Rain and Natural Burrows

[Tank'sMom]

Need some advice here. Ok, for those of you who know Tank has a natural, self made, LONG burrow. I cannot see the end, but it seems to tunnel about about 15ft to the right and have a large "room" at the end. I don't know if it goes beyond that, but as he stopped excavating awhile back, I can only imagine that it stops there.
We are entering the rainy season here in South Texas. There is a Tropical Storm about 200 miles South of us today, and we are expecting alot of rain. Now, it has been raining quite a bit the past few weeks. So far I have seen no evidence of flooding in his burrow. My property is located about 300 ft from a lake, on a "slight" incline so we never have problems with flooding. His burrow is covered, so it stays fairly dry.
I guess I am concerned about leaving him out there vs. bringing him inside, out of the rain.
Of course if we get hit with a real Hurricane or strong direct Tropical Storm, I will get him in to safety. But how much rain would be concerning? I'm checking several times a day and all is well so far…. I did notice yesterday when a real downpour started he came out on his own. What do they do in the wild? Do wild Sulcatas deal with rain in their burrows?
I'll post some pics soon.

 

[Tank'sMom]

And here he is waiting for his morning snack...

You can see that inside the "house" the dirt is fairly dry.

But the entry/exit is pretty muddy :/

This is "Tank's Yard" where he spends most of his time.

His 3 gallon water bowl is set to refill for 15 mins every 6 hrs. So he always has fresh water in the heat.

More of the yard

And can still roam in this area, when he chooses.

lots of space...

On a side note, this is my bedroom balcony where I have a large, secure area for my hatchling to enjoy the sun. Of course he's not out here in the rain!
What do you guys think?
When Tank is hungry he walks right up to the doors looking for me. Would he do the same if the rain bothered him?

 

[Yvonne G]

Usually when they dig the burrow it ends up with quite a nice berm around the mouth, which acts as a barrier if it floods. Wild sulcatas don't have the cool temps that we have here in the States. If your rainy season sports temps below 70F or so, I wouldn't leave him outside.

 

[Tank'sMom]

Usually when they dig the burrow it ends up with quite a nice berm around the mouth, which acts as a barrier if it floods. Wild sulcatas don't have the cool temps that we have here in the States. If your rainy season sports temps below 70F or so, I wouldn't leave him outside.

Did you see the pics? Can you see the way the burrow is set up? I think I can see what you are talking about. The outer are almost has a "lip", there are rain puddles around the dirt, but not in it.
And no temps below 70! I wish. (For me, its been a HOT summer, I'm sure he enjoys the break as well) It's a Tropical Storm from the South so still above 70.

 

[Tank'sMom]

A side view from my son's bedroom window.

 

[Tank'sMom]

Our break from the 100 degree weather:

 

[Yvonne G]

He should be fine. Is there any danger that the soft/wet dirt might make the tunnel collapse?

 

[Tank'sMom]

He should be fine. Is there any danger that the soft/wet dirt might make the tunnel collapse?

I don't know. Nobody walks on it. And as you can see our dirt here doesn't soak up much water. It's more like clay. The water seems to choose the path of least resistance which is sliding down the ground rather than into it. The lake will flood before the grass gets water.
His entry way is pretty muddy though. I worry about him getting caked up with clay on his feet. He does come out into the rain or wet grass and clean them.

 

[Tank'sMom]

Really pouring right now. This is my view of his "house" from my bedroom window.

Behind the tree....

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

There's a lot of rain here, I don't like leaving Cheerio in her burrow whilst is pours, so I got some great advice for a couple people here, and I let a hose down in there for a bit, and she always comes out! And then she stays in her house (with the option to leave) until the rain stops... she goes out and splashing around for a bit in the day, but she doesn't try going back under until it's sunny out.

 

[Tank'sMom]

He's coming out. I zoomed in. Not sure if it's for the down pour or the treats I left there!

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Yum, soggy! He might go in his house on his own?

 

[Tank'sMom]

Yum, soggy! He might go in his house on his own?

His house is over the burrow. There is a small area in the back corner where he can chill universal ground if he wants. He never showed any interest in the house. So we put it over the burrow. To help keep it cooler and .... drier? I hope. And we have plans to turn that old fuel tank next to it into a heater for winter.

