Farm

Gopher tortoises are known for their long life. They commonly dwell in drylands and is one of the three turtle species considered as a true burrower. Their population is under threat, which is why getting a permit to have it as a pet can be quite difficult.





If you are lucky enough to be one of the few people to be granted a permit to have a gopher tortoise as a pet, keep on reading to understand more about it and how to take care of the tortoise.

Physical Characteristics

Some people might have it instantly mistaken as a box turtle, but the main difference is that the gopher tortoise is larger. The average size of an adult is nine to 15 inches. For the weight, on the other hand, they are approximately eight to 15 pounds. The color is tan or brown and it usually has distinctive yellowish plastron.
The legs of a gopher tortoise, meanwhile, is shaped like a shovel. This is also the one that makes it an excellent digger.
The average lifespan of a gopher tortoise is 80 years when it is in the wild. Meanwhile, those in captivity can survive for up to 100 years.

Behavior

The most notable about the behavior of a gopher tortoise is its heavy burrowing. They can create burrows with an average length of 15 to 18 feet, although there are instances when it can be as long as 50 feet. The width, meanwhile, is wider than its length.
It should be also pointed out that the burrows created by a gopher tortoise can also serve as a refuge to 360 species that are within its range.
In the warmer season, they are active. Most of the year, however, they can be seen hiding in their burrows.

Environment

You will commonly find a gopher tortoise in a dry and sandy upland. To be specific, some of their common habitats include coastal dunes, pine flatwoods, and oak sandhills. Geographically speaking, they are commonly found in Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama.
If you will have a gopher tortoise as a pet, it is important to mimic its natural environment so that it will survive. There is a need to have an artificial burrow. This is going to provide a safe place when they are idle. The humidity of the artificial burrow should be at least 80% while the temperature should be in the mid-70 degrees Fahrenheit. To make sure of the latter, it will be wise to invest in a tool like the

#1 AcuRite 00325 Home Comfort Monitor

The latter provides temperature and humidity readings for the right environment for the tortoise.
When keeping a gopher tortoise at home, the most common choice for a housing is known as a turtle table. Basically, it is like a flipped bookshelf. It acts similar to a burrow, which is covered. It is also important to provide water supply to avoid dehydration of the pet. With this, consider putting something like the

#2 Zoo Med Combo Food and Water Dish

Which is shallow enough to prevent drowning.
Although they live in burrows, this does not mean that they do not need light. With this, in a corner of the shelf, install a spot lamp that will be perfect for a basking area. One of the options you might want to consider is the

#3 Fluker’s Repta-Clamp Lamp

Foods and Vitamins

Understanding the diet of a gopher tortoise is a crucial part of pet care. With this, it is important to know that it is known for eating about 1,000 plant species. After it survives the hatchling stage, 80% of the diet of a gopher tortoise comprises of grass, such as St, Augustine, centipede, and bahia.
For pet owners, however, take note that grass should not be enough. It won’t be able to provide the dietary needs of the gopher tortoise, especially the vitamins and the minerals needed for its survival. The grass should also come with green leafy vegetables to sustain the needs of the tortoise. Other foods that can be given to a gopher tortoise include corn, beans, plantain, blueberries, blackberries, and weed.
Similar to other turtles and tortoises, you should also invest in the vitamins of a gopher tortoise if ever you are one of the people lucky enough to be given a permit to have it as a pet. It is important to provide the tortoise with enough calcium, which will be critical for a smooth digestive tract. With this, some of the products that you might want to consider purchasing include

#4 Zoo Med Repti-Calcium

#5 Rep-cal Phosphorus-Free Calcium with Vitamin D3

Health Problems

The most serious health concern for gopher tortoise is upper respiratory tract disease. The latter is caused by a pleomorphic bacterium that does not come with a cell wall. Some of the symptoms that you should watch out for include the discharge of pus and mucus. The tortoise can also suffer from conjunctivitis as a sign of infection.
If you have an infected tortoise, caution should be strictly observed. It should never be held captive with another specie. Also, the gopher tortoise should never be released back in the wild as this will only cause the problem to spread.

Other Tips for Taking Care of Gopher Tortoise

To be a responsible pet owner and ensure the best state of health of the gopher tortoise, below are some of the important things to note:

• When it comes to feeding the tortoise, do not rely too much on the greens that you can buy in supermarkets. They are generally cultivated for humans and not for pets. They have a high sugar content and low in fiber, which may be bad for the tortoise.
• Make sure to keep them away from their common predators, which include feral cat, skunks, opossums, racoons, and dogs, making it important to have a suitable housing or habitat. This is especially true in the case of eggs and hatchlings.
• Check out the local laws when it comes to having a gopher tortoise as a pet. Chances are, you will need a permit. If you are caught without the necessary permit, there are legal repercussions.

