heat

[Maggie Cummings]

It was 103 in Corvallis Oregon yesterday. That's about 20 degrees hotter then normal. Bob was lethargic all day. At first he slept until noon, then he came outside and got in a shade spot where he likes to nap and didn't move from that spot until after 6 PM. He didn't eat or graze or nuthin! So I ran the sprinkler and poured water over him several times during the day. At 7PM last night his shed with 2 fans running and the big door open was 140 degrees...that's just too hot. I brag about how well insulated his shed is, but it's made outa tin and hot. I'm thinking it need a window up high to release that heat...
Now you all be good today while I go have that endoscopy procedure...I'm not looking forward to it. I can't eat or drink this morning and I'm sneakin sips of Mt Dew...so bad!

 

[turtlelver1211]

I know what you mean Maggie about the heat...my redfoots and boxies were hiding in the shade all day long...I cant wait til it gets back down in the 80's...that is more like Oregon weather in the summer.

 

[Yvonne G]

Here in Clovis, CA, we're into our 20th day of triple digit temperatures...however, that's usually the norm for July here in our neck of the woods. 100 degrees for Corvallis must have you sitting on ice packs!!! That's pretty darned hot for you.

Yvonne

 

[turtlelver1211]

not just sitting on those ice packs, more like bathing in them....

 

[Isa]

Wow 140F, that is hot! Here it is not that bad this year, the problem is that it is always raining
Good luck with the endoscopy Maggie!

 

[Millerlite]

yeah might want to put some vents up high on that shed. The outside temp. isn't bad at all but the 140 in the shed is not good. Fans wont cool down a tortoise, unless it was pushing out the hot air through the door, You might have better luck putting fans up high pointing out sucking the hot air out,

 

[Yvonne G]

My greenhouse has an automatic window in the roof. When the heat pressure gets high, it pushes open the window and the hot air goes out.

Yvonne

 

[Madkins007]

yeah might want to put some vents up high on that shed. The outside temp. isn't bad at all but the 140 in the shed is not good. Fans wont cool down a tortoise, unless it was pushing out the hot air through the door, You might have better luck putting fans up high pointing out sucking the hout air out,

Another thing to think about is the fact that hot air rises, so the ground is usually cooler. Are the temps based at tort level? You might be surprised how much cooler it is down there.

If the soil is also warm, try digging a burrow- the soil usually cools off quickly if you go down a bit.

Sigh. 140F. Around here, it's been pushing 63 at night and some days barely breaking 80, then shifting to 90's. its driving me crazy!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I do have to figure some way to move the hot air out. The carpenter lowered the ceiling so it's a sheet of plywood, then a space full of that pink stuff and a metal roof. It got to 108 while I was in the hospital, that's just unheard of here... ...the thermometer was off the charts in the shed...I sent this to my sister

Bob spent the day inside his shed which was fairly cool until 5PM. I
woke up on my couch with my air conditioning on and a fan on me and I
was sweating. So I went to check on Bob, he was limp. I stirred him up
and around and got his head up and pushed him out the doggie door (Fear
made me strong) I got him out into the yard and ran the hose over him
for about 10 minutes. Gosh that was scary. Why didn't he go outside when
he got so hot? Gonna go back out, he's sitting in the running hose
now...
He's out grazing now. My son says he was probably just asleep, but I think I would know the difference between a sleepy tort and a limp one. I moved Queenie into the house, she was burrowed in but it was still too hot for her. This is a rare heat for us, but that doesn't make it any easier to take. I met a contractor while I was picking dandelions the other day, I looked like a bag lady so I may not have much credibility, but I'm going to hunt him up tomorrow and see if he's got any ideas for a window up high to move that hot air in Bob's shed...

 

[tortoisenerd]

I'm guessing he's not going in the shed much then? Here in the Seattle area it's in the 90s and about 85 in my house (they don't put a/c in homes here). Trevor isn't enjoying it, and neither am I.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

So as I was herding him into his shed for bed I see there's 2 garter snakes inside the shed with him. I left the door open for now, there's a board across the bottom to keep Bob in, but I have a herd of raccoons living here and they are in my yard every night, there's no way I'm allowing Bob to sleep outside.
When I first moved here the owner of a small pet shop told me about his friend who had a 50 pound Sulcata who's head got chewed off by a 'coon. There's no reason to argue with him, but Sulcata are specifically made in a way to live with lions...Why are they safe from a lion chewing, but not by a 'coon? It just doesn't make sense to me...any opinions out there???

---

I'm guessing he's not going in the shed much then? Here in the Seattle area it's in the 90s and about 85 in my house (they don't put a/c in homes here). Trevor isn't enjoying it, and neither am I.

He spent the day in his shed and got what i thought was heat stroke. I need a high up window in there to let out the heat...

 

[tortoisenerd]

That's odd he didn't get out of there when it was cooler outside. Any speculations why?

 

[Traveller]

Wow your temperatures are crazy high!
Could you send some of that heat up to Canada please!
We're working on our fourth week of rain, with the odd day of sun mixed in as a teaser!
Terrible summer here.
Hope your tort stays well.

 

[Yvonne G]

Tortoises go into their "burrow" to escape the heat. In Bob's little brain, he probably didn't realize it was too hot until it was too hot.

Yvonne

 

[Crazy1]

Maggie glad Bob is doing better. I agree he might have thought he was in his burrow (house) and before he realized it the heat overtook him. Lions in africa my not have tort on the menu like our coons would. Torts may be harder to crack (pun intended) than the effort for a lion. Coons just seem to be more distructive, and from what I've witnessed of wild ones MEAN.
Hope your endoscopy goes well and there is no ill effects from the Mt.Dew.

 

[CGKeith]

The shed will not get near that hot if you can build a shade over the shed. The high heat is from direct sunlight on the shed.
Even something like a frame made out of PVC pipe or some rope between trees and use the shade cloth sold at the home improvement stores like Lowes and Home Depot. You can attach it with plastic zip ties.

Shade the shade, if that makes sense.

You can always take it down for the colder months.

I have this type of set up over all my enclosures/hides. We have many days in the 110 range every Summer.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

There is a giant tree that shades the shed, at least I thought it did. I'll watch the track of the sun today and see if it's shading the way I thought it did. I think the main problem is the shed is made out of metal...

 

[Yvonne G]

CGKeith had a real good idea. I hadn't thought of that. It would be very easy to put up some shade cloth to shade the shed. You could attach one end to that giant tree and the other end over the shed to whatever's on the other side of the shed. You would need a little space between the shed and the cloth, about a foot. I have shade cloth over part of my Manouria yard and it is much cooler under the cloth than in the direct sun. That would help your metal building 100%

Yvonne

 

[Crazy1]

I have also used burlap as shadecloth it only lasts one season but it works and you can dampen it to get additonal cooling in the extream heat. I have it over my hides and part of every enclosure and it is much cheeper. Home Depot carries it too.

 

[egyptiandan]

Using shade cloth is a great idea Just remember that it comes in different strengths. Make sure you get one that shades out 80%, or higher, of the sun.

Danny