If so, about at what age?
If not, what protection from neighborhood scavengers can you provide for it?
If not, what protection from neighborhood scavengers can you provide for it?
Can a sulcata defend itself from a racoon?
- Thread starter Biff Malibu
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Haha well I'd say a 50lb sulcutas could hold a good battle, they'll ram the raccoon pretty hard.
I'd say they could hold thier own againsta 'coon pound for pound.
I would say as long as they couldnt pick up the tortoise then he would be fine. But I have no experience with raccoons.
For one of my tortoises to have to defend itself from a raccoon, the raccoon would first have to defend itself from me and my dogs.
Hint- the raccoon will lose...
Hint- the raccoon will lose...
Tom said:
My same situation exactly. Haha
Well my current dog would be of no help (fat chihuahua), and of course if I heard raccoons outside I would go out there to break it up (raccoons oddly make sounds like monkeys in my backyard sometimes).
But my concern is that when my hatchling gets to a certain age/size and goes to "full time outside", what would happen if a raccoon tried to mess with it at night and say - it didn't wake me up, or I was out that night - etc... etc...
I plan on keeping him inside at night for quite sometime, BUT when that day comes. Its adult enclosure would give it some protection too.
My thoughts are that just the ability for a sulcata to fight back (ramming) is a deterrent for a raccoon anyways.
My friend had chickens in a cage when he was a kid and raccoons got to those, but chickens really have no ability to fight back in any way (or the intelligence)
But my concern is that when my hatchling gets to a certain age/size and goes to "full time outside", what would happen if a raccoon tried to mess with it at night and say - it didn't wake me up, or I was out that night - etc... etc...
I plan on keeping him inside at night for quite sometime, BUT when that day comes. Its adult enclosure would give it some protection too.
My thoughts are that just the ability for a sulcata to fight back (ramming) is a deterrent for a raccoon anyways.
My friend had chickens in a cage when he was a kid and raccoons got to those, but chickens really have no ability to fight back in any way (or the intelligence)
Same here Tom. My German Shepherd would be all over it. Lol
raccoons aren't always alone.. as long as its big enough to not be carried off, you might be ok.
Make sure no food is sitting out at night to attract them. If you have a box, make sure it get locked at night, or a cover over the top of night quarters.
Make sure no food is sitting out at night to attract them. If you have a box, make sure it get locked at night, or a cover over the top of night quarters.
good thing raccoons don't eat tortoise food! (usually cat and dog food from what I've seen)
Biff Malibu said:
There have been several threads discussing raccoons as predators and protection from them. Raccoons can be a threat to small tortoises, even one's they can't carry away. I was thinking that a simple hinged door and lock would suffice to protect my 2 1/2 year old, but after reading the thread listed below I am not so sure. I added a concrete block in front of the door for tonight. I am going to look into getting a more substantial door and look for my night box.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Beware-of-raccoons#axzz20jvHGNIM
and that's exactly what i was afraid of (although it sounds like she had a smaller tort)... guess he's getting locked up at night until hes fighting size! I really can't think of another way to protect it from raccoons.
I build my outdoor tortoise boxes out of plywood. I raise them up on 4x4 pressure treated skids to prevent flooding in the event of heavy rains. At the bottom of the house in front of the door I install a hinged plywood flap. When the flap is up the door hole is completely covered. Keeps it warmer in the winter and nothing can get in or out. When the flap is down it is a sturdy ramp to get in and out of the house. I use heavy duty hinges and a heavy duty latch to keep the door up. I usually use a heavy brass quick clip, but if I had a raccoon issue, I could use a padlock instead.
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I have a concrete block "cave" with an insulated tiled roof on a hinge. The floor is slightly raised cinder blocks and hollow in case of rain. The chamber is just big enough for a full sized female sulcata. I wanted it to be tunnel like at the entrance so a large raccoon would not fit inside while the tortoise was sleeping. Mine is 65lbs now. So she takes up 1/3 of the space right now. If I lift her flap up to peak in and check on her she will lunge forward and ram me. That is, if she is sleeping!. I used to worry about raccoons, but I'm worrying less and less as she grows.
great info guys!
how big do you think the night shelter needs to be?
the bigger the better obviously, but there is a limit in my backyard. i easily have space for a 3.5'x6' ... even bigger if i NEED to, it would require remodeling existing ground work. ( it has plenty of room to play around during the day though)
its been my observation that my tort spends most of his evenings under a log... he must enjoy small spaces.
would it possibly prefer a snugger design like a 3x3? for evenings, then free roaming during the day?
how big do you think the night shelter needs to be?
the bigger the better obviously, but there is a limit in my backyard. i easily have space for a 3.5'x6' ... even bigger if i NEED to, it would require remodeling existing ground work. ( it has plenty of room to play around during the day though)
its been my observation that my tort spends most of his evenings under a log... he must enjoy small spaces.
would it possibly prefer a snugger design like a 3x3? for evenings, then free roaming during the day?
In the enclosure section there are many good examples of tortoise boxes. The one I built was patterned after Tom's "Mother of all Boxes". Since mine has to house only one tortoise it is smaller than Tom's, about 2' x 4'. Tom's thread does show how to construct, insulate, assemble, heat, and finish an incredibly strong night box. My tortoise has a pen for the day when I am not home, has free roam of the yard when I am around, and the heated night box for the evenings and cold winter days.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...he+mother+of+all+tortoise+boxes#axzz218kjFqhW
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...he+mother+of+all+tortoise+boxes#axzz218kjFqhW
My lone male has a 4x4x2' box. Inside dimensions are more like 43x44". I like this size because it leaves enough floor space for him to be inside the warm box, but only half the floor is covered with his Kane heat mat. He can choose to be on it or off of it. I use an overhead Radiant Heat Panel and a Kane heat mat on the floor. These are both on a thermostat. I set it at about 75 during summer and 85 during winter, since he won't be able to warm up on a "cold" (hey, cold for Southern CA, okay? 
) winter day.
Bigger is not better for your night box. Bigger means a larger area to try to heat, and they like their sleeping quarters to be somewhat snug. This, of course, is for a warm climate where they will have warm days for most of the year. In the frozen North, other arrangements would be necessary.
So if you build this sort of box, with the aforementioned door flap, your routine would be to pop the flap down in the am and set out some food on a tray. Then in the late evening check to make sure he's in his box and A-OK, then close and latch your flap and remove any left over food from the area, so that rodents, bugs and raccoons don't have any reason to be there. I also like to dump the water dish for night time and refill every morning. When he's at this point you can also start leaving out a little pile of orchard grass hay or bermuda. Most of them will start to munch on this dry hay once they hit around 12" or so. Mine eat it even when there are green weeds and other good stuff to eat around.
) winter day.Bigger is not better for your night box. Bigger means a larger area to try to heat, and they like their sleeping quarters to be somewhat snug. This, of course, is for a warm climate where they will have warm days for most of the year. In the frozen North, other arrangements would be necessary.
So if you build this sort of box, with the aforementioned door flap, your routine would be to pop the flap down in the am and set out some food on a tray. Then in the late evening check to make sure he's in his box and A-OK, then close and latch your flap and remove any left over food from the area, so that rodents, bugs and raccoons don't have any reason to be there. I also like to dump the water dish for night time and refill every morning. When he's at this point you can also start leaving out a little pile of orchard grass hay or bermuda. Most of them will start to munch on this dry hay once they hit around 12" or so. Mine eat it even when there are green weeds and other good stuff to eat around.
love the design. definitely modeling my build after it.
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