RV's Burrow

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DeanS

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TortieGal said:
I'm glad they didn't let RV go down there with you she sure wanted to! I have to wonder how she would have acted tho. Best not to find out. :) You are very brave Tom.

Yeah! Can you imagine crawling back up and getting rammed on top of the head...cracked skull I would imagine!:(
 

Criskers

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Hello everyone I saw this thread and just had to join. Any news about RV and her burrow?

I was wondering if RV stays underground for days at a time during cold rainy weather like we had in the desert recently,[/i] a couple weeks ago or so?

We live near 29 Palms California and have the same hard caliche soil. Our tortoise starts a burrow every summer but we fill it in. After reading this I'm thinking of just letting him burrow but I worry about weird winter rainy weather like we've had last couple winters and him staying underground until it warms up.
 

Yvonne G

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I hope Tom will excuse me for going off topic in his thread. :p

Hi Criskers:

May we know your name?

Welcome to the forum!! Is your tortoise a sulcata too?



Criskers said:
Hello everyone I saw this thread and just had to join. Any news about RV and her burrow?

I was wondering if RV stays underground for days at a time during cold rainy weather like we had in the desert recently,[/i] a couple weeks ago or so?

We live near 29 Palms California and have the same hard caliche soil. Our tortoise starts a burrow every summer but we fill it in. After reading this I'm thinking of just letting him burrow but I worry about weird winter rainy weather like we've had last couple winters and him staying underground until it warms up.
 

Criskers

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Hi thanks, my name is Cris and yes he is a large sulcata tortoise.
 

Wirewehear

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Really great pics Tom. I'm glad this got bumped up, I didnt see it. My Deserts have a burrow .... and yep, they dug down, to the right and have a chamber as well.
 

Madortoise

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Tom, do you fantasize about being a tortoise?
I can relate....tee hee hee.
 

Tom

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Madortoise said:
Tom, do you fantasize about being a tortoise?
I can relate....tee hee hee.

No. But I think its pretty universal that all little boys are fascinated by big holes in the ground. When we grow up we're really still little boys at heart, we just have better toys.
 

Xilonen

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Those pics are incredible, Tom! Now you've got me paranoid about tortoises getting loose in Portland in a few years and terrorizing family pets, children, etc.

*crosses fingers that Cass and Meat Loaf don't turn out to be diggers*
 

Cre8ruckas

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wow, just found and read this whole thread! AMAZING! Believe it or not I dig holes for a living and it would take me approx. 8hrs with the right equiptment to get a hole to that fasion, so smooth on the ceiling and walls, i would imagine from the shell rubbing etc. And did i read it right that it's approx 9ft under the surface? That would make it what... decending from the entrance about 12in per foot to the turn and chamber? In the north cold climates the "frost line" is 36in. so any ground below that stays warmer and does not freeze. kind of the opp. of an igloo. I know that this borrow is in a warm climate but i would bet that the temps down in that space are possibly the same as the top if not close but theres deffently gotta be some humidity, i would LOVE to know the parameters heat/humidity wise. vs the temp/humidity at the surface.

mmm... imma be thinking of this all day now lol. i would actually venture to dig a borrow like this myself just to find out lol. Please keep us updated.
 

DeanS

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Tom said:
I think its pretty universal that all little boys are fascinated by big holes in the ground. When we grow up we're really still little boys at heart, we just have better toys.

I know from where you come, my brother. When one of my wolves dug a den to whelp back in the 70s, I had to check it out...without assistance. Of course, in my teens I was about 165, but once I started lifting weights that could never happen. I would love to see RV's burrow, but I could never get through the entrance now! :p
 

CtTortoiseMom

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Just found this and read the whole thing. That is just amazing!! How deep did it go before it turned right? Also, did RV immediately go in after you came out, to see what you were doing? RV is really beautiful.
 

Tom

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It was around 10' deep. I went in to take a shower, so I don't know if she went right in.
 

RV's mom

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I believe she went immediately below to check things out. the burrow is a continuing work in progress. She is spending some time in her above ground home. she is one happy tort.

teri
 

tczar

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before i set up a shed for mine in the winter, they would burrow in summer and always make an immediate right turn. they were only three then but i would run a water stream from the hose down it after they were indoors for winter, it wouldnt fill up even after a half hour!!
 

dmarcus

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Wow that is one massive burrow...That is truly what makes RV a special Sulcata...
 

SulcataSquirt

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Just because you brought it up on another thread I had to comment -
Not even sure if I commented when it was originally posted or not but this STILL amazes me. What an experience to be able to go all the way into the burrow. I myself will probably never get to experience something like this (we usually cover up his tunnels each day) so it is awesome to even be able to see pictures of the inside. :D
 

dmarcus

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SulcataSquirt said:
Just because you brought it up on another thread I had to comment -
Not even sure if I commented when it was originally posted or not but this STILL amazes me. What an experience to be able to go all the way into the burrow. I myself will probably never get to experience something like this (we usually cover up his tunnels each day) so it is awesome to even be able to see pictures of the inside. :D

Wait until Squirt is like 50 pounds and overnight you wake up to find a burrow 3+ feet deep. When they get started they go none stop only taking a break to eat and drink...:p:p
 

reneereichert

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WOW!! Awesome, thanks for sharing. I never let mine go that far, I get afraid once I cant reach them. Tom, is it okay to let them go that far? I have always read not to. Id love your opinion.
 
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