Came across a small wild DT blocking road.

[JohnnyB65]

This is not unusual, but I always get excited just the same when I see a Desert Tortoise in the wild. I don’t like to move them but I just couldn’t take the chance of running it over with my large work truck trying to straddle it because it was dead center of the road. I did notice an identification tag on it although I could not read anything on it so it has been handled before.

Anyway it was 8AM and it looked like it had been up for awhile from the tracks around it,. This is so different from my own DT because mine don’t come out until 10:30 the earliest and I wonder why that is. It bugs me that he sleeps in so long and I was thinking that it must be the way the sun shines onto the burrow.

All the wild DT burrows that I’ve come across have the opening facing slightly NE and mine faces south with a concrete block wall just east of it blocking the morning sun. The rising sun shines directly into the wild burrows at 1st light where as mine only gets reflected light when the sun it is directly above it. So I was thinking about putting a sky light in my DTs burrow to see if his schedule changes, but maybe I’ll set up a mirror or something to reflect morning light into the entrance instead.

 

[Nanchantress]

Thanks for sharing this - really cool! Do you think the ID tag was applied by the wildlife department of your state for tracking? Maybe a radio tag?

Interesting that you've noticed that the wild DT burrows all open toward the same direction. Great observation!

 

[wellington]

Very cool. I love seeing pics of wild torts. Would love seeing them in person, but we don't have any here. We do have Box turtles though.
I would not put a mirror to reflect light, that might burn their eyes if it happen to shine in them or could start a fire. Couldnt you just move the entrance? Great observation btw.

 

[Blakem]

You're lucky. I've only ever seen water turtles in the wild, which is not as exciting at all! Thanks for sharing.

 

[ascott]

This is not unusual, but I always get excited just the same when I see a Desert Tortoise in the wild. I don’t like to move them but I just couldn’t take the chance of running it over with my large work truck trying to straddle it because it was dead center of the road. I did notice an identification tag on it although I could not read anything on it so it has been handled before.

Anyway it was 8AM and it looked like it had been up for awhile from the tracks around it,. This is so different from my own DT because mine don’t come out until 10:30 the earliest and I wonder why that is. It bugs me that he sleeps in so long and I was thinking that it must be the way the sun shines onto the burrow.

All the wild DT burrows that I’ve come across have the opening facing slightly NE and mine faces south with a concrete block wall just east of it blocking the morning sun. The rising sun shines directly into the wild burrows at 1st light where as mine only gets reflected light when the sun it is directly above it. So I was thinking about putting a sky light in my DTs burrow to see if his schedule changes, but maybe I’ll set up a mirror or something to reflect morning light into the entrance instead.

Where about did you come across him? I mean, what general part of the desert? Early am is normal to find them out during this time of the year...the guys here are out and about by around 7:00-7:30 am---and the sun absolutely does play a part in the time they come out in the am as well as when they go in....I don't believe it is strictly the "Light" but the actual warmth that comes to the apron of the burrow....a couple of the guys here will absolutely move up and down the entire burrow entrance to gain rays and warmth through out the day....as well as use it near the end of the day to warm up their body and then duck into their burrow for the night.

 

[JohnnyB65]

Thanks for sharing this - really cool! Do you think the ID tag was applied by the wildlife department of your state for tracking? Maybe a radio tag?

Interesting that you've noticed that the wild DT burrows all open toward the same direction. Great observation!

I'm pretty sure it was tagged by wildlife people because I've run into them from time to time and I do know that they use radios to track them. As many times as I've talked to them, I never asked if they were Federal or State although is is part of federal grounds.

 

[JohnnyB65]

Very cool. I love seeing pics of wild torts. Would love seeing them in person, but we don't have any here. We do have Box turtles though.
I would not put a mirror to reflect light, that might burn their eyes if it happen to shine in them or could start a fire. Couldnt you just move the entrance? Great observation btw.

I see a lot of them this time of year and I always have walk around my truck and look under before driving off because they will go underneath for shade.

 

[JohnnyB65]

Where about did you come across him? I mean, what general part of the desert? Early am is normal to find them out during this time of the year...the guys here are out and about by around 7:00-7:30 am---and the sun absolutely does play a part in the time they come out in the am as well as when they go in....I don't believe it is strictly the "Light" but the actual warmth that comes to the apron of the burrow....a couple of the guys here will absolutely move up and down the entire burrow entrance to gain rays and warmth through out the day....as well as use it near the end of the day to warm up their body and then duck into their burrow for the night.

