Outdoor enclosure and man made burrow

[Maberkin]

Hi - I've been lurking for a while, but this is my first post. We were given a sulcata about 4 months ago from a work friend of my husband's who was moving to a cold climate. We live in the Phoenix, AZ area. He said the tortoise (we renamed him Gordy) was about 1 year old. I recently weighed him, and he weighed 12 oz. I didn't measure him, but I'd guess he's about 6-7 inches.

Since it's summer here now, and getting pretty hot, we're trying to figure out whether it's ok for him to stay outside all day/night. He was outside for about a week straight, and I would only bring him in if it went below 70 at night. He has a good sized area of our yard fenced off and had a little shaded house made from a few bricks and a wooden roof for shade. But, since it's routinely above 100 these days, and will get above 110 eventually, I started worrying that even that shade wouldn't be enough for him. Also, I've been concerned about how dry it is here and what we can for humidity for him outside. So, my husband dug a burrow for him. He has shown no signs of digging himself, yet. We were hoping he would sleep in there at night and get cooled off during the day. However, the first problem we encountered was ants. They were everywhere! So, I read the forum and used the Terro liquid ant bait for several days. Finally, tonight we have put him back outside! (He seemed to be going crazy inside so much these last few days, so I don't know how he is feeling about things.) We tried putting him in the entrance of the burrow twice, and he kept coming out. Then, my husband found him sleeping out in the open in a corner by the wall. So, he put him even deeper in the burrow, thinking that since he was already asleep he would just stay in there. Well, he didn't. He's right back in that same corner. I'm just letting him sleep there tonight and hoping it's fine since the low will be 76 tonight.

My question is, is this normal? Is there something wrong with the burrow we built? What should we do to keep Gordy safe from the heat?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Bee62]

Hi, I can tell you what is wrong with your burrow: Your Gordy hasn`t choose the place where your husband has build him the burrow.
Torts are stubborn ....
Can you dig him another burrow in the corner he is sleeping now ? I think he would like the burrow if it is in "his" place ...
By the way: Can we have some pics of Gordy ? You know we all love tort pics.

 

[wellington]

At one year old and he should still be housed inside in a humid closed chamber. The AZ heat is very dry and if he hasn't already, he will pyramid badly in that dry heat. He also should not live outside 24/7 until around 2 or 10 inches.
Read the sulcata caresheets and closed chamber threads under the sulcata section

 

[Tom]

I prefer to bring them in at night until they are at least 8-10". Indoors I use 4x8' closed chambers.

At 6-7" I would feel comfortable leaving them out most of the day when the weather is nice, but not overnight.

The only way they can keep from frying their brains in your hot climate is to get underground when it 100+. I'm surprised he hasn't started digging on his own already, but I'm not surprised that he didn't like your burrow. I have found that little ones avoid any sort of burrow or hole in the ground. I speculate that this is because they are afraid of whatever dug the hole in the first place, which is a valid concern in Africa. I find that If I start a hole here and there where I want them to dig, they will usually take over, but sometimes not. Here is my burrow thread from a few years ago:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-burrows.50846/

In your area, heavy shade, shade cloth, misters, sprinklers and any thing else you can think of to keep things cool will be necessary until this little guy figures out how to get underground. You need deep shade that comes from high over head. I find saturating the whole area with sprinklers will lower the temps 10-15 degrees on our 100+ days here. I'm on a good well, so I can run as much water as I need.

Regular soaks, like every day or every other day, will be needed too. Especially, for a little one like yours. When he's 50-100 pounds you can relax on the soaking a bit.

In winter things will be getting too cold there. You'll need something like this: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/

Since you are a new member here, check these out for more info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[Maberkin]

Hi, thank you all for your replies. I have read the care sheet and the links you provided. It seemed like a lot of what I read before was geared towards hatchlings, and so I thought maybe Gordy was old enough to be outside. It's been hard for me to figure out where he fits in age and size-wise. I thought I read 6-7 inches at some point. If I may ask, what is the reasoning for bringing him in at night, even when it's warm? Is it mainly for humidity? Tom, when you say "when the weather is nice" what does that mean for Gordy?

I've been doing soaks, but not that frequently, so I'll do those more often. I hadn't realized that he would need until up until 50-100lbs though! Wow! How do you get such a large tortoise to soak?

He was already starting to pyramid when we got him, but I think he has new growth that is more smooth. I'm not sure though, unfortunately, I didn't take a good picture or weigh him when we first got him, so I'm not sure how much he has grown in 4 months. I'll attach some current pictures, though.

Thanks again for your responses, and for helping me and Gordy get comfortable with this!

 

[Tom]

Hi, thank you all for your replies. I have read the care sheet and the links you provided. It seemed like a lot of what I read before was geared towards hatchlings, and so I thought maybe Gordy was old enough to be outside. It's been hard for me to figure out where he fits in age and size-wise. I thought I read 6-7 inches at some point. If I may ask, what is the reasoning for bringing him in at night, even when it's warm? Is it mainly for humidity? Tom, when you say "when the weather is nice" what does that mean for Gordy?

I've been doing soaks, but not that frequently, so I'll do those more often. I hadn't realized that he would need until up until 50-100lbs though! Wow! How do you get such a large tortoise to soak?

He was already starting to pyramid when we got him, but I think he has new growth that is more smooth. I'm not sure though, unfortunately, I didn't take a good picture or weigh him when we first got him, so I'm not sure how much he has grown in 4 months. I'll attach some current pictures, though.

Thanks again for your responses, and for helping me and Gordy get comfortable with this!

The care sheet applies to more than just babies. Its designed to give growing young tortoises what they need to survive and thrive. Your baby is still growing for sure. Monsoon conditions help them grow smoother and thrive.

The new growth does look smoother and better.

How do you soak a 50 pounder? Same as any other. Get your large, tall-sided, opaque tub with the right amount of warm water ready, and plop them in there for 40 minutes or so. Then rinse them off, dump and rinse their tub. Repeat as needed. I try to do adults twice a week in summer and less in winter.

Why bring him in at night? Its safer and they do better. Over the years I've tried all sorts of experiments and they simply do better indoors when they are smaller. Adults and larger juveniles need to live outside because of their size, but little ones will be healthier and safer when kept indoors in a correct enclosure most of the time and at least overnight for one the size of yours. At 6-7" I leave them outside all day during fair weather.

Fair weather for sulcatas in North America to me means: Over 70 dry and sunny, and under 95ish. If it is early morning and I know it is going to warm up into the high 80 or 90s, I might put them out on a sunny 60 degree morning because I know they will warm up and can use the sunshine to get much warmer than the ambient air. If its 68 and overcast, I just leave them inside. If its going to be 118, I'll put them out early and then bring them in once the temp starts climbing past the high 90s, that is, unless they have a burrow to retreat to and escape the 100+ weather.

 

[Bee62]

@Tom said:
How do you soak a 50 pounder? Same as any other. Get your large, tall-sided, opaque tub with the right amount of warm water ready, and plop them in there for 40 minutes or so. Then rinse them off, dump and rinse their tub. Repeat as needed. I try to do adults twice a week in summer and less in winter.

Tom, what you wrote makes me smile ..... Thank you for this ! Sometimes these little things made a day worth living !