Mosquitoes

[krh11b23]

Ok so my tort stays outside but I put him in a large storage bin at night with a hide to sleep. I leave it outside to stay warm. The last 2 mornings I woke up and the hide was full of mosquitoes. Is there anyways to keep them away without bringing it in other than putting a top on it?

 

[Tom]

Screen top. Make a simple rectangular wooden frame and staple some screen on it.

 

[krh11b23]

Ok thanks ya that's what I was planning on doing was just wondering If there was natural repellent out there

 

[IBeenEasy]

onions and garlic are a natural skeet and tick repellent , but i dont think those are tort safe, maybe put them around the enclosure? or on top? some where near it , but where the tort couldn't reach it?

 

[kmartin]

How dangerous are mosquitoes to tortoises? I know they can carry diseases to mammals but I don't think I've ever seen any information regarding their dangers to reptiles.

 

[ascott]

Mosquitoes do bite tortoises but tortoises do not seem to be affected by the bites proper (i.e. no lesions, a.k.a. mosquito bites).

There are reptile pathogens transmitted by mosquitoes. Unfortunately, I do not have a parasitology reference which enumerates them or describes any for which tortoises specifically are a host. That being said, it is known that Eastern, Western and Venezuelan Equine and Japanese Encephalitis viruses are transmitted by mosquitoes that feed on reptiles. With that in mind, it would be extraordinary for vector-mediated zoonoses to occur between reptiles and humans. It is much more likely that direct transmission of bacterial, fungal or parasitic agents would occur and even that is uncommon.Mosquitoes do bite tortoises but tortoises do not seem to be affected by the bites proper (i.e. no lesions, a.k.a. mosquito bites).

HLogic

I am posting this here, it is from another Forum member offering a reply to similar topic.

 

[Jacqui]

I would also find out where they are breeding (stagnant water) and either keep them empty or use the skeeter donut/bags.

 

[Moozillion]

I'm pretty sure mosquitoes can carry diseases between turtles. When I was in college, back in the '70s, I had a summer job in the biology dept. One of the professors was studying a particular disease spread between turtles by mosquitoes and was drawing blood samples from wild caught turtles. I don't recall which disease he was studying.