15lb Sulcata in burrow for 24 hours --- when should I worry / dig out

[wellington]

Sorry, I may not have been clear. His house is at 80, not 67, and I don't really change it year round as the Upcountry Maui high and low temps only change about 10 - 15 degrees year round. No one has AC, not needed, and some have a fireplace for a chilly morning from late fall - early spring. I do get an alarm if the house gets too hot or too cold. Until now he spends most of his day in his yard, sometimes walking around, sometimes under a tree in the shade. And until now, goes into his house about 4 or 5. He's been happy, healthy and growing well.

Really only issue now I really need help with is if / when do I dig him out.

Tempting with food hasn't worked yet. It does sound from some of the responses that perhaps I just need to get use to burrow life.

That's much better, the temps. I seen you were from Maui. I been to Hawaii many times. Didn't know how it could be that cold day and night. Whew, you scared me there. Lol.
Not sure you should let him stay there in the burrow. 67 is too cold for a sulcata. If he came out more often and went down just to cool off in the hottest part of the day but came up to bask it might be different. But I don't think he should be allowed in that cool of temps. Wait and see what Tom says. He has the most experience with Sulcatas then anyone else on this thread.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Sorry, I may not have been clear. His house is at 80, not 67, and I don't really change it year round as the Upcountry Maui high and low temps only change about 10 - 15 degrees year round. No one has AC, not needed, and some have a fireplace for a chilly morning from late fall - early spring. I do get an alarm if the house gets too hot or too cold. Until now he spends most of his day in his yard, sometimes walking around, sometimes under a tree in the shade. And until now, goes into his house about 4 or 5. He's been happy, healthy and growing well.

Really only issue now I really need help with is if / when do I dig him out.

Tempting with food hasn't worked yet. It does sound from some of the responses that perhaps I just need to get use to burrow life.

As long as the burrow doesn't go under a house or other out buildings.

 

[Tom]

Temp is 67.5F. He has moved a bit up the borrow, clearly not stuck. So do I dig him out if he doesn't come out during the day? (It's just after noon here). Any other guidance?

Where they come from the daytime high is usually over 100, and on a cold chilly overcast winter day it might only get to 88 for one day. Nights are typically warm too, and this keeps the ground temps in their burrows 80-85 year round.

Hawaii has lovely weather, but it never really gets hot there, and the chilly nights are too cool for a large sulcata under those conditions. If every day was 114, then I would say 67 in a burrow is fine. But since the day time highs are only 80-85 in the warmer parts of the year, 67 is too cold in the burrow. Next time you catch him above ground, I'd fill in that burrow and cover the area with a whole sheet of plywood for a few weeks to convince him to spend his time elsewhere. He should be sleeping in the 80 degree box every night, and he can use it as a surrogate "burrow" during the day time too.

 

[digibond]

Where they come from the daytime high is usually over 100, and on a cold chilly overcast winter day it might only get to 88 for one day. Nights are typically warm too, and this keeps the ground temps in their burrows 80-85 year round.

Hawaii has lovely weather, but it never really gets hot there, and the chilly nights are too cool for a large sulcata under those conditions. If every day was 114, then I would say 67 in a burrow is fine. But since the day time highs are only 80-85 in the warmer parts of the year, 67 is too cold in the burrow. Next time you catch him above ground, I'd fill in that burrow and cover the area with a whole sheet of plywood for a few weeks to convince him to spend his time elsewhere. He should be sleeping in the 80 degree box every night, and he can use it as a surrogate "burrow" during the day time too.

Thanks. Either he'll come out tomorrow or I'll get him out. Fortunately it shouldn't be to difficult to do safely with his size and the burrow location.

 

[digibond]

Thanks. Either he'll come out tomorrow or I'll get him out. Fortunately it shouldn't be to difficult to do safely with his size and the burrow location.

Thanks. Either he'll come out tomorrow or I'll get him out. Fortunately it shouldn't be to difficult to do safely with his size and the burrow location.

Speedy came out this morning after about 48 hours in the burrow. Closed up the burrow. Thanks to all for their help and kind words. A learning for me is don't let them borrow if the temp in the burrow will get too cold at night.

 

[Tom]

Speedy came out this morning after about 48 hours in the burrow. Closed up the burrow. Thanks to all for their help and kind words. A learning for me is don't let them borrow if the temp in the burrow will get too cold at night.

