Got out of my car this morning after dropping my daughter off at school, and I see a tiny Armadillo chilling in the grass. He's not so tiny, but probably a teenager (not a newborn or anything).
The guy is just chilling there, so I leave him be.
I look out 1 and a half hours later, and he's still in the same spot. So I go down there and nudge him, and he totally moves... but has no interest in moving. I nudge him some more, and he kicks with his feet. I nudge him again, and he kicks with his feet even more... as if annoyed. So maybe he just doesn't want to be bothered... but I've never seen any animal sit in the same spot for an hour and a half other than like a trained dog or lazy cat.
I put out a little dish of water and left it for him, but I assume he'll have no interest in it.
Thoughts? He doesn't look injured... maybe he just wants to chill?
So maybe he just doesn't want to be bothered... but I've never seen any animal sit in the same spot for an hour and a half other than like a trained dog or lazy cat.
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: ... I've never seen any animal sit in the same spot for an hour and a half other than like a trained dog or lazy cat.
Todd, you led us to believe you used to live in Texas. If so, I guess with eyes closed.
This was the picture from the first time I saw him.
Later in the day (after I said he was gone), I found him again about 4 feet away in a different spot ... doing the same thing. Basically, just chilling with his nose dug into the dirt. I put on some gloves (cause MJ got me scared I'm going to get leprosy, hahah), and I started to pet him. He just kind of chilled there, but every 5th time I pet him, he'd kick his hind legs, as if kind of annoyed. So.. figuring that he looked health, I left him, and then looked about 30 minutes later and he was gone.
I came back by the end of the day, and he was in a different spot. This time he was chilling on the mulch, with a new spot where he was doing diggers, but again... just chilling... like, not really moving, but just relaxing with his face buried into the dirt.
He's gone again this morning, so all I can figure is maybe he's totally ok. It's just not like any behavior I'd seen from other Armadillos in Texas. And Cliff, as much as I'd try to give alcohol to the baby Armadillos that lived in Texas, their mother was always standing watch over them, so I largely left them alone. But whenever I'd get near them for any reason (usually by accident), they'd haul ass. But this little guy was more like... I'm here, stop bothering me.
So I guess if this is normal, then I'm good... just wanted to make sure the guy wasn't hurt or anything.
Now keep in mind my northern location... but if I was to see something like that in my lawn, I'd think it was an alien of some sort!
I'm glad to hear you treated it with kindness and respect. After all, it wasn't hurting anything. I'm very much an animal lover, but I don't feel much love for the squirrels here that seem fully intent on finding a home in my attic.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-12-2023).]
Now keep in mind my northern location... but if I was to see something like that in my lawn, I'd think it was an alien of some sort!
I'm glad to hear you treated it with kindness and respect. After all, it wasn't hurting anything. I'm very much an animal lover, but I don't feel much love for the squirrels here that seem fully intent on finding a home in my attic.
Oh yeah, of course... I like these little guys, I just wanted to make sure he was OK.
We also have Gopher Turtles. I don't have any pictures handy, but they are enormous land turtles... not like Galapagos turtles, but they're still pretty big, like the size of basketballs. They're constantly running around in the open plain / field behind my house. There's some plants... "Gopher Apple" or whatever it's called, so I planted a couple of those back there, they love the fruit that comes off of it. I don't really get much else. There's a couple of peacocks in the neighborhood, but not like the one I had in South Florida.
We get lots of squirrels, but they have nests in the trees and don't really bother my house. I feed them nuts sometimes.
A couple of weeks ago, there were two enormous black snakes... like each one was more than 6 feet long. My daughter was totally unphased and said... "OOH! DANGER NOODLES!" and then took out her phone to get a video of it.
We do get these huge ass birds here in Florida though that look like they're prehistoric. I have a video of them somewhere making some crazy noises. They're pretty calm, just walk around, taking their sweet-ass time crossing the road, and then dig around for bugs. But they're kind of cool...
[This message has been edited by 82-T/A [At Work] (edited 05-12-2023).]
We get lots of squirrels, but they have nests in the trees and don't really bother my house.
My yard is full of trees, but apparently, they're not good enough for the local squirrels to nest in.
quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
I feed them nuts sometimes.
