RV's Burrow

[Maggie Cummings]

I too was wondering where all the poop was, and why it looks so dry and not humid at all. Tom you are insane and what a fascinating great experience you created for all of us Sulcata people. I would have loved to do that myself...I am so glad Bob doesn't dig...and you're right, I won't let him see this wonderful amazing thread...

How funny to see RV watching Tom crawl into her burrow...I could feel the tension from her, even in the pictures you can sense how upset she was... fascinating just fascinating...

 

[Laura]

I wonder how many are lost in cave ins... looks stable.. one of mine started to dig. but i discouraged it..
what if...
but oh so cool!

 

[DeanS]

This reminds me of "The Count of Monte Cristo"

LMAO! Excellent correlation!

BTW...explain La Jolla/Temple City...I found this amusing as when I first started working at San Diego Zoo, I was still living in Arcadia...but not for long

 

[Tom]

That is amazing what made you want to take the plunge to find out how deep it was ? all I can say is WOW thats great

I've just always wanted to know. When I was a little boy I used to dig big holes and try to make "forts" out of them. I had an entire underground clubhouse at one point. There is just something irresistible about giant holes in the ground.

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Wow! That is so neat. I'm wondering how long it took for RV to dig that burrow.

I think they said years. Teri, correct me if I'm wrong.

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wish i could of been there... would of been an awesome experience. i would of jumped in front of you to get down in there!! lol

That would have been an ugly fight. You may be younger and in better shape, but I'm better armed and I fight dirty...

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I wonder what the humidity was down there.

Teri, Mary and I were wondering too. I think Teri is planning on dropping a probe down there soon. I really wanna know what the temps do too.

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Tom you are wonderful, insane, .....I wish i could think of more words. This was without a doubt, the most wonderful post I've ever seen. What an adventure! I'm wondering was there any urine or poop down there to create humidity? (that was a crazy question).

It was relatively dry, and not too much poo. You can see a few turds in some of the pics, but they were covered over with dirt and there was no smell down there other than "earthy". Didn't see (or "experience") any pee spots.

 

[Cameron]

Tom, that was freakin' awesome. Great pics and thread. Thanks man.

 

[DeanS]

Tom...base it on the experience! Aside from the obviously cramped quarters, how did it 'feel' to you...was it humid or dry...or somewhere in between?

 

[Tom]

I too was wondering where all the poop was, and why it looks so dry and not humid at all. Tom you are insane and what a fascinating great experience you created for all of us Sulcata people. I would have loved to do that myself...I am so glad Bob doesn't dig...and you're right, I won't let him see this wonderful amazing thread...

How funny to see RV watching Tom crawl into her burrow...I could feel the tension from her, even in the pictures you can sense how upset she was... fascinating just fascinating...

You are so right about the "tension". She'd been hanging out with me for a couple of hours while we put her shed together and was totally relaxed. She was just calmly watching while I was getting ready to go down but as soon as I started actually going down her expression and demeanor changed. She became anxious and Teri had to hold her back a few times. She had never seen anyone do that before.

 

[Neal]

This Thanksgiving I will be thankful that leopard tortoises don't dig.

 

[Tom]

I wonder how many are lost in cave ins... looks stable.. one of mine started to dig. but i discouraged it..
what if...
but oh so cool!

It was very stable in there. I thought a lot about this. Sulcatas are so strong and reptiles just don't need as much oxygen as mammals. I bet a sulcata would just power out of a caved in burrow. Might take a while, but I bet they'd make it.

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Tom...base it on the experience! Aside from the obviously cramped quarters, how did it 'feel' to you...was it humid or dry...or somewhere in between?

Really hard to say. It was about 80-85 up top and very dry. It was much cooler down there, so if it WAS more humid, I might not have noticed. The dirt was dry and somewhat dusty, so it couldn't be too damp.

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It really was amazing. I was absolutely thrilled to get to do this. Funny, I thought I was just being a "nerd". I didn't think so many others would be this giddy about it too. I'm really glad everybody enjoyed this.

