Habitat Guidelines: Outdoor Pens for Large Tortoises
- pen must be outdoors
- pen must be predator-proof as
appropriate to your area (dog, raccoon, fox, skunk, coyote, etc.)
- fencing must be opaque, at least 24" high, and buried
at least 8" in substrate
- in Colorado,
nighttime low temperatures should be at least 45F by May 15th and tortoises
should be able to live outdoors for at least 5 months of the year
- minimum size for one or two tortoises: 900 sq. ft.
- recessed water dish accessible
from all sides for entry and exit
- artificial
or natural hides (one for each turtle plus one additional)
- brush pile for burrowing
- live vegetation
- CoRHS
recommendations: Spiderwort(Tradescantia ssp.), strawberry, squash,
sunflower, dandelion, globe mallow, bindweed, grasses
- for a list of toxic plants to avoid, please see the
California Turtle & Tortoise Club's list of poisonous plants: www.tortoise.org/general/poi
sonp.html
- areas of shade and areas of
morning sun
- males should not outnumber
females
Habitat Guidelines: Outdoor Pens for Large Tortoises - Colorado Reptile Humane Society
