Inside Care

[cgrinar828]

Here’s the scoop. I recently bought a home and moved into it along with my desert tortoise, Zen, of 15 years. For about 13 of those years he lived full time in my previous back yard with plenty of shade and hiding spots for him to weather the Phoenix summers.

The new backyard was probably the worst possible situation, but I didn’t have much of a choice. East facing yard with ZERO vegetation. Am currently working on getting a palo and mesquite going but will still be several years before any substantial shade will be available. Built a standard cinder block burrow in backyard and put shade cloth over it but it still gets blasted with the sun for 8-9 hours a day. The backyard is less than ideal.

This week got hot and I checked the temperature in the burrow around midday and it was floating between 99-101°.

Currently without many alternatives, I reluctantly brought him inside. He picked a corner in a spare room where I only have a bed and began sleeping. Offered a box hide and he accepted it. He has stayed there for about a week and has not wandered really at all. It’s almost like he’s estivating. Tile floor. Daytime temps 83-85° with evening temps at 78°. Have surveyed home for any possible dangers and have mitigated all I can. I live alone so don’t have much.

I just read several posts to my dismay of not keeping tortoises inside but don’t have really any other options to keep him cool.

Any suggestions? Mind you I just bought a home in 2023 and money is extremely tight.

Thanks,

 

[Yvonne G]

You can provide high shade by using shade cloth up on poles, then set a sprinkler to come on several times throughout the day to help cool down his part of the yard.

I set a row of T-posts then attached drip pipe to the tops of the posts. I use the sprinkler-type emitters. They send out a nice spray of water that cools the air, and doesn't use too much water.

 

[Tom]

Here’s the scoop. I recently bought a home and moved into it along with my desert tortoise, Zen, of 15 years. For about 13 of those years he lived full time in my previous back yard with plenty of shade and hiding spots for him to weather the Phoenix summers.

The new backyard was probably the worst possible situation, but I didn’t have much of a choice. East facing yard with ZERO vegetation. Am currently working on getting a palo and mesquite going but will still be several years before any substantial shade will be available. Built a standard cinder block burrow in backyard and put shade cloth over it but it still gets blasted with the sun for 8-9 hours a day. The backyard is less than ideal.

This week got hot and I checked the temperature in the burrow around midday and it was floating between 99-101°.

Currently without many alternatives, I reluctantly brought him inside. He picked a corner in a spare room where I only have a bed and began sleeping. Offered a box hide and he accepted it. He has stayed there for about a week and has not wandered really at all. It’s almost like he’s estivating. Tile floor. Daytime temps 83-85° with evening temps at 78°. Have surveyed home for any possible dangers and have mitigated all I can. I live alone so don’t have much.

I just read several posts to my dismay of not keeping tortoises inside but don’t have really any other options to keep him cool.

Any suggestions? Mind you I just bought a home in 2023 and money is extremely tight.

Thanks,

Go deeper with the burrow and put more stuff on top of it. Its best if you can start a burrow with a shovel and then let the tortoise take over and dig it himself. Then catch him above ground in fall and block the burrow entrance, so that you can safely brumate him topside in the correct controlled temps over winter.

Plant a fruitless mulberry or three. Those will give heavy full shade quickly and they grow like weeds, plus the leaves are excellent tortoise food.

More info on above ground housing here too:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Our summer temps here are usually over 100 and my night boxes stay in the high 80s or low 90s when we have those 110+ hot spells for too weeks straight. If you can put the box in a shaded area, or make some heavy shade over it, the box will stay cooler during the hot days. This might be something to consider. The box also allows you to control temps in early spring or late into fall when Mother Nature doesn't always cooperate with your brumation plans.