Other Turtle Discussion :: A very strange thing I saw (with picture)

[Spike 7.62]

Box turtles are very common in my area, when I rescue them from the road I will give them tomatoes until I relocate them in the woods. I figure any animal capable of eating meat will do so when it can, but when I think of a turtle eating meat I think of bugs, worms, maybe some human food they find in the garbage.. but not a dead possum.



The box turtle was actually eating the brain. I picked the possum up and the turtle actually held on and wouldn't let go. I picked up the turtle and it had possum meat in his mouth. I figured hey, why question nature, and left the box turtle to his business. Now I'll have to look out for rabid turtles!

[Linus]

Why did you attack the opossum. They're harmless. They're basically large cats that live in trees. They're not like raccoons.

[Spike 7.62]

Harmless to people, but not to chickens. They'll grab the smaller banty chickens, crawl up the roosting tree and leap right over the fence. I don't know if they burrow or not but the fence had to be replanted from 1' deep to 3' because something was digging under it. I know they take them over the fence because I set up a trail cam and caught them in the act. Plus they can be diseased, they can knock over garbage cans, get into fights with cats and I generally don't like them.

[Linus]

Well it wouldn't be digging, they're mostly arboreal species. They really shouldn't be fighting with cats. Cats and them see eye to eye. I have 2 very aggressive cats who hunt and kill squirells, birds and bats. Yet, on a number of occassions, I've opened the front door to see one of my cats eating next to a large Oppossum, and sometimes babies as well.

[Spike 7.62]

The only reason I need is that they eat chickens. When you've got animals, in my case chickens and goat, and seasonally pig, you've got a job to do that includes predator control. Shooting them would be more humane, but I live within city limits so I'm not allowed to discharge firearms in the yard.

[Tokapeli]

ZOMBIE TURTLES!!! theyre comin for us!

[Kurtni]

The only reason I need is that they eat chickens. When you've got animals, in my case chickens and goat, and seasonally pig, you've got a job to do that includes predator control. Shooting them would be more humane, but I live within city limits so I'm not allowed to discharge firearms in the yard.

Or you could just cover the top of your chicken coop with aviary mesh like most people and avoid the problem entirely.

Your predator control is ineffective- no matter how many animals you bludgeon, there will be more raccoons and coyotes and foxes to get your chickens. Rather than killing a bunch of animals that play an important part in a food chain, why not just be proactive and prevent the problem in the first place.

[Spike 7.62]

I won't box my chickens in, they are semi free range and there are 40 foot roosting trees in the pen which is quite large, it has a larger foot print than my house. I would need to build an entire barn and cut the trees down just to put a roof on, so I'd much rather bludgeon a few possum or shoot a few fox or coyote than go into debt over that.

[happycamper]

"I cracked it with the baseball bat"

Kinda gruesome, didn't need that mental image.

[Spike 7.62]

Indeed, I can rephrase. I could have said "I came across a dead possum", and left out the back story.

[vear]

heheh