I've got a question... I definitely don't want anyone to think I am proposing this as a way to do things, but I do want to get feedback.
I got my first tortoise is 1961 and was hooked. It was a CDT and I lived in Southern Calif at the time. Older, and with my own home and acquired building skills - I transitioned to Sulcatas in the 80s and a few Leopards. I have successfully been breeding Sulcatas since 1996 with several hundred hatchlings. Went through all the frustrations of trying to figure out pyramiding. Spent quite a few late hours on the phone with Dr Fredrick Fry, Frank Slavens at Seattle zoo, Sean Mckeown then at Honolulu zoo, visiting the San Diego zoo, etc etc. No matter what I tried with my hatchlings, they all pyramided to some degree. However I did have pretty good luck once I moved them outside at about 5-6 inches. I even transitioned to enclosed chambers for my hatchlings and young back in 1996 when I moved to the central valley of CA - but mainly out of frustration to better control temps. Did keep them at 80 with basking to 100 and overhead 4" fluorescent UV bulbs while inside. Didn't try humidity!!
Once they were 5-6 inches I would keep them outside in a large double enclosure that was 5000 sq ft. I had an 8' x 8' house for them to go into at night that was heating and had 3 flood lights hanging for basking lights.
SO... TO MY QUESTION
I did not believe from my experience in wine cellars and caves, that the nighttime temps in a burrow even in the southern Sahara would be much above 70. They have developed a nesting habit unlike most chelonians of digging a body pit to get their eggs to 18" or so to get the temps in that 80 - 90 range. I theorized some eggs laid dormant a time at that waiting for temps to get warm enough at that 18" depth. At 20 feet deep or so in their burrow, can't imagine temps over mid 70s in the warmest season. So I never heated the tortoise house in the warmer months. The nighttime temps would drop into the high 60's in their house. In the cooler months I would heat the house to the mid 60s and have the floods on for 13 hours so they could warm themselves to the mid 80s They would warm up and come out and graze, then go back in. Some days they would not come out at all if it was totally overcast. They would definitely slow down and be less active. I have used this setup to this day. I have raised several dozen tortoises, and - knock on wood - never have lost one that was kept this way. Never had to treat for any diseases, or impaction, and they successfully breed.
All the threads here insist the tortoise house must be kept at 80. even at night. I would love an open discussion on why this is necessary when all my experience has been so positive without that.
Thank you for all your input. I have come to respect so much what so many of you have done.
Here is a view of a portion of the tortoise area I used from 1996 - 2014 I rarely fed my tortoises other than when visitors wanted the tour, or an occasional class on a field trip. They grazed on what was growing naturally.
This is my enclosed chamber I built in 1996. Yes, sadly that's artificial turf. Note the pyramiding!
Here's my results. I got Diego in 1991 as a hatchling just after he hatched at the San Diego zoo.
Here's Crush with one of this year's babies... See how he pyramided, yet smoothed out once outside. I hatched him out in 1995. He's 26" SCL and 113 lbs as of this morning.
I got my first tortoise is 1961 and was hooked. It was a CDT and I lived in Southern Calif at the time. Older, and with my own home and acquired building skills - I transitioned to Sulcatas in the 80s and a few Leopards. I have successfully been breeding Sulcatas since 1996 with several hundred hatchlings. Went through all the frustrations of trying to figure out pyramiding. Spent quite a few late hours on the phone with Dr Fredrick Fry, Frank Slavens at Seattle zoo, Sean Mckeown then at Honolulu zoo, visiting the San Diego zoo, etc etc. No matter what I tried with my hatchlings, they all pyramided to some degree. However I did have pretty good luck once I moved them outside at about 5-6 inches. I even transitioned to enclosed chambers for my hatchlings and young back in 1996 when I moved to the central valley of CA - but mainly out of frustration to better control temps. Did keep them at 80 with basking to 100 and overhead 4" fluorescent UV bulbs while inside. Didn't try humidity!!
Once they were 5-6 inches I would keep them outside in a large double enclosure that was 5000 sq ft. I had an 8' x 8' house for them to go into at night that was heating and had 3 flood lights hanging for basking lights.
SO... TO MY QUESTION
I did not believe from my experience in wine cellars and caves, that the nighttime temps in a burrow even in the southern Sahara would be much above 70. They have developed a nesting habit unlike most chelonians of digging a body pit to get their eggs to 18" or so to get the temps in that 80 - 90 range. I theorized some eggs laid dormant a time at that waiting for temps to get warm enough at that 18" depth. At 20 feet deep or so in their burrow, can't imagine temps over mid 70s in the warmest season. So I never heated the tortoise house in the warmer months. The nighttime temps would drop into the high 60's in their house. In the cooler months I would heat the house to the mid 60s and have the floods on for 13 hours so they could warm themselves to the mid 80s They would warm up and come out and graze, then go back in. Some days they would not come out at all if it was totally overcast. They would definitely slow down and be less active. I have used this setup to this day. I have raised several dozen tortoises, and - knock on wood - never have lost one that was kept this way. Never had to treat for any diseases, or impaction, and they successfully breed.
All the threads here insist the tortoise house must be kept at 80. even at night. I would love an open discussion on why this is necessary when all my experience has been so positive without that.
Thank you for all your input. I have come to respect so much what so many of you have done.
Here is a view of a portion of the tortoise area I used from 1996 - 2014 I rarely fed my tortoises other than when visitors wanted the tour, or an occasional class on a field trip. They grazed on what was growing naturally.
This is my enclosed chamber I built in 1996. Yes, sadly that's artificial turf. Note the pyramiding!
Here's my results. I got Diego in 1991 as a hatchling just after he hatched at the San Diego zoo.
Here's Crush with one of this year's babies... See how he pyramided, yet smoothed out once outside. I hatched him out in 1995. He's 26" SCL and 113 lbs as of this morning.