Russian was eaten

[shellfreak]

i keep my russians in a 16x4x2 foot enclosure outside. i have a 6 foot privacy fence around my property, that is flush with the ground. not alot can get into my yard. i have never had any problems with predetors and my torts have been outside since May. i woke up this morning and two of my female russians were completly eaten. shell broken into a thousand pieces and not one thing left of them. it happened over night. im assuming it was some sort of hawk. they were both found in their hide box, which is 2x2x2, and 10 inches of it is mulch, so it couldnt have been a big hawk. im so pissed and feel really bad for them.

 

[JaneF]

That's awful! Would a hawk actually climb into a hide box rather than the attacker being a mammal predator?

 

[egyptiandan]

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss.

It couldn't have been a hawk (large or small) as they wouldn't be able to do that to the shell. It had to be a mammal.

Danny

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Likely a raccoon did that...sorry about your loss.

I'd suggest a top of some sort, made of 2 X 4s and 1/4" hardware cloth...'coons are pretty good at getting into anything less!

 

[dmmj]

sorry tp hear, but i would say raccoon I have lost several RES to them and it sounds exactly the same to me.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Yes, I agree - I had a raccoon get one of my boxies like that. It was terrible. That stupid raccoon is in my yard every night! Putting wire over the enclosures wasn't an option (because of trees) so I built little boxes for all the pens. I go around every night and lock them inside - counting everyone. It's a pain but it has to be done. That raccoon (and his friends) are in my yard every night still and they poop in at least one of the water dishes every night too. It's disgusting! I don't know how to get rid of them and I have a six foot fence all around the yard (and I live in a very urban area!) Anyway, I'm very sorry about your girls. There's no way to know there is a raccoon problem until something like this happens.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

That's why I don't leave anybody out at night. It's a pain to carry them in and out, but better that then the alternative. I am so sorry for you...

 

[shellfreak]

that coon has my name written all over it. i brought all my turtles inside today due to the heat index, and im keeping them inside until i figure out how to get rid of the racoon and/or build a cover.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Build something for them - even if you get rid of the raccoon - another one will come along in his place.

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

I'm so sorry!

 

[dmmj]

you don't have to keep them indoors during the day to avoid the coon, they only come out at night, just FYI

 

[Nay]

Shellfreak, my worse fears!!! I lost my 2 hand raised peacocks to a raccoon coming in a 6 in gap between the top panels a few years back. I have hot wire along the top of my enclosure on a timer so it comes on at night. Not sure if it has been tested but gives me a piece of mind. So so sorry to hear your loss. Na

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http://lh3.ggpht.com/_aKJO_znVg-4/TEtLO73QnoI/AAAAAAAAAP8/XeWIPInbdPY/s640/new hamp 071.jpg

 

[terryo]

OMG! That's awful. I feel so bad hearing this. What a terrible loss for you.

 

[tglazie]

I despise raccoons. I used to have a young peninsular cooter that was given to me by one of my father's coworkers. He was raised indoors all of his life and had been given a very poor diet. He was, as a result, stunted (he was only four inches despite his 8 years of age!). He also enjoyed sleeping on the land area at night, a behavior not typical of animals raised in a more natural environment. One day, a raccoon started casing my yard, saw him on the basking spot, and resumed to chew off his entire rear half.

I figured the raccoon would leave, but I kept watch in the yard just in case. Sure enough, this guy visited every night after the incident. He figured that if he found food here once, that he could find it again.

So, that day, I went to Academy and purchased an animal trap. I used a bowl of cat food as bait. The cocky raccoon would simply retreat beneath my tool shed and emerge whenever I would return to the house, so within fifteen minutes, he was checking out the trap. Initially, he thought he was clever, reaching his paws through the mesh of the trap, using his dastardly hands to pull food through the trap! I then went outside, turned the trap at a different angle, and returned indoors. He wasn't so smart this time. He went through the trap entrance, stepped on the trip, and started growling, hissing and spitting, obviously upset over his newfound confinement. Many people think that these guys are cute, but anyone who thinks that has never witnessed the viciousness of these little thieves when they're cornered. They will reach those devilish little hands through the mesh, trying to get at whoever is close enough to snatch. I then put on a thick pair of leather gloves and thick jeans. This is absolutely necessary when lifting an animal trap with a raccoon, as their little hands can scratch, and who knows where those grubby little paws have been.

What you do next depends upon local laws. Never release a raccoon onto someone's property without their permission. Luckily, I have an old family friend with ten acres outside the city who allows me to release skunks and raccoons onto his property. If you do not have such an option, your only legal recourse may be to call animal control. They will take the animal to a designated release point and return your trap for a fee.

The only other predator whose mischief I've suffered has been a skunk. Skunks are a problem given that they can dig like a gopher tortoise, easily getting under a six inch deep fence within twenty minutes. They are also equipped with a sense of smell from hell. They're immune to rattlesnake venom, and they were built to devour reptiles. I had one kill off an entire batch of baby sulcatas; that devious Peppe le Pieu dug beneath my perimeter fence, then resumed to dig beneath the fence of my babies' enclosure, circumventing the screen top that I thought was so secure. The following morning, I found pieces of shell strewn across the enclosure. Noticing the intrusion burrows, I filled them in and placed bricks over them. I then set the trap and stayed up to watch out for him. He dug a new hole, five feet from the first one, smelled the catfood baited trap, and ofcourse, he fell for it. This particular stink tailed weasel was huge. I couldn't believe it. I didn't take an official measurement of weight, given that I didn't want to get sprayed, but from having weighed the previous raccoon that was twenty five pounds, I would guess this guy was at least fifteen pounds.

With skunks, I would suggest that should you trap one, you should call animal control. Getting sprayed by a skunk isn't on anybody's to-do list, so such a thing is best left to professionals.

T.G.

 

[firework]

Hi, people, I am very sorry to hear your loses.

Making a scarecrow near your pond or tortoise pen will help. If you put one of your old close on it, the raccoon or hawk will smell people smell and leave your yard alone.

 

[Rhyno47]

Look up blue herring deterrents. You can purchase a motion sensitive sprinkler that will turn on for thirty seconds when something comes close. Also raccoons cant tear apart a tortoise shell. Maybe a baby turtle or small tortoise but not a russian tortoise. Their shells are fairly thick and strong. Where do you live? Coyotes can do that as well as black bears. Depending on where you live there are also otters and non native large monitors to worry about. Granted I could be wrong and coons might be very strong but dogs can only scratch and etch away at tortoise shells and they are a bit tougher than raccoons.

---

I would advise anyone with small turtles outdoors to get motion sprinklers. They are very surprising and annoying to small animals especially birds.

 

[Jacqui]

you don't have to keep them indoors during the day to avoid the coon, they only come out at night, just FYI

The ones I have had experience with, actually came toward evening. The sun was hours from setting when they showed up. I know because I had thought they only hunted at night, until I started sitting up at night in the chicken house til we could get them convinced that chicken should not be on the menu every night. Coons are smart and tend to be very persistant.

 

[RV's mom]

the nightmare of every animal lover/owner. I am so sorry for your loss.

teri

 

[pugsandkids]

I'm so sorry.

 

[shellfreak]

you dont mess around eh? trapping is probably a little more humane then knocking one off with a pellet gun. i like the hot wire idea, but i have young kids and they are obssesed with the turtles, i cant take the chance of the hot wire not being off, or randomly turning on. im going to build a lid for my enclosures. my russians spend the winter inside, so they are pretty comfortable with being inide. my boxies have never been inside, man are they ticked off.