The Digging...

[Tank'sMom]

... I'm not diggin it! He's been trying to decide where to "burrow" and digging up different spots.
I'm worried he's gonna get hurt. Or heaven forbid get out! That front part of the hole, which leads to my front yard and very bad things, is out about 5". He could easily dig right through while I'm at work today. :/
The pics don't do this hole justice. It looks much worse in person.
How do I fix this???
This one is opening to the front yard. It's that far out from the fence and at least a foot deep.


The inside of that spot. I put a "steak" in there trying to slow him down.


The pics don't do this justice. He's getting in there. And won't come out!

 

[Tank'sMom]

He's about to bust out the fence boards!

 

[wellington]

I would get some cinder blocks and put around the fence and see if that helps. I have also read filling them in when they do that will eventually make them move on to another spot or stop, for a while anyway. Good luck. Oh, you may want to attach some hardware fencing to the bottom of the fence and bury it into the ground a couple feet, then maybe the cinder blocks.

 

[Dizisdalife]

Cinder blocks might work. He is big enough that he can move one or two of them around, and will move them. I am afraid he will dig around the single stake. Your sulcata's interest is in digging a burrow, not escaping. When they dig down they don't usually dig back up again. The danger is in tunnel collapse or flooding or too low a temperature. If you haven't already done so, build a suitable above ground night box and train him to use it instead of a burrow. Or, start a burrow where you want him to dig and see if you can get him interested in digging there. Mine seems to be satisfied using a night box and has shown, so far, no interest in digging. It probably has much to do with the climate where I live. Rarely do we have 100°F days. Mostly it gets to 85°F.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

When my big un's dig where I don't want them to, I put a piece of plywood over that spot. Then they move on to a different spot.

 

[Tank'sMom]

When my big un's dig where I don't want them to, I put a piece of plywood over that spot. Then they move on to a different spot.

That's the problem! Lol! I keep filling in his holes, putting boards over them, trying to redirect him. He's got another one going in another corner of the fence across the yard.
This was what he did while I was at work yesterday. Each time I do something to stop him, but this time he was in enough that he wasn't coming out!
I'm afraid of what I'll find when I get home today!
At his previous home, he had a 6 ft burrow and liked it that way...

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

So they burrow to fulfill a need. Do you have good tight quarters shade?

 

[Tank'sMom]

Cinder blocks might work. He is big enough that he can move one or two of them around, and will move them. I am afraid he will dig around the single stake. Your sulcata's interest is in digging a burrow, not escaping. When they dig down they don't usually dig back up again. The danger is in tunnel collapse or flooding or too low a temperature. If you haven't already done so, build a suitable above ground night box and train him to use it instead of a burrow. Or, start a burrow where you want him to dig and see if you can get him interested in digging there. Mine seems to be satisfied using a night box and has shown, so far, no interest in digging. It probably has much to do with the climate where I live. Rarely do we have 100°F days. Mostly it gets to 85°F.

He is definitely trying to dig a burrow. But I'm scared that he's gonna notice that opening on the other side of the fence and dig right out. I don't expect that stake to stop him. Lol. Last time I put large bricks in the way of his last hole and came back to find them 20 ft across the yard 4 hrs later!
I did put that big heavy board you see off to the side over that part of the hole and stacked bricks on top of that.
I've tried making him a "house" lotsa different ways, but unless it's air conditioned, it ain't gonna work! He's hot. It's 105 out these days. He's got lots of shade and water, but he wants to go back underground!!!
I'm just worried he's gonna get out or get hurt in the process.

 

[Tank'sMom]

So they burrow to fulfill a need. Do you have good tight quarters shade?

Oh yes he's got lots of shade. Lots of room and a kiddie pool (which is a joke) and a sprinkler...
I'm doing everything I can to get him to stop digging, but he had a burrow before and he's dead set on having one again!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Well all I can suggest is to make the hole an undesirable place to dig. Put a big rock or a concrete block in it to make the spot less attractive.

 

[goReptiles]

Maybe create a big mud hole for him? Or Have you tried digging a hole deep enough for him to get in and out comfortably and covering it with boards for a burrow?

 

[Tom]

When it is 105 they cannot cool down. Shade doesn't matter if ambient is 105. He is digging because it is a matter of life and death, and that is why he is so urgent about it. You either need to make him an underground retreat or start a burrow for him in an area where you want it. At those temperature NOTHING will stop him. He is doing it to save his life. In the fall when temps begin to cool you can catch him above ground, close off the burrow and teach him to use a heated night box. Don't expect him not to complain for a bit though. Here is what I did:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/daisys-new-enclosure.28662/

Wild sulcatas spend 95-98% of their lives underground. For some of them, being above ground is just not comfortable. Especially in a hot climate. Almost all of the sulcatas in Phoenix have a burrow.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I know it's a lot of work, but Tank is going to continue trying to make a burrow to cool off. If you can, I'd follow Tom's direction here or you're just going to have a hell of a summer worrying about him. My advice is to give in and dig him a safe burrow...

