firework said:
Birds don't have a sense of smell. Hawks are diurnal and don't hunt at night.
Russian was eaten
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Birds don't have a sense of smell. Hawks are diurnal and don't hunt at night.
So sorry... coons can be nasty and dangerous..
depends on the laws where you are,, but trappers, animal control etc. cant take a release miles away.. They have to Euthanize. Not always pretty or a good option for the poor coon. however.. sometimes.. its the only one when they get bold and start killing things.. But there isnt just one. so your best bet is to bring in the torts at night, or build a better enclosure to keep them out. Might have to put the enlcosure Inside a chainlink dog kennel with a secure top.
depends on the laws where you are,, but trappers, animal control etc. cant take a release miles away.. They have to Euthanize. Not always pretty or a good option for the poor coon. however.. sometimes.. its the only one when they get bold and start killing things.. But there isnt just one. so your best bet is to bring in the torts at night, or build a better enclosure to keep them out. Might have to put the enlcosure Inside a chainlink dog kennel with a secure top.
Sorry about your loss, that's why I can't leave my redfoot out at night..
I would assume either raccoon or opossum. I never had thought of opossums as being a bad predator, but, one morning we woke up to a massacre in the chicken barn and one very fat possum.
When you build a screen lid, use heavier gauge wire, not chicken wire. Raccoons will sit and work at chicken wire until they've got an opening wide enough to get through. They are very smart! They will experiment with lifting the lid. They will try to reach through the mesh. I'm not sure how tall the walls of your enclosure are, but, you may have to build a taller lid just to ensure that he can't reach his arms through and snag one off the floor of the enclosure.
It took us awhile to get our chicken barn raccoon proof. All the perches end a few feet from the side walls so that even reaching his arm in he can't get them. The last chicken he got he actually pulled through the wire mesh because it was perched close enough to reach. They usually come out right at dusk, especially if they like the available menu.
There isn't much that deters them. For awhile we had a dog kennel right next to the chicken barn and had our coonhound mix hang out there at night to scare him off, but, he figured out really quickly that the dog posed no threat in the kennel. Things like fake owls and scarecrows only spook them for a couple nights before they learn that they can't cause any harm.
Pretty much stuck with a secure lid.. I do like a hotwire, but, at the moment we don't use one either since our last one fried thanks to lightning.
We have shot a couple of them, but, I do feel bad doing that since I like having the wildlife around. A new one pretty much always moves in to take it's place anyways, so it ends up being better for everyone to just raccoon proof enclosures if you know they're in the area.
Sorry though, that still really sucks.. I'd be heartbroken if they were my tortoises..
I would assume either raccoon or opossum. I never had thought of opossums as being a bad predator, but, one morning we woke up to a massacre in the chicken barn and one very fat possum.
When you build a screen lid, use heavier gauge wire, not chicken wire. Raccoons will sit and work at chicken wire until they've got an opening wide enough to get through. They are very smart! They will experiment with lifting the lid. They will try to reach through the mesh. I'm not sure how tall the walls of your enclosure are, but, you may have to build a taller lid just to ensure that he can't reach his arms through and snag one off the floor of the enclosure.
It took us awhile to get our chicken barn raccoon proof. All the perches end a few feet from the side walls so that even reaching his arm in he can't get them. The last chicken he got he actually pulled through the wire mesh because it was perched close enough to reach. They usually come out right at dusk, especially if they like the available menu.
There isn't much that deters them. For awhile we had a dog kennel right next to the chicken barn and had our coonhound mix hang out there at night to scare him off, but, he figured out really quickly that the dog posed no threat in the kennel. Things like fake owls and scarecrows only spook them for a couple nights before they learn that they can't cause any harm.
Pretty much stuck with a secure lid.. I do like a hotwire, but, at the moment we don't use one either since our last one fried thanks to lightning.
We have shot a couple of them, but, I do feel bad doing that since I like having the wildlife around. A new one pretty much always moves in to take it's place anyways, so it ends up being better for everyone to just raccoon proof enclosures if you know they're in the area.
Sorry though, that still really sucks.. I'd be heartbroken if they were my tortoises..
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I'm a traditional guy. If a small, bitchy, wild animal came after my animals, I invest in mans best friend. And by mans best friend, I mean the biggest type of dog you can comfortably take care of. Teach it(or get one that has had training) to have little/no interest to eating your other animals, give the dog outside accomidations and see if that solves your problem. If not...hey, a nice big fuzzy thing is plenty loveable <3.
I've used safe/nokill traps in my house for escaped hamsters/mice/rats/gerbils and they work...maybe...the first time...
