Red Ants, Vet and Eating questions

gabby.santana said:

Because it has been so blazing hot and humid during these past weeks, I have been letting my DT and box turtle remain outside 24/7.

There have been a couple things I have noticed.


First. RED ANTS. I am not sure how I can get rid of them without harming my pets. I need suggestions please.


Second. This question ties in with my third concern. I live in central valley California. The closet city to me is Fresno.
Recently with the change of letting my boxie sleep outside, I have noticed he really hasn't been eating and I haven't seen any of his poops. I am not sure if he has been eating whatever snails he finds.

Should I worrry? I started thinking he might need to see a vet again.

The first vet I visited, had to basically Google search her assignment on him.

Is there a knowledgeable reptile vet in the Fresno area that I can go too?

My DT has never been to a vet. He has kept his normal eating habits. I have noticed however that I hear his breathing. I can't tell if he's wheezing a bit. However, I do think some breaths sound louder than others.

Sorry for my long post. Thanks for reading.

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Reptilian Feline said:

If you don't want to use pesticides, you can try pouring hot or boiling water down their hole. I've also heard that sweetener might work as they can't live on it, but thinks it's sugar. That is however ancedotal. I have used hot water to move some ants.

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Tom said:

1. Red ants. We have at least three species here and they require different strategies. For the big red ants, I use Amdro ant granules, but I don't do what the label says. Directions say to scatter it all over with the idea that the ants will come pick it up and carry it home. I don't want it all over the place like that even if its not inside a tortoise enclosure. What works much better is if you pour a little pile right into the entrance of the ant hill. They will carry it all inside in an hour or less to clear their entrance. By the end of the day, you no longer have any ants there. If this is inside an animal enclosure, I either remove the animal until the bait is all gone, or I cover the bait somehow so the animal can't get to it. Every once in a while on some of the larger colonies a small resurgence will occur within a few feet of the original opening. A second application wipes them out completely.

For the little red ants, I find that the relatively non-toxic Terro ant bait trays work the best. They are most effective indoors or in sheltered areas. Part of their attraction is the water here in our dry climate, so they don't work well outdoors near irrigated lawns where the ants have all the water they need. The hardest part about using these is leaving the ants alone. The baits will attract the ants and soon they will swarm it. You have to let this happen so that the ants will carry the boric acid back to the entire colony and wipe them all out. These baits are also the best way to get rid of the little Argentine black ants that invade our houses too.

2 and 3. Our climate is unique here because of the massive temperature swing of 30-40 degrees from day to night. In the native range of the box turtle there isn't so much difference. If it 90 degrees during the day in Lousiana, it might cool down to 85 at night. If its 105 here during the day, it will cold down to 60 at night. These huge temp swings are not good for our tortoises and turtles. Aquatic turtles manage this by getting in an out of the water. Your DT can manage this problem with the use of a burrow. The above ground temperature swings are not good for DTs either and this is a problem for a lot of keepers. Underground things are much more stable. At 3 feet deep, my man-made burrows stay right around 80, day and night all summer long with no added heat. It can be 115 at 2 pm and my burrow is 80, then it can drop to 55 on a cool summer night and my burrow stays 80 all night. This is what your DT needs. To avoid the extremes at either end of the scale. You can bring them in at night, or you can make a heated shelter so the temp doesn't drop too low. And during the heat of the day you can use misters, sprinklers, shade cloth and lots of plants and bushes to keep thing cooler.

I don't know about any reptile vets up that way.

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