Looking for good shade ideas!!

[jojay327]

I live in South Carolina and it gets very hot and humid down here. Sometimes we go weeks with the temp over 100. I am building Jessie her first pen and it is going to be 30' x 30' . I am going to build a little run in shelter ( like horses have ) maybe 6' x 4' and put a large doghouse in there but i think the dog house might get to hot. I was also thinking of sinking a rubber maid trash can in the ground and making a burrow but not sure about that. I would love to hear what others on here have done to keep your sullies from over heating. Thanks Jason

 

[Yvonne G]

Always place the "shelter" in the deep shade. Little dog house-type shelters or even the larger sheds are ovens in the summer.

One of the best trees for a tortoise enclosure (far as I'm concerned) is a mulberry tree. Edible and great shade.

 

[jojay327]

Always place the "shelter" in the deep shade. Little dog house-type shelters or even the larger sheds are ovens in the summer.

One of the best trees for a tortoise enclosure (far as I'm concerned) is a mulberry tree. Edible and great shade.

Thanks for the reply, I have about 3 acres but the shaded areas have a bunch of pine trees and i heard the pinestraw was not so good for them to be around. Another good spot on my land has a 12x24 shelter but it has tons of acorns around it ( I figured she would eat them all day ) My other spots do not have much shade , jut what i create. Jay

 

[wellington]

I don't have a sully. But I know there are a few on here that have made their Sullies a under ground burro like you are thinking about doing with the trash can. Search under the enclosure section and see if you can find any on there. I don't remember who they are to suggest searching a persons threads. Maybe one of them will post on here. Good luck

 

[yagyujubei]

My big leopard is always under a large clump of ornamental grass.

 

[Itort]

A trellis with concord or wild grapes may be a option. The leaves are edible (good food source), provide good shade, and easy to train. Be sure to plant main stem out of reach of tort. You'll find a ten to fifteen degree temp difference. The artifical burrow (buried garbage can) also sounds like a good option also.

 

[Len B]

For shade I like banana trees because they grow so quick and multiply each year, the root system is so small they can be dug and moved with little effort. Large opuntia cactus plants, the kind that can be pruned to grow tree like,the small plants are just food to a sulcata but my adult male(27 inch) doesn't bother the large tough pads near the ground but loves the more tender pads.I am trying some new plants this year to see how they do here, they are palms, needle palm, coontie palm,and dwarf palmetto palm. I like the way they grow and think the will provide a shade producing low growing plant,time will tell. I also use colocasia plants for shade but some say they are toxic.(i feed them to my manouria) My sulcata never eats on them,but some might.A wild grape vine, I haven't cut it back for 3 years and it is now over 60 feet long where it is located it doesn't provide much shade but is a great visual barrier and a lot of free food.As mentioned a mulberry tree or two would be good also. Len

 

[Dizisdalife]

I used a buried trash can for my year old sulcata last summer. It gets hot here in San Diego and I didn't have as much shade as I thought I needed. Fortunately, shade is about all I need for the tortoise to cool down.

Tom built a great in-ground house for his sulcata. I might end up burying my night box the way he has done. It provides cool day temps and warm night temps for the tortoises. I just worry that my tortoise might spend too much time in it and I won't get to see him.

Here is the link to Toms creation:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Daisy-s-New-Enclosure#axzz1kZyAAzeo

 

[ascott]

http://www.arizonabarrels.com/55_gallon_closed_top_blue_plastic_barrels_drums.html

These are wonderful and strong....I have one in each of the CDTs yards...
You can get the larger 55 gallon ones for your sulcata....cut the barrel in half and you now have two half domes....now, depending how long you want the tunnel/hide you can use one half alone or you can cut in half, then one of the halves you cut the bottom out of and over lap it onto the other half and use some bolts to connect the two...this will give you a long tunnel which is better if you want them to have a larger cool spot...

then you lay them out where you want the hide to be, then on both long sides you will place some cinder blocks to act as a stop to the edges so they dont move while you then cover the entire tunnel with at least 8-10 inches of dirt...more the better (just make sure you are watching while you are covering it that it is staying put and that you are not covering it out of balance, this is important when beginning) and every so often you will want to mist the dirt and lightly pat it down and continue to do this until you have achieved the effect you want....paying special attention to making the enclosed end the area that you add a bit more dirt to so it is cooler for day hiding....you can also lay layers of burlap sacks every so often over the tunnel while you are covering it to help keep dirt in place until it has gone through a season with rain to pack it down well...

Now, you can do these pointed in different directions (north, south, east, west and any combination of these---I know that CDTs enjoy southwest for some reason that is there thing

Good luck and just thought I would share this with ya

 

[Timmytort]

Do a search for timmys tiki hut. I live in the Phoenix area and it gets nice and hot here but the hut stays cool in the summer and stays warm in the winter. I uses to live in NC so I am well aware of the weather you experience and think it would be a good solution.

 

[Laura]

mulberry roots can be hard on septics.. so be sure its planted away from them.. but Great trees! great a Fruitless one tho...