I adopted a desert tortoise in April from the state of arizona. When designing the burrow I used the cinder block model and made sure to have at least 6 in of dirt all over the burrow. I have a temperature gauge inside the burrow so I know it does not exceed 90° even with it getting hotter out. Problem is my "sub adult" tortoise does not use the burrow on his own. He prefers to be dug in under one of our bushes which I guess is probably fine but as temperatures start to rise into the hundreds I'm worried this might not be a cool enough spot for him. He has plenty of shade there and there is no sunlight that gets to the spot where he has nested but I feel the ambient Air temperature would still be in excess of 90°. My question is; should I relocate to him to his burrow on really hot days, or should I trust that he will know when it is too hot to lie underneath the bush and will instead go into the burrow?
He has gone in the borough on his own a couple of times but for whatever reason he does not seem to prefer to sleep in there.
He has gone in the borough on his own a couple of times but for whatever reason he does not seem to prefer to sleep in there.