Ants ate my tortoise alive

[Adam222]

I’m absolutely heartbroken today. When I went to feed my tortoises, I found one of them dead and completely swarmed by ants. He had spent the summer sleeping, and I left him alone because I thought it was best not to disturb him. The hardest part is knowing he was alive when they attacked, he died halfway out of his burrow, trying to escape.
He is a healthy spur thighed boy and i had him for years.
I want to beg everyone reading this: please check on your sleeping tortoises regularly, even if you think you shouldn't disturb them. Don't make the same mistake I did and assume they are perfectly safe. I never had this issue before, i have no idea what happened’.

He was eaten by regular ants, not sure which species they are, They are very small.

 

[COmtnLady]

I'm sorry that you have lost your friend, but glad you had such a nice long time together.





Because you say, "...He had spent the summer sleeping, ..." it sounds like you are in the Southern Hemisphere. Knowing the approximate area where someone is helps with suggestions on best practices.




It sounds as though he hasn't been well for quite some time. It is not normal for them to "sleep" for the summer. Yes, they will dig into a burrow and be reclusive to get away from the heat, but a good way to judge if the behavior is problematic when you have more than one is to notice how the others are acting. Generally, they act sort of similarly - active or not, eating or not, and so on. Was he the only "sleepy" one? When was the last time you saw him walking around? What and how has he been eating and drinking? Did you eradicate the ants so they can't get near the others??

I'm not trying to make you feel badly, but it might be good to know what is going on so that it doesn't affect any of your others.



.

 

[Adam222]

I'm sorry that you have lost your friend, but glad you had such a nice long time together.





Because you say, "...He had spent the summer sleeping, ..." it sounds like you are in the Southern Hemisphere. Knowing the approximate area where someone is helps with suggestions on best practices.




It sounds as though he hasn't been well for quite some time. It is not normal for them to "sleep" for the summer. Yes, they will dig into a burrow and be reclusive to get away from the heat, but a good way to judge if the behavior is problematic when you have more than one is to notice how the others are acting. Generally, they act sort of similarly - active or not, eating or not, and so on. Was he the only "sleepy" one? When was the last time you saw him walking around? What and how has he been eating and drinking? Did you eradicate the ants so they can't get near the others??

I'm not trying to make you feel badly, but it might be good to know what is going on so that it doesn't affect any of your others.



.

Thank you for the kind words and the advice. Honestly, don't worry about making me feel bad at all, I really appreciate you looking out for them, and I just want to make sure my other two tortoises stay safe.
You actually guessed right about the crazy heat, but I'm based in Oman. Because it gets so intense here, I just figured he was hiding out from the sun.
But you made a really good point about comparing how they act. My other two tortoises weren't sleepy at all, they were up and actge every single day, so looking back, that was definitely a warning sign I missed. And you're totally right about the ants, I actually started getting rid of them today so they don't get anywhere near the others.
The last time i saw him was last month. He was perfectly fine.
Thanks again for the help and for checking in, it really means a lot.

 

[COmtnLady]

No matter how long we have with an animal we love, its never enough.

 

[Adam222]

No matter how long we have with an animal we love, its never enough.

It really isn't. They just leave such a massive space behind when they're gone.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I am so sorry for your loss

 

[Adam222]

I am so sorry for your loss

Thank you

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I totally understand if you don't feel like answering any questions, but when you say that the tortoise was sleeping do you mean that he was in aestivation?

Totally right call on getting rid of the ants, if you need any tips on it, I am sure you can get them here on the forum.

 

[Adam222]

I totally understand if you don't feel like answering any questions, but when you say that the tortoise was sleeping do you mean that he was in aestivation?

Totally right call on getting rid of the ants, if you need any tips on it, I am sure you can get them here on the forum.

I don't mind the questions at all! I need all the tips and advice I can get right now to make sure I protect my other two tortoises.
But yes, he was in aestivation. He actually did that every single year and nothing ever happened before, so this completely caught me off guard. This was the first time the ants have ever attacked like that.
Thank you for the support, I'll definitely look around the forum for some tips on keeping the ants away

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I don't mind the questions at all! I need all the tips and advice I can get right now to make sure I protect my other two tortoises.
But yes, he was in aestivation. He actually did that every single year and nothing ever happened before, so this completely caught me off guard. This was the first time the ants have ever attacked like that.
Thank you for the support, I'll definitely look around the forum for some tips on keeping the ants away

Maybe @Tom has some insight on this?

