My Texas tortoises are all tucked away, nice and safe, in their brumation chamber:
They've been coming out and sitting in the sun, but then two nights ago the temperature dipped down into the low 40'sF and I haven't seen any of them for two days now. So I lifted the lid, raked up all the dead grass and leaves in their yard, and covered them with the garden detritus. Then I blocked their door, closed the lid, made sure it fit snugly, and started piling up leaves and grass clippings. I had raked up those clippings a week ago, then spread them out so they're not green. Green grass, when piled up, gets too hot to use as an insulating cover for the brumation chamber.
The desert tortoise brumation chamber shares a wall, but is in the next door yard. Likewise, with them I hadn't seen any come out for two days, so I opened the lid and filled up the chamber with dried leaves. then I blocked the door:
and started raking up all the leaves and dead grass to put over the top.
I didn't quite have enough leaves to completely cover the chamber, but there are still plenty of them left on the trees (leaves are the bane of my existence. I rake almost every week-end for a month or so before I've gotten them all picked up).
These two chambers are sitting on masonry caps (rectangular stepping stones), so there's a nice cement floor and the tortoises can't dig. Then I add a thick layer of soil and a bit of dried leaves. The tortoises live comfortable in these "shelters" all year. In the summer, the shade from the large mulberry tree keeps the inside comfortably cool, and in the winter, the rigid foam insulation and all the leaves covering them keep the tortoises from freezing.
They've been coming out and sitting in the sun, but then two nights ago the temperature dipped down into the low 40'sF and I haven't seen any of them for two days now. So I lifted the lid, raked up all the dead grass and leaves in their yard, and covered them with the garden detritus. Then I blocked their door, closed the lid, made sure it fit snugly, and started piling up leaves and grass clippings. I had raked up those clippings a week ago, then spread them out so they're not green. Green grass, when piled up, gets too hot to use as an insulating cover for the brumation chamber.
The desert tortoise brumation chamber shares a wall, but is in the next door yard. Likewise, with them I hadn't seen any come out for two days, so I opened the lid and filled up the chamber with dried leaves. then I blocked the door:
and started raking up all the leaves and dead grass to put over the top.
I didn't quite have enough leaves to completely cover the chamber, but there are still plenty of them left on the trees (leaves are the bane of my existence. I rake almost every week-end for a month or so before I've gotten them all picked up).
These two chambers are sitting on masonry caps (rectangular stepping stones), so there's a nice cement floor and the tortoises can't dig. Then I add a thick layer of soil and a bit of dried leaves. The tortoises live comfortable in these "shelters" all year. In the summer, the shade from the large mulberry tree keeps the inside comfortably cool, and in the winter, the rigid foam insulation and all the leaves covering them keep the tortoises from freezing.
Last edited: