Reptile & Amphibian Forums

There is a HUGE raccoon out back, it's twice the size of my biggest cat who is a whopping 17 pounds..my tort has a top on his enclosure, but do you guys think I should bring him in anyway? He's sleeping in this hole right now, out back.

Tough call. I'd do all I could to chase the raccoon away. Thankfully I haven't seen any in this neighborhood in the year I've lived here. It's crows & hawks I worry about.

you should be very careful about raccoons in southern CA (and everywhere else). They will eat or maim any tortoise they can get their hands on. They especially go for aquatic turtles, because they prefer to feed near water, but tortoises too.I know someone who lost a huge desert tortoise to a raccoon - it just gnawed the legs off it.

Some people go for years not worrying about them, until one day a raccoon shows up and kills an entire collection. I live in so. CA and have 20 torts, and make sure they're all locked away at night.

Yeah my tort has a top on his cage, but I havn't been able to find a locking mech that will work for his pen. I'm at a loss.

Huge racoon in yard. Racoons are notorious tort and turt feeders. No lock in your pen to keep racoon away from the ruskie. Bring your tort in at night. Man, better safe than sorry. I am going through that problem with possibly moving mine outdoors. I am predator freaked. Plus, I have a dog who I dont trust not trying to gnaw on them if she got the chance. I am definitely going to have a LOCKING top on my outdoor pen if I decide to go that route. Once again, be safe. Bring the little guy in for the night and put him out in the morning after the racoons go to bed for the day.

Best of luck.

You make me sound so irresponsible, haha.

I have a lock on there, it's just jacked and they don't make the one I had any more, and it's been trouble finding a new one. I only have about a half inch on top where one of the pieces can go.

I would bring the tort in at night as well. A big raccoon will get into the enclosure if it thinks there's a possibility of food. I watched a show on raccoons that dwell in cities once, and I was amazed at what they were able to do. The craziest thing I remember is a raccoon turning on a water spicket.

I only use my outdoor enclosure on nice days, and they come in at night. I have a problem with the worst predator the world has ever known...humans. Compared to them, the raccoons, coyotes, and occasional bobcats that dwell in my neighborhood are easy to deter.

You have a problem with people? Bad neighborhood?

I live in a middle class neighborhood that should by all means be the safe picturesque community everyone dreams about.

But then our neighbor ends up turning into a crackhead and I wake up in the morning to go to college and find 5 cop cars lining the street. Not to mention the time my truck was broken into (they didn't steal anything though...?), the numerous times we'd go out in the morning in winter to find that the gates to the backyard had been opened and there were foot prints leading all the way around the house (and to every door).

I guess I just don't feel safe enough leaving my torts outdoors because I worry about what a 'would-be' intruder might do if he/she stumbled upon them.

Just being cautious. If you have a lock you feel is predator proof, then leave them out. However, if you have ANY doubt that a big racoon could open the top and get your tort, my advice would be to just bring it in at night. Believe me, I am going through the same dilema trying to decide if I even want to put mine outside. I want the benefits of outdoor life with grazing options, natural sun, etc. However, I live in South Louisiana and we have TONS of fireants that pop up in the yard, or anywhere a food source is located (uneaten tortoise scraps, and the tortoise!!!). Plus we have cats, my own dog I dont trust, and opposums get in my yard around my dog from time to time. If I go outdoors, it may only be during the day, and keep them in at night.