ANTS

[Ink]

Oh my god. That is terrible. I am so sorry that happened to you. I may have to come up with another solution like a raised bed with legs while he/she is so small

I would not leave him on the ground. I had no mounds of ants or anything. My Russian was full grown.

 

[thetortoiselady]

I would not leave him on the ground. I had no mounds of ants or anything. My Russian was full grown.

Thank you!!

 

[zovick]

Oh my god. That is terrible. I am so sorry that happened to you. I may have to come up with another solution like a raised bed with legs while he/she is so small

A raised enclosure with legs is good, but not fool-proof. Some baby tortoises were killed by fire ants in just such a set-up on St. Catherine's Island in GA years ago. After that, the legs of the enclosure were put in pans of some liquid which the ants would not cross. I seem to think it was beer, but it may have been kersosene.

 

[zovick]

Is this a major issue for all ages or are they more fragile when younger? My plan was in a few years to have him /her outdoors full time but this scares me.

The fire ants will be able to kill a small tortoise much more readily than a large one. However, given enough time, fire ants can kill larger organisms as well.

Believe it or not, there is an actual case of fire ants killing an elderly woman at a nursing home here in GA. An aide placed the woman in her wheelchair and pushed her out of her room just over the edge of the patio and left her there to get some fresh air and sun. One of the wheels happened to be right on a fire ant mound. By the time the aide came back to check on the woman, she had fire ants crawling all over her and had been bitten to death. Sad as it is, this is really a true story.