Bucket Trapping, Excavation, and Relocation of Gopher Tortoises
Information for Five or Fewer Permit Applicants

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• Capture and Relocation: General Considerations
• Creating a site plan
• Bucket trapping
• Snake Safety
• Backhoe excavation
• Other capture techniques
• Relocating captured tortoises
• Other considerations
• I have read the below material, proceed to registration

Capture and Relocation:  General Considerations

You do not need to capture and relocate tortoises if you can avoid burrow entrances by 25 feet (Available Option # 2).  No permit is required for this option.  Avoiding burrows is less stressful to tortoises than relocation and is often a simpler option for the landowner.

NONE of the techniques described below can be performed until you have received a permit from this agency.  Transporting gopher tortoises without a permit is considered a wildlife violation under Chapter 68A-27 of the Florida Administrative Code.  Wildlife relocation is considered a last resort, when all other alternatives have been exhausted.

Builders and landowners may apply for Five or Fewer Permits and relocate tortoises themselves.  An environmental consultant may also be hired to apply for the permit and conduct the capture and relocation. There is no fee associated with the issuance of this permit, though private consultants will charge a fee for their services.

There are inherent risks associated with any tortoise capture technique.  Failure to follow the proper protocol can result in tortoise injury or mortality.  The technique you choose will depend on a number of factors including the time of year, weather conditions, and the time frame in which tortoises must be captured.  In some cases, you may want to use a combination of capture methods to trap all tortoises on-site.

If you will not be directly involved in the trapping, excavation, or relocation process, you should not apply for a tortoise relocation permit.  It is ultimately the responsibility of the permittee to adhere to the conditions of the permit they have been issued.  Click here to read the permit conditions.

This is an ON-SITE relocation permit.  You cannot move tortoises outside the parcel boundaries within which they currently occur.  OFF-SITE relocations require an entirely different permit application and relocation procedure. See Available Options for more information.

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Creating a site plan

A successful relocation hinges on good communication between the permittee who is capturing the tortoises, the excavator, and the builders.  The best way to foster this communication is to create a site plan that includes: (1) the location of all tortoise burrows on-site; (2) a designated relocation area on-site where tortoises will be released; and (3) a silt fence barrier that separates the relocation area from the construction area.

A temporary tortoise pen can also be incorporated into the site plan.  The pen prevents tortoises from returning to their burrows or the construction area while the remaining tortoises are captured.  Tortoises may be penned for up to ten days.  See “Relocating Captured Tortoises” below for more information on tortoise pens.

Make sure all parties involved have a copy of the finalized site plan.  Pens should be constructed ahead of time, so tortoises may be placed in pens as soon as they are captured.  Silt fence barriers around the construction area should be completed after all tortoises have been trapped (make sure silt fence is buried 8 inches into the ground so tortoises can’t crawl under it).  Land clearing should occur immediately after all tortoises are relocated out of harm’s way.  Tortoises trapped and released before clearing has begun may find their way back to the construction site and be injured or entombed there.  Tortoises have a strong homing instinct and will try to return to their burrows if there are not barriers that discourage them from doing so.

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Bucket trapping

Advantages:  Bucket trapping requires no special equipment.  Homeowners can quickly learn this technique.  The cost of bucket trapping is generally much lower than excavation, especially when five or fewer tortoises are to be trapped.

Disadvantages:  Bucket trapping is much more time consuming than excavation.  Traps must be checked at least once daily for 28 consecutive days, or until a tortoise is captured.  Bucket traps without proper drainage can fill with water and drown tortoises after heavy rains.  Tortoises can be exposed to the sun and heat while in a bucket trap and die of exposure if traps are not shaded properly.  During the colder months of the year (mid-October through mid-April), tortoises may not leave their burrows for extended periods, making this technique less effective.  Tortoises generally will not surface to bask until temperatures reach at least 65-70° F.  As temperatures reach around 80-85 degrees, tortoises will venture farther from the burrow to forage and socialize.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Step 1:  Equipment

