Need advice..rescued tortoise..

[Tony the tank]

Well I was at a house I am having built... And my wife screams ..I come running and see a rather lg raccoon dragging a tortoise across the yard.. I quickly try to scare it off.. It lets it go.. And I leave them be.. But les than a hr later the raccoon is again dragging the tortoise out of the field into the brush.. I seperate them again but the racoon comes right back.... With a hose I was able to force back the raccoon ..and placed the tortoise in a container and took him to my other residence.....

I need some advice on what to do... I know I need to return him to the original place but I'm concerned he is easy pray for the raccoon..

Thoughts opinions..

 

[wellington]

Little more info would help. What kind of tortoise, is it injured, if injured, does it seem healthy otherwise? Is it native to your area or could it be someone's pet?

 

[JoesMum]

Is the tortoise injured? If you post pictures we can tell you if it is a native or somebody's escaped pet.

 

[Tony the tank]

I believe it's a gopher tortoise..... No visible injuries but he was being dragged around pretty violently...

 

[wellington]

I think if it were me, I would keep it for a few days to make sure it seems healthy and eating and then put it back in the area you found it, but not the exact same place. However, I have no idea about any possible laws about taking and keeping it for a while. But really, who would know anyway.

 

[Tony the tank]

I intend to bring him back.. But wondering what I can do to keep him from getting eaten...

 

[zman7590]

set out a live trap with a can of tuna and a scoop of peanut butter in it....next day the coon will be caught ....then take it far far away and release...

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remember the coon is just surviving. he doesnt know its wrong. if you put tuna out he will grab it in a heartbeat!

 

[Tony the tank]

I thought of that.. But the house being built is in a very rural area.... And the place is loaded with all sorts of animal.. (racoons ,Wild pigs, black bear, rattle snakes, armadillos) .... I have a good piece of property (20 acres).. Was thinking releasing him on the very edge of the property... But wondering how far I can move him without stressing him out.... I have seen quite a few burrows.. Throughout the property ... And I know there is at least another 4-5 tortoises within the fence line...


Would it be safe to release him lets say a few acres away from where he was being attacked... One of his burrows is compromised as it appeared as the coon dug in and pulled him out

 

[zman7590]

to be honest if you let him go 20 acres away the coon could find him again...what if you just kept him as a pet!!!!

 

[Tony the tank]

Can't really keep him as a pet as they are a protected species..... Plus I'm afraid [/i]my sulcatas will hurt him...if he wanders into there area..

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Well after some reading seem I can't move him without permission... So I'm thinking I'm going to rebuild his burrow in a fashion to keep the coon from being able to dig him out...

Thinking a 4x4 piece of sheet metal with a hole just slightly bigger than the tortoise shell... Buried about foot or two down in the burrow entranceway .. So the coon can't get through the hole... It may not help when he is out and about but might increase his chances...

Thoughts opinions

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

My suggestion will likely not go over well...the racoon will not give up, so it must be taken very far away or be destroyed. OTOH, another may take Coon #1's place, eventually.

If you have a large outside dog, the racoon will stay away, and some dogs ignore tortoises, but some don't.

 

[ascott]

yeah, that raccoon will be there waiting for that tort....how large is the tort?

I am with Terry, there is one of two choices here---the raccoon or the tort---there is no other outcome....the raccoon will gut that shell piece by piece while the tort is alive, they do it all of the time....as said also, the raccoon has found an easy meal and there is no reason to think it will not continue to do its tortoise grazing if left to do so.

If you are able to relocate the tort to your property (taking into account the wild life in and surrounding your property) I would do that, hell, the tort is likely already stressed ALOT by being dragged off knowing exactly what is going to happen to it....

Trapping and relocating a raccoon that already has the knowledge of how to devour a tort will do no good...also, you now know your have a healthy population of raccoons and so you can also take precautions to assure your torts do not also become victims....after all, when an animal becomes too fearless it can become a hazardous neighbor...raccoons are very vicious and do, can and will be aggressive to people if they become comfortable enough...a noisy energetic dog that can be separated from your torts is a good critter to annoy a raccoon...

 

[Tony the tank]

Well the tort was returned to the property... And released....a short time later the raccoon came out of the brush and walked right towards me and my dog like he didn't care... So I'm sad to say I put it down..... Before everyone gets upset I want to say it was obviously sick... My first encounter with him yesterday was during the day and he showed no fear not even running away when I hit him with the hose... Today he marched right out of the brush and walked right towards me and my dog like we werent there...and my dog 139lb Rottweiler was letting him know he wasn't wanted there but kept coming....Not what I wanted but really no choice...as I will be moving my sulcatas there in a few weeks when the contractor fences off an acre for them....


On a side note... There seems to be alot of gopher tortoises there .. Will that be an issue for my sulcatas..

 

[mike taylor]

I would say it would be the other way around your sulcatas will be a problem for them . I would try to build there enclosure away from any gopher tortoise homes . If at all possible after all they have been there doing there thing longer than you. Not to be mean .

Sent from my C771 using TortForum mobile app

 

[lynnedit]

I'm glad you did that raccoon in, he sounds odd anyway. We still have plenty of raccoons out there, but tortoises are in shorter and shorter supply.
Your place sounds like it is going to be amazing.

 

[zman7590]

like i said earlier...catch coon problem solved....once you own a live trapyou can keep catching coons and bringing em far away or see if they can swim in the cage...

 

[ascott]

I think that the two torts will coexist just fine....I would kinda make sure that your fencing does not cut off any access for the wild torts in the area....

Sounds as though you did what was needed, I had a raccoon chase me down in a parking lot once, it was stiff and pissed and had a weird look in its eyes....well, that was the last thing I saw just before I broke and ran and leaped into the bed of the truck we had parked in the parking lot....yes, once of my less dignified life moments---I had nothing in hand to thwart his advances....lol so the fight or flight kicked in and I had no choice but to take flight (like a big ole sissy girl....)

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

I would say it would be the other way around your sulcatas will be a problem for them . I would try to build there enclosure away from any gopher tortoise homes . If at all possible after all they have been there doing there thing longer than you. Not to be mean .

Sent from my C771 using TortForum mobile app

Yeah, the two species should not mingle...your sulcatas could pass on a pathogen that is perfectly harmless to them, but fatal to the gopher torts.

 

[Yvonne G]

If you have a fence to keep the sulcatas contained, it will also keep the gopher tortoises out. They probably won't come into contact with each other. Have you seen the pictures Greg (Aldabraman) put up? He shows a gopher tortoise on the outside of his aldabran pen. They can live in harmony...one on each side of the fence.

And good for you to have put the raccoon out of his misery. He have been rabid.

 

[zman7590]

just build a mini dome over its burrroww and feed it every dayy