So, I care for 4 CDTs (3 adults and 1 near adult)....three of them brumate each winter (outside brumate, until this year, due to the crazy weather the last couple of years..flooding and freezing, ugh).
So a few weeks ago we had that 3 or 4 days when the weather got cold in the daytime and colder at night....so I brought them all in and plunked them into their sleeping boxes....with the passing of a very short amount of time...they settled in that night...so then we heated back up for the last couple of weeks... I broke down and let them be outside during the day and back in at night due to the cold temps at night, after covering up a couple of their natural dug burrows but leaving hides available.
So the guys, after about 3 days of out in the day in for the night, started to wait for me near their gates....(seeming like they were waiting for the pick up LOL) well, Ghamara was a bit miffed at the thought of his burrow being completely covered, but after day 2 got along with it....
Well, a few days ago Haus decided to, within 4 hours, start another burrow and it took me and my son to pull the creosote bush and tumble weed back out of the way so that I could lay flat bellied on the ground and slip my fingers under his shell above his back legs and wiggle left right left right with him locking in his front, WAY STRONG, legs....little bugger. So the next morning before I put him out I covered the new dig site with all type of metal signs and heavy wood beams ....so last night he wedged himself so far into his hide that there was no way to get him out...so out he remained (in the 32 degree night temps) so today I blocked his deep hide (i know, meanie) with a 8 x 8 x 2 post chunk.....wow was he pissed....he stomped and pushed and paced around his entire hide hill....then stomped off to go under the shade of the bushes.....so tonight when I went to search him out in the yard...realized, hum where the heck is he...checked all his regular dives , nothing....so as I walk past his most recent archeological site I notice hum, is that a toe nail? so yup...his little butt somehow wedged the junk out of the way just enough to slip his body down into that hole and dug deep enough to hide in it with barely his butt showing...so on my belly I went but had to go it alone tonight....had to stop and go get my gloves, back onto the belly and the wiggling began, 10 minutes later....he was out and he was pissed....now, he is sleeping in his box---likely planning his next mission for tomorrow...little butt
So a few weeks ago we had that 3 or 4 days when the weather got cold in the daytime and colder at night....so I brought them all in and plunked them into their sleeping boxes....with the passing of a very short amount of time...they settled in that night...so then we heated back up for the last couple of weeks... I broke down and let them be outside during the day and back in at night due to the cold temps at night, after covering up a couple of their natural dug burrows but leaving hides available.
So the guys, after about 3 days of out in the day in for the night, started to wait for me near their gates....(seeming like they were waiting for the pick up LOL) well, Ghamara was a bit miffed at the thought of his burrow being completely covered, but after day 2 got along with it....
Well, a few days ago Haus decided to, within 4 hours, start another burrow and it took me and my son to pull the creosote bush and tumble weed back out of the way so that I could lay flat bellied on the ground and slip my fingers under his shell above his back legs and wiggle left right left right with him locking in his front, WAY STRONG, legs....little bugger. So the next morning before I put him out I covered the new dig site with all type of metal signs and heavy wood beams ....so last night he wedged himself so far into his hide that there was no way to get him out...so out he remained (in the 32 degree night temps) so today I blocked his deep hide (i know, meanie) with a 8 x 8 x 2 post chunk.....wow was he pissed....he stomped and pushed and paced around his entire hide hill....then stomped off to go under the shade of the bushes.....so tonight when I went to search him out in the yard...realized, hum where the heck is he...checked all his regular dives , nothing....so as I walk past his most recent archeological site I notice hum, is that a toe nail? so yup...his little butt somehow wedged the junk out of the way just enough to slip his body down into that hole and dug deep enough to hide in it with barely his butt showing...so on my belly I went but had to go it alone tonight....had to stop and go get my gloves, back onto the belly and the wiggling began, 10 minutes later....he was out and he was pissed....now, he is sleeping in his box---likely planning his next mission for tomorrow...little butt