Purchase a five-gallon plastic bucket and lid for each burrow where you intend to trap a tortoise.  Have at least one extra bucket available in case you find tortoise eggs (explained in a separate section below).  Buckets should be a light color that absorbs less heat, preferably white or yellow.  Do not use black buckets.  Drill at least ten, 0.25 inch diameter holes in the bottom of each bucket.  This will allow rainwater to drain out of the bottom of the bucket.  Failure to drill holes greatly increases the risk of tortoises drowning when they are captured in this pit-fall trap.  You will also need to obtain some newspaper, aluminum foil, or brown wrapping paper.  This will be used to cover the top of each bucket once it is sunk into the ground.  Cut the paper/foil so it is roughly two inches wider on all sides than the diameter of the bucket.  Shading each bucket trap will prevent trapped tortoises from being exposed to direct sunlight for prolonged periods.  Two pieces of plywood can be attached end to end to create an inverted “V” or plywood “tent” above each burrow.  Cardboard can also be used but is far less durable (especially during heavy rains).  Palm fronds or other natural vegetation (tree branches, etc.) can also provide effective shade when positioned above the bucket trap.  You will also need a shovel to dig the hole the bucket will sit in.

You may encounter small hatchling tortoise burrows that are only 2-3 inches wide.  You can bucket trap at these burrows in a similar fashion as you do for subadults and adults.  Use smaller containers (plant pots or coffee cans) with plenty of holes for drainage.  Hand-shovel excavation can also be used on these tiny burrows (see “Other Capture Techniques”).

Step 2:  Setting up the Bucket Trap

By this time you should have your permit in hand (legally required), a finalized site plan, your tortoise pen in place (if applicable), and all bucket trapping materials listed above.  You are now ready to create a kind of pit-fall trap in front of each burrow referred to as a “bucket trap” or “can trap.”

Dig a hole right at the edge of the burrow entrance so the tortoise cannot leave the burrow without walking over the hole.  Dig the hole to roughly the same diameter as the bucket.  Insert the bucket into the hole.  The hole should be deep enough so that the top lip of the bucket is approximately one-half to one-quarter inch below the top of the hole (and the mouth of the burrow).  Tortoises may not walk into the trap if they have to climb over the lip of the bucket to do so.

After inserting the bucket into the hole, cover the bucket top with newspaper or aluminum foil and wrap the edges around the sides of the bucket.  You can tear small holes in this covering.  Tortoises will sometimes catch their feet in the holes and fall into the bucket more easily.  Fill in the open areas around the outside edges of the bucket with the surrounding soil or sand.  Taper the ground around the edges of the bucket so there is a very smooth transition from the burrow entrance to the edge of the trap.  You can round off the lip of the bucket facing the burrow entrance if this helps make a smoother transition.  Camouflage the top of the trap with the surrounding soil so it appears to be solid ground.  When the trap is finished, it should be just slightly below the level of the burrow entrance, so tortoises are already facing slightly down into the trap as they approach it (from either direction).  Lastly, make sure to provide shade above the bucket trap to protect the tortoise from direct sunlight (the inverted “V” shade explained above).  The “V” shade should be large enough for the tortoise to easily walk through (slightly wider than the burrow entrance).  The shade should be tall enough so that the tortoise can still see the horizon when leaving the burrow and does not sense any major obstruction.  Your trap is now set.

DO NOT put your hands or face down into the burrow entrance to look for a tortoise.  Venomous snakes, including diamondback rattlesnakes and pygmy rattlesnakes, are occasionally found in tortoise burrows (to check for rattlesnakes, you can use a long shovel).  These venomous snakes are encountered very rarely (perhaps one or two encounters for every thousand or so burrows).  Non-venomous snakes such as the coachwhip and black racer are much more likely to be seen in tortoise burrows.  In the unlikely event you do encounter a venomous snake, DO NOT try to kill it or handle it yourself, as this will increase your chances of being bitten.  Call your local FWC regional office for information on licensed wildlife nuisance trappers in your area.  Familiarize yourself with Florida’s venomous snakes ahead of time by downloading our venomous snake brochure.  A hardcopy of this brochure can also be mailed to you from FWC regional offices.

