Sulcata and extreme AZ heat

[LeoTheWaywardTortoise]

So, temps in my neck of the woods have been 110 or higher for 15 consecutive days, and this streak doesn’t look like it will end for at least another six days. Highest temps are forecast to be 118 tomorrow and Sunday. Lows have been in the high 80s-low 90s. It’s miserable. My sully, Leo, has been sheltering deep within our 20+ year old rosemary plant - nice shade, but still makes me nervous. I bought a portable mister that is pointed over/into the rosemary and have it on a timer to be on from 1-5pm. It’s been great; I can see that the moisture drips down into the area he’s hiding, and when he comes out in the late afternoon he’s a little muddy but ready to patrol and eat… he doesn’t come out every single day but he’ll shift a little in the plant when I go outside to check on him so I at least know he’s alive.

I wish I could soak him properly more than just once or twice a week, but knowing that he has enough moisture and puddles inside the rosemary during this brutal heat gives me peace of mind. And when he emerges, he’s pretty ravenous - eats the grass and whatever weeds he can find, some hay, and as much spineless opuntia as I can source. Romaine, radicchio, and some spring mix are also on the menu a couple times a week.

Has anyone else experimented with using misters as a cooling technique? He started a burrow at the very end of last summer, but he hasn’t started one yet this year and I’m deathly afraid of him getting heatstroke. I’ve ordered a splashpad for him that has shallow sides, and I’ll be hooking it up as soon as I get a new hose. I think he’ll like it, but we’ll see how well it holds up against tortoise toenails, LOL.

Stay cool and safe, everyone!

 

[Maggie3fan]

Having spent some time in your area, you have my sympathies...however, here in Oregon we are having our own little version of your heat. We are expecting 100 degrees for the next few days. Normally 85 is hot here...this is how my Sulcata cools off....
Mary Knobbins loves water...lol
Mary spends a great amount of time breaking out of her enclosure and breaking into the box turtle's pond for a

Your tortoise needs a pool...lol
Mary's enclosure has been made bigger and she can't get out anymore...

 

[Yvonne G]

I have drip line strung along the tops of T posts with 'sprinkler' type emitters punched in every 5'. It works great.

 

[LeoTheWaywardTortoise]

Having spent some time in your area, you have my sympathies...however, here in Oregon we are having our own little version of your heat. We are expecting 100 degrees for the next few days. Normally 85 is hot here...this is how my Sulcata cools off....View attachment 358992
Mary Knobbins loves water...lolView attachment 358993
Mary spends a great amount of time breaking out of her enclosure and breaking into the box turtle's pond for a
View attachment 358994
Your tortoise needs a pool...lol
Mary's enclosure has been made bigger and she can't get out anymore...

Aw, I love Mary Knobbins! I’m sorry you’re have hot temps, too. Nice cooling strategy, though! And yes, Leo does need a pond, he’s getting too big to soak in the laundry room sink and I won’t be able to lift him out of the bathtub soon. I’m going to recruit a friend/coworker to help install a special soaking pond for him when it cools back down later in the year. Need to figure out how to get a hot water connection so he’ll be comfortable in it year-round. Really lucky to work with people who know how to do this kind of thing.

 

[LeoTheWaywardTortoise]

I have drip line strung along the tops of T posts with 'sprinkler' type emitters punched in every 5'. It works great.

That sounds perfect! When my little portable mister succumbs to the sunlight, I’ll try this out. Thanks, Yvonne.

 

[Neal]

This is a bit complicated to explain without pictures, but something I have done in the past is drill a hole on top of the wood hides. I attach a large PVC pipe end on the top (Large enough to hold a water or Gatorade bottle upside down), the large PVC pipe is connected to smaller PVC piping through the hole I cut, and underneath the wood hide. I would freeze a Gatorade bottle full of water the night before, then the next morning stick it upside down in the large PVC. When the water melts it would drip the cold water on the tortoises or on the ground around them and cool the entire area.

Hopefully that gave you the right visual I was going for. To put it more simply - try devising a way to have frozen water melt and drip near where your tortoises hide during the day. If done adequately, this has a remarkable effect on cooling the surrounding area.

