- Joined
- Jul 20, 2015
- Messages
- 4
Greetings! I've had Zen for about 6 years now and I believe he is 7. We both live in Phoenix. Last September we had a tremendous rain and Zen's previous shelter became flooded. I have built multiple shelters for him in my back yard and I just completed the one from the AZ Game & Fish Dept suggests.
http://azgfd.gov/w_c/tortoise/documents/PhxPreTucShelters_2014.pdf
First I had to level that corner of my yard and raised it up about 2 inches with grated topsoil to avoid flooding. I compacted the dirt as much as I could before laying the cinder blocks. Once he discovered the shelter he began doing what I hoped he wouldn't, and that is digging under the back wall of cinder blocks. There is A LOT of dirt on top of this shelter and I fear that if he really burrows under there, that one of the blocks will shift or give way and he will become stuck or worse, get hurt.
Has anyone ever built a shelter like this and experienced the same problem? Does any one have any advice or alternative shelter ideas? I swear I am constantly worry about him (is his shelter dry, will he get flooded, will he get stuck, etc). I would love to just have a shelter for him with the peace of mind of knowing he is safe and protected from the elements.
I have included some pictures. Note: The bricks look crooked in the picture, but they were like that before Zen even discovered it.
http://azgfd.gov/w_c/tortoise/documents/PhxPreTucShelters_2014.pdf
First I had to level that corner of my yard and raised it up about 2 inches with grated topsoil to avoid flooding. I compacted the dirt as much as I could before laying the cinder blocks. Once he discovered the shelter he began doing what I hoped he wouldn't, and that is digging under the back wall of cinder blocks. There is A LOT of dirt on top of this shelter and I fear that if he really burrows under there, that one of the blocks will shift or give way and he will become stuck or worse, get hurt.
Has anyone ever built a shelter like this and experienced the same problem? Does any one have any advice or alternative shelter ideas? I swear I am constantly worry about him (is his shelter dry, will he get flooded, will he get stuck, etc). I would love to just have a shelter for him with the peace of mind of knowing he is safe and protected from the elements.
I have included some pictures. Note: The bricks look crooked in the picture, but they were like that before Zen even discovered it.
