Tuesday, October 22, 2013

...just soaking up a little sunshine...

Did you know that even when the temperature outside is only about 70 degrees, you can still let your tortoise(s) spend some time soaking up natural sunlight? When the air temperature is 70, the ground temperature in the sunlight is usually much warmer. Getting natural UVB light is SO important for a tortoise's health...

Getting some good, healthy natural sunlight
Our tortoise garden is mostly shaded this time of year, so I have found that putting the tortoises into a kiddie pool for a few hours on a sunny day works well. I just move the pool around the garden to keep it in the sunshine.

It looks a little make-shift... but it was still healthy for the torts
Out of curiosity I measured the temperatures:
Air temp: 72 degrees F.
Ground temp in the shade: 59 degrees F.
Ground temp in the sun: 80 degrees F.
Temperature on the tortoise's shell: 89 degrees F.

It is DEFINITELY warm enough for the Russian tortoises at such temperatures!

Have you let your tortoises spend any time outside lately?

No comments:

Post a Comment

Your comment will be visible after moderation.