Artificial burrow for outdoor pen - Juvenile sulcata

[StudentoftheReptile]

So the temps have been steadily climbing here in southwest Alabama. I decided to take a old storage bin and turn it into an underground den for Kobe. I'll have to admit, the project took a little longer than I anticipated, mainly because there is so much rock in the soil where I was digging.

But after working for both Saturday and Sunday afternoon, here are the fruits of my labor. He's only 6+" shell length at the moment, but hopefully, this will last him for a little while.

This is the top view of the whole thing, and then a close-up of the sloping entrance of the burrow.

The tub has a hinged lid, so I can kinda readily lift it up to access the inside to check on him pretty easily.

And the inside is a nice thick mixture of cypress mulch and dirt. I did drill holes on the bottom to help drainage whenever it rains.

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I also made a few changes to the other end of his enclosure. I'll try to snap some shots of that one night this week, too.

 

[Merlin M]

that is good, and I am sure he will love it!

 

[Tom]

I like this idea. Now my head is spinning with even more ideas...

 

[dmarcus]

Pretty nice idea.

 

[Masin]

I like this idea. Now my head is spinning with even more ideas...

Exactly!

 

[DeanS]

I like this idea. Now my head is spinning with even more ideas...

Yeah! Well I just had to screw mine back on

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

One thing I will say is that this burrow is doesn't hold temps well inside. I imagine this is due to its size and/or the plastic walls of the tub.

The main advantages I suppose are stress-reducing for the animal (simulating natural behavior) and preventing him from burrow elsewhere in the pen. He definitely has been using it more and more often!

 

[Tom]

When you say it doesn't hold temps, do you mean it gets too warm in the heat of summer?

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I don't think it gets too hot, because he routinely stays in it during the afternoons. But I don't think it holds temps during the night. This morning, the interior was only 2 degrees warmer than the ground outside (75'F vs 73'F respectively)...this was before the sun came up though. That's where he was this morning at 6:30am.

I have to get up in the middle of the night to see what it is...I know I need to.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

Love this idea!

 

[ra94131]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm thinking of doing something similar and had a couple questions:

1) Any problems with rainwater/flooding? If so, what solutions/workarounds have you come up with?

2) Have you come up with anything to help it hold temps better or just left as is?

Thanks!

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

1) Any problems with rainwater/flooding? If so, what solutions/workarounds have you come up with?

I drilled many small holes on the bottom of the tub so when it rains, it will just drain through to the ground below. We get fairly rainy summers here in lower Alabama, and I have not seen any flooding, although I usually don't go out there in the middle of a downpour to check!

Now, we did just have the east side of Hurricane Isaac give us some really heavy rain a couple weeks ago, so I did bring Kobe in as a precaution.

2) Have you come up with anything to help it hold temps better or just left as is?

So far, I have left it as is. I need to start checking the temps a little more routinely now that the weather is cooling off some at night. We're already averaging around in the high 60's/low 70s at night now, so I need to think of something soon. He's still small enough to where I may just bring him inside at night for the winter months if it gets too cold and re-visit the issue next year.

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The simple solution would be to just install a small heat bulb/CHE on the lid of the tub, but of course, this wouldn't do since the top of the tub is at ground-level and the tortoise would have access to it. Probably the main drawback to this whole idea.

 

[ra94131]

I drilled many small holes on the bottom of the tub so when it rains, it will just drain through to the ground below. We get fairly rainy summers here in lower Alabama, and I have not seen any flooding, although I usually don't go out there in the middle of a downpour to check!

Now, we did just have the east side of Hurricane Isaac give us some really heavy rain a couple weeks ago, so I did bring Kobe in as a precaution.

So far, I have left it as is. I need to start checking the temps a little more routinely now that the weather is cooling off some at night. We're already averaging around in the high 60's/low 70s at night now, so I need to think of something soon. He's still small enough to where I may just bring him inside at night for the winter months if it gets too cold and re-visit the issue next year.

---

The simple solution would be to just install a small heat bulb/CHE on the lid of the tub, but of course, this wouldn't do since the top of the tub is at ground-level and the tortoise would have access to it. Probably the main drawback to this whole idea.

---

Thanks for the response. I'm thinking I'll use an open bottomed hide to help with the drainage and if our local clay is an issue, maybe a layer of gravel a few inches below the soil.

I'm not sure how I'll handle temps, but a CHE might work if I use a high "ceiling."

 

[lynnedit]

I set up an outdoor hide in a similar way with a rubbermaid container, about 18" deep, 24" long.
I dug down, put a couple of inches of gravel. Drilled a few drain holes in the bottom.
About 6 or 7" of the rubbermaid container is above ground. Then a frame around the outside of 2x 6" treated wood and a lid with some trim to match the frame size to keep it at a slant.
Sheesh that was hard to explain!

Backfilled with soil/coir and a door cut through the rubbermaid and frame.

It is one of their favorite spots to sleep at night.

It stays very dry in heavy rain, one of the reasons I set it up in our area of the world.

 

[DrewsLife727]

I really like this idea. I might add it to my enclosure on a smaller scale =]

 

[LuckysGirl007]

I set up an outdoor hide in a similar way with a rubbermaid container, about 18" deep, 24" long.
I dug down, put a couple of inches of gravel. Drilled a few drain holes in the bottom.
About 6 or 7" of the rubbermaid container is above ground. Then a frame around the outside of 2x 6" treated wood and a lid with some trim to match the frame size to keep it at a slant.
Sheesh that was hard to explain!

Backfilled with soil/coir and a door cut through the rubbermaid and frame.

It is one of their favorite spots to sleep at night.

It stays very dry in heavy rain, one of the reasons I set it up in our area of the world.

Can you post a pic?

 

[lynnedit]

Oops, didn't see this til now.

I will take a couple of pics this week (pesky work) and post them.

Meanwhile, this shows it in the background; at least the part above ground.

The blue part is the lid (scavenged from some other project, lol). The roof is pond liner stapled to the underside on all sides.

 

[mainey34]

Good idea..

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

For anyone interested....

This morning, I took a reading at about 6:30 am. The ground was about 65'F. I stuck my arm all the way into the burrow inside the "den" area and it read 71'F. So it seems to keep maintain around 5 degrees warmer than the outside temperature.