Sulcata tortoises love being outside. They graze on the grasses, bask in the sun and walk around their secured area. When the weather is nice, you don’t have to bring your tortoise inside every night. You can leave your sulcata outside overnight.
There isn’t one age or size that is deemed the time to leave a sulcata outside overnight. Use your best judgement to determine if you want to leave your baby sulcata tortoise outside or if you’d rather bring your large sulcata inside at night.
Sulcata Predators
Many suclata tortoise predators come out during the day, but there are many more that are nocturnal night – owls, raccoons, etc. If you leave your tortoise outside overnight, make sure that it’s in a predator-proof enclosure.
Baby sulcatas should be in an enclosure with a lid. As long as the enclosure is secure – top, bottom and sides – and the weather is appropriate, you can leave small sulcata tortoises outside overnight.
Too Cold at Night for Sulcata
But when the sun goes down, so does the temperature. Sulcata tortoises do not hibernate, so it’s not safe to leave them outside for long periods of cold weather, especially without a heated house.
Baby sulcata tortoises shouldn’t be left outside if the weather is below 60-degrees Fahrenheit.
Adult sulcatas are more resilient to colder weather than baby sulcatas. They can survive in colder weather, but that doesn’t mean they will thrive in it. Ideally, larger sulcatas will have a heated home with nighttime temperatures in the 70’s.
