Ants in enclosure

[jaqnovoa]

Hi everyone!

As we live in Spain our tortoises are now enjoying outdoor living.
We have noticed a lot of ants in their enclosure and are wondering if they can do our torts harm.
I sort of assume not as in the wild they live together but just wanted some expert advice.

Thanks

 

[GBtortoises]

Fire Ants here in the U.S. can cause serious harm to tortoises. They often attack the clocoal area of the tortoise causing inflammatory bites which can lead to potential infection.

Regular black ants, at least those in my area, have never posed any problems to my tortoises.

I would suggest identifying the ants that you have in the area if you feel that they may be a potential problem to your tortoises.

 

[Tom]

I have to agree, as usual, with GB. I don't know what types of ants occur there, but here in the States I've seen everything from peaceful co-existence to all out attack. Personally, I just wouldn't risk having them in my enclosure, unless your enclosure is huge and they can really get completely away from them.

 

[jackrat]

I've had good results using diatomacious earth.It's non toxic and works great.You can use it to worm your torts too.

 

[jaqnovoa]

Thanks for your replies. They seem to be regular black ants and don't seem to bother our torts but I'll probably remove them just to be on the safe side.

Thanks again.

 

[jackiedots]

Thanks for your replies. They seem to be regular black ants and don't seem to bother our torts but I'll probably remove them just to be on the safe side.

Thanks again.

Hi, You sound as though you have moved ants before. What method did you use ? I have ants in my enclosure / garden at home and was thinking of asking the same question. I am in UK and have an extremely long ant colony that follows the line of the wall of my raise flower beds. They have been there for a few years but I have not bothered about them before but now I have the torts I really wants to get rid of them.

I hope you get rid of yours and would be interested to know if you do......how you did it !!
Regards