To many people, hawks and owls are always annoying predators. They not only affect life with unsanitary piles of manure and annoying sounds, but also damage poultry and small livestock.

If you own a farm in the countryside or you have a garden in the suburbs then you will understand how these troubles. How to get rid of owls / hawks is always a question that you desire to find answers to protect your life and farm. However, dealing with these big and smart birds is not an easy job, you need to equip yourself with information as well as develop a specific plan to eliminate them.

What do you know about owls and hawks?

Hawks are one of the scariest birds of prey.If you see a hawk hovering around your backyard, garden or farm, try to keep it away immediately. It’s scary that the bird will eat your pet or pet easily and professionally.

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#1 Basic information: hawk sounds to scare birds

This is a bird of prey with sharp curved hook beak, quite long wings, wide and extremely strong legs. The hawk is a bird with fast flight speed, can reach a flying speed of 320 km / h. In many rural areas, hawks are considered the “lord” of the sky. Few birds can match the hawks of agility and cunning.

Hawks are considered to be one of the smartest birds by measuring their IQ according to their creativity in their eating habits. Hawks are also thought to have very good eyesight, reaching 20/2, or about 8 times that of people with good eyesight.

Many hawks have a relatively eagle-like appearance with extremely sharp claws. Adults have a body length of 0.7m – 1m with light brown fur, wide wings and a curved tail.

In North America, there are 17 species of hawks, of which up to 11 are found throughout the United States. What they have in common is that they have a large body and wingspan, equal to the height of a child. In particular, it also has a very specific and scary sound, so many people use hawk sounds to scare birds.

#2 Habitat

Hawks can live in many parts of the world, mainly in forests and rural areas. They spend most of their time flying in the sky and searching for prey.

Each hawk has its own “territory” in the sky and they often fight with their fellow humans to compete for territory.

In addition to flying, hawks nest on branches, high cliffs. Some hawks have a habit of using plastic bags to line the nest.

#3 Reproduction: how to stop birds from building a nest

Like most birds, the male and female hawks will pair up, build nests and breed babies. Female hawks spawn quite a bit, only less than 5 eggs / time. A pair of hawks will nest on trees, on rocks, then use straw, leaves, plastic bags to protect and protect eggs. So you need to know where hawks make their nest to answer the question how to stop birds from building a nest.

When young, young hawks are very small and weak. The hawks and wives will take turns to feed or stay to protect their children. After about 2 weeks, they will teach children to practice walking, then new skills in flight, hunting, etc.

#4 Hunting tactics

A hawk is a famous bird of prey with an extremely high success rate. While flying in the sky, they used their sharp eyes to observe the ground. Sometimes, they hide behind groves, cliffs and closely observe the object.

After identifying the right target, hawks will charge towards them at breakneck speed, up to 300 km / h.

The prey will be caught in the clutches of the hawk in a snap. It was the cunning eyes, the wide wings, the sharp claws and the innate sharp beak that helped the hawk be dubbed the “killer of the sky”, representing the power.

#5 Some common hawks

Hawks are present in many parts of the world. In each region, hawks have unique names and characteristics.

Australian white hawk: This is a bird you can easily find anywhere in Australia. They have a scientific name is Elanus axillaris, also known as red-eyed hawks.

This species flies and lives alone or in pairs. They have white fur, beak and shoulders are black. Compared to other species, Australian white hawks are quite small, only a length of no more than 40 cm, the average wingspan of 90 cm. With its beautiful shape, raising white kites becomes the hobby of many bird enthusiasts in the world.

Black Hawk: It is also a common hawk in the world, featuring black fur. They have the scientific name of Milvus migrans. Unlike Australian white hawks, black hawks live in groups.

This bird has a large size, length from 55 – 70cm, wingspan to 1.5 meters wide. Black hawks live migrations and bonus distribution in coastal areas, rivers, fields, …

Getting to know owls: What do hawks eat?

As we all know, this is a bird of prey. Therefore, the food of hawks are small animals, from birds, storks, frogs, clones, mice, … to small snakes (including poisonous snakes). Sometimes, they also attack large, gentle animals such as deer, monkeys, …

After careful observation and attack, they will keep their prey by using claws or beaks tightly until the other animal dies, then tear them to pieces and enjoy the meal.