I've used safe/nokill traps in my house for escaped hamsters/mice/rats/gerbils and they work...maybe...the first time...
Shellfreak, just a quick note to add to the hot wire. My 2 little nephews just love the 'tortles'. They get such joy in coming over and getting to spray them, (and my lights, my walls, the floor)...I have a small RF that is in his own container, and have my other torts in a 2 level tort table. Well after one visit I couldn't find my little guy. Searched high and low, got quite panicky and finally discovered him underneath my new one who was in a quarantine separate area. Come to find out they wanted the 'baby' with the mommy'. So spring summer I put them outside. My bro comes to visit and bamn, the poor little nephew gets zapped because I usually turn it off when they are coming over. Well let me tell you ONE zap cured any surprises for me to find later. No way will they go near those torts till Auntie takes the zap away. Lesson learned...Not sure if I would have done it intentionally, but as it happened it was a very good thing.
Just a thought!!!!
Just a thought!!!!
kimber_lee_314 said:
True...about the only way to keep 'coons out of your yard 24/7/365 is a large (100+ lb.) dog of an aggressive breed.
shellfreak said:
Pellet gun won't even get a 'coon's attention...at the very least, you need a .222 rimfire and go for a headshot (I prefer a 30.06, myself...when I shoot a pest, I shoot to kill humanely).
And, if you live in town, you have no such options for dealing w/ pests.
A dog would NOT be my main recommendation for defense. For one thing, dogs get bit by raccoons and skunks all the time and injured or made rabid. For another, dogs are about the #1 predator of pet turtles and tortoises and it is hard to train it out of them. A feral or a loose pet dog might actually have done this as well.
We in the cities can easily forget how effective of a predator a raccoon, skunk, possum, and so on can be, and most towns also have coyote and feral dogs and cats. Sneaky, strong, vicious, smart, persistent, hungry and unafraid of humans and human smells. Most are also either crepuscular (dawn and disk) or nocturnal hunters.
One other option you have is to make a sturdy LOCKING hide box in the habitat. Do a pre-bedtime check to make sure everyone is accounted for and in the box, then lock it up until morning.
We in the cities can easily forget how effective of a predator a raccoon, skunk, possum, and so on can be, and most towns also have coyote and feral dogs and cats. Sneaky, strong, vicious, smart, persistent, hungry and unafraid of humans and human smells. Most are also either crepuscular (dawn and disk) or nocturnal hunters.
One other option you have is to make a sturdy LOCKING hide box in the habitat. Do a pre-bedtime check to make sure everyone is accounted for and in the box, then lock it up until morning.
It might also be a fox. Before i made a larger pen for my snapping turtle he got out and went to a stream near the house and i finally found him a day later and there was also a fox there with a hurt foot. I am sure it tried to eat him and he attacked it before it could attempt anything on him. I have read that you can repel other animals with their predators urine. Not sure if it really works or not, but it might help. Here is a link to a site that sells it and tells you which one works on what animals. http://www.predatorpee.com/
That must have been so horrifying. I'm deeply sorry about your loss.
Additionally, hawks are actually fairly picky eaters. They only eat what they know and what is easiest to catch. I've trained hawks and falcons in the past and teaching them to eat is part of the job if you raise them from babies upward. They will only hunt those animals that they have successfully "taken down" in the past. So, a hawk generally poses little threat to a tortoise unless it also resembles some sort of native species that is a common prey for the hawk.
I had a red tail that I raised for instance that wouldn't go near rabbits (which are a pretty standard food) until I actually physically showed it that rabbits are food. I'm pretty certain he was kinda scared of the rabbit until he made that connection.
Just wanted to point this out since there are a lot of misconceptions about birds of prey. I didn't want someone reading this thread to get the idea that hawks should be considered as dangerous as racoons and possums and such.
egyptiandan said: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
Additionally, hawks are actually fairly picky eaters. They only eat what they know and what is easiest to catch. I've trained hawks and falcons in the past and teaching them to eat is part of the job if you raise them from babies upward. They will only hunt those animals that they have successfully "taken down" in the past. So, a hawk generally poses little threat to a tortoise unless it also resembles some sort of native species that is a common prey for the hawk.
I had a red tail that I raised for instance that wouldn't go near rabbits (which are a pretty standard food) until I actually physically showed it that rabbits are food. I'm pretty certain he was kinda scared of the rabbit until he made that connection.
Just wanted to point this out since there are a lot of misconceptions about birds of prey. I didn't want someone reading this thread to get the idea that hawks should be considered as dangerous as racoons and possums and such.
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