Guess what, it got down to 35 degrees last night, quite unexpectedly, so my tortoise mom got up and checked the thermometer reading for my burrow in the night. It was 48 degrees; ok, but a little cool. So she decided it's time I get a little extra warmth from Christmas lights at the entrance of my burrow. Just in time for Christmas!
This is a far cry from where I was exactly two years ago. It was nice to check out the Christmas tree back then, but I'm really glad to be extra snug in my burrow now (52 degrees, perfect!). I am absolutely not an indoor tortoise, even during rehab from surgery. Anyway I'm really grateful to be cozy in my burrow, especially with a little extra warmth coming from my own Christmas lights. They even wrapped them up so there's no light to wake me up. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good, long night!
1 comment:
Love your blog, I just found it - 29 Dec 2011. I have an adult desert tortoise about 15 years old - you're so right they do recognize their owners!
I've learned so much reading your blog and constructing burrows, etc.
In the summer, I use a hose to replicate rainwater falling from the sky and my tortoise then starts to dig at the ground to make a depression to scarf up the water.
I figured this out on my own because I was running one day in Aug 1997 and got caught in a little rain storm (more like a hard sprinkle) and decided to check out an area where there were some tortoise burrows (and a dead tortoise carcass I'd seen earlier) to see if they'd come out of their burrows to get a drink.
To my amazement within moments of the rain coming down 5 desert tortoises were out walking around and two of them were on some high ground where they were drinking out of two depressions that were obviously dug some time before.
None of these tortoises were afraid of me nor cared about my presence - they had one mission to get that water!
The earliest I've seen a desert tortoise in the wild is Feb. 25th - I know they normally don't come out of hibernation until 12 March or later.
On 25 Feb 2010 (I'm retired military thus the weird way I write my dates) I was hiking and stumbled upon a baby desert tortoise (an adult probably wouldn't have been out so early).
About a week later I thought to myself if there's one there's got to be others. So I went back to the same spot and I did indeed find another baby tortoise.
The next year - 2011 - went back to the same area numerous times and never saw them again or other tortoises. Though I did find another area where I saw about 4 desert tortoises.
Though the 25 Feb date still has got to be a record for a wild tortoise.
Thanks for listening.
Keep up the good work.
Joe W.
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