Along with the nightlife, the owl is still a mysterious animal to this day. Not only is the prey hunting feather, it is also the legendary and superstitious obsession of many cultures.

#1 The owl has no teeth, swallowing its prey

Most owls often hunt at night, which prevents them from competing with other “hunters” like hawks and eagles. Owls are omnivores. Their main food sources include small animals such as mice, squirrels, hamsters and rabbits. They also supplement their diet with foods like birds, insects, and reptiles. They also attack other small birds, so many people use decoy owls scare birds away.

Like birds, owls have no teeth and cannot chew. They often swallow their prey. However, sometimes they have to tear oversized prey before swallowing. Eventually, they will vomit indigestible parts of the prey such as bones, feathers in the form of tablets. This is a fairly special mechanism of digesting food for owls.

#2 Can turn 270º: decoy owls scare birds away

All owls are capable of turning to 270º. In order to do this, their necks must contain 14 vertebrae compared to other normal birds of 7. In owls, scientists discovered that they have a special blood storage system, allowing enhances the power of blood when it flows to the brain and eyes as they turn their heads.

#3 Unable to move eyes

The eyes of the owl cannot move in the eye sockets, so when observed, they must turn their heads in that direction. And because their eyes are facing forward, their eyesight is well developed. The feathers of the owls are specially developed, allowing them to minimize their noise when flapping their wings. The owl’s legs are made up of raptors with flexible fingers, making them easy to grasp and tear off the prey.

#4 Special bird: How to scare birds away

The owl is always upright, eyes facing forward and able to see with both eyes like a human. Owl eyes have three eyelids, one to use when they wink, one to sleep and the other to help keep their eyes clean and healthy.

A pig owl can eat about 1,000 mice a year and they are very useful for farmers. In owls, the female is usually larger and more aggressive than the male. They can make different sounds when they sound like screech, scream, bark, growl, etc. So their sounds also work to chase other birds. How to scare birds away is no longer a difficult problem if you master these tips.

During the breeding and nesting season, babies can hear their voices within a mile (1.6km). The female screams louder and taller than the male.

Many owls have asymmetrical ears of different sizes and varying heights above their heads, making them extremely well-suited to spot prey even when invisible.

How to keep owls away from your farm?

The truth about owls, though less mystical, is no less interesting than what human culture attributes to them. With hunting behavior, the owl is really an impressive killing machine. It can even kill even bigger birds or animals.

His strong legs, sharp claws, and wings evolved in accordance with the limit of flight, ears and eyes were extremely quick, the owl never failed to hunt. Different from the beliefs of most cultures, owls are visible in daylight, albeit not very keen.

Compared to sight, hearing is a special gift for the owl. Thanks to it, the owl is capable of locating its prey even in the dark darkness.

In some owls, one ear is larger and higher than the other. It helps the owl identify every move of the prey. For example, the big gray hump in the Arctic can even burrow deep into the snow, snatch up rodents, the ill-fated people thought it had hidden the sound from the ground. The feathered fake ears on the tip of the owl have nothing to do with this wonderful hearing system. They are just a kind of daytime camouflage.

If you have a small dog or cat in the yard or poultry, cattle on the farm, the appearance of an owl is extremely noticeable. To chase them off your farm, here are some tips.

#1 Set up a scarecrow: how to keep birds off porch

Scarecrow is a tool to help you kick the owl out of your area. However owls are smart birds so you need to grasp some tips to achieve success. The important thing when using a scarecrow, probably a hawk decoy, is that you need to change its position frequently. Changing this position causes the cat to be fooled into a formidable opponent operating around it. So instead of keeping the scarecrow in one place, you should change its position often, maybe saving a day to make it more realistic.

Using puppets is very beneficial, because it is a natural removal method so it absolutely does not harm the cat owl that will affect it in the most natural way. Besides, it also works to expel other troublesome birds from your area. It is also the answer to the question how to keep birds off porch you are looking for.

However the disadvantage of this way is that you have to remember to change the position of the scarecrow every day. The owl is very intelligent so it will probably notice if the location of the foreign object does not move and will become fearless if it stays in one position. So if you are a busy and forgetful person this will become a hassle and all previous efforts will fail. It can also scare the animals you are raising.

You can refer to the product YOFIT Bird Scarecrow Fake Horned Hawk Decoy, this is a puppet designed like the real thing and is widely used. With a rotating, lifelike head, using fake owl to scare birds is much more realistic.