You can call the Florida Poison Information Network for additional information on snakebites and their treatment at 1-800-222-1222.

Step 3:  Monitoring Traps

Check traps at least once daily (preferably twice daily) for 28 consecutive days or until you have trapped the tortoise.  Try to check burrows in the morning before leaving for work and in the evening after returning from work.  When checking burrows, approach the burrow from behind.  Tortoises will sometimes sense the vibration and walk out of the burrow into the trap.  Check for tracks or other signs of disturbance at the burrow but make as little noise as possible.  You may have to adjust your trap if it has been disturbed but do this as quickly and quietly as possible.  Too much disturbance at the burrow entrance will discourage tortoises from leaving their burrows.  If, for some reason, you must interrupt the monitoring schedule (cannot check burrows at least once a day), place the plastic lid firmly back on the bucket and cover with soil so tortoises won’t be trapped while you are gone.  You must also restart the 28 consecutive day trapping period when you return.  As stated earlier, you will also have to stop trapping at the burrow if temperatures drop below 50° F.

When you have captured a tortoise, make sure to look carefully into the bucket FIRST, before putting your hands there.  As previously mentioned, venomous snakes occasionally find refuge in tortoise burrows and can fall into bucket traps.  Millipedes, spiders, scorpions, and fire ants may also fall into traps on rare occasions.

If you have trapped unsuccessfully at the burrow for 28 consecutive days and found NO SIGN of tortoise tracks near the burrow entrance, you may collapse the burrow.  If you trapped for 28 days without catching a tortoise, but signs of tortoise activity were evident near the burrow, you will need to continue trapping or excavate the burrow (excavation is explained below).  Especially from April through October, male tortoises may visit the burrows of rival males or females and be caught in the bucket traps you have set there.  If you catch a male during this time, reset your bucket trap and continue to trap for what is remaining of the 28 consecutive days.  Adult males can be identified by the concave area on the bottom shell.  This will help insure you have trapped the resident tortoise and not a wandering male.

Trapped tortoises should immediately be relocated to the pen or designated relocation area within the boundaries of the parcel.  Make sure to fully collapse burrows immediately after tortoises are relocated.  Otherwise, other tortoises (or the very tortoise you trapped) may find their way back to the burrow and be entombed there.  When collapsing burrows, make sure to collapse the entrance and also a four-foot area behind the burrow.  This will further discourage tortoises from returning to the area and digging a new burrow entrance.

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Backhoe Excavation

Advantages:  Excavation is a quicker method of capturing tortoises than bucket trapping, especially when larger numbers of burrows are involved.  This faster trapping time can reduce stress on tortoises that otherwise might be caught in bucket traps for hours before they are removed.

Disadvantages:  Experienced personnel are necessary for this capture technique and charge a fee for their services.  Inexperienced backhoe operators can kill or injure tortoises.  In areas where the ground water table is low, burrows can reach depths of 20 feet or more.  This can mean additional cost and additional risk to those entering the burrow trench to retrieve the tortoise. Buried electric lines, phone lines, and water pipes must be identified BEFORE excavation begins. Cutting these lines can be both costly and extremely dangerous. On small parcels, tortoise tunnels may extend beyond the boundaries of your property into areas where you may not have permission to dig. Tortoise burrows may also crisscross each other, complicating matters further.

Key Points:  Unlike bucket trapping, this is not a capture technique novices should engage in.  Experienced diggers should be aware of the points below.  If they are not familiar with this information, hire a different consultant and/or backhoe operator.

1. Use of one-inch and one-half inch diameter PVC pipe is necessary to gauge the length of the burrow to the nearest obstruction (a turn in the burrow, end of the burrow, or the tortoise). Multiple pipes are used to insure the tunnel is not lost and tortoises are not harmed.

2. Burrows must be excavated gradually, by dragging the bucket to scrape small amounts of dirt in incremental stages.  Deep gouging into the ground can harm or kill tortoises.

3. The backhoe bucket should never have “teeth,” but rather a flat plate.

4. The backhoe should be located well behind the burrow entrance during excavation, so the bucket is pulling from the mouth to the terminus of the burrow.