 

[Livingstone]

You are a tortoise burrow spelunker.

 

[Kristina]

Amazing. I am horribly claustrophobic, I did some crazy things in my younger days (like laying flat in an inner tube and going UNDER mainstreet, down the river) but I would literally have had a heart attack and died.

I applaud that you did that, simply amazing.

 

[jensgotfaith]

Tom- YOU SO TOTALLY ROCK!!! That was fabulous and I wasn't even there. Those pictures are incredible. What an experience! What struck me as completely facinating was your comment about the burrow leading to the right and the other burrow also leading to the right. That is very cool right there. Wow!

 

[onarock]

Whoa Tom, when you were down there did you hear the CHI, CHI, CHI, LE, LE, LE chants echoeing? I expected to see pics of you climbing out of that capsule with a hard hat and sun glasses on. Amaizing

 

[franeich]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing. There goes the theory of them peeing in the burrows to keep humidity up.

 

[Tom]

Amazing. I am horribly claustrophobic, I did some crazy things in my younger days (like laying flat in an inner tube and going UNDER mainstreet, down the river) but I would literally have had a heart attack and died.

I applaud that you did that, simply amazing.

Several people asked me if I was scared or got claustrophobic. I was so excited and giddy, that it never occurred to me to be afraid. Now if RV had come down that hole with me, then I might have experienced some fear... and pain.

 

[DeanS]

Several people asked me if I was scared or got claustrophobic. I was so excited and giddy, that it never occurred to me to be afraid. Now if RV had come down that hole with me, then I might have experienced some fear... and pain.

LA Times headline...

ANIMAL TRAINER MAULED BY RAVENOUS TORTOISE DURING HOME INVASION

 

[RV's mom]

Just for future under ground excursions.

A 4wd remote control truck, web cam, laptop, long wires and rope (and maybe some duct tape).

We've thought of it, but needed 'master' drivers. Both of my nephews are in Michigan..

Tom called me and told me all about it (and his other escapades) on his drive home from the Conference! I'm still blown away at the entire process...I'm really pleased that Teri and Mary allowed RV to burrow in the first place. How many of us would have filled the hole in after the first day?!?!? GREAT STUFF!

The entrance to the burrow was a 'sink' or slight depression in the yard which we would fill so RV could soak and toss muck up onto her shell. Phoenix summers are brutal. So this 'soaking' was a daily or every other day event.. until we walked out one morning to find the sink was a burrow-under-progress. We briefly considered filling it in, but then, the backyard is RV's space. We let her dig to her hearts content. It's been an ongoing job for a couple of winters now, and RV continues to make 'improvements'.

I wonder how many are lost in cave ins... looks stable.. one of mine started to dig. but i discouraged it..
what if...
but oh so cool!

Tom forgot to mention there was a HUGE chunk of the stuff that passes for soil here, fallen down in the middle of the tunnel. RV has apparently been moving it around, moving past the obstruction. Tom kindly removed it for her.

it is difficult to judge the size of the thing.

I just weighted it ~ 36.6 pounds. Our 'soil' is extremely dense and not prone to collapse. We do however, have issues with termites and the termite tunnels are noticeable in the ceiling of her burrow. In one of Tom's pics you can see there will be another chunk of stuff coming down sometime in the future. I guess the point is, RV pushed around that 36+ pounds of rubble for who knows how long. I have to agree she'd probably be able to dig out of most anything. If however, we were to walk out and find the entire thing caved in... well, out come the shovels and trowels and baskets...

 

[DeanS]

Is your soil more like clay or is it a sandy consistency (DG)?

 

[franeich]

Do you walk on the part of the yard that has her burrow under it?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

What a crack up this is that there are so many of us adults so fascinated by this burrow...like it's the first one ever discovered...-I want to know why there's not more poop involved. I expected the cavern to be filled with poop, obvious poop and humidity. I was so wrong in what I imagined a burrow would be like down there...and how did such a small animal dig such a big hole, a hole big enough that Tom could fit down there comfortably...I am just fascinated with the 'hole' thing...