 

[LeoTheWaywardTortoise]

This is a bit complicated to explain without pictures, but something I have done in the past is drill a hole on top of the wood hides. I attach a large PVC pipe end on the top (Large enough to hold a water or Gatorade bottle upside down), the large PVC pipe is connected to smaller PVC piping through the hole I cut, and underneath the wood hide. I would freeze a Gatorade bottle full of water the night before, then the next morning stick it upside down in the large PVC. When the water melts it would drip the cold water on the tortoises or on the ground around them and cool the entire area.

Hopefully that gave you the right visual I was going for. To put it more simply - try devising a way to have frozen water melt and drip near where your tortoises hide during the day. If done adequately, this has a remarkable effect on cooling the surrounding area.

I can envision this, and it sounds like a great idea. I’ll see what I can put together for Leo. Thanks so much, Neal.

 

[Tom]

So, temps in my neck of the woods have been 110 or higher for 15 consecutive days, and this streak doesn’t look like it will end for at least another six days. Highest temps are forecast to be 118 tomorrow and Sunday. Lows have been in the high 80s-low 90s. It’s miserable. My sully, Leo, has been sheltering deep within our 20+ year old rosemary plant - nice shade, but still makes me nervous. I bought a portable mister that is pointed over/into the rosemary and have it on a timer to be on from 1-5pm. It’s been great; I can see that the moisture drips down into the area he’s hiding, and when he comes out in the late afternoon he’s a little muddy but ready to patrol and eat… he doesn’t come out every single day but he’ll shift a little in the plant when I go outside to check on him so I at least know he’s alive.

I wish I could soak him properly more than just once or twice a week, but knowing that he has enough moisture and puddles inside the rosemary during this brutal heat gives me peace of mind. And when he emerges, he’s pretty ravenous - eats the grass and whatever weeds he can find, some hay, and as much spineless opuntia as I can source. Romaine, radicchio, and some spring mix are also on the menu a couple times a week.

Has anyone else experimented with using misters as a cooling technique? He started a burrow at the very end of last summer, but he hasn’t started one yet this year and I’m deathly afraid of him getting heatstroke. I’ve ordered a splashpad for him that has shallow sides, and I’ll be hooking it up as soon as I get a new hose. I think he’ll like it, but we’ll see how well it holds up against tortoise toenails, LOL.

Stay cool and safe, everyone!

Underground in a burrow is the way to go in summer in your climate. Start a burrow where you want it and keep encouraging him to dig the rest of it on his own by putting him in it. Try different times of day.

If he just won't do it, then misters, sprinklers, shade cloth, umbrellas, EZ Ups, and Neal's idea is about all you can do.

 

[LeoTheWaywardTortoise]

Underground in a burrow is the way to go in summer in your climate. Start a burrow where you want it and keep encouraging him to dig the rest of it on his own by putting him in it. Try different times of day.

If he just won't do it, then misters, sprinklers, shade cloth, umbrellas, EZ Ups, and Neal's idea is about all you can do.

I reopened the burrow he started last year, but he hasn’t taken to it. I’ll try getting another one started and follow your advice. It’s natural behavior, so I hope it kicks in. In the mean time, I’ll add shade cloth and umbrellas to his “preferred” spot (the rosemary). He hasn’t come out at all today, but I can see a tiny part of his carapace down deep under the branches, and the misters are really helping with a lot of moisture dripping down to him. Thank you, Tom.

 

[LeoTheWaywardTortoise]

When I got home from work Tuesday, I decided to try to lure Leo out from the rosemary and then block off his “doorway.” My thinking was that it would force him to spend the night in a more accessible location so I could scoop him up before work the next morning and put him in his indoor enclosure for the day, then let him back out in the early evening. It worked like a charm, and he’s been indoors for the past two days during the most brutal temps (car’s thermometer read 120 when I got home last night… better than the 123 when I left work, but still brutal).

I’m pretty sure he’d have been fine staying in the rosemary, because when I scooped him up Tuesday afternoon, he was cool - and the temp at the time was 115. The ridiculous mister that I set up (and that clogged a week later but still put out a trickle of water from each nozzle) did its job, there was enough moisture to create a muddy area that he took advantage of. I was surprised at how well it worked. Still, I didn’t want to risk it, especially since neither my husband nor I are home during the day (except for weekends).

Now, to start a burrow for him.