 

[Tank'sMom]

I'm home today. This has all gotten bad over the weekend, while it's been really hot and I've been working 6am - 8pm. But he does have ALOT of shade. And I've left sprinklers on and lots of wet areas.
I'm gonna see what I can figure out over the next 2 days!

 

[Tank'sMom]

When it is 105 they cannot cool down. Shade doesn't matter if ambient is 105. He is digging because it is a matter of life and death, and that is why he is so urgent about it. You either need to make him an underground retreat or start a burrow for him.

I just wanted to point out that at the hottest part of the day, yes it can get to 105 in direct sun. But I'm not quite sure it's a "matter of life and death". With all due respect Master Tom, he has plenty of areas he can go to cool off. As you have seen, he has lots of room, lots of shade, lots of wet areas and now even has access to a special garage where my husband has his "baby" (car) and it's next to a room that's air conditioned and the floor is very cool in there.
Sorry, I just feel bad that you might think I'm leaving him trapped in some sort of small area where he has no retreat from the sun. He has plenty.
He actually "retires for the day" around 5-6 pm when it's much cooler out and that is when I've noted he does most of his digging. And the area he's digging in is a corner that receives little to no shade.
Could it be that having had a burrow for comfort for the past 5-6 years, he just wants another one? That's what he's used to having. And as you said it's natural for them.
I have no doubt he wants to burrow to escape the heat and for other natural comforts. I just didn't want you to be left with impression that it's life or death. That makes me feel like a bad mom...

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Tom's point (I think) is that Tank thinks it's life or death, not us.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Tom's point (I think) is that Tank thinks it's life or death, not us.

Or actually if he can't cool off from 105, it could be a life or death matter. Remember, they don't warm up or cool off the same way we do.
If the ambient air is 105 degrees, no amount of shade is going to cool him off.
Guess I'm going to step out of this one, as Bob has his cool shed/burrow to retreat to, he does not dig at all.

 

[jfales]

We predug a burrow for Mac in a place that we wanted him. He loves it! It isn't as fancy as Tom's but he uses it most of the time right now (Tucson area). I think this is a safe solution (watch out for rain washes though).

 

[Tom]

Maggie understands what I was getting at perfectly. It has nothing to do with being a bad mom, it has to do with physics and tortoise anatomy and physiology. When ambient temps are that high, they are that high in the shade too. Yes it would be even hotter in the sun but 105 in the shade is still 105. I have seen my own torts work themselves into a panicked digging frenzy when temps get much above 100 here. I've had to soak them in cool water to bring their core temp down.

I did not think you had him in a small area with no shade. I did not mean to imply you are a bad tortoise caretaker at all. I was trying to get you to understand that from Tank's POV, when temps get that high, it could literally kill him. Same for a human. When we spike a fever of about 106 or 107 its brain damage time. No different for a tortoise except they are not able to cool off the way we do by sweating in those high temps. When it is 105, an ectotherm is going to be 105. That is why he is adamantly digging all over the yard everyday while people with suitable night houses in cooler climates are not having this problem. Everyone has different challenges in their different climates and different enclosures. Maggie's challenge is keeping Bob warm in her frozen winters. My challenge is keeping them warm in winter and cool in summer. YOUR challenge is creating a cooler area for your tortoise when temps start climbing past the mid 90's. Underground is the easiest and best way to do this in really hot climates like yours.

And yes you are correct that a sulcata tortoise that has enjoyed a burrow in the past will most likely want to be in a burrow again.

I think it was previously mentioned in this thread that sulcatas don't typically "dig out". They dig down at roughly a 45 degree angle and go deep enough to avoid temperature extremes. They come and go out of this one hole. They don't dig down and then back up in another direction. So put the hole where you want it and your tortoise will come and go out of the hole. Here is the burrow my adults dug and my tortoises use it every summer. I just opened it up again for them last week.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-burrows.50846/

 

[Tank'sMom]

Guess I'm going to step out of this one, as Bob has his cool shed/burrow to retreat to, he does not dig at all.

You say Bob has a cool shed/burrow?? Would you mind elaborating a bit? Do you mean an actual burrow or that his shed is his burrow? And how do you keep the shed cool?
Most of you guys seem to have problems keeping them warm in the winter. I have the exact opposite problem!!!
(As I stated before, he has access now to a single bay garage that is very cool, but he doesn't go in there much).
I'm wondering if I can build him a house I can keep cool.