as plants, I provide various fixtures in my outdoor enclosures for my tortoises to make them more interesting. I make use of half plant pots as hidey holes, logs, and also large rocks for my tortoises to climb over.

Other interesting fixtures in tortoise enclosures include large water dishes.

Once you have created the ideal environment, you'll need to protect it from predators.

I use chicken wire to cover my smaller tortoises enclosures, some people have had good results by suspending netting over the tortoises enclosure, supported by posts to protect from birds.

Hopefully this page has been helpful in creating a lovely outdoor enclosure for your tortoise, check out the gallery page for some examples of great outdoor enclosures.

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