Desert tortoise busy-should I dig him out

Razan

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Last year he emerged on March 5th. This year the dirt piles tell me he is busy but he has not come out yet. I am worried about him.
 

Razan

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This is the top half of a dog house buried in the hillside for the desert tortoise. He hibernates here but has not come out yet. The pile of dirt covering the entrance completely appeared the first week of March. I have since removed some of the entry dirt so he can see daylight if he is near the entrance, but he has not been seen at all. Should I get busy and dig him out?
 

Razan

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Just so you can see he is DT not Sulcata. This is a 2014 photo. Should we dig?
 

tortdad

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I have no clue, just wanted to bump your thread back to the top so someone with experience with this can offer some help.
 

bouaboua

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If the weather and temperature are suitable for him to come out, I will dig him out and keep him warm and hydrated.
 

Yvonne G

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I don't ever interfere with my tortoises while they're hibernating. The pile of dirt means he's digging further into the hill side. It sounds like he's awake, but not yet ready to meet the world. I would move the dirt away from the entrance and just wait for him.
 

Razan

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Thank you ! That sounds like the best thing to do. It is good to know there is nothing to panic about immediately. This week it should go up to 80 maybe 90 so lets hope he finds that to be inviting enough to come out.
 

ascott

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This is the top half of a dog house buried in the hillside for the desert tortoise. He hibernates here but has not come out yet. The pile of dirt covering the entrance completely appeared the first week of March. I have since removed some of the entry dirt so he can see daylight if he is near the entrance, but he has not been seen at all. Should I get busy and dig him out?


That is gopher back fill.....I would get down there and slowly remove the dirt and do it with a hand shovel....I know what picture shows...when the CDT renovates its burrow, the apron of the entrance is always cleared as they dig from within....in other words, they dig a bit, then clear that dirt out and push it to the outer edges of the apron....then continue to do so until there is a noticeable berm around the half moon....what you are seeing is a tortoise that began brumation and then their whole was hijacked by gopher...who back filled the half dome as they remodeled the burrow for their liking....

That tortoise needs to be rescued.
 

Razan

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YIPES! Alright I will go get him. This makes sense too since it has been 85+, plenty warm enough, and last year he came out on March 5th. There is lots of gopher activity all over the place including his area and it's surroundings. I'm going in.
 

ascott

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Last year he emerged on March 5th. This year the dirt piles tell me he is busy but he has not come out yet. I am worried about him.


I see in your avatar what appears to be a picture of a sulcata....is this the tortoise we are talking about is it???
 

ascott

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Just so you can see he is DT not Sulcata. This is a 2014 photo. Should we dig?


oh so....you have two different species of tortoise in your care...Sulcata and also CDT? I clearly see here the pic of a CDT and your avatar shows a Sulcata....so apology for my last posting asking...:D
 

ascott

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That is gopher back fill.....I would get down there and slowly remove the dirt and do it with a hand shovel....I know what picture shows...when the CDT renovates its burrow, the apron of the entrance is always cleared as they dig from within....in other words, they dig a bit, then clear that dirt out and push it to the outer edges of the apron....then continue to do so until there is a noticeable berm around the half moon....what you are seeing is a tortoise that began brumation and then their whole was hijacked by gopher...who back filled the half dome as they remodeled the burrow for their liking....

That tortoise needs to be rescued.


Should have been "hole"...auto correct is so annoying some days :eek:
 

Razan

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Did you get him out alright?

He is not out yet. Last night I dug and dug, shoveling and raking out the entire dog house. No sign of him. My husband did some digging this morning and thinks he may be there in the middle. Will continue this evening and keep you posted.
 

Razan

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SUCCESS !!!

It wasn't easy. We excavated as much as possible finding no evidence of tortoise or a tunnel in there. This gave us no option but to dig out the entirety the dog house from the hillside. After removing the whole doghouse and shoveling and raking all loose dirt away, things were looking pretty bleak. We dug up a gopher skull. That was a little disheartening seeing as things are dying here. It did not look promising at all of finding him alive. There was no visible tunnel anywhere. Nothing to do but dig more, and more, and keep going farther back. Finally the dirt seemed to loosen and those gorgeous legs eventually appeared. When the toes got moving and we could see he is alive was such a thrilling moment !

He peeped out took a few steps and seemed to smile (ok maybe that's my imagination). He seemed relieved even though he looked like a walking mound of dirt. So wonderful to see that walking mound of dirt! It was just past sunset so he looked around thinking why the h did you wake me up at bedtime. He decided to just stay there. We left him with food and water for when he is ready. We will bring more in the morning in case the rabbits and gophers eat it all tonight.
 

ascott

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SUCCESS !!!

It wasn't easy. We excavated as much as possible finding no evidence of tortoise or a tunnel in there. This gave us no option but to dig out the entirety the dog house from the hillside. After removing the whole doghouse and shoveling and raking all loose dirt away, things were looking pretty bleak. We dug up a gopher skull. That was a little disheartening seeing as things are dying here. It did not look promising at all of finding him alive. There was no visible tunnel anywhere. Nothing to do but dig more, and more, and keep going farther back. Finally the dirt seemed to loosen and those gorgeous legs eventually appeared. When the toes got moving and we could see he is alive was such a thrilling moment !

He peeped out took a few steps and seemed to smile (ok maybe that's my imagination). He seemed relieved even though he looked like a walking mound of dirt. So wonderful to see that walking mound of dirt! It was just past sunset so he looked around thinking why the h did you wake me up at bedtime. He decided to just stay there. We left him with food and water for when he is ready. We will bring more in the morning in case the rabbits and gophers eat it all tonight.


Awesome for sure ...and I completely know that feeling of locating a live tortoise in the mound..Perhaps allow your cat to lurk about the tortoise enclosure to find a gopher or two and let the cat eat em(the gophers that is).....as long as you don't poison bait the gophers the cat will be aok and they will rid the area quickly....otherwise, you will want a plan to disturb their holes each and every day....the goal is to make the area as undesirable as possible to the gopher....good luck with your rebuild....it would be good if your tort constructed their own naturally dug burrow--does not seem to have the same desire to the gophers as our hand made set ups....just my observation is all.
 
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