Speedy came out this morning after about 48 hours in the burrow. Closed up the burrow. Thanks to all for their help and kind words. A learning for me is don't let them borrow if the temp in the burrow will get too cold at night.
Thanks. Either he'll come out tomorrow or I'll get him out. Fortunately it shouldn't be to difficult to do safely with his size and the burrow location.
Sorry, I may not have been clear. His house is at 80, not 67, and I don't really change it year round as the Upcountry Maui high and low temps only change about 10 - 15 degrees year round. No one has AC, not needed, and some have a fireplace for a chilly morning from late fall - early spring. I...
Temp is 67.5F. He has moved a bit up the borrow, clearly not stuck. So do I dig him out if he doesn't come out during the day? (It's just after noon here). Any other guidance?
He seems to be stirring. The face is now visible, and he twitched when I put the pole/thermometer down the burrow. Will get the temp, and let you know if he comes out. Still would be helpful to know at the end of this when you would start digging.
In the last year Speedy, my 15lb Sulcata, has been working on his burrow. It's now about 5' - 6' I length. Yesterday late morning I gave him a soak. Seemed fine. Put him back in his area. He walked to the burrow, went in, did a bit of digging and cleaning and went to what I think is the end. I...
I was looking for a post on wall height for a Sulcata, and saw this from Tom. I was thinking 24” high, but Speedy is already 11” long (front shell to back, basically fills up a piece of paper).
“They are surprisingly agile climbers. I've always tried to incorporate hills and elevation changes...
+1 more. My tortoise outgrew his small dog house (where I had heating from the Tom model) so I built the full Tom model that I'm hoping will hold up for a decade. Temp is not quite as big a deal here in Maui, but we do get down to the low 50's at night in winter. I've noticed that all that...
Can you expand a bit on "for longer trips". We will be gone for two weeks and have a 1kg Sulcata. There is plenty of grass in his large outside area/enclosure (he likes grass but doesn't eat the opuntia pads yet). Trying to understand how often I need someone to come by to soak, feed, clean up...
Thanks for the guidance yet again @Tom. (BTW, your suggestion on the heat in the box for here in Maui has made a difference. More active, gaining weight faster) I do have the bowl setup like you recommended, but just one as noted.
So I'll try adding the second bowl and backing off a bit...
I was soaking my ~2lb Sulcata daily and not seeing urates. Trying to back off of that I moved in March to every other day and see the urates about every fourth day (every other soak). He doesn't seem to pay any attention or have any interest in the water in his outdoor area. Even when I've put...
Hi - I've got a 1.5lb Sulcata that I've soaking daily because I didn't have his set up right. Now that he has the right environment for day and night. I have two questions on soaking. (BTW I looked at the soak posts and understand the frequency issue)
1. How will I know if he is dehydrated...
Thanks Tom and Karen.
FYI, I do have a Kane heat mat already. They are what people seem to use here. Just that for adults down at sea level, although I recognize this wouldn't always meet your 80 guidance. We are up at 3000 feet so it gets colder here.