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Post by Valerie on Apr 3, 2015 12:23:56 GMT -5
Y'all, a pretty big gopher tortoise has dug a burrow under our back porch! I'd say the shell is probably at least 15" long. I hope it decides to stay.  |
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Post by BigM on Apr 6, 2015 6:35:40 GMT -5
Cool!
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Post by michelle on Apr 6, 2015 6:38:39 GMT -5
Oh neat!
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Post by Valerie on Apr 7, 2015 8:35:22 GMT -5
We haven't seen the tortoise in a couple of days. No scrape marks outside the burrow, either. I hope it's still here.
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Post by guimauve on Apr 8, 2015 9:08:38 GMT -5
Way cool, I hope it is still there!
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Post by Cyngbaeld on Apr 8, 2015 21:08:48 GMT -5
Neat.
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Post by Valerie on Apr 9, 2015 9:13:04 GMT -5
Becky got a flashlight and took a peek in the burrow. The hole goes down at an angle probably a good 4 ft deep and 10 ft long. Then it turns to the right, so we can't see any further. Still no scrape marks at the entrance. I wonder how long a tortoise can stay underground at a time. I reckon it can eat all the roots it encounters while its digging, maybe? I just read that in the northern part of their range (where we are) it's common for them to go a few weeks without coming out of the burrow. It's just now getting really warm, like in the upper 80s during the day, but the ground is still on teh cool side. We finally figured out where he came from. Rodney saw it crossing the road and picked it up and took it home for the kids (big no-no). Their dog wouldn't leave it alone (he is such a pain; he kills chickens, too) so he told his daughter-in-law to take it somewhere and drop it off by some woods. I guess she dropped it off here. The only thing that concerns me, and we'll keep an eye out, is that diamond backs also use tortoise burrows as homes. We've never had one here, though, and it's not dry and sandy here, so I think it'll be OK. Indigo snakes also nest their, and I like them a lot. |
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Post by BigM on Apr 10, 2015 6:38:33 GMT -5
Did you know....
Disturbing a Gopher turtle in any way is an automatic $500 fine? Even if you do something like move it out of a road so it won't get hit.
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Post by Valerie on Apr 10, 2015 19:08:16 GMT -5
I knew it was something to get in trouble for. Especially removing it from its territory and bringing it home!
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Post by BigM on Apr 12, 2015 3:08:39 GMT -5
It was in the news here recently that people are finding baby gopher turtles and throwing them in the ocean. Evidently they can't tell the difference between a sea turtle or a gopher turtle. POP QUIZ!! Which of these looks like it could propably NOT swim??   I just want to call people names that point out their stupidity. |
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Post by Valerie on Apr 12, 2015 8:52:23 GMT -5
Yeah, some people really are idiots.
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Post by michelle on Apr 14, 2015 6:47:56 GMT -5
To quote Bill Engval "here's your sign" |
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Post by guimauve on Apr 15, 2015 7:36:08 GMT -5
Turtles aside, I find there is a HUGE disconnect with anything natural in general in society. Add that along with the MINDBLOWINGLY HUGE lack of the ability to use basic reasoning and deduction skills...and the poor non swimmers end up in the ocean and the "do gooders" get all angry and defensive for doing their "good deed of the day" instead of LEARNING something.
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Post by Valerie on Apr 15, 2015 14:45:08 GMT -5
I'm a little bit aggravated with this tortoise. It appears is may have abandoned this burrow, for whatever reason. Maybe it hadn't counted on people being right over top when it dug there. So now I have this really large hole, to be used as a home by a plethora of other critters, some of which I don't really want at my house.
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Post by BigM on Apr 17, 2015 5:40:31 GMT -5
That is a problem Val.
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