can anyone id this killer?

[flowerfairy]

warning - graphic description of injuries ...

My guinea pigs were attacked last night, in their locked hutch.

Something had made a tiny gap in the wet earth under the back wall of the hutch, got in and attacked them all at 3am. The vet who came to euthanaise them said it looked like a bird attack, as their injuries were all at the front of their faces, and their eyes were missing.

I can't believe a bird big enough to do such damage would squeeze through a tiny gap under a hutch. Also I believe the gap would have been too small for a fox to have got through. Most predators seem to kill with a neck/throat bite, so I am at a loss to know what sort of animal would just have bitten their faces rather than made a quick kill. Don't think it was a cat kill either due again to the small gap.

I must have disturbed it when I went out to see what the noise was, as there was no sign of it, but one of the guinea pigs had been half pulled out of the hutch, and was the biggest, so whatever did it must have been strong.

My cat seemed wary when I let her out this morning and slowly sniffed round the hutch before following a scent track to our shed, where i can see a hole several inches wide has been parted in the grass, leading under the shed.

apologies if this is upsetting, but I would really like to know what is out there in my garden, and what kind of animal could have done this. I thought maybe the method of attack might sound familiar to someone with experience.

we live in a rural area, on the edge of a small housing development that is surrounded by hills, farms and woodland, if that's any help.

Thanks.

[sunnydale]

Weasel perhaps? They mostly eat rodents, such as voles and mice - but there's nothing to say they wouldn't attack guinea pigs.

I'm sorry you lost your pets this way, flowerfairy

[connerlake]

Originally Posted by sunnydale

Weasel perhaps? They mostly eat rodents, such as voles and mice - but there's nothing to say they wouldn't attack guinea pigs.

I'm sorry you lost your pets this way, flowerfairy

probably stoat, weasel, mink, or feral ferret. All i can say is iam extremely sorry about your pets and this must be heartbreaking i feel sick for the distress and pain the pigs must have went thru but it is over now and at the very least they are in a better place.

[salukiwhippet]

Most mustelids invariably go for a back of the neck bite, not faces. Sounds like a rat to me. They can be unbelievably predatory.

James

[Dutchess]

I also thought rat.

[Alex90]

It could well be a rat, my grandad used ot breed and show rabbits and he kept his in outdoors hutches and regularly had problems with rats attacking rabbits, often killing them. particularly large buck rats that have the strength to do some serious damage to a rabbit or cavy.

[flowerfairy]

Thank you all.

I am hoping to get a large trip-trap style humane trap to see if we can catch what did it, and release it in a more appropriate place if necessary. The cats still seem to think it is under the shed.

The hole dug under the hutch is about 1-2 inches deep so would be the right size for a rat. Yes, the killing style doesn't seem right for mustelids, too inefficient and messy, but also strange that the cats would be so wary of a rat, since they have both caught them in their younger days.

I have read on other forums that people have had rabbits and guinea pigs attacked by rats and that they have eaten the faces. Horrible, but their suffering is over now.

Thanks for your kind words. Sorry if the descriptions upset anyone.x

[Bishopswood]

Keep a regular eye on the trap, we tried to use one to catch a rat but all we caught were a blackbird and a hedgehog! Had to dismantle the trap to get the large hedgehog out.
Got rid of the rat eventually with an ultrasonic deterent pushed under the shed, only a few pounds from Ebay.

[The Woodman]

Just to add to what others have said that it sounds very much like a rat has done this deed.

Sorry to hear of your loss but it's an interesting scenario because rats are not designed to do such a thing hence the head on attack whereas salukiwhippet has rightly said that mustelids usually go for the back of the neck.

Also, rats are inveterate hole makers, much more than mustelids who normally utilise holes that are already there rather than make them.

[Alex90]

Cat's will very rarely tackle a large rat face to face, from previous experience where a cat has been chucked behind something where a rat has been cornered the cat normally comes flying out not wanting to tangle with the rat. They tend to prefer to take the rat by suprise rather than risk taking a nasty nip.

Dog's are definitely better when it comes to ratting, another option if you fidn it is a rat is to speak to some local ferret keepers, they will often come round and help someone out like that free of charge and its very efficient as they can send it down the hole on the spot. unlike a cat a ferret will be happy to take a rat on face to face and undoubtedly come out on top.

In a recent lab study they tested what effect the scent of mustelids had on wild rats in captive conditions, and they found just the smell of a mustelid was enough to put rats off the food offered.