Size of tort

[oknursedana]

How big will my tort need to be before I can stop worrying about a predator picking him up and carrying him away? I have Hawks and a rather large great horned owl that lives around here.

 

[Killerrookie]

What type of tortoise you have and how old is he?

 

[oknursedana]

That would be helpful. Sulcata that is approx 4 lbs

 

[oknursedana]

He will be 2 in May.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Yours is 4lbs, huh? Well, my tort is 10" and weighs 5lbs...and I have no worries that a hawk will take him.
I do lock him up every single night though. I don't trust those sneaky night time predators!

 

[weldorNate]

I leave my Russians outside during the day in the summer and nevered worried about the hawks taking my torts I do bring them in at night though for tempeture reasons

 

[ZEROPILOT]

An owl may just drop down and make a meal out of him/her on the spot.
You seldom read about a predatory bird doing something like this..And then you hear about someones pet small dog flying away.
Recent concerns about a hawk led me to build an 8' x 18' X 6.5' fully enclosed tortoise pen.
Up until that time I had my R/F tortoises outside all day. All week. Many as small as 500 grams.
No problems. Ever.
It's likely that such an event would never happen.

 

[Tom]

At 1800 grams you are probably safe from most ariel predators, but not from raccoons, coyotes or dogs. Every situation is really a case by case basis.

I live in the country and we are surrounded by all sorts of predators. I've never had a problem with any predator bothering any of my tortoises, but there are lots of people and other animals around during the day and they are locked up at night.

 

[oknursedana]

Thanks!!!! I live on the outskirts of a city but have 2.5 acres so lots of wildlife.