I only let mine burrow in the summertime, and this allows them to escape the brutal scorching heat on the surface here. Its too cold the rest of the year, so I make them sleep in their heated shelters.

The weather where you are is so perfect all the time, day and night, year round, that you don't need to let them burrow.

 

[Shelled]

Where they come from the daytime high is usually over 100, and on a cold chilly overcast winter day it might only get to 88 for one day. Nights are typically warm too, and this keeps the ground temps in their burrows 80-85 year round.

Hawaii has lovely weather, but it never really gets hot there, and the chilly nights are too cool for a large sulcata under those conditions. If every day was 114, then I would say 67 in a burrow is fine. But since the day time highs are only 80-85 in the warmer parts of the year, 67 is too cold in the burrow. Next time you catch him above ground, I'd fill in that burrow and cover the area with a whole sheet of plywood for a few weeks to convince him to spend his time elsewhere. He should be sleeping in the 80 degree box every night, and he can use it as a surrogate "burrow" during the day time too.

They occur in Zakouma National Park in Sudan. In January, the coldest month the high there is around 86, the low around 63, in June, the hottest month it;s 82-106. In burrows, where they likely spent quite a bit of time in the colder months (December-January) it will probably be a bit warmer than the minimum. They might also spent quite a bit of time in the burrows in the heat in the hottest months (May-June). Unfortunately I don't think there are enough photos with date taken on it online to see when they are mostly seen (and thus possibly most active).

 

[Tom]

They occur in Zakouma National Park in Sudan. In January, the coldest month the high there is around 86, the low around 63, in June, the hottest month it;s 82-106. In burrows, where they likely spent quite a bit of time in the colder months (December-January) it will probably be a bit warmer than the minimum. They might also spent quite a bit of time in the burrows in the heat in the hottest months (May-June). Unfortunately I don't think there are enough photos with date taken on it online to see when they are mostly seen (and thus possibly most active).

I looked at their range map and looked up cities nearest to the areas where they occur. I watched the weather in those areas fro about four years checking several times a week.

Unfortunately, the weather that both you and I looked up is recorded at weather stations 2 meters above the ground in open areas with no shade or cover. This is not where they live, but it does give us some idea of the typical weather where they occur to compare to.

@Markw84 found geological info that listed ground temps. Those are the numbers I listed above. Tomas Diagne of the African Chelonian Institue, told me that they rarely come above ground. He said you can walk by a dozen of them and you'll never know they are there. "The Crying Tortoise" says they spend 95% of their lives underground. When Tomas first started coming to America and seeing sulcata collections, he asked how we make them stay above ground and walk around like that? Apparently, in his country in the wild, they do not behave as they do here in our enclosures.

 

[Shelled]

That makes sense, the micro-climate in their niche is different from the meteorological data.
I guess that also answers the question of the topic starter. No need to worry if they spend a day or so under ground.

 

[Sarah2020]

He appears to be able to move around and not harmed and will probably come out if tasty food is available. I would let him be in his new dug out home which he probably spent a lot of time building. . This is something they do a lot of.

 

[wellington]

He appears to be able to move around and not harmed and will probably come out if tasty food is available. I would let him be in his new dug out home which he probably spent a lot of time building. . This is something they do a lot of.

Not the best idea for a sulcata. A Russian yes, they can deal with those low temps. Not a sulcata so much.

 

[RV's mom]

In the last year Speedy, my 15lb Sulcata, has been working on his burrow. It's now about 5' - 6' I length. Yesterday late morning I gave him a soak. Seemed fine. Put him back in his area. He walked to the burrow, went in, did a bit of digging and cleaning and went to what I think is the end. I didn't see him come out yesterday, which is odd. He didn't come back to the heated house, based off of Tom's design, which is a first. Not panicked about the temp in that burrow overnight since it only gets down to the low 60's

I can see his shell in the burrow, laying down with a flashlight. He has changed position from yesterday afternoon, but still not coming out as it's warming up (about 11AM here). At what point do I say this is bad and dig him out.

Thanks

RV had a burrow and in winter would stay down for what I would consider a very lengthy bit of time. We're in south Phoenix and when she wasn't quick enough to pop up above ground (remember, heat rises and cold settles) I took a hair dryer and blew warm air down. Not a constant stream, and I took breaks... she came topside at her own pace with that little booster. The only trouble we had was when she was carving out stairs in her ramp and needed help coming up.
She doesn't have a burrow anymore.