 

[COmtnLady]

I apologise for not posting this sooner. This is a home-made ant eradicator. Not sure what the borax might be called where you live, and it is import to have in the syrup (because it is what kills the ants). I'd put it in a place where the ants go all the time, but that your tortoise can't easily walk through.

.

 

[zovick]

I’m absolutely heartbroken today. When I went to feed my tortoises, I found one of them dead and completely swarmed by ants. He had spent the summer sleeping, and I left him alone because I thought it was best not to disturb him. The hardest part is knowing he was alive when they attacked, he died halfway out of his burrow, trying to escape.
He is a healthy spur thighed boy and i had him for years.
I want to beg everyone reading this: please check on your sleeping tortoises regularly, even if you think you shouldn't disturb them. Don't make the same mistake I did and assume they are perfectly safe. I never had this issue before, i have no idea what happened’.

He was eaten by regular ants, not sure which species they are, They are very small. View attachment 400738

These look like fire ants which very nasty. If you touch their mounds, you will be swarmed and have multiple bites within a few seconds. Did you notice an ant mound anywhere near your tortoise?

And where do you live? Fire ants are not found in some areas, so I could be mistaken on the type of ants.

 

[TammyJ]

These look like fire ants which very nasty. If you touch their mounds, you will be swarmed and have multiple bites within a few seconds. Did you notice an ant mound anywhere near your tortoise?

And where do you live? Fire ants are not found in some areas, so I could be mistaken on the type of ants.

The OP is in Oman.

 

[Adam222]

I apologise for not posting this sooner. This is a home-made ant eradicator. Not sure what the borax might be called where you live, and it is import to have in the syrup (because it is what kills the ants). I'd put it in a place where the ants go all the time, but that your tortoise can't easily walk through.

.

This is very helpful, thank you. Im not sure what Borax is, but i will try to look for it in the supermarket. Thank you again

 

[Adam222]

These look like fire ants which very nasty. If you touch their mounds, you will be swarmed and have multiple bites within a few seconds. Did you notice an ant mound anywhere near your tortoise?

And where do you live? Fire ants are not found in some areas, so I could be mistaken on the type of ants.

I'm from the Sultanate of Oman. I don't think we have fire ants here, so they must be a different type, here js a picture i just took

They are too small you can barely see them

I didn't actually notice an ant mound right next to him, but I'm still trying to track down exactly where they're coming from so I can clear them out completely.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

This is very helpful, thank you. Im not sure what Borax is, but i will try to look for it in the supermarket. Thank you again

"Borax" is, basically, boric acid - cheap, effective against ants and relatively non-toxic for larger animals.

However, ants don't eat it as is - you have to prepare ant baits:
1. Bait contains 0.5-1% of boric acid (by weight)
2. The rest is something attractive to the ants (10% sugar syrup, wet cat food etc.).

You mix all ingredients thoroughly and then soak cotton balls or cotton pads in it and leave near ants paths (preferably, in shade). For cat food/boric acid mix - just put a pea-sized portion in a bottle cap (replenish as it's gone). If you can, please, make baits inaccessible for larger insects and animals (by covering them with mesh or similar).

 

[Adam222]

"Borax" is, basically, boric acid - cheap, effective against ants and relatively non-toxic for larger animals.

However, ants don't eat it as is - you have to prepare ant baits:
1. Bait contains 0.5-1% of boric acid (by weight)
2. The rest is something attractive to the ants (10% sugar syrup, wet cat food etc.).

You mix all ingredients thoroughly and then soak cotton balls or cotton pads in it and leave near ants paths (preferably, in shade). For cat food/boric acid mix - just put a pea-sized portion in a bottle cap (replenish as it's gone). If you can, please, make baits inaccessible for larger insects and animals (by covering them with mesh or similar).

This is incredibly informative, thank you so much. I'm definitely going to start looking for Borax tomorrow.
I’ll actually end up putting it all over our house and the garden too, because we have scorpions around here that i should probably get rid of as well, so knowing this is relatively safe for larger animals is a huge relief.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

This is incredibly informative, thank you so much. I'm definitely going to start looking for Borax tomorrow.
I’ll actually end up putting it all over our house and the garden too, because we have scorpions around here that i should probably get rid of as well, so knowing this is relatively safe for larger animals is a huge relief.

Glad to help!

I'm not sure how it's going to work against scorpions. My understanding is that they actively hunt prey, not forage. But I'm just guessing now.