Baby Armadillo died on our doorway!

seadoug

seadoug

Well-known Member
Location
Texas
No, this is not an April Fool's joke. I love all animals and I'm devastated. I went out to our courtyard today and saw a tiny baby armadillo just sitting on our floor mat and twitching. I thought he would move when I opened the door but it didn't happen. I had no idea what to do. I told hubby and he said it was best not to move it because the mother would probably come back to get it. Well, that didn't happen. He curled up on his side, still twitching, and died. I'm guessing it had physical issues and the mother abandoned it.

We are such animal lovers that when we lived on a lake and saw a severely injured duck we took it to the vet to be euthanized. The receptionist said "there is someone here who wants to euthanize a duck", like we were crazy, but I don't want to see any animal in pain.

I don't want to see any creature suffer so this is a tough one. Any words of wisdom?
 

seadoug said:
I don't want to see any creature suffer so this is a tough one. Any words of wisdom?
Click to expand...
I don't know about words of wisdom, but I can speak from experience.
As an ex-farmer I have seen many animals suffers from a range of problems, drought with associated malnourishment, hypothermia, disease and so on. In individual cases euthanising is the easiest and obvious answer. When the whole flock or herd is affected it's a game changer.
I quit farming because of the stress of a perfect storm of adverse circumstances which impacted my health. When my GP told me I was working myself into an early grave I told her that I'd quit farming and I did.
As an atheist I take solace in the serenity prayer which says there are things we can and can not control...
 

Oh! My...be careful...
animal control could advise
if you did want to move it..
brush onto dustpan
 
Since Arizona law makes it illegal to own and Armadillo, why not call the Sheriff and get his input.
A Couple plastic shopping bags make sense but let the Sheriff decide what's best. Armadillo pets
are legal in some states with permits. They get hit on highways in Kentucky, Tennessee, S. Mo. all the time.
 
seadoug said:
No, this is not an April Fool's joke. I love all animals and I'm devastated. I went out to our courtyard today and saw a tiny baby armadillo just sitting on our floor mat and twitching. I thought he would move when I opened the door but it didn't happen. I had no idea what to do. I told hubby and he said it was best not to move it because the mother would probably come back to get it. Well, that didn't happen. He curled up on his side, still twitching, and died. I'm guessing it had physical issues and the mother abandoned it.

We are such animal lovers that when we lived on a lake and saw a severely injured duck we took it to the vet to be euthanized. The receptionist said "there is someone here who wants to euthanize a duck", like we were crazy, but I don't want to see any animal in pain.

I don't want to see any creature suffer so this is a tough one. Any words of wisdom?
Click to expand...
I feel you on this, Seadoug. It's very hard to see critters die.

A couple of years ago a lifeless baby lizard was in our pool. I scooped him up and for a few minutes DH & I took turns pressing his little chest to try to breathe life into him. Can't tell you how delighted we were when he roused, then a little while later scampered into the tomato garden.

We use no pesticides, traps or poisons in or around our home and property. Only exception is pantry moth traps when/if those buggers show up.
 
Well, I'm happy to say I was mistaken. The baby armadillo was curled up in a ball on his side and twitching something terrible. It got dark outside and I turned on the light and he was gone! Hubby said he saw him walking across our courtyard a couple of hours after this happened.

I did a little research and it seems armadillos curl up and twitch as a means of self-defense. Whew!
 
seadoug said:
No, this is not an April Fool's joke. I love all animals and I'm devastated. I went out to our courtyard today and saw a tiny baby armadillo just sitting on our floor mat and twitching. I thought he would move when I opened the door but it didn't happen. I had no idea what to do. I told hubby and he said it was best not to move it because the mother would probably come back to get it. Well, that didn't happen. He curled up on his side, still twitching, and died. I'm guessing it had physical issues and the mother abandoned it.

We are such animal lovers that when we lived on a lake and saw a severely injured duck we took it to the vet to be euthanized. The receptionist said "there is someone here who wants to euthanize a duck", like we were crazy, but I don't want to see any animal in pain.

I don't want to see any creature suffer so this is a tough one. Any words of wisdom?
Click to expand...
I'm sorry to hear that, I would have been very upset too. Hard to know if the mother would come, or if he was maybe hit by a car and having seizures. Regardless, I hope he didn't suffer for too long, and glad he's out of pain. Hugs to you both, I know you love animals. No words of wisdom, I would have just done as you did, do what I thought was best at the moment.
 
seadoug said:
Well, I'm happy to say I was mistaken. The baby armadillo was curled up in a ball on his side and twitching something terrible. It got dark outside and I turned on the light and he was gone! Hubby said he saw him walking across our courtyard a couple of hours after this happened.

I did a little research and it seems armadillos curl up and twitch as a means of self-defense. Whew!
Click to expand...
Just read this post, that's wonderful! 💙
 

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