Besides, this product can be moved and set up easily everywhere so you can often change its position to trick smart birds. It is also designed to withstand rain and shine and severe weather conditions so the service life is significantly extended.

#2 Set up detective deterrence: fake owl to scare birds

Another natural way to keep owls away from your area is the reflective deterrent. This method does not harm or injure a cat owl, but it uses additional equipment to make the owl feel uncomfortable, thereby not wanting to go near that area anymore.

The great thing about this method is that the necessary equipment is quite cheap or you can make it yourself at home. Most of them are very easy to prepare and prepare so it will save a lot of time and money.

With this method, you can use old CDs to create an annoyingly shiny wall. All you need to do is attach the CDs to the wall or hang them with ropes on the tree or on the porch. The movement plus the reflection will affect the vision of the shot and they will certainly feel uncomfortable at all.

Bird reflection is a smart and economical method. Currently on the market there are many reflective devices that you can easily find. However, in my personal opinion, reflective devices come in many types, but adhesive tape is the best. Why? Because it is very flexible for each position and height, you can attach it to any structure easily, and more specifically, it is very cheap. I highly recommend you try Bird Repellent Scare Tape of ShooBird, this is a product that works best with its role.

#3 How to keep birds away from car?

Use reflective tape. How to keep birds from invading your area? Use reflective tape. How to scare birds? Use reflective tape.

Yes! The sharp iridescence of this product interacts well with the light, limiting the sight of a cat owl and disorienting. You can paste it on any kind of structure for a long time. If you hang along it, adding a bit of natural wind will increase the effect. Reflective light combined with the sound emitted under the action of the wind will make fear birds do not dare to approach.

However, because it sticks very firmly, when you remove the tape, it will leave unsightly marks, and it also needs light to perform its job well.

How to keep hawks away?

#1 Use scarecrow:

Although hawks are intelligent birds, they can easily be deceived by scarecrows. Predator figurines are the first choice in this case. Hawks choose your infiltration with the main purpose is to eat so it will want to avoid the trouble of having to fight with other opponents.

#2 Do fake owls work?

Yes Owls and hawks are both fierce and aggressive predators, so hawks will avoid facing owls and choosing other ways of foraging, they do not want to waste their energy to confront an opponent. heavyweight player.

Placing an owl statue in the garden will help fool the hawk that there is another opponent active in the area. However you should also move the position of the statue regularly to avoid the attention of hawks.

#1 You can use Livin ‘Well’s Owl Decoy Bird Deterrent

Which is an extremely realistic product with textures and movement like a real owl. Especially this product uses solar energy to operate, so you do not have to change batteries often or have to connect to cumbersome wires anymore.

Besides the owl statue, you can also choose other predators such as

#2 Bird-X Coyote 3-D Predator Replica.

This is a predator model used by many people to expel unwanted birds from their area. It can also move flexibly like a true predator. With budget criteria, this is one of the great options for you. However this product cannot be flexibly set up in tall places like trees or corridors, you can only set it up in the backyard.

#3 Eliminate attractive elements:

Think about why hawks come to your area? What are the factors to appeal to it? It could be that your farm has many small cattle, their favorite prey, the food of birds scattered in the yard or simply the tree of your house that provides many shelters for them. So start checking to see what attracts cats to your area, eliminating them to prevent them from entering.

Start right away by removing the branches and leaves so that the cat can no longer nest or hide on it. Next is to clean up the food for birds that fall on the ground or for poultry.

For a farm or poultry shed, you should protect with a small mesh or use physical deterrents to ward off them. Currently there are many physical deterrent products on sale such as Ultrasonic Bird Repeller, Bird Spikes, Scary Decoys, Bird Repellent Gel, etc. Among them I highly encourage you to try

#4 Chephon’s Bird Repellent Spiral Reflectors

Which is a great product that meets both budget and aesthetic criteria.

With a spiral design, this product provides flexible reflection that hinders the view of hawks, making them unable to reach your area. Under the action of the wind, it will move and create infinite rotation, providing a wide reflection throughout the area. Not only does it have a strong effect on keeping birds away, it is also a shiny and fancy ornament, unlike other physical deterrents.

Hawk Repellent for Dog/Chickens Comparison Table

Conclusion

For wildlife such as owls and hawks, strong elimination measures such as guns or dead traps should not be used. Humanitarian measures should be used instead to remove them safely. Although they are animals that can damage your small cattle, poultry or living space, we should not take extreme measures to eliminate them. Hopefully, the above information can help you choose the most effective method to keep them away from your area.