Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I have a sulcata that I just moved outside. I built a 165sq foot enclosure, he is 3 years old. My question is this: I live in AZ and right now it's 117 degrees, I have shade, a dog igloo house, water supply, plants etc...What is the best way to provide a cool place for him? I run the sprinklers on that side of the yard every couple of hours for a cool down but should I start a burrow for him? Misters? I'm worried that since he's not used to this weather it may be very hard for him to adjust. Any ideas?

He will probably burrow himself if he is to hot. If you are worried you can start one for him. Just keep water and shade available and he will probably be fine.

Sulcatas are native to very hot and dry areas. What your sulcata is experiencing is likely very similar to what it experiences in the wild. Keep in mind though, in the wild they don't spend much time at all in the sun. They are burrowers by nature. They will spend most of their time in burrows deep beneath the earth's surface where it is humid and cooler. They will dig to thermoregulate so that they do not have to bask in direct sunlight to heat up. In the wild they usually avoid direct sunlight most of the time because there is a great chance of being attacked/eaten if in plain sight. They do experience some direct sunlight basking when grazing, but they usually will not sit in the open just for the purpose of basking unless they are given no other choice.

That being said, there's a few ways to give the tortoise what he/she wants. Probably the best way (for the tortoise) is just to let it build its own burrow. However, once the tortoise is very large, this might become a little difficult as they will dig down and out far enough that they could end up far outside of their bounds, or underneath structures or the foundation of your house (which is obviously not an ideal situation. Another option that some choose to utilize is to build a temperature-controlled tortoise house. This seems to work to a degree. The only thing I don't like about it is that it takes away a lot of the choice for the tortoise. Often if given a decent tort house (many people use sheds furnished specifically for their tortoises) the tortoise will choose not to burrow, however there is always a chance that they will just go and dig their own house anyways.

There's some awesome pictures of sulcata houses and burrows on africantortoise.com (I think that's what it is).

Good luck.

Thanks for the information, I was just worried about it getting too hot, but I'm assuming he'll be just fine. I'll make sure he has enough shade/water...and I'll build him a burrow shelter (maybe not use the dog igloo as I see that retains more heat).

if you can get your hands on a peice of culvert like what it used under a driveway. I have used the plastic kind. i'll cut it length wise then bury it if you cut the bottom out so when the tort walks in it is natural under his feet then put a piece of wood or a rock at the end so he can't burrow deeper it works great the culverts come in all sizes just match one to your tort so he has the confined feeling. I have some that i use as a tunnel that goes from the inside of my tort house to the outside. they use it at will. I put a metal gate in it that i can slide down at night . these tunnels stay cool all the time. i couldn't beleive how cool they were on a 95 degree day. try it.

HELLO
THESE WORK AWESOME.
A SAFE BURROW THAT WON'T CAVE IN.
I WOULD BREAK THAT BABY IN.
HOT HEAT WILL ALSO KILL
I LOVE WATCHING THEM FLIP MUD ON THEIR SHELLS TO COOL OFF
A GOOD BURROW WILL EASE THE ADJUSTMENT PERIOD
HOPE IT WORKS OUT
JEFF
PLANET REPTILES
.

It sounds like a little guy so I'd be very careful in those temperatures.

Make sure his hide is also in a shaded area and the idea of the misters at least in and around it's hide is a very good one.

You might consider taking him during the day and putting him out at night.

You'll notice even diurnal herps are active at night when the temps hit that level.
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Thanks to all so much for your input. Over the weekenend I was able to monitor both tortoises and I put up 2 patio umbrellas, some shaded screen, and figured if I run the sprinklers on that side of the yard during the hottest part of the day the temp stays right around 95 - 104 degrees in the doggie igloo..so I think i'm good to go!! It's cooler outside the doggie igloo but they seem to both like the burrowing and safety affect the dog igloo has...I put hay inside so they've burrowed under the hay during they day. And they are both quite active in the morning and at night..both eating/drinking/and of course pooping!

That's perfect.
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Hi,

I live in Abu Dhabi where currently the temps are up to 47 degrees celcius. I also have 3 large sulcatas who happily live outside all the time. Because they were born here, and of course are used to the temperature, I generally let them burrow wherever they want! They have now dug a short tunnel that opens up into a sort of cave where the three of them (all females) sit together throughout the day. They are generally up and about, eating the lawns at 6 a.m. then go into their cave throughout the day and come out again at about 4 o'clock when it's still daylight but not direct sunlight on their part of the garden.

Please do not take them into the house, and then out again - the change of temperature could make them very ill. These guys are very hardy and adore the heat so be assured that if they didn't like your igloo, they will definitely go dig one for themselves!

Just as a precaution to anyone who has these beautiful animals, let me tell you that last year when we first came here, I brought a beautiful 11 year old male with me - I'd had him all his life at home in the Mediterranean. However, once he met one of my current girls and fell in love, she started teaching him how to dig these burrows because they were mating twice a day (they were both 11 years old and weighed about 35 kilos). One day I got up, went out to see them only to discover that the sand had capsized over him during the night and he had "drowned" in sand ...... the landlord next door had left the drip irrigation on; Hercules had decided to bite through the pipe probably to get more water, so that it was gushing water all night, and the sand got too heavy. I had to dig him out of 3 feet of wet mud the following morning - I still tremble when I remember this sad day.

Sorry I went on too long ..... these creatures are my babies and I like to give advise about them from my long experience with them.

j x