Tortoises and bears??

[Tony the tank]

Well I have finally completed my move here in Fla.. I have fenced off 2 acres for the tortoises..( four board with no climb fencing buried 16").and am building pens to keep them contained at night..(I have been bringing them into my garage at night).... Here is my question last few nights my new cameras have been picking up quite a few Black bears climbing over the fence and walking across the field and the pens..... I do intend to build a 3'x3' covered area that I can lock.. But wondering if the bears are a threat to the sulcatas ... Will they attempt to open the box to get to them??

Thoughts opinions..

Also the pens are being built 36'x36' using 4x4 post (cut in half) every 6' walls will be 2x12 ... For a height of 24"

Thank you

 

[skottip]

I will gladly check out your enclosures sometime for you.
In a tree stand.
In your yard.
With my Hoyt.
lol

Where in Fl are you?
Scott

 

[Tony the tank]

I'm in central Fl... Black bears are protected here... Don't really understand why they are everywhere.... See them all the time now at night... Had a real close encounter with one th other night.. Cameras identified movement I thought it was someone trying to get into pool house.. I turned the corner with a flashlight to scare the would be thief... And boy was I surprised to see this good size blak bear less than 6ft away.. He looked at me grunted and just continued to walk away ...

Like I said ..I'm use to seeing them around the house... But now with the new cameras I'm noticing them in the back..more often....

 

[mike taylor]

Can you put up a cattle shocker fence ? That would keep them out .

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[Tony the tank]

I thought of that but I don't have power to that area... And from what I was told the battery ones don't push enough juice to unmotivate a 450lb black bear....

I'm really not sure thy would have an interest in the torts... Most of my neighbor keep some type of critter.. Be it minipony , chickens and for what I'm told they really don't bother with animals..preferring berries and garbage...

Just wanted to know if any members have had or know of incidents involving bears and torts..

 

[Tom]

I think you've got a problem my friend. You'll need to build reinforced steel walled safes to keep bears out. Bears have an extremely acute sense of smell. They will not only smell your tortoises, but they will smell what your tortoises ate that day too.

Aversion therapy techniques might work, but if they fail, you will have some serious heartbreak.

Need some new rugs?

 

[ILoveTortoises2]

Can you put up a cattle shocker fence ? That would keep them out .

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I agree that will deff keep them out.

 

[Tony the tank]

So you guys think a black bear will try to get to them??

I might have to move the pens closer to the house then.....

 

[Tom]

I work with bears sometimes and friends have them. They are incredibly perceptive and capable. Whether or not they will want your tortoises I don't know, and won't even try to predict. If they do decide they want them, which seems within the realm of possibility, it will be difficult to stop them.

 

[Tony the tank]

I might move there pens closer pour a thick pad and build them a 3x3 block house..

---

While I have your attention.. Twice now I have gone to bring the big guys in and noticed a rattler coiled up against them... Not an issue as my torts usually come to me when I get close and the snake just disappears into the brush... But wonder do the snakes ever bite the torts?? They really don't seem to be annoyed by them getting up and moving... I have never taken a aggressive posture..

Thoughts...

 

[mike taylor]

You went from a house made of sticks . To a house made of brick . This sounds like a story my wife read to my boys when they where babies. LOL!!!!! You can get a ten mile shocker and I promis them bears will pee them self and not want to go there.

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[Baoh]

The snakes should not pose a threat to the tortoises.

Bears are likely hit or miss. I would be thrilled as much as worried.

 

[Tony the tank]

I have a mason on site setting forms an pouring for the next week... So I can probably have him build me a few pens..

One side note:

Im having a 50 mile ac unit placed on the fence around the main house.. And the fence people tell me it's not 100% .... Sometimes the fence ground out , sometimes the bear doesn't ground and they go right over only to find that when they try to leave they get shocked...

I will figure something out...

 

[skottip]

I am wondering when they are going to open a bear season in Fl. They are everywhere. I know you can't shoot them. I was being sarcastic. lol
However, if they do open up a bear season in Fl, please refer back to first post...

 

[alysciaingram]

You said you're in central Florida? Why not try and remove the bears with the help if the authorities? Weikiva Springs park rangers recently rehomed two black bears into their protected state park (if you are there on the right day they will be out and about on your hikes!). It might not be possible, but perhaps since they are a threat to your animals and property they will send someone out to move them into a more suitable environment.

 

[Tony the tank]

I don't think they will ever open a bear season here... From my understanding if they pose a threat to domestic animals you can put them down or have them relocated...

Same goes for the gopher tortoises.. They are endangered and protected here... But not a day goes by when I don't see 6-7 of them walking around my property..they are In my driveway, in the back yard and sunning themselves on the pavilion deck.... They even walked into my house when the workers left the front door open..

---

You said you're in central Florida? Why not try and remove the bears with the help if the authorities? Weikiva Springs park rangers recently rehomed two black bears into their protected state park (if you are there on the right day they will be out and about on your hikes!). It might not be possible, but perhaps since they are a threat to your animals and property they will send someone out to move them into a more suitable environment.

The county knows there here..Signs are everywhere telling people to slow down and to watch for crossing bears..

Neighbors tell me the bears have been around here for many years... Most they have done is raid the garbage cans and crushed some fences...( some neighbors place what they call bear rails over the field fencing so they can climb over the fence without damaging it) And when they mean threat.. It has to be a proven threat.. Meaning it is attacking or has attacked a domestic animal..

 

[jtrux]

That's pretty cool BUT I think you will be ok. If you have that many gopher torts running around it makes me think that your sullys will be ok. Bears are unpredictable though so you really never know.

 

[Tom]

Sometimes we film in the national parks. I have the privilege of sitting around talking to the rangers all day. Lots of fun inside info to be had.

They have told me that bears will travel over 300 miles to get "home" during relocation attempts. During the course of those 300+ miles they get into scrapes with the bears whose territory they are dropped in or crossing, HBC (hit by car), shot at or shot, and if they make it home, they are generally pretty beat up. In short, relocation is pretty inhumane and almost never works.

Interestingly, they told me rattlesnakes will do the same thing for up to 11 miles, often with the same results.

I've never had a problem with rattlesnakes and my tortoises, but I would fathom a guess that if the snake struck the tortoise in a soft enough spot and got a fang in, the result would not be good for the tortoise. Pretty easy to keep snakes out with 24" hardware cloth. They seldom climb up and over. I have it all around my backyard and have never had a snake "inside the wire".

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

I know of a outside collection with galops in Oviedo, FL. A rattlesnake bit one when, if I recal well, it was about 150, and died. The bite was not witnessed, but a bite wound was found, and the pathology suggested, the bite is why the tortoise died.

Though not stated on TFO, the Sudan breeder had metal roofing all around his sulcata pen, as much to keep snakes out as tortoises in? Is he still here?

Will

 

[Tony the tank]

I know of a outside collection with galops in Oviedo, FL. A rattlesnake bit one when, if I recal well, it was about 150, and died. The bite was not witnessed, but a bite wound was found, and the pathology suggested, the bite is why the tortoise died.

Though not stated on TFO, the Sudan breeder had metal roofing all around his sulcata pen, as much to keep snakes out as tortoises in? Is he still here?

Will

There is not much I can do to keep the snakes out when there outside there pen...I trimed the grass lower to try to get them to move on when a few of the fencing people reported seeing a few back there..


I will cut the grass lower...hopefully it will get them or what ever they are hunting back there to move on...