Why did my tortoise smell like ham before death

[Normanthetortoise]

I let my tortoises outside in a pen where they usually went, I check on them very regularly but I let I slipped a few minutes longer and when I went to check on them the black ants had attacked. Dolos, our Greek tortoise has always been somewhat depressed and stayed still while our other tortoise ran keeping the ants off him. I cleaned off the ants and kept them warm for shock. Dolos died a few days later but I’m wondering why he smelled like ham before he died.

 

[daniellenc]

No clue about the ham smell but you can safely kill ants with tort safe products. Also your torts behavior is a sign he wasn’t doing well being kept in a group. Most torts don’t and separate enclosures are important

 

[Yvonne G]

Ants have many scent glands. Most likely you were smelling the crushed ants and not the tortoise.

 

[Normanthetortoise]

No clue about the ham smell but you can safely kill ants with tort safe products. Also your torts behavior is a sign he wasn’t doing well being kept in a group. Most torts don’t and separate enclosures are important

He usually was kept in a separate tank away from the other one since the Dolos’s food would always be stolen. They were always together in the pen though.