Tortoises and Bugs

[ra94131]

So I just recently made the first step in moving my tortoise outdoors and he is in a larger (about double his old one) enclosure that resides in my garage. Obviously, with this he is more exposed to "nature", although not fully yet, and there are some "creepy crawlies" that pay an occasional visit.

By and large these do not worry me, so long as it does not reach an infestation level since he'll be exposed to similar once he is outdoors full time. My question is: are there certain bugs/etc. in particular that I should be wary of?

I know a couple obvious ones would be parasitic worms (especially near/in feces) or ants, but anything else of serious concern?

I appreciate your input.

 

[stinax182]

i suppose it depends where you live. i hear people sometimes have problems with fire ants. there's not much you can do to prevent bugs except avoiding placing the enclosure on that giant ant hill that pops up every summer, haha. you can deal with the problem when it surfaces! hopefully someone with experience will chime in.

and as for parasites, those would be present inside the tortoise and you would have to deworm it. they would not come from outside....unless your tort ate some other feces outside

 

[ra94131]

It's been a while since I originally posted this, but does anyone else have any input? I've had a difficult time finding any similar posts. (Feel free to point me that direction...)

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

There might be two main thought points on something like this - Not counting internal parasites

1) To keep a somewhat aseptic enclosure, no bugs at all ... and ...

2) let bugs roam as they see fit.

These extremes are just that - extremes.

Most bugs end up being a part of the ways that waste does not build up, they consume the animal feces and un-eaten food. Roaches, pill/sow bugs, many others. They can accumulate in high numbers where they, the bugs are protected from their own predators, and in real high numbers make life for the tortoise unpleasant. There is also the chance they become vehicles for parasites to move from one tortoise enclosure to another. Outside in an open enclosure these do not tend to be to big a problem, but each step away from outside and open to inside and closed can escalate these kinds of bugs into becoming a problem.

I have seen snails in such high numbers they 'swarm' an outside food dish when filled, so that was too much. Some tortoise species will eat the snails, others seem to not like eating food the snails have touched.

I recently had some sort of small wood decomposing insects in a bag of orchid bark I used invade several enclosures. I seem to have eliminated them with neem oil. They converged on the food plate to such an extent, I think they inhibited the tortoises from eating. I have subsequently put a vapoma bar in the closed bags before I use any of the orchid bark. That seems to be working on the fresh bark.

Will

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I do not worry about bugs in either of my outdoor enclosures.

I have seen trails of black ants, pill bugs, lady bugs, aphids, fleas, crickets, grasshoppers, moths, black widows and other spiders to name a few. (you get the idea, its nature!)

As long as the black ants only trail through and dont have a nest, I leave them be.
Pill bugs never bother me or the torts.
Lady bugs eat the aphids.
Fleas dont bother the torts but I'm currently trying to figure out how to treat for fleas without spraying all the good tort food..hmm. but thats another issue.
Crickets and hoppers do their thing.
Moths breed in the pens but no worries there either.
I do kill any widows I find. I smash them, dont spray poison on them. But I leave daddy long legs alone.

Does that help you at all?