 

[Tank'sMom]

Above ground, not universal...

 

[ascott]

Under and beyond/behind that fencing....is that your property of the neighbors property? If you can not see completely dry dirt down that burrow relatively close to the entrance...then I would be a bit concerned about the water weight of the clay dirt...if that clay is anything like here...after saturation, it turns to a creamy glob of muck and can easily be displaced....

 

[Tank'sMom]

Under and beyond/behind that fencing....is that your property of the neighbors property? If you can not see completely dry dirt down that burrow relatively close to the entrance...then I would be a bit concerned about the water weight of the clay dirt...if that clay is anything like here...after saturation, it turns to a creamy glob of muck and can easily be displaced....

Yes. Out of aaaaaallllll those lovely spots of yard he had to choose from, he decided to dig his burrow under the fence, into the neighbors yard... headed straight for their pool.
But. Then he took a curve to the right so the "room" portion of his den sits almost directly under the fence line. The other side of that fence, the neighbors yard, there's a concrete slab for the gazebo you see above his tunnel. So no weight is on the tunnel from above. And no water goes into that ground.
It's just the entrance that gets wet. And yes! That clay dirt concerns me most of all. When it dries it's like concrete. I'm worried that he'll go down there, on the sticky, mucky floor and get stuck.
But he's strong enough to get out of that situation, right? :/

 

[Tank'sMom]

He's still steadily munching away on his Bok Choy and doesn't seem to be too bothered....

 

[Tank'sMom]

Tank had been wandering around his house, in and out, in and out. It was strange. So I went to investigate.
OMG

The over hang collapsed!!!
This is what it looked like before:

Thankfully, he was outside when it happened. Don't know if he would have been able to get out otherwise! Scary!!!!!

 

[ascott]

Yikes....so the reason I asked about the soil was....we have here the red compacted soil crap--sounds similar to yours...and as you said, it is hard as concrete in the dry weather...but let the soil become saturated and it becomes almost fluid....which is undesirable in prolonged periods of heavy rain.....

I would bring your wrecking ball into the house, so he can not see the act and then I would destroy this burrow entrance (and that is something that I don't believe I have ever said, hmm) I would get a significant tree or shrub and move it to the location, I would remove that house thing, I would then back fill that entrance and pound down into that hole as much dirt as possible...then I would quietly (without the neighbor seeing your purpose, especially the one with the pool) dig out the proper size hole for the plant you have and set that plant, then I would take all of that earth from the burrow lip and use that to make a water well around the newly set plant....then I would place a concrete block all the way around that water well....I would then place that house under the tree...closest to the side of the tree that is closest to your house....I would move all objects out of the yard other than that house.....

I then would bring that tort in at night, or build the tortoise a weather proof shed for dry secure housing...as this tort will continue to grow and this will likely be the end game type housing anyways...you then can also plan an electrical outlet or two for the heating during cooler nights in the cooler months....it will also allow the tort to get out of the wet when he has had enough....

This is just "my" opinion.....

I have had to dig out a tort here from the dried mud, rodent backfilled burrow...the tort was in a small air pocket packet in solid after the soaking mud began to dry between winter rains...and the moment he was freed, he took a long deep breath/gasp for air.....not the "ah, I was startled" breath...but an actual breath....oh and he had a roommate in the air pocket with him...a big ole black widow....that was the special surprise cherry on top for me....ewwww....even in the wild torts will die as a result of being bound/stuck in collapsed burrows....

 

[Tank'sMom]

That would be a good idea. Except that Tank is a DIGGER. If you look at anything I've posted in the past, it's mostly about him digging.
If I cover this burrow, he WILL dig another. And he HATES being inside. He's never been kept "inside". Ever. That's why we're trying to figure out a heating system for "winter". Our winters here are a joke. 60 is freezing to us. It rarely (but does) get colder than that.
The over hang that fell off, as far as I can see, is the only "collapsible" area. The area beyond that fence is a concrete slab. Do you think it is likely to collapse with concrete over top??? I don't know?
I'm certain he's going to go right back to repairing his burrow. In fact he's trying already. But having a hard time with the muddy muck!