Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How low of a temp can an elegans, safely, go?
With my other tortoises I regularly go as low as 50°, for a nighttime low as long as it's getting into at least the seventies during the day. I've always heard that elegans were more sensitive, & have always brought my lone female in if it's going to drop below 60° - So far no problems, but I'm curious.
I know that they range into parts of Pakistan, where it can get quite cold, but don't know if they exist in the colder regions.
Thanks,
Max
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"There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."
Oscar Levant

Hi Max. I believe you are doing the right thing by bringing in the G. elegans when the night time temps are forecast to drop below 60. I kept the species in CT for many years, and while they can probably take temps down to as low as 55-56 at night, I only exposed mine to that low a temperature accidentally. IE, if the actual temperature went lower than the forecast low for the night. If that happened, I went out in the AM and placed every one into the sun as soon as it was high enough in the sky to shine into their pens. If it was cloudy, I just brought them inside and put them under heat lamps to warm up. Stars are sensitive to cold, but if it is both damp and cold, they are even more sensitive to low temperatures in my experience.

I do not bother to bring in my SriLankans until it is supposed to go into the low 50's or high 40's as we usually have very bright clear days following a front that brings us that much cold. I am south of Miami though, so that is a different scenario entirely. I have on a rare occasion had the same inaccurate forecast where the temps went into the high 40's and everyone was fine. I would never try to push it though. I think that you are doing things the right way. I did notice that my Indians seemed more sensitive to cold than my SriLankans or Burmese as a side note. Best wishes Douglas Beard