5. Ideally, three people should be involved with each excavation: a program manager, backhoe operator, and field assistant.  Program managers should be experienced with removing tortoises and other animals from burrows.  They should also have experience working with backhoe operators to insure the safety of both the tortoises and the people on-site.  Field assistants are important back-ups for emergency situations that involve human safety.

6. The excavation team should have a safety plan for handling emergencies such as trench collapse and be familiar with OSHA safety regulations.

7. Small retrofitted “bobcat” excavation equipment will not be suitable for deeper burrows.  Backhoes should be equipped with extender arms that can reach 18 feet down for such burrows.

8.  Narrow trenches increase the risk of walls collapsing on those inside who are searching for tortoises.  Backhoe operators should be aware of such risks and widen trenches when necessary.

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Other Capture Techniques:

Hand Shovel:  Hatchling and juvenile tortoises can excavate small burrows of their own (two-three inches wide).  These burrows should be excavated with a hand shovel, not a backhoe.  Dig into the burrow in incremental stages to avoid harming the tortoise.  Subadult and adult tortoises generally dig burrows too deep and long (up to 25 feet) to be excavated by hand shovel.

Hand Capture:  Tortoises can sometimes be picked up by hand as they are found leaving the burrow entrance or returning to their burrows.

Bucket Trapping of Hatchling Burrows:  You can bucket trap at these burrows in a similar way as adult burrows.  Smaller plant pots or coffee cans should be used instead of the larger 5-gallon buckets (make sure cans have plenty of holes for drainage).  The bucket covering should be easily collapsed so these tiny tortoises don’t just walk over the paper without falling in.

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Relocating Captured Tortoises

Starter Burrows:

Once tortoises are captured, they may be released inside a temporary pen or directly into the designated relocation area.  In either case, tortoises should be placed into “starter burrows.”  These burrows will provide temporary shelter and (in some cases) will also be the start of a new burrow the tortoise will excavate.  Create a starter burrow by digging into the ground at a 45-degree angle.  Continue digging until your starter burrow is at least two feet long.  For hatchling tortoises, use a hand trowel to dig smaller, foot-long starter burrows.

Pen Specifications:

A number of different types of pens that can be constructed to temporarily confine tortoises after capture (up to ten days ONLY).  These are described below.  “Chicken wire” pens are generally not recommended since tortoises can get their heads stuck between the wire spaces as they look for an opening in the fencing.

Silt Fencing:  Black silt fencing is often used on construction sites.  The black fabric is attached to wooden stakes.  Burying this black fabric at least eight inches into the ground will act as an effective temporary barrier.  Tortoises will squeeze under areas of fencing that are not buried.

Staked Down Hay Bales:  Hay bales can act as an inexpensive and very effective pen.  Make sure bales are STAKED DOWN and arranged tightly side to side so there are no openings where tortoises can see out and push the bales apart.

Other Fencing:  There are many other acceptable pen designs.  All designs must preclude harm to the tortoise and also prevent the tortoise from sliding underneath the fence barrier.

Pen Size:  Pens should be at least as large as the specifications below:

                              
The Pen Environment:

If tortoises are to be contained within pens for more than a few hours, these pens must provide the necessary food and shelter.  Partial shade should be provided in pens.  Tortoises must be able to move in and out of sunlight at will to regulate their body temperature.  This can be accomplished by placing pens near shaded areas or by placing structures inside the pen to provide shade.  Starter burrows will provide additional shade and cover for tortoises.  Starter burrows should be dug at a 45-degree angle into the ground to a depth of approximately 2 feet or more.  Tortoises that are penned for more than a few days may start burrows of their own, so make sure your pen is inside the designated relocation area.

Preferably, pens will be set up in grassy areas where tortoises can graze (grasses make up about 80% of their diet).  Additional food items can also be added to the pen.  Tortoises will eat a variety of sliced fruits and vegetables including apple, carrot, melon, squash, banana, beets, sprouts, broccoli, spinach, kale, endive, and romaine lettuce.  Provide a variety of different foods.  Also provide a very shallow watering pan.  Baking sheets work well for adults, place the sheet into a depression in the ground for hatchlings so they can get in and out easily (place in a shaded area).  Try not to use chlorinated tap water since it may destroy important organisms inside the tortoise’s gut that help it digest its food.  Non-chlorinated bottled water is available at many grocery stores.

