I was intrigued when you said that your uros paved there entrance with large stones, my dirt mix doesn’t have such stones therefore I never seen this behaviour with my captives, furthermore I don’t keep the same specie, yet I still needed to learn more, so I provided some stones to my set up and they ended at every burrow entrance! Just like you described.
After making a few experiments, they seem to use them as a protective tool, this way they know who visited there burrows, it make sense when we think of it, sand gets blown away easy in nature, while stones stay put and retain sent mark, I rubbed one entrance with a snake shed and the result says a lot. This entire experiment have changed my thinking, I now provide much larger cages that permits multiple and complex burrows and tri dimensional retreats. Thanks for your input you keep my interest up!
Ps. Congrats on your ornate breeding success, I never dough Ted
