I set a weasel box out. There wasn't any sign but I had a few beaver traps out by a creek and the box definitely wouldn't catch anything in the garage.

I had put fresh beaver meat and/or liver in as bait. Caught a mouse, no surprise. Tossed it in the back of the box. Caught a shrew. Tossed it in the back of the box.

This morning, caught another mouse, the mouse was ripped in half.
Half the mouse was still on the trap and the shrew was gone from the back of the box. The other mouse was still there.

What happened?
Could something have reached in and ripped half off?
Would mice or shrews have drug off the shrew?
Might I actually have a weasel in the area? (If so, blind luck!)

Maybe no weasel sign is the problem

Meaning there's no weasel in the area? I had expected that there were *not* weasels in the area. I just set out the box out of curiosity since I was going to be checking other traps. I expected mice.

The two questions I have:
Are mice or shrews cannibalistic?

Would the impact of the rat trap have split the mouse, leaving it loose to be carried off, or would something have had to rip it in half to free it from the trap?

Shrews love to eat mice or another dead shrew

I am in SE Nebraska NW of Beatrice. I have set weasel traps in the past. Caught a zillion ( ok maybe not that many) mice but never caught a weasel. We don't have many around here... but we do have a few. If your catching mice regularly your in the right spot. I was told weasels eat alot..... alot of mice. I once ran about 12 boxes in a circle on a creek bottom full of downed branches and thick tall reed grass layed over. So thick it was hard to walk in. Once as I was emptying caught mice from the traps I kept hearing my snap traps trip that I just had reset. More mice. Took me forever to get out of that area with out hearing traps snap as soon as I reset them. Never did catch a weasel. That's my life's goal now... hope I catch one before I hit the furnace !!

I always have problem catching a lot of mice. Somebody several years ago on this forum said to use 1 and 1/2 size traps instead of the rat type traps with yellow pans in the weasel box to reduce this problem. The larger trap will kill the weasel and hopefully not set the trap off with the mice. I might try it when I set for weasels again.

I generally used #1 longsprings, 1 1/2 will also work, and I've used jumps with good success also, I'm sure a coil spring with no pan tension would work. The issue then is when you aren't catching the mice and shrews, they are stealing all your bait.

If you have some mice in the area and are even close to water set out a few mink boxes also. Once things start freezing up the pickings get a little slim for the mink but they know, somehow to find other food sorceress. It's worth a try.

Mice eat meat for sure

Catch mice all the time in my boxes. That's why the weasels are there.

I usually catch a gallon size bag of mice when I'm trapping ermine and a lot of shrews as well. Just part of the game.

If you are catching a ton of mice but no weasels, there likely aren't weasels around.

I agree, but like trapping all other critters we need to set on sign. In some areas I trap weasels I worry if I don't get their in time the shrews will my weasels full of holes.

Thanks to all!

As NebrCatMan said, we don't have a lot of weasels in Nebraska. I'd set out the box expecting to catch mice and was intending to get the box smelling like blood and mouse, hoping to find sign to set on in the future. I would have been utterly astounded to have caught a weasel. The first three rules I learned about trapping were 1) to set on sign, 2) to set on sign and 3) to set on sign.

I knew shrews were carnivores. I didn't realize they were cannibals as well.

I did set a mink box out as well. I've never caught a mink in a mink box. The mink I've caught have been in 1 1/2 footholds, pocket sets mostly... except for the first that was in a raccoon size box trap. That was an angry, smelly guy that bounced around like a furry snake!

I intended on keeping the mice in the freezer for predator bait. Is there much difference between mice and shrews as predator bait? Are shrews any less effective?

I've seen a lot of cats kill shrews and not eat them. I've seen those same cats eat all the house mice, deer mice and voles they catch.

If you put a shrew in with a mouse, the mouse will act terrified. When I was trapping large numbers of house mice out of my barns to sell, if I got a shrew in a Victor Tin Cat knock off, there would be no live mice in it, even if there were over a dozen mice.

Keith

I have found many raptor killed shrews laying on the snow over the years. I assume the bird kills them thinking that it's a mouse, then abandons it when it realizes the mistake. I've never seen anything consume them. I have been told that they are toxic to some extent, but don't know if that's true.