Time for another round of Name That Scat

April 15, 2019 7:57 AM

While cleaning my basement I found an alarming pile of what I assume is poop, though I would be delighted to discover it was something else.

That's 3/4" electrical conduit, for scale. The individual bits are about 1/8" in diameter and very long, in some cases over an inch long. Does anybody recognize this stuff either as a biological product or the result of some erosive process in my concrete floor? There are no signs of mischief in the ceiling above.

posted by range to Home & Garden (14 answers total)

Best answer: It LOOKS like ferret poop.
posted by Pastor of Muppets at 8:04 AM on April 15, 2019 [2 favorites]

Looks to me like a larger version of what comes out of garden snails. Maybe a big slug?
posted by flabdablet at 8:16 AM on April 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Yeah that looks like ferret or some sort of weasel. They have long poops. You can see some at the end of this blog post.
posted by jessamyn at 8:27 AM on April 15, 2019

Best answer: Another one for Ferret Poop.. but I'd assume it was in a corner more if it was.... they like corners...
posted by niteHawk at 8:39 AM on April 15, 2019

Ferret seems pretty unlikely - they're domesticated animals, why would there be a loose ferret living in the OP's basement?

OP - where do you live? That would help narrow it down.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:54 AM on April 15, 2019

Response by poster: This is a house right on the edge of Boston. Close to a large park and the last working farm in Boston proper so interesting wildlife is not totally out of the question. That is indeed a corner. That part of the basement is about 4-5' below grade. Never in a million years would have suspected a weasel...
posted by range at 9:01 AM on April 15, 2019

Maybe it is a squirrel.
posted by Oyéah at 9:27 AM on April 15, 2019

Best answer: So... apparently there are quite a few wild examples of the Mustelidae family running wild in Mass.. probably not a ferret, but perhaps one of those? Also, apparently, skunks have the same long looking poop...
https://www.mass.gov/service-details/mammals-in-massachusetts
posted by niteHawk at 10:00 AM on April 15, 2019

I think you would know if you had a skunk visitor. Even when not alarmed they are perfumed.
posted by Botanizer at 10:04 AM on April 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

Bat? If you're not seeing other mischief, or hearing something moving around, that seems like a likely option.

It seems too small for skunk or raccoon, although I have had a skunk living in my crawl space / walls, and nobody could smell it until someone surprised it and it sprayed. We did hear it scritching around, though.
posted by momus_window at 11:26 AM on April 15, 2019

Squirrel poops are typically shorter than what you're describing. Raccoon poops are wider. I wish I didn't know that, but sadly...
posted by blerghamot at 12:37 PM on April 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Gonna Nth the Mustelidae poop resemblance. I think chances are pretty good you have a weasel of some sort living in your basement.
posted by Caduceus at 9:06 AM on April 16, 2019

Bat poops usually look like mouse droppings, IME.
posted by Pastor of Muppets at 9:18 AM on April 16, 2019

Response by poster: For anyone like me who can't handle unresolved mysteries, the pest folks ID'd it as scat of the Northeastern Shrew. They like living in tunnels so its presence in my basement remains a mystery but it apparently enjoyed having a walk-out bathroom. I'm going to call ferret "close enough" since I'm clearly not a biologist.
posted by range at 10:01 AM on May 17, 2019 [1 favorite]