Raccoons and Tortoises question

[Roseendale]

We had coon problem in our community couple of months back and these decoits have incredible sense of possible food source that they will find ways to reach it. I was aware of the rising troubles and I took the babies, red ear slider and eastern box, tank inside our home. That very night the coons came and made a mess of the pond; Ate the plants in the pond and it was clear that they were searching for the turtles.
We had to call up environment pest control in Mississauga, Hawkeye Bird & Animal Control Specialists, to get rid of the raccoon problem. They relocated the coons away from our locality and since then we haven't face the same issue till now.

 

[JohnnyB65]

Coons have gotten into my pond and ate about 5 fish over the years, but I haven’t seen any signs of them lately for about a year. I think they may have also raided my garden a few years back because whatever it was, it was pretty big.

I’ve talked to the neighbors around me to see if anybody has seen them lately and everyone thinks they may be gone. Either someone else has already trapped it or it could have been taken by a coyote. Lately we have had a large problem of coyotes roaming the streets at night looking for food although I don’t know if coyotes eat raccoons.

Last night the neighbors two dogs sounded like they had something trapped in their yard by the way they were barking for 2 hours. My wife has seen a cat teasing them from the block wall before and thinks it might have been the cat.

Anyways I have been using a heavy concrete block in front of the entrance every night as a precaution. I’m also working on a design for an automatic door at the entrance that will close at night and open when the sun comes up in the morning.

I’m undecided whether or not to use a timer or a photo switch. The timer would allow me flexibility for exactly when to open and close the door while the photo switch is solely dependent on the sun. I’m leaning toward the photo switch because it will not be affected by any power outages causing the clock time to change although photo switches have their own reliability problems and don’t always work as they are supposed to.

 

[Linda A Perez]

This is new to me, I didn’t know that raccoons eat tortoises.You got to take care of your tortoise.At night, you can keep your tortoise indoors,but it is essential to remove the raccoon away from your house.There are a few tips to get rid of these creatures like set up live traps in your garden and release the animal at least 3 miles away , keep a dog or even grind up garlic and mix with equal quantity of chilly powder and spread it around the garden frequently.And if you still cant get rid of them, then hire the services of a professional to remove them.

 

[enchilada]

a good coon is a dead coon

 

[G-stars]

a good coon is a dead coon

Agreed. Well only if they try to mess with my tortoise. If they leave me alone I'll leave them alone. Besides those of us who have dogs don't have to worry much about them.

 

[Tyanna]

This makes me nervous. I'm building an outdoor enclosure this summer. I've never seen raccoons around my house, but I don't know if they're there or not.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

This makes me nervous. I'm building an outdoor enclosure this summer. I've never seen raccoons around my house, but I don't know if they're there or not.

If you have trash cans outside and the trash is still INSIDE them in the morning. You likely don't have any.

 

[Tyanna]

If you have trash cans outside and the trash is still INSIDE them in the morning. You likely don't have any.

Oh good. So I probably should worry about completely securing the top (raccoon "securing" LOL) of an outdoor enclosure?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Anything extra that you do would be a good idea. I have no protection at all and have not for over eight years. (On the other hand, I don't think that most screened tops would even slow down a determined raccoon. Much less stop them.) I'll bet you're just fine. Lucky like me.

 

[stinax182]

There's a reason you have a raccoon around (stream nearby, plentiful food) so removing one will only make place for another. You need to make sure your tortoise is safe from them and let them be. I rehabilitate raccoons and they are incredibly smart. They will live where the food is so if you live in a nice patch of woods near a stream, it's inevitable. If you live in a more urban area, don't leave trash out.

 

[JohnnyB65]

I have lived here for 20 some years and had no idea that I had raccoons in the desert. It wasn't until I installed security cameras that I saw them and even then nobody believed me.