Aldabra Predators?

[ben awes]

New topic - I live in the city and I have a small back yard where my Aldabra will eventually spend the majority of his life. Right now I bring him in every night and he rarely is outside very long without me around. That being said I am building a 7 foot solid privacy fence that will deter humans and keep out dogs. There are some animals, however, that I will not be able to keep out no matter what I do. There are raccoons around and even the rare opossum.

What predators have you encountered, do you worry about, do you protect against? At what size, if any, are aldabras safe from those animals? This is a big concern and I am sure that I am not the only one. I really want to learn from you all, please share! Thanks.

 

[Killerrookie]

Depends how big your Aldabra is. Most big animals have no predators like the Galapagos and Aldabra tortoise. They usually only have competition for food. If it's a hatchling, than yes you will have to worry for predators because they are vulnerable to them.

 

[wellington]

@ALDABRAMAN and @Yvonne G For any tortoise, I would always have concern for animals that will chew on them, like rats, coons, opossum, etc. if one owns a tortoise that gets big like an Aldabra or sulcata, I wouldnt worry as much, but I would always put them in a locked shed/house at night. Safe then sorry.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

@ALDABRAMAN

~ Our biggest concern in SW Florida is indigo and coachwhip snakes.

 

[wellington]

~ Our biggest concern in SW Florida is indigo and coachwhip snakes.

Greg, love your new avatar pic.

 

[ben awes]

~ Our biggest concern in SW Florida is indigo and coachwhip snakes.

View attachment 130585

And so, what do you do about that?

 

[ben awes]

Depends how big your Aldabra is. Most big animals have no predators like the Galapagos and Aldabra tortoise. They usually only have competition for food. If it's a hatchling, than yes you will have to worry for predators because they are vulnerable to them.

How big? And why not? What's going to stop a rat from chewing on the leg of a 100lb Aldabra or sulcata? Hard to keep rats out.

 

[ben awes]

I want to hear the bad stories - to scare me straight!

 

[Tom]

Once any of my tortoises of any species are over about 10", I don't worry too much about any predators. I lock all of them up at night in secure insulated boxes. Then I open the doors every morning so they can come out when they want.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

@ALDABRAMAN For any tortoise, I would always have concern for animals that will chew on them, like rats, coons, opossum, etc.

~ We have a large population of racoons here, some rats, possums and a small pack of wild coyotes. I have seen hawks and eagles actively searching the skies here also and we have never had any issues. I contribute our fencing, dogs and the fact that we take precautions to protect our hatchlings as to why we have had no predation issues!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

I want to hear the bad stories - to scare me straight!

~ The majority of bad stories we hear about are involving dogs, pesticides, and bad fencing (escapes)!

 

[ben awes]

Aldabraman, do you bring in every adult aldabra every....single.....night? What happens if Cowboy bunks down way out in the yard? I know your females are out at night when they are nesting. So that would mean that they would have to have the freedom to come and go even at night? Otherwise how would you know when they want to lay eggs? Do you keep an extra watch out for predators when they are laying?

Thanks.

 

[Killerrookie]

How big? And why not? What's going to stop a rat from chewing on the leg of a 100lb Aldabra or sulcata? Hard to keep rats out.

It might get squashed! Why do rats run when we are around? Maybe because we could be a predator to them or because of are size. Rats are the worse but to me chicken snakes and raccoons were the main problem back when we owned a chicken farm. What we used was a 22. Or AR to take the pest out or trap them.

 

[mtdavis254817]

Electric fence along the top of my fence and around my pen has really eased my fear of predators

 

[ben awes]

Electric fence along the top of my fence and around my pen has really eased my fear of predators

Yeah, electric fences are frowned upon (illegal in the city.

 

[Tom]

Ben, I know of hundreds of giant tortoises and not a single one has ever been chewed on by a rat. If this was a potential problem, we would know about it. The only time I see rat damage is on outdoor hibernated CDTs and russians during hibernation when they are in a torpor.

Plus the doors of my night boxes keep the rats out.

I can't speak for Aldabras, but have you ever touched a sleeping sulcata? They have a very strong startle response. You could lose a finger if it was between the wall and the tortoise.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yeah, electric fences are frowned upon (illegal in the city.

If your wire is on the top of the fence, some crafty raccoons realize that they can ground it by mashing it to the fence.

 

[mtdavis254817]

Really. Those raccoons are too smart. I didn't realize electric fences were illegal in city limits

 

[mtdavis254817]

I fear rats more than raccoons. We had issues with them last summer. I set live traps after my aldabra ate a dead poisoned rat, and I set up motion sensor flood lights around the pens, and set them to the highest sensitivity settings. When the wind blows my tree limps the lights kick on.

 

[Tom]

I fear rats more than raccoons. We had issues with them last summer. I set live traps after my aldabra ate a dead poisoned rat, and I set up motion sensor flood lights around the pens, and set them to the highest sensitivity settings. When the wind blows my tree limps the lights kick on.

Did the rats chew on your sleeping Aldabra?