Bowser's Burrow

[omgdoubletacos]

For the past week Bowser has had a small (and oh do I mean small) burrow. It was just big enough for about half of him to fit in. Well, I came home from work today and went outside to check on him and give him a snack. All I saw was a good sized pile of freshly dug up dirt. I looked where his old burrow was and saw that he's been working on a new one! When I left him to his work the burrow was probably about 2 feet deep and a foot and a half wide. He was so busy with his burrow that he didn't even care about his snack! Thats a first for him. I managed to grab a couple photos between him slinging dirt out.

 

[wellington]

Great pics. Love the dirt all over him. Shows he's been hard at work too

 

[omgdoubletacos]

lol, he walks around with dirt caked on his shell half the time. The first couple of weeks i had him he showed no interested in wanting to dig. Usually he beded under a bush or tree. XD

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

At first, he was not sure of things. Now that he knows he is safe and sound in his home, he thought he would go ahead and redecorate. What a cutie!

 

[omgdoubletacos]

Thanks! he's a bit cuter without gobs of dirt packed on to his shell. curious of how much more work he did after I left him alone. I checked in on him at about 7 and he usually beds down at 7 or 7:30

 

[omgdoubletacos]

Checked on his progress today and it looks like the burrow is about 4-5 ft deep now!!! He's a busy body. He's even been passing up his favorite snacks just to continue with his burrow.

 

[omgdoubletacos]

Finally saw the big boy out of his burrow. This is what I saw.

 

[pfara]

What a handsome little devil. It's so nice and refreshing to read your description of his handiwork. You're not so much concerned with his "destructive" behavior, but moreso that he's skipping his snacks. You're the typical, awesome mom (or dad.. oops sorry!)

 

[Tom]

So nice to see a sulcata living as it should. Now if we could only keep a perpetual summer in North America they could live like this all year long!

Where are you?

 

[oknursedana]

Beautiful creature!

 

[omgdoubletacos]

Thanks everyone!
pfara- I'm a proud mom!
Tom- I'm lucky enough to be in South East Georgia. So he gets plenty of warm sun. Just nervous about winter. Ours are kind of damp. Any tips to keep him from getting any respiratory infections? I know to make sure he's got a heated house. but any other tips would be great!

 

[Tom]

Mmmm... Georgia. Nice and hot there, but still good humidity.

A nice, dry, insulated, heated house with a fold up door for night should work. Here is how I made mine:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-66867.html

You'd only need to go 4x4' for one tortoise. Definitely don't let him use that burrow over winter. It bums me out, but I have to shut mine out of their burrow in October too.

 

[omgdoubletacos]

Would he choose the burrow over the heated house? I'd hate to cover his work. lol

 

[Lilyloveslettuse]

Poor guy looks plumb tuckered out!!!

 

[omgdoubletacos]

Funny thing is, I don't think he was. Just wanted a snack. He heard the lawn mower and came out to get some of the cut grass. lazy boy. He's supposed to mow the lawn. but then he went straight back to work on his burrow (after I gave him a quick hose down)

 

[mainey34]

Love it..my girl dug her first burrow this year. I could never destroy her hard work. Its just what they do.

 

[Tom]

Would he choose the burrow over the heated house? I'd hate to cover his work. lol

Yes. Remember, it does not get cold where they live, so they have no mechanism to tell them, "Hey. Its cold in this hole. Go somewhere warmer." They DO have a mechanism that says, "Hey. Its too hot up here. I need to dig a burrow to get underground and escape this heat."

Many of them die or get sick in burrows when winter sets in, which is why I made THIS:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-28662.html

Use caution as fall approaches. Watch the weather. If you see a cold snap coming, catch him above ground and throw a sheet of plywood over the burrow entrance. Start putting him in the heated house at sunset every day. If he gets down that hole and a cold snap hits, you may never see him again without the use of a shovel.

 

[omgdoubletacos]

Thanks Tom. We had a gopher tortoise that took residence in our back yard and my brain just automatically goes to what he did. Keep forgetting that it doesn't get really cold in their natural habitat. >.<
I'm hopefully gonna get started on his heated house either Thursday or Friday.

 

[RuthJanice]

LOL He certainly looks like he is on a mission!