Rats

[DAC8671]

At night, I cover Ralph's door with a towel, then I put a piece of board in front of it with a rock keeping the board in place. This morning when I opened up his "door" I found rat poop under the towel (the edge of the towel that was laying on the ground).

Should I be concerned? Will a rat try to eat/attack Ralph? In back of our house is a grassy field/common area. I know they come from the bushes and the field.

Daily, I clean up whatever food Ralph doesn't eat. Though I never really feed him in his enclosure. Sure he has grass/weeds in his enclosure, but when I feed him spring mixes, it's usually spread out in the backyard.

Suggestions?

 

[spikethebest]

i've lost hatchlings because of rats. do whatever you can to rat proof the area, and call an exterminator.

 

[Tom]

I'd bait some snap traps and put them where your tortoise CAN'T get to them. There is a real art form to baiting and setting traps in the right place. If you send me some pics of the area, I'd be happy to make suggestions for you. Or you could use the shotgun approach and just put a whole bunch of traps all over the place. They don't just walk out in the open, so place them with the baited side up against areas where walls meet the ground or along the tops of walls that they might walk along.

 

[DAC8671]

I live in military housing within city limits, so no shotguns for me.

I've seen them come running across the field through the middle of my chain link fence and up my tree. They used to go for the bird feeders (which I've since taken down). I have dogs and kids so I can't put any bait or anything down.

Ralph is 24 pounds, so he's much bigger than a hatchling. Would I still have something to worry about? (I mean besides the disease they might carry?)