Tortoises can act aggressively towards one another and may have to be moved into separate pens.  Tortoises that show health problems should be taken to a wildlife rehabilitator to be evaluated.  Contact your local FWC Regional Office for a list of wildlife rehabbers in your area.  Watch for signs of lethargy, labored breathing, external injuries, or discharge from the eyes, nose, or mouth.

Releasing Tortoises:

Silt fence barriers should be installed around the construction area before tortoises are released.  Place tortoises in new starter burrows inside your designated relocation area.  Although you must relocate tortoises on-site, tortoises should be able to move freely outside the property (after the ten-day penning period).  On smaller properties, tortoises will often venture off-site in response to disturbance.

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Other Considerations

I started digging the hole for my bucket trap and found eggs.  What do I do?

Gopher tortoises generally do not lay their eggs inside the burrow, but often lay eggs inside the “apron” or sand mound in front of the burrow (females will also lay eggs in sunlit areas away from the burrow).  The white eggs are approximately the same size and shape as ping-pong balls.  Tortoise eggs are hard unlike the soft eggs of snakes and lizards.  Active nests can be found as early as April and as late as October.  Eggs are usually laid from mid-May through mid-June.  If you are trapping/excavating during this time frame, it is important to know what to do if you find eggs in the tortoise apron.

1.Get your extra bucket and a pencil.

2.Fill about one-third of the bucket with the surrounding soil near the apron.

3.Gently probe the sand mound with your fingers and uncover just the tops of the eggs as they appear.

4.Take a pencil and carefully place an “X” on top of each egg.

5.Remove the marked eggs keeping the “X” on top.  Don’t turn the eggs over.

6.Place each egg “X” side up inside the bucket into an indentation you make with your finger in the soil.  Don’t try to wash dirt off the eggs.

7.Do this with all the eggs.  You may have to make two layers inside the bucket for large clutches.  Generally, only five to seven eggs are laid in a nest.

8.Note the approximate depth and dimensions of the nest (height, depth, width).

9.Find an area on-site that will not be disturbed.  This should be a sunlit spot with similar soil to that found at the apron.  Using some of the soil from the original nest in the new nest if possible.

10.   Bury the eggs to the same approximate soil depth as the original nest.

11.   You can mark this area to prevent heavy equipment from coming near the nest.

12.   If your work was successful, eggs will hatch within about 80-100 days from the date they were laid.  Adult tortoises do not look after young and there is a naturally high predation rate in hatchling gopher tortoises. Nests are often raided by both native and domestic species (raccoons, dogs, etc.).

I found a state-listed species such as a gopher frog in my bucket trap.  What do I do?

In rare situations, you may find state-listed "commensals" (animals that live in tortoise burrows) that fall into your bucket trap or are unearthed during excavation. In the unlikely event you do find these species, you are authorized, via your permit conditions, to move them into starter burrows within the relocation area.

The burrow on my property doesn’t look occupied.  Do I have to do anything?

Tortoise tracks or droppings are likely signs a burrow is occupied.  However, any burrow with a clear opening could potentially be occupied.  After heavy rains, burrows may appear eroded but could still be occupied.  An average rainstorm can cause recent tracks at the mouth of the burrow to disappear.  Even burrows with spider webs, dead leaves, or other vegetation around the mouth or apron could be occupied.  Juvenile tortoises will sometimes use old adult burrows.  Adults can stay in burrows for extended periods, especially during the colder months of the year making the burrow appear unoccupied.  To determine if the burrow is occupied, you must obtain a permit and bucket trap or excavate the burrow.

Again, if you can avoid burrow entrances by 25 feet or more, you can avoid the entire permit and relocation process.  This is less stressful to the tortoise and in many cases easier for the landowner.

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 I have read the above material, proceed to registration