I'd like to feed the ones here some lead. How's that for a left-wing commie pinko tree-huggin' panty-waist boy!
quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
We also have Gopher Turtles. I don't have any pictures handy, but they are enormous land turtles... not like Galapagos turtles, but they're still pretty big, like the size of basketballs. They're constantly running around in the open plain / field behind my house.
I'd love to see a shot of one of them! Tear your daughter away from the Fiero and go find one that your daughter can crouch down and pose beside... or if she's keen enough, maybe get a shot of her holding one.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-12-2023).]
Don't have no experience with Armed-dillos.....But once (Approx' ten years ago) I took my dog out as I was going to work....Looked down and see a possum, just laying there playing "Dead"...What utterly amazed me was that it's tongue was out- and FOLLOWING the contour of the rocks it was laying on...Talk about "Playing dead".
My dog Skye didn't even notice it- just ran over on the lawn to "Do her business"...Once we moved a distance away Mr. Possum jumped up and took off.
This was the picture from the first time I saw him.
Later in the day (after I said he was gone), I found him again about 4 feet away in a different spot ... doing the same thing.
I came back by the end of the day, and he was in a different spot. This time he was chilling on the mulch, with a new spot where he was doing diggers, but again... just chilling... like, not really moving, but just relaxing with his face buried into the dirt.
He's gone again this morning, so all I can figure is maybe he's totally ok. It's just not like any behavior I'd seen from other Armadillos in Texas. And Cliff, as much as I'd try to give alcohol to the baby Armadillos that lived in Texas, their mother was always standing watch over them, so I largely left them alone. But whenever I'd get near them for any reason (usually by accident), they'd haul ass. But this little guy was more like... I'm here, stop bothering me.
Todd, that picture of the armadillo was taken by me. I was laying right next to him, doing the same thing, .
I have interacted with armadillos many many times. They do disappear but they are territorial. They like to hide. Much like turtles. You probably seen a turtle retreat into it,s shell. Armadillos when threatened, curl up into a ball, their amored shell protecting them.
I don't see armadillos here in Central Texas but there are plenty of skunks laying dead in the roadways.
Your armadillo was probably eating grubs and adult june bugs under your St Augustine grass ..or the roots of the grass.. A family of dillos can wreak almost as much havoc on a lawn overnight as a bunch of feral hogs.
I don't see armadillos here in Central Texas but there are plenty of skunks laying dead in the roadways.
Your armadillo was probably eating grubs and adult june bugs under your St Augustine grass ..or the roots of the grass.. A family of dillos can wreak almost as much havoc on a lawn overnight as a bunch of feral hogs.
Ok, I apologize, I read this quick and I thought I read, "A family of dildos can wreak almost as much havoc..."
So... I was mowing the lawn today, and I found him. He was laying down under a bush in the backyard. I can only assume it's the same guy, as he was the same size, etc. Poor guy was stone cold-dead, and there were a bunch of ants on him. Judging by the lack of decay, I can only assume he literally just passed last night or this morning.
Poor little guy, I feel bad. I hope it was nothing in my yard that possibly killed him. I used Round-Up to kill some weeds about a month ago, and that's the only thing I can think of that might have caused it. Anyway, I buried him in the back.
Good news though, I noticed there's a huge sand-hole in the field right behind my house. There's a massive gopher turtle that dug it up... and you can see him in there when you look. Of course, I didn't get a picture of it. But I'll post one at some point. There's a bunch of these guys around, but this is the first one that's RIGHT behind my house, rather than 30-40 meters away.
I wish I could find the squirrels here in that same condition. My cat is a fantastic rodent (mice & large rats) exterminator.... but dammit, she doesn't pay any attention to the squirrels.
Too bad about the little armadillo though. I didn't want to say anything earlier, but I suspected from the get-go that something was wrong with him. I'm obviously no armadillo expert, but he sounded a bit too "sluggish" from your earlier descriptions. Nice that you buried him rather than throwing him in the trash bin. Little things like that can leave a lasting favorable impression with kids.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-13-2023).]
I wish I could find the squirrels here in that same condition. My cat is a fantastic rodent (mice & large rats) exterminator.... but dammit, she doesn't pay any attention to the squirrels.
