Getting back into the hobby and some husbandry questions.

[u/grainmatterphotos]

Hi all!

I'm coming back to tortoise keeping after more than 25 years; kept a WC Russian tortoise from the time I was eight until my early 20s (46 now!). Living circumstances changed in that time, and it was best to rehome that tortoise with a neighbor. I see that tortoise once or twice a year when I visit my childhood home and she's in great physical condition.

Currently considering a well-started T. hermanni boettgeri or T. graeca ibera hatchling to raise up primarily outdoors, and availability of 2026 hatchlings is good.

Live in central PA, where conditions for year-round outdoor rearing are very conducive for either species.

I'm the director of development for a day program for adults living with serious mental illness, and I have a garden plot on the property that will eventually be pressed into use as an enclosure. I'm not opposed to housing indoors through the first year of life using a 66qt Sterlite container and appropriate lighting in my office, but am leaning towards using a raised bed/planter on legs. This excellent video from GST inspired the design I'm working out.

So, no real questions exactly, just more of a gut check. ;-)