Noise and how a tortoise hears

[Bob’sMom]

Hi all. I have a 14 year old African Leopard tortoise who lives free range in my backyard. Recently, I’ve also had a gopher move in and destroy my garden. I have had no luck catching it with traps. A neighbor suggested I use one of the sound deterrents. But my worry is my tortoise, Bob. How will it affect him? Will it be a bother to him as well?? How exactly does my tortoise hear and will a constant noise used to deter moles and gophers bother Bob as well??

Thank you!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I have never heard about those devices. My guess would be that it would affect Bob too.

Here is a thread you can look at for guidance:

Can tortoises hear and respond to hearing.

MODERATOR NOTE: THIS THREAD WAS SPLIT OFF FROM ANOTHER THREAD ABOUT A TOTALLY DIFFERENT SUBJECT. BECAUSE THE FORUM'S PROGRAM SORTS POSTS BY DATE, IT LOOKS LIKE WARREN INITIATED THE THREAD, BUT MODERATORS INITIATED THE THREAD.

tortoiseforum.org

@Yvonne G can probably guide you to who to contact about the gopher.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

@zovick might also be able to help

 

[zovick]

@zovick might also be able to help

@Bob’sMom I am not sure if gophers and tortoises can hear the same frequencies of sound or not, so really am unable to offer any guidance as to whether one of those noise devices would bother the tortoise or not.

Also not sure if this idea would help, but I will mention it in case you want to try it. Years ago, we used to deter moles from our property by using empty glass Coke and other similar sized soft drink bottles.

The bottles should be placed in various locations around the yard and half-buried in the ground. When the wind blows, the bottles produce a humming sound which moles don't like.

This idea might or might not work on gophers, but it might be less bothersome to your tortoise since the sound is not constant as it is with the noise devices. The sound would also be of a fairly low pitch whereas I think the noise deterrent devices are higher pitched.

PS: I used to use one of those electronic deterrents to keep mice out of my garage. I could not hear the noise/sound at all and only knew it was running because of an indicator light being lit on the device. Unfortunately, it did NOT keep the mice away, so I ultimately ditched it.