Too bad about the little armadillo though. I didn't want to say anything earlier, but I suspected from the get-go that something was wrong with him. I'm obviously no armadillo expert, but he sounded a bit too "sluggish" from your earlier descriptions. Nice that you buried him rather than throwing him in the trash bin. Little things like that can leave a lasting favorable impression with kids.
Yeah, I don't know why it bugs me as much as it does. I can't help but think it's maybe something I did. It would bother me to know that in spraying weed killer (like, I didn't go crazy, just a couple of areas), that perhaps it caused some neurological problems? But I'm kind of doubting that.
Yeah, I always bury animals if I can, it's the least I can do because it shows some level of respect. Trash cans are for trash.
Back in the early 2000s... I was always leaving my trash can out a little bit longer than I should have for trash pickup... and for some reason, people would always dump dead cats in it. I was like, WTF... and even my neighbor brought me a dead cat one day that died in front of her house... and I was like... WTF...
So I have like 3 or 4 dead cats buried in the backyard of my home in Cooper City.
Yeah, I always bury animals if I can, it's the least I can do because it shows some level of respect. Trash cans are for trash.
I commend you.
I have to admit that I hold no such compassion for rodents. When my Terminator cat proudly leaves a freshly killed mouse or rat outside my back door, it (the rodent, not the cat!) goes straight into my Green Bin.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-15-2023).]
I have to admit that I hold no such compassion for rodents. When my Terminator cat proudly leaves a freshly killed mouse or rat outside my back door, it (the rodent, not the cat!) goes straight into my Green Bin.
These aren't your bins, are they? So many people use plastic bags in these things, when (for example) the composting bin can't compost the plastic bag... and then the trash company has to physically remove and tear open the plastic bag to get the contents out. In most cases, everything you've put in the plastic bag ends up just getting transferred into the normal trash because they don't have the resources to go through it. But just to be clear though, composting shouldn't include anything that's made of meat.
So I have like 3 or 4 dead cats buried in the backyard of my home in Cooper City.
Just estimating, I had about 5 cats, about a dozen domestic canines, one 23 year old horse, 1 sheep, 3 calves, one 1600lb bull (not mine), 2 full grown cows, 4 coyotes, and probably a dozen beavers buried on my old place. I didn't bury squirrels, rabbits, possum, or snakes.
And I dunno how many deer carcasses.. (not mine)
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 05-16-2023).]
I have to admit that I hold no such compassion for rodents. When my Terminator cat proudly leaves a freshly killed mouse or rat outside my back door, it (the rodent, not the cat!) goes straight into my Green Bin.
Ok- just wondering; Which one of those bins does a Mother-in-law go in?
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: These aren't your bins, are they? So many people use plastic bags in these things, when (for example) the composting bin can't compost the plastic bag... and then the trash company has to physically remove and tear open the plastic bag to get the contents out. In most cases, everything you've put in the plastic bag ends up just getting transferred into the normal trash because they don't have the resources to go through it. But just to be clear though, composting shouldn't include anything that's made of meat.
True. The reason people use so many plastic bags, ... our kitchens are not big enough for three different use, colored trash cans.
Did you learn the above when you lived in San Antonio ? Last I lived in San Antonio, 30+ years ago, we just had just one trash can. Now, we have a city employed garbage gestapo agent. Who drives around on the different pick up days, and issues warnings which could end up being costly citations.
Now, I have to use three different colored trash cans on the correct days. Or do I ? I could just do what the city does when it does not do what is so important to the Earth Cause. Throw it into the general trash disposal cycle.
Our disposal regimen, is not so green.
I recycle. I don't pour out my oil change used oil on the ground.
Questions need to be asked ? Why can not plastic bottles be disposed of in HEB bags ? I got warned, via a notice stuck on our trash can, with another on our door.
Another day, we can discuss why I can not park my truck at the curb, not facing the politically correct way of traffic flow.
These aren't your bins, are they? So many people use plastic bags in these things...
No, it's just an image found online. I don't use large plastic "garbage" bags in any on my bins.
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Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
But just to be clear though, composting shouldn't include anything that's made of meat.
