Outdoor Enclosure - Food is Attracting Bugs, Ants and Mosquitoes !

Megin34

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So - I've built an outdoor habitat for my 2 new male Florida boxies and I put food out in the morning for an hour.
Tommy eats it right up and is happy as can be but Michael won't touch it ('it' being every trick in the book with variety, color and smells !)

Could be for several reason that Michael won't eat but it has been 3 weeks now (yes, i know they can go a long time but I want to make sure I am doing everything I can to keep them healthy).

It is possible that Michael would eat if I left the food outside all day / all night but then I'm inviting ants, bugs and mosquitoes to my front door area - let alone it is summer time and the heat and rain just destroy any and all food..

What can I do to help Michael?
Is there a type of food I could leave out that won't go bad / wont attract the insects?
 

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K1RK

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Have you tried live food?

I typically leave food out till the next day for my boxies. I figure they eat carrion in the wild a 12hr old strawberry isn’t gonna hurt them. Most of the time there is no food left when I come back later.
 

Megin34

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I typically leave food out till the next day for my boxies. I figure they eat carrion in the wild a 12hr old strawberry isn’t gonna hurt them. Most of the time there is no food left when I come back later.

Thanks for your post !

True - the food probably would still be fine (if I move feed station into shade).. its the bugs. Don't you get ants when leaving fruit out .. or bugs when leaving protein source out?
 

K1RK

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I get some, but I’ve got Southern Leopard Frogs and woodhouses toads that naturally live in the turtle enclosure so don’t notice much. Maybe I’m lucky with my enclosure?
 

ColleenT

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if you have only had the one for 3 weeks, he is still freaked out by the change. They don't like change. Reptiles can go a while without eating, so don't be too worried yet.
 

Megin34

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if you have only had the one for 3 weeks, he is still freaked out by the change. They don't like change. Reptiles can go a while without eating, so don't be too worried yet.

Thanks for the reply
Not 'worried' per say .. just not sure how to leave food out without inviting insects to my front door area.
I guess my question is 2 fold:
1/ Do I need to leave food out for more than an hour or two?
2/ If yes, then what foods could I leave out that wont attract ants / bugs so much (ie: fruit = ants and protein = bugs) ?

I'm having a hard time leaving standing water for them because the mosquitoes are a nightmare already even though I clean out the water daily !

Starting the question the outdoor habitat even though they seem to love it
 

ColleenT

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YES i leave food out all night. i don't live where you are, and i don't have the types of insects you have, but the small ants still get into the food. When i feed my turtles, i bring them to the food, so they can see it, smell it. Then i leave them alone. Pick up the dish the next day. Mosquitos should not be a huge problem for them, but if cleaned daily, should not be huge for you, either.
 
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