Why my rats go through so much food!

Well - looks like the rack on the back deck has flown below the radar for long enough. I'm gonna have to come up with another solution now! My haveahart trap is too small so I need to come up with another. I think animal control will let me borrow one i'll call tomorrow.
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hahahahaha those are big rats you've got there

:rofl: You're going to close down the perfect 'coon buffet? Poor guys! :P There's at least three of them that I can spot...I imagine they go through a lot of food!

Will trapping these actually solve the problem though? If your racks are outdoors, won't more wildlife find their way to the feast?

unfortunately i have no alternative but to keep them on the deck. Momma's rules. I haven't had any other problems in 6 months or so and these 3 have found it just recently. As a result I'll try to trap them and see if it gets better. I'll keep the game camera on it so I know EXACTLY whats hitting it ;)

The female in the bottom pic is nursing...If you trap and relocate her the baby coons will die! That's not cool!

Also if animal control or another pest control company comes and traps them they will kill them....They do not relocate wild animals!

I'm assuming you're using dog food which is what's attracting them...If you switch to rodent block they won't eat that....Problem solved.

Aside from the food going down pretty fast having rats and food outside like this is the best way to attract wild rats, mice, possums and coons who can all carry and transmit parasites and diseases.

You can trap them and kill them but more will come, there is no doubt about that.

I would move the rats indoor and have a trap out there for a while maybe even permanently (you can get a trap from tractor supply http://www.tractorsupply.com/catch-a...k-of-2-5132129)

With Raccoon the worse that can also happen is that they could elect to start living in your house and that could be a disaster if a raccoon make your home his

i wouldnt call animal control. never know who they will tell that you are breeding rats for bunch of snake food. never good to have a ton of people know what you have. fear makes people stupid.
as far as the coon, i have use an easier way to get rid of them, but thats just me
adam jeffery

Those floating eyes in the second picture are spooky as hell.

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Originally Posted by adamjeffery

i wouldnt call animal control. never know who they will tell that you are breeding rats for bunch of snake food. never good to have a ton of people know what you have. fear makes people stupid.

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Agreed. No way would I ever let my neighbors know how many rats live across the street from them. I'd probably be concerned about it too if the roles were reversed.

Wow such a response.

A couple things.

Racoon breeding season is over here in GA. The bottom one has enlarged teats most likely from years of breeding just like a dog, not because it is currently nursing. In fact, racoons are very maternal and I would venture a guess that the other two are her offspring.

Please read the post carefully - I only mentioned getting loaner live traps from animal control. I don't feel like getting asked questions about the rat rack either. People are so very ignorant about rats and snakes. You can go down and pick up live traps for "nuisance animals". If they trap they kill - not my mission.

As I stated - moving the rack indoors is not an option for me. It's been out there for some time and has never been an issue. I just have a few problem animals.

It's my mission to relocate them very far from here not exterminate them. If that were the case I have .22 with a suppressor on it and would handle it tonight.

I don't feed dog food I use 6F. Racoons eat trash...they don't care what brand the food is ;)

No more lectures via pm please...

x3 on not calling animal control...

can you use some sort of repellent? Probably not but hey it's a shot...

i'd suggest switching feeds too if you havent tried!

Unless you live directly in city limits, and that city has an ordinance against it, you can have the rats...
Rats/mice and fish do not fall under any state or federal regulations, just local and county. That's why you have some cities that you cannot feed live rodents to reptiles...
So, that being said, call animal control if there is not a regulation where you live...

animal welfare act(AWA), long boring read, but if you breed exotics I recommend it...

I would be treating your rats often for mites . . . Those raccoons can harbor all sorts of parasites, and pass them to your rats.

How about building a frame around the area where your racks are on the deck and screen it in. It doesn't have to be the whole deck. Just make it real sturdy and have the door open wide so you can work on the racks.

BTW, every animal that I trapped and let go has found it's way back. I never bother the animals around my house, even the ones that dig huge holes, etc. If they climb on or in the house and cause problems they quietly go away. The ones that stay away from the house have a pretty good life.

Yep. I've left my garage door open a couple of times and actually walked in on a coon munching down. Scared the u know what outta me! The only way out was the door I was standing in so I ran away as fast as my flip flops would carry me after hearing that thing hiss at me. Haha.

I feed Mazuri rodent blocks and trust me, the coons love it. Dog food or rodent food, or as the Mod stated, trash... Doesn't matter! Good luck with the issue!

The coons are mobbing xD

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

I would be treating your rats often for mites . . . Those raccoons can harbor all sorts of parasites, and pass them to your rats.

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Good advice - what would you use?

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Originally Posted by JohnNJ

How about building a frame around the area where your racks are on the deck and screen it in. It doesn't have to be the whole deck. Just make it real sturdy and have the door open wide so you can work on the racks.

BTW, every animal that I trapped and let go has found it's way back. I never bother the animals around my house, even the ones that dig huge holes, etc. If they climb on or in the house and cause problems they quietly go away. The ones that stay away from the house have a pretty good life.

