So would this work for a burrow?

[Jermosh]

I am in Phoenix area, I am trying to visualize my burrow that I want to make.

So I am thinking of makeing a brick enforced burrow with a composite timber roof, water barrier sheet, with more dirt on that and then pavers on that for a patio. The opening would be NE and open to a lawn, and I would attach a mister to the lawn sprinkler over the burrow entrance, which would also be shaded with a sunshade sail. My biggest concern is water control, I am fearful of a winter storm draining in there.

So how big should I make the burrow entrance and main cavern? How deep? If I have a 1/2" pitch would that keep water out? I have 2 sullies.

 

[Yvonne G]

I think if you get it started the way you want it, the tortoises will finish it for you. They usually push out the excavated dirt, making a nice berm around the entrance that keeps it from flooding. What you've described sounds like a good idea.

 

[chairman]

I think Tom had an excellent approach to the man-made bunker for torts. I believe his design included having the entrance to the tunnel start uphill, then go downhill into the bunker area to keep water out. Sort of like a reverse P-trap (the bend in your sink drain pipes).

http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Underground-Tortoise-Bunker

 

[motero]

My burrows maintain about a 12-14 degree difference to the outside temps. This is at 3.5 feet or more under ground level.

I buried 6 ft pipes cut in half length wise to make the roof of the burrows, and the torts expand the burrows as they see fit.

 

[Tom]

I am in Phoenix area, I am trying to visualize my burrow that I want to make.

So I am thinking of makeing a brick enforced burrow with a composite timber roof, water barrier sheet, with more dirt on that and then pavers on that for a patio. The opening would be NE and open to a lawn, and I would attach a mister to the lawn sprinkler over the burrow entrance, which would also be shaded with a sunshade sail. My biggest concern is water control, I am fearful of a winter storm draining in there.

So how big should I make the burrow entrance and main cavern? How deep? If I have a 1/2" pitch would that keep water out? I have 2 sullies.

I thought long and hard about this and my prototype is linked above. (Thanks Mike)
I decided that a covered entrance was the only way to ensure rain didn't flood the hole. I also dug out a "water trap" bowl that is a few inches lower than the actual underground entrance. My entrance tunnel is segmented and overlapping so that the top segment is the largest and each lower segment is smaller. This way water will sheet off of each segment as is drips down instead of funnel into the next lower segment. (Wow. That was hard to put into words.) Hopefully the pics will help you visualize what I just typed. So far, we've had a little rain and no problem. I made the removable cover so I could check them regularly, plus bugs and stuff like to congregate down there. With that insulation on the lid the burrow never got over 81 when temps were 110 for several days in a row and humidity always stays high. Mine is only 12" deep, so a deeper one would stay even cooler in the hot summer. I don't know yet what it will do in winter. We are still having 90 degree days here. I'll update my post when I see how it goes. I'm planning on letting the first of the rains just do their worst and see what happens. (Daisy will be warm and snug inside the reptile room.) After that, I'm going to cover the whole area with a 12'x12' tarp with bricks holding down the edges and see if that keeps it dry. Again, I'll post the results.

How big and deep you make it depends on the size of the torts and whether or not you want to rebuild it when they get bigger. My little prototype was 3'x2', I think. The dimensions are in the above post. I only intend to use this one in the juvenile pen. The one I'm designing for the adults will be 4'x8' and around 3' deep with 24" wide x 16" tall entrance tunnel. The tunnel will probably end up being 6-8' in length.

Please take lots of pics and post whatever you do. We'll all learn from it.

 

[Jermosh]

Cool thanks for the ideas, I like the idea of buried pipes.