Hi, I've got a redfoot,so she needs humidity. Working on a long term better enclosure but currently she's in a 40 or 50 gallon tank with a screen mesh lid. I use coco coir substrate kept damp and covered with cypress mulch. It wasn't staying humid and warm enough so I covered with aluminum foil and cut out the part with her light and heat lamps.
Last night when I fed her, when I opened the lid, it disturbed a bunch of ants that may be living in the spaces in the lid and aluminum foil? They were moving their larva or eggs, which I'm pretty sure means they're actually set up camp as opposed to just coming in for food. I didn't see any in the tank itself although I'm sure they're there.
Got stuff to change the substrate and clean the tank immediately, which needed done anyway. However I need to know how to not have the same problem again. Borax traps have worked good for me before with ants, but even if the traps are outside the cage, if they're living in or around the cage, would that risk borax in the enclosure? At a high enough rate to hurt my tortoise?
Last night when I fed her, when I opened the lid, it disturbed a bunch of ants that may be living in the spaces in the lid and aluminum foil? They were moving their larva or eggs, which I'm pretty sure means they're actually set up camp as opposed to just coming in for food. I didn't see any in the tank itself although I'm sure they're there.
Got stuff to change the substrate and clean the tank immediately, which needed done anyway. However I need to know how to not have the same problem again. Borax traps have worked good for me before with ants, but even if the traps are outside the cage, if they're living in or around the cage, would that risk borax in the enclosure? At a high enough rate to hurt my tortoise?
