What Ate Rat Caught in Trap?

[Maeschak]

Hello All,

I caught a good sized rat in my weasel box yesterday. (My weasel box is just a wooden box that contains bait and a Victor rat-sized snap-trap). I chucked the dead rat and re-set my trap. I caught a tiny rat in the same trap this morning (very odd to get one right after the other) .... but something came along and ate most of the dead rat's body. The only part that was not eaten was the head and bits of body that were stuck under the snap-bar.
Does anyone know what might come along that quickly and will eat almost the ENTIRE body of a small rat? There are lots of predators around, but I have come to realize that very few predators eat THAT much of a body. It really looked like jaws just came up behind him and took his whole body!

Any info would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[SoCalChickenista]

Hello All,

I caught a good sized rat in my weasel box yesterday. (My weasel box is just a wooden box that contains bait and a Victor rat-sized snap-trap). I chucked the dead rat and re-set my trap. I caught a tiny rat in the same trap this morning (very odd to get one right after the other) .... but something came along and ate most of the dead rat's body. The only part that was not eaten was the head and bits of body that were stuck under the snap-bar.
Does anyone know what might come along that quickly and will eat almost the ENTIRE body of a small rat? There are lots of predators around, but I have come to realize that very few predators eat THAT much of a body. It really looked like jaws just came up behind him and took his whole body!

Any info would be helpful. Thanks!

I've found that in my spring loaded traps too. Not all the time but sometimes only what's under the teeth of the trap is left. I simply assume it was another rat. They're very opportunistic eaters!

Keep setting your traps. Make sure the feed is secured both in your storage and in your run. I think that's about all you can do.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Freeze the rats you catch. They make great weasel, fox, and mink bait.

 

[cmom]

Hello All,

I caught a good sized rat in my weasel box yesterday. (My weasel box is just a wooden box that contains bait and a Victor rat-sized snap-trap). I chucked the dead rat and re-set my trap. I caught a tiny rat in the same trap this morning (very odd to get one right after the other) .... but something came along and ate most of the dead rat's body. The only part that was not eaten was the head and bits of body that were stuck under the snap-bar.
Does anyone know what might come along that quickly and will eat almost the ENTIRE body of a small rat? There are lots of predators around, but I have come to realize that very few predators eat THAT much of a body. It really looked like jaws just came up behind him and took his whole body!

Any info would be helpful. Thanks!

Do you have a game camera you can put up? Most likely whatever it was will be back.

I've found that in my spring loaded traps too. Not all the time but sometimes only what's under the teeth of the trap is left. I simply assume it was another rat. They're very opportunistic eaters!

Keep setting your traps. Make sure the feed is secured both in your storage and in your run. I think that's about all you can do.