I don't want to give too much information because there are a lot of them in this location, but I'll only say that it in north San Bernardino County.
I have seen them out as early as 6:30AM many times which is why it drives me crazy that mine sleeps in so late.

 

[ascott]

I don't want to give too much information because there are a lot of them in this location, but I'll only say that it in north San Bernardino County.
I have seen them out as early as 6:30AM many times which is why it drives me crazy that mine sleeps in so late.

gotcha...the loam and background looked familiar to me....that was why I asked....and the area I thought of is in that area...

 

[Nanchantress]

I have seen them out as early as 6:30AM many times which is why it drives me crazy that mine sleeps in so late.

Your personal turtle knows where his next meal is coming from. He can afford to sleep in. Haha!

 

[JohnnyB65]

Your personal turtle knows where his next meal is coming from. He can afford to sleep in. Haha!

LOL You know that did occur to me because looking around that desert, I don't see any signs of water anywhere. There seems to be plenty of dry grasses to eat, but I think they would need to search out plants with water unless they are getting it from morning dew. I'm not an expert and I have no idea where they get water from so I'm just guessing.

 

[ascott]

LOL You know that did occur to me because looking around that desert, I don't see any signs of water anywhere. There seems to be plenty of dry grasses to eat, but I think they would need to search out plants with water unless they are getting it from morning dew. I'm not an expert and I have no idea where they get water from so I'm just guessing.

I don't know that this would have much to do with it....while fun for joking, the men here get plenty of food as well as their own grazing....and they are up early ....perhaps you will want to set up a secondary hide/burrow pointing north east and see what time your tort will begin to rise???? I would lay bets it suddenly changes to much earlier....just my thoughts...

 

[JohnnyB65]

I don't know that this would have much to do with it....while fun for joking, the men here get plenty of food as well as their own grazing....and they are up early ....perhaps you will want to set up a secondary hide/burrow pointing north east and see what time your tort will begin to rise???? I would lay bets it suddenly changes to much earlier....just my thoughts...

My DT burrow is fixed in stone and there is no moving it. Plus my tortoise was so stressed last year when I enlarged and extended the tunnel that I thought he was going to die. Now that he’s spent a winter in it, he is back to normal and I don’t want to do that to him again.

 

[Ariza]

I've read that in the wild a tort might use 15 or so places to sleep, burrows or just pallets under shrubs. The ideal captive set-up would beburrows made with metal garbage cans cut in half and facing south, east and north (never west) and the tort would choose which one to use at any given time or season. I think that would be ideal! Mine are made with cement blocks and I have one facing south, one facing north, and another one also facing north but on the east side of a mesquite tree (shade in the afternoon). She changes her mind which to use and that's fine with me, whatever makes her happy. Would you have room for a second burrow facing NE?

And, by the way, I've read that Indians used to face their teepee entrances to the east. Sounds sensible to me.

 

[JohnnyB65]

I've read that in the wild a tort might use 15 or so places to sleep, burrows or just pallets under shrubs. The ideal captive set-up would beburrows made with metal garbage cans cut in half and facing south, east and north (never west) and the tort would choose which one to use at any given time or season. I think that would be ideal! Mine are made with cement blocks and I have one facing south, one facing north, and another one also facing north but on the east side of a mesquite tree (shade in the afternoon). She changes her mind which to use and that's fine with me, whatever makes her happy. Would you have room for a second burrow facing NE?

And, by the way, I've read that Indians used to face their teepee entrances to the east. Sounds sensible to me.

Thanks for replying. That’s good information.

My tortoise doesn’t always sleep in his burrow during the summer when it’s hot. Sometimes he jams himself into a corner under something, but I worry about predators roaming around at night like raccoons so I’ve eliminated every place he might do that to force him to use the burrow.

I used a plastic 55 gal drum for his burrow, but I did not cut it in half because I did not want him to dig under it to another yard. I did fill the entire bottom half with dirt so that he could move the dirt around as he liked it. I also gave him a 6’ tunnel out of large PVC drain pipe filled half way up to provide a flat ramp to walk on.

I didn’t really have a choice at the time to point it in any other direction except for south because of the way the property was laid out.