Someone's been busy...

[StudentoftheReptile]

Found this in Kobe's pen this morning. About 3 ft in less than 24 hrs.

 

[Teodora'sDAD]

Would that be considered a self time out?

 

[Jabuticaba]

Wow! Industrious little thing!


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Hermann's [TURTLE][TURTLE] & Aussie [DOG FACE][DOG FACE][DOG FACE] (@YWG)

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

A little rest after a long day of digging!

 

[erica anne]

He's a good looking tortoise!

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh man...that's really sandy soil. I'd be worried about it collapsing with him inside.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

Oh man...that's really sandy soil. I'd be worried about it collapsing with him inside.

You think so? It did cross my mind, but this is the same habitat/soil that native gopher tortoises burrow in all the time.

 

[Jabuticaba]

You think so? It did cross my mind, but this is the same habitat/soil that native gopher tortoises burrow in all the time.

I wouldn't be too worried. Looks like a nicely round structure; i.e., equal outer pressure distribution. Also, it looks like the grass root system is overgrown enough to keep the soil from eroding. I just wouldn't let people walk on it, to be on the safe side. (In case you're wondering, I spent a lot of years observing burrowing animals--mainly armadillos and moles--as a farm kid.)

My only question is: Can he dig all the way thru and out of his enclosure?


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Hermann's [TURTLE][TURTLE] & Aussie [DOG FACE][DOG FACE][DOG FACE] (@YWG)

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

The short answer is: it is possible. However, this burrow is located in one corner of a 19' x 19' pen and is angled toward the center (and of course, downward). I'm not worried about it.

 

[Jabuticaba]

The short answer is: it is possible. However, this burrow is located in one corner of a 19' x 19' pen and is angled toward the center (and of course, downward). I'm not worried about it.

That's a big pen. How big do these guys get?


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Hermann's [TURTLE][TURTLE] & Aussie [DOG FACE][DOG FACE][DOG FACE] (@YWG)

 

[Tom]

I've never seen a sulcata dig down and then dig back up. Has anyone else? All the burrows I've seen and been in just go down and to the right. They dig a little sleeping/turn around chamber when they reach the depth they want, but I have never seen them start digging upwards once they are down.

The "Crying Tortoise" book states that wild sulcatas can dig their body length in 3 minutes. I believe that, based on what I've seen mine do.

Cool pics STOTR. Thank you. I love seeing sulcatas in sulcata burrows. I let mine do this for half the year now.

 

[ILoveTortoises2]

A little rest after a long day of digging!

How darn cute is this............ My daughter and I opened the photo and I both of us went AWWWWWWWWWWWW at the same time when we seen this photo... So stinkin cute

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I shined a flashlight and she already has a little chamber for her to turn around in. I'm so proud, its like the "coming of age" moment for an outdoor tortoise.

 

[Lilyloveslettuse]

Awesome pics!!! How old is your tortoise?

 

[Tom]

I shined a flashlight and she already has a little chamber for her to turn around in. I'm so proud, its like the "coming of age" moment for an outdoor tortoise.

I know exactly what you mean. One of my yearling Sudan's has just started digging his own little burrow at the base of one of the weeds in their enclosure. He just barely fits his whole body in there, but its a start. I was smiling ear to ear when I found him in his little "starter" burrow.

 

[jjsull33]

That's a big pen. How big do these guys get?

Huge

Not sure exact sizes but males can get over 200 lbs if I'm not mistaken.

 

[EllieN]

Yeah, they can get very, very big. 19'x19' seems huge now, but even that won't be big enough some day....

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

Letting sulcata winter in burrow?

UPDATE: Well more of a question...

The weather is getting cooler now, and I'm debating whether I should just let her stay in her burrow for the duration of what we loosely refer to as a winter in lower Alabama. There are a few weeks where it may get below freezing, and it definitely gets chilly at night, but for the most part, even on the coldest days in Jan and Feb, it can get fairly sunny (high in the 60's).

I did manage to catch her out of her den this morning and temporarily stuck her in a tub. If I did bring her indoors, this would be more or less her option for the next 3 months until weather warms up, unless I keep her in a pen in the garage.