When I had my own compost box in the backyard, I didn't put any animal parts in it as I didn't wish to attract critters. Plus it would've probably stunk. Which reminds me... Several years ago there was an influx of rats in the neighborhood, and quite a few somehow found their way into my basement (which is just used for storage). I bought a bunch of rat traps (this was before my Terminator cat took up residence), and quickly caught them all. I threw them my Green Bin, and for whatever reason, I missed putting the Green Bin out for pickup for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, the Green Bin was sitting in the summer sun at the end of my backyard. I guess I hadn't ventured into the end of my yard for awhile... but when I did... Oh My Gawd... ...what an absolutely nauseating stench there was emanating from my Green Bin.I'd never smelled anything quite that putrid before!
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-16-2023).]
Originally posted by Patrick: Which reminds me... Several years ago there was an influx of rats in the neighborhood, and quite a few somehow found their way into my basement .
I am joking Patrick. Birds of a feather flock together.
Ya ya, could be. But in a port city, it's pretty difficult not to have rats basically everywhere. I feel pretty lucky that it has only ever been that one episode where the damn things were getting into my house.
I'm glad to hear you treated it with kindness and respect. After all, it wasn't hurting anything. I'm very much an animal lover, but I don't feel much love for the squirrels here that seem fully intent on finding a home in my attic.
I've mounted a live trap on the side of my house to try and catch (and then re-locate) the damn squirrels that are driving me nuts here, but they appear to be just too damn smart to get caught. However, while sitting at my computer today, I heard a relatively loud mechanical clank from outside. I looked out my window, and noticed the trap had been triggered! Finally, I got one of the little bastards!
Not quite.
Bush tit.
Yes, yes... I let it go.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-01-2023).]
I've mounted a live trap on the side of my house to try and catch (and then re-locate) the damn squirrels that are driving me nuts here, but they appear to be just too damn smart to get caught. However, while sitting at my computer today, I heard a relatively loud mechanical clank from outside. I looked out my window, and noticed the trap had been triggered! Finally, I got one of the little bastards!
Not quite.
Bush tit.
Yes, yes... I let it go.
I'm pretty sure my neighbor has a huge rat living in her tall grass (I've cut it now).
I set my live trap to catch him. Damn if one of my idiot chickens didn't end up in there. No rat still.
It's becoming readily apparent from your and my experience, that rats and squirrels are a helluva lot smarter than chickens and bush tits.
My Dane has killed 1 squirrel. They're his nemesis. I was going to teach him to hit them on command, but when I lined him up on one in the city he hit my fence so hard i thought he was going to bring it down and he could easily have cleared it. I don't mind the squirrels and they do drop a lot for my chickens and ducks . That rat I I think got my first batch of chickens though. I wasn't getting them put up early enough and they were still a bit small. I bought a pellet rifle for the backyard at a garage sale last week, so maybe I'll see the rat again. The birds are all to big for a rat now though.
One of our older neighbors was telling us how he used to set 40 traps a day and would sell the pelts and eat the meat for himself. I've got a lot more chicken room and be wants me to start growing them to eat. I just don't have a good incubation spot here, so we'd have to get them big for my yard first. We have 3 pens at different places. Buddy just lost 21 guineas because his wife didn't get them secures. I was told rats are out huge this year in our area.
Good luck with your pest problem. I'd rather get the joy of shooting them than to catch one. I don't like eating squirrels either.
I'm going to stop using the shed and build another coup at the opposite side of 1 yard. I can't keep the interior clean for as few birds as it is. 1 is very secure, but we spent too much time and money and they've already killed the entire grass of the run. Stupid birds.
Is that a gas meter sticking out of the ground in the middle of your yard? Is that usual in your area? Here, the gas meter is always located right beside the house.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-06-2023).]
Is that a gas meter sticking out of the ground in the middle of your yard? Is that usual in your area? Here, the gas meter is always located right beside the house.
The left one is a gas meter. Extremely commonin this area. At least 5 of my homes I can recall having them out like that. I didn't even realize it was weird.
How's that for a left-wing commie pinko tree-huggin' panty-waist boy! 
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My cat is a fantastic rodent (mice & large rats) exterminator.... but dammit, she doesn't pay any attention to the squirrels. 
