Mosquitos ... substrate

[Ashley Corte]

So we have a major mosquito issue since we brought home Wilber. Our house is filled with them. My son has bites on his bites. We have the Compressed block substrate atm, and are wondering what we could switch to that would help. We tried finding the orchard one, with no luck and my husband was wondering if the cypress mulch needed to be a certain type.

Also, do mosquitos and ants bother torts? I brought Wilber out for his daily sun and (where I had some and issues), and now he seems a bit under the weather.

 

[Yvonne G]

Mosquito eggs hatch in water. The resultant larva live in the water, water that they swim around in until they mature into the flying, blood sucking insects. So unless your tortoise lives in a swamp with standing water, the mosquitos are not coming from the tortoise habitat.

 

[Yvonne G]

Mosquitos don't bother tortoises, and black ants don't either. Red, biting ants certainly might bite your tortoise and even kill it.

 

[Ashley Corte]

They were little black ants as far as I could tell. I don't think we have any red ants in the yard. Thanks so much!

Not sure where the mosquitos are coming from :/ sigh ... We change his water daily so don't think that's an issue. Odd.

 

[Yvonne G]

Any standing water - an old tire with water in it, an unused bucket with water in it...look around your yard and dump out any standing water.