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Also good advice - probably the best option for me. These 3 coons have been a problem in the neighborhood. They have been nabbing koi out of my neighbors pound and knocking over trash as well. Thats why i think if I can handle these 3 i'll have a manageable problem.

I regularly go to a piece of property which is an hour drive from here and probably 20k acres of pristine country. You think they would make it back from that far?

The previous owner of my home had problems with squirrels and coons in the attic - she had it professionally "wildlife proofed" I have not had a problem in my 6 years here.

You could always put hardware cloth around the two sides and back of the rack. Then make a wooden frame covered with hardware cloth for a door to cover the front of your rack. This way the rack is self enclosured, but still has plenty of airflow. This will cost less then fencing in the entire deck.

coons are very smart and mischievous and there is a good chance that they would break into it if you framed around the rack. best way to get rid of the issue is trap and remove to where you are talking or use the .22 which i see your not down with which is commendable.
adam jeffery

When I lived outside of the city, I used a couple of THESE hooked to a water hose to keep stray cats out of my sheds.

The kids used to like to play with them during the day too.. So it was a win/win.

Just make sure your friends know its on after 9pm if they decide to drop by on some Friday evening for a drink or two. ;P

hahaha trail cams; a million and one uses XD

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Originally Posted by womsterr

Good advice - what would you use?

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Get a bottle of iver-on pour for cattle from a feed store. The $30-$40 bottles will last you a while. Mix it 5 parts water to 1 part medicine, and spray your rats and their bedding down with it once a month usually but in your case, I might go for once every 2 weeks, since there is a clear and present danger for mite infestation. :gj:

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

Get a bottle of iver-on pour for cattle from a feed store. The $30-$40 bottles will last you a while. Mix it 5 parts water to 1 part medicine, and spray your rats and their bedding down with it once a month usually but in your case, I might go for once every 2 weeks, since there is a clear and present danger for mite infestation. :gj:

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Thank you. How does that affect my snakes would be my question? I pull rats off for feeding almost every other day with all the hatchlings this year...

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Originally Posted by womsterr

I regularly go to a piece of property which is an hour drive from here and probably 20k acres of pristine country. You think they would make it back from that far?

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It depends on the obstacles between your house and where you drop them off. It could work at only 1 mile away if there was a very busy highway in between. If it's only woods, streams and back roads the 20 miles won't help. Depending on the terrain and food sources, a raccoon's home range could be 20 square miles.

I'm not big on moving wild animals. Either they're a problem or they're not. If not, leave them alone but if they are resolve it quickly and humanely. In my mind your situation is a health and safety issue and should be resolved.

Womsterr, I am not sure about how this will effect your snakes. Someone who has more info about snakes than me, might be able to help you, as I dont know what kinds of medications might harm your snakes.

Although, I can say that I have fed animals treated recently with Iver-on to my savannah monitor, with no problems. But I cannot be sure this wasn't just chance, or if it will be different with snakes.

switch the snakes to eat frozen/thawed and the mite problem is solved for feeders. Breeders kept outdoors will most likely continously need to be treated to avoid infestation. no way to avoid exposure to other animals if kept outside.

Personally, it will take many many miles to relocate a raccoon that it won't return to a plentiful food source. Good luck. They'd be caps if it was my choice.

Thank you to Siscoreptiles. I took his suggestion to put hardware cloth around 3 sides tonight. Will still need to build a door for the front.

I have also set a bunch of traps i came up with around the front. It's gonna look a lot different. They are soooo smart they will probably know something is up!

I had a raccoon get into my rat room, but she wasn't at all interested in the rat food. What she was interested in was the grow up tub with no lid that had about 40 grow up mice in it. Ate every single one out of the tub.

try wolf or coyote urine, i've heard of many people around here (coastal BC) using it to repel the raccoons from their ponds.

ive also heard fox urine.....but it stinks as bad as skunk sometimes! very potent

adam jeffery

I wonder if using fox urine would also affect the rats? Stress them out possibly? Just wondering.

Using predatory scents in the area will help keep them back or push them away completely.


I would NOT spray any chemical on a rat that will eventually become food. You will need to either get them in a controlled environment to stop contamination of bugs that will transfer parasites to the snakes or buy them in bulk from another breeder or online.


Keeping them outdoors is a problem cooking up that will cause major havoc in your collection

I've used that Ivermectin Pour on for cattle for my mice after I got the WORST mite infestation in history.

What I did was directly treat the parent animals and the tubs, NOT the babies. Never had an issue with feeding off the babies in six months.

Gale

Who cares, racoons are pests that carry disease. They are varmin. If I was close I'd bring my Patterdale Terrier over and we would take care of bidness. Trap and euthanize.

Regards,

B

just an update...with the tornadoes that touched down a couple miles south of here and a couple miles north of here....not much wildlife moving! ;)

bought a trap at home depot today and got one. It's clearly an adolescent ...so probably 2 adolescents and a momma. 1 down 2 to go ;)

you know I thought I would update this thread as I came across it. I ended up trapping 13 racoons inside of a few week who were relocated to the country. I built a cage for the rack. I have not had a single problem with wildlife or mites since verified with the trail cam - knock on